Turkey Hunting with Decoys

Turkey Hunting with Decoys

Turkey hunting with decoys has become one of our favorite ways seducing the elusive toms into range.

Decoy Combinations:

photo credit bowhunting.com

A single hen decoy is one of our favorite methods here at Oak Creek Whitetail Ranch during the spring. Some turkeys will be intimidated by a Tom decoy or a Jake decoy, but almost all male turkeys will want to come check out a single hen decoy during breeding season. You can find hen decoys in various postures including standing, feeding, and submissive breeding. They all can be affective, but an important thing to remember when setting up a decoy is visibility. If the tom can’t see your decoy then the decoy won’t do you much good.

photo credit pinterest

Jake decoys are good if you are looking to use a less intimidating decoy to bring an ole’ mature tom in close. Generally, it’s good to use the combination of a Jake decoy with a couple hen decoys because a mature tom won’t stand for a young male breeding his hens.

Gobbler Decoys have there place when decoying big dominant Toms into range. If you know there is a dominant Tom in the area that has been strutting in a certain field, then you can challenge him with a full strut decoy. If you have a big aggressive tom in the area, then this can really get them fired up, but it can also scare some of the less dominant jakes or toms away.

How far:

We like to set our turkey decoys no farther than 20 or so yards away from where we are set up. This way if the turkey comes in and hangs up at about 40 yards he is still well within range for our Benelli Super Black Eagle 3.

Where:

Like we mentioned earlier visibility is most important when decoying because if the turkeys can’t see your decoy, then they won’t work very well. Obviously fields are great where turkeys can see the decoys from various sides. Open flats on ridges or bottomlands can also be great spots to decoy where wary turkeys will lock onto a decoy and come straight in.

Let us know if these tips help you out this season and also send us your secret tips in the comments below.

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