So I have first season here in Illinois . Would you use a full strut tom decoy or just a jake in the early part of the season? I'm hunting our new lease for them this year. The past 4 seasons I have hunted a small property where I could never seal the deal on a bird. I have 2 hens, a jake and a big full strut with a real fan and beard. All of them are primos Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I like to use more decoys earlier in the season and your strutter would be fine, they are more grouped up now naturally so the more turks together the better, later in the year I only use a feeding hen or submissive hen because a lot of the gobs are sick of fighting. Scoot
The only thing I will add to Scoots response is get out and watch the birds in your area. They will tell you how they will respond to a full strut decoy by how they interact with each other. When I see Toms start to get a little more standoffish and chase jakes and other toms, I will have one out.
Thanks guys. My only problem is my lease is 2.5 hours from me so I have to try to get it all done in five days. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I use trail cams as much for turkeys as I do deer. Scoot and I have talked about this the last few weeks, they can be huge in locating high activity areas and strut zones. I have had a cam out on one strutzone the last 10 days with tons of gobblers showing up between flydown and about 8:30. Tells me I don't have to worry about that spot in the afternoon too much and I can focus on other spots. If you are that far away I would put a couple out and check them throughout the week and add that info to your on the hoof scouting. Good luck whacking one!
