Let me start by saying I am the worse turkey hunter in the entire world!!!!!! I have never killed a spring bird, only killing a few turkeys with my bow in the fall and then only from a stand. Maybe I have never killed one in the spring because I have only spent 6 days in the last 7 chasing them in the spring. In fact, I did not even apply for a tag the last two years. I don't really care to turkey hunt at all, but my boy is wanting to turkey hunt, so turkey hunting we will go. My question is about decoy set up, specifially the placement of the different types of decoys. I have 5 decoys - 1 standing hen, 1 submissive hen, 1 feeding hen, 1 standing jake, and 1 strutting tom. I understand that I should have the decoys facing me, as when/if a bird comes in he will work around the decoys to face the decoy. However, is there specific position for each of these decoys? What I mean is, should the strutting tom be facing the submissive hen, should the feeding hen and the standing hen be away from the submissive hen and the tom? Where the hell should I put the jake?Should all 5 decoys be placed out or is less better? I am heading out Friday to hunt by myself, the boy will be hunting on Saturday and Sunday. These are the only days we can hunt here in Illinois, so I have to believe it will be tuff getting on a bird, but wanted any tips to help swing things in my favor. Thanks in advance for any tips you can offer.
I've been told that the strutting gobbler is the only one that needs to be facing you so that it doesn't intimidate one coming in. Other then that I can't be much help.
curious as to the response here myself - I have taken a couple spring birds but that is in the swamps of FLa- not sure if I will make it out this year but looking to learn and gain some knowledge have the dekes and calls just need to see how they would apply in different settings
Disclaimer- I am no turkey pro. I agree w/ Jeff. All I have is a jake and hen decoy so I am a bit limited on my setups. I think that a lone tom will come in just fine to a hen decoy w/ no problems. That said if a tom is w/ some hens I am not sure he would come to just a hen deke, if a jake was there to piss him off I think he would have more of a chance of coming in. In late season here when most of the hens have already been taken care of I think I will definately go back to using just my single hen. We will see what works.
I've tried every set up there is and then some......depending on how heavily hunted the birds in your area are will be an aspect to consider..... I know the full strut decoys are all the rage.... i don't like them and have only seen them work on tv. Jake decoys with a submissive hen is effective if the birds are hot...if they are not hot they don't seem to be intimidating, so all in all a safe bet. If you are unsure, I'd use either a single hen or maybe two hens. I killed my bird on opening day using a single feeding hen. Called in my partners bird the next day using two feeding hens. And had two jakes come in but would not approach the decys....the day before the same jakes came in and I watched as the waited for two real hens to leave the field before they entered..... But back to your question....if I was new to it and taking my boy turkey hunting, I would place a single feeding decoy at a measured twenty yards from your blind, standing broadside to you. And only call about every 20 minutes so as to let anybirds know you are there....if a gobbler is coming to you shut up...if he is not then stick to the every 20 minutes. SB
I use two hens and a jake. I set the hens about 10 yards from the blind slightly facing away from me and about 15 feet apart from each other. I then set the jake at 13 yards out, in front of the hens and facing toward me. I try to make it look like the jake is harassing the hens. Usually, if a gobbler responds to this set up he runs up to about 25 yards, eyeballs the situation, then comes in to kick the jakes a$$. Boom/thunk! out goes the lights!
Another question for you all (probably a dumb one but I haven't a clue)- What do you consider a mature Turkey?
A full fan means a mature gobbler....a rack to the outside of the ears is a mature buck.... Neither of those standards indicate a trophy. A turkey is very difficult to determine the "trophy" aspect as you can't see the spurs (which is the best indication.) beards only get so long as they actually drag the ground and get worn down....so the true measure is the spurs and you can't really size them up till ya killed him. SB
I don't know anything about turkey decoy placement as I just call them in with either 1 hen decoy I just set up when the gobbler is hot and gobbling near by. Worked several times and a few times I have called them in with no decoys. I do hope your boy gets a bird. Good luck to the young hunter and you!
Thanks SB! Jake, Gobbler, It don't matter to me. I'll be giving this turkey hunting a shot for the 1st time ever this year with my recurve.
I use 2 hen decoys, a feeding hen and an upright hen, and have had good luck with this set-up. Late season I have used a submissive hen and a jake and have had this work as well. It all depends on the mood of the birds and how hard they have been hunted. Good Luck!
I've killed one bird that came in to decoy (single hen), the other 3 no decoys. Of my dad's 10 birds, No decoys used. We hunt wooded areas typically - do not set up on fields like others. We like to slip in a close as possible and not mess with decoys so we can move quickly if needed...when the birds are hot, calling is all that's needed.
Last year was a amazing year turkey hunting and i didn't even kill a bird, but i had 3 different strutters come within 15 yards without calling to them! I usually go with a half strut jake decoy facing my blind or atleast facing away from the direction i think the birds are coming from because a tom will most likely come around to face the jake. Tom turkey only like to face other male turkeys. I also make sure that when i put the hen decoy out I try to make her look larger than the jake whick i do by just sticking the jake decoy farther in the ground. When putting out hen decoys i usally put out 2. One feeding hen and one semi alert hen, hot hen, what ever! By putting out a feeding hen u show that the turkey is calm, theres no danger, etc. The other hen doesn't really matter. But i always put the hen decoys atleast 8-10 yards from the jake. That show that he is not with them and makes the to feel as though it would be easier to take those hens. My whole decoy setup is placed 5-15 yards from my blind. Because turkey have that magical 50-60 yards hang-up radius, the closer u have ur decoys to u, the closer the turkeys, if they hang up, will be. If your a shotgun hunter and with todays guns that 10 yard difference may be all u need to kill that gobbler! Bow range is a different story for most but for some of us, 50-60 yards is all we need. Calling does help in most cases but i learned everything above from a seminar. I did exactly all this and the turks were right there within 15 yards. The reason i didn't kill them is cuz it is really hard to videotape and kill turkeys with a bow by urself. Hopefully this info will help u bag one this year!
