I go back and forth on this, especially hunting in the woods in the mountains. I didnt use decoys for years in that type of setting due to birds spooking. I had a prominent encounter last year and this year where I am confident if I had a hen decoy out that I would have gotten a shot.

The mountains can be very tough, setups are an art and take years and experience to get better at.

 

it may have been something else that spooked them... sometimes turkeys can be very skittish.

 

Scratch the decoy...especially at 10 yards

 

this!

you are inviting the to look your way.

 

Whether to use a decoy or not and if it helps or hurts is often difficult to answer. I figure it depends on both the set and also the turkey you are working.

I have used decoys where I am sure it helped pull a gobbler from where I had no shot to where I could kill him. I have also had a few times when I had gobblers that would turn and walk the other direction when they saw the decoy.

I think they usually work to your advantage if they are in a field or on a pipeline of utility line where they are easily seen from a distance. In the woods though I am convinced that most gobblers don't even see the decoys.

Dick Bodenhorn

 

As others have mentioned, I use decoys in food plots when I have my blind set up, probably a lone hen without my Funky Chicken this time of season. Lots of foliage on now so I don't carry them with me in the woods. I know several very successful turkey hunters who will never use a decoy so who knows.

 

When I first got into turkey hunting I went full bore on decoys with absolutely no luck, and I hunt big woods. I ditched the coys and have some decent luck over the years. I also have much more luck calling a gobbler uphill rather then downhill.

 

I use decoys in the fields or larger open areas. If I am setup along a logging road in the woods then I’ll stick out a lone hen. Otherwise in the woods make them hunt you without the decoys.

 

I used to hunt some pretty steep river hills. The biggest problem I had with birds coming up hill at me was they use their long neck and heads like periscopes and peak up over the top before you can see them. I've had more than one bird practically on top of me out of my sight only to listen to him Putt his way back down the hill. If I'm hunting a bench, I set-up at the back of the bench so it's more likely a bird has to crest the bench to see. I wouldn't use a decoy unless I could get it at least 20 yds away from me. It's quite possible that, at 10 yds., your bird or another one with him saw you or your motion in his field of view like someone else mentioned. I doubt it was the decoy itself that spooked him Like Bradford13, I find getting them to come uphill easier than trying to get them to come down. Another strategy that sometimes works on a bird directly below you is to move right or left 30-40 yds before you set up in hopes that he comes straight up on the bench where you can see him first then moves toward you. I also know I over-called in a couple of situations. Once he responds, shut up or just use 2-3 soft clucks.

 

I remember the first turkey I killed while using a decoy. I was in a blind, hunting in the evening. There had been a good gobbler coming into this field every night , around 6:30 pm . I got in at 5 pm, set up my Jake decoy 25 yards out. I kinda nodded off, and at 6:30, raised my head….there was this big gobbler, strutting a few feet from my decoy. I had to let him move away a little from the decoy before I pulled the trigger.

 

My son & I try to hunt high visibility areas, such as fields. The right decoy set up can be extremely effective. I can honestly say we've never had a gobbler that saw the decoys not come in. However, I used to have them hang up occasionally when not using decoys. Good visibility is key. Remember a turkey's head is much closer to the ground than ours.

 

Thanks for all the advice

 

If you're gunna have decoys they have to be visible for a distance.

I learned that the hard way. I didn't grow up hunting with them and tried using them in my same sorta setups where a bird is basically in range when I see him. They'd turn tail in a hurry every time. Idk what they expected to see coming to hen calling lol. Doesn't make sense but it definitely seems to booger them if they pop up close to decoys.


Now, I simply don't use them unless I'm in a field and have a large visible area around me. The last few field birds I've killed have been decoyless. I'm learning how to setup and work fields without them.


The setup makes or breaks turkey hunts the majority of the time.