Decoys?

ryncam16 · 03-24-2008, 06:07 PM

Do you use decoys or do you not? If you do use them what do you put out a single hen or a hen and a jake? I have been using a hen and a jake but i was wondering what other people do.

Beard Buster · 03-24-2008, 06:15 PM

it all depends on the situation bud sometimes i use none and other times i use four or 5 hens with one jake. i would recommend against the jake for sure in areas with lots of other hunters. if it is an area with aWHOLE lot of hunting pressure sometimes its smarter and more safe to use no decoys at all, not even hens. you just have to play each situation by ear and alot of times a gobbler prefers a single hen decoy over a flock. BB

nick_bleuer76 · 03-24-2008, 06:26 PM

I usually use 2 hens, because thats all I can carry.

mouthcaller · 03-25-2008, 06:30 AM

Depending on numerous factors (weather, location, what the turkeys are doing, time of the season, thickness of cover, woods vs. open fields, time of day, and if my 12 year-old is hunting with me) I use anywhere from zero to 5 decoys.

I almost never use a jake

I just bought a B-mobile and we killed a bird the first day we used it.

I threw away all the old foam hens - I think they look like crap compared to She-Mobile and other plastic fullbody decoys and I don't like the way they spin around in the wind.

RIStrutStopper · 03-25-2008, 06:45 AM

I usually use a hen and a jake.

kingvjack · 03-25-2008, 08:38 AM

I hunt public land and only use hens.... safety first...

Hooker · 03-25-2008, 08:44 AM

I have decoys, but I rarely us them.

HuntingBry · 03-25-2008, 10:21 AM

If I use them it is a 2 hen and a jake set up. I'll set the jake up facing me so that you can only see the beard from the sides and out in front of me for safety reasons. Sometimes I'll just use the hens.

MJL927 · 03-25-2008, 10:49 AM

It definitely varies. Sometimes you find yourself in a situation where there is just no time to set out some decoys at all. I've had birds come running right into a spread of two or three decoys and I've also seen birds that acted scared of the decoys. More often than not though, I will set a few out. Since I'm right handed, I always try to set them out on about a 45 degree angle to my left so I can easily swing that direction if I have to.

kdsberman · 03-25-2008, 12:45 PM

I quit using them last year and it payed off the first day i left them home. I do believe that they CAN work but from my experience Ive had toms hang up out of range more than having them come in to them. When I did use them, I put out 2 hens usually. I now rely on calling them in and having them "look" for the hen.