SwampCollie

We used a mock-up of what looked to me like a volkswagon beetle with offroad/Baja 1000 style tires/suspension on it. We chose it for a couple of reasons: 1) it was fairly inexpensive...still $60 is a pricey expirament but it was budget priced compared to some 2) It had a moonroof which looked like it would accomodate the decoy stake fairly well 3) the larger obviously made for dirt/grass style tires.

We painted it a flat pea green, which I'm sure helped as its original color was a gloss, sparkle specked deep purple. Used camo tape to secure the stake in place, and it looked like it worked pretty good to me. We used a foam decoy, as it wouldn't be too top heavy. Honestly what I think spooked the bird was the fact that the decoy didn't walk like a turkey walks. Turkeys do that head shuck/jive type thing when they walk. The decoy just ran straight. The RC car was like a 1:24 scale if I remember. I gave it to the nephew. It was almost as long as the decoy was from tip to tail. It wasn't terribly high off the ground though. There was a fair bit of grass in the field, but it hadn't been planted or turned over. It worked like a champ in the grass in the yard... but in the field we encountered tractor tire divots, mud clumps, sticks... all sorts of crap that hung it up. It was just a pain in the butt to use. Not to mention that you'd need someone to shoot the bird and someone to drive the car. Not a one man operation.

But it was a hell of a lot of fun to try out.

Looking at the DMD... it looks like it would be a better mousetrap. Seems to be a stupid proof thing. I wasn't about to try and become an electrician and build something like this. The remote control car was about as inventive as it gets for me. I tried to keep it simple, but ended up almost wrecking the thing. Moreover, I was so damn excited (as is normal for me and turkey hunting) that I almost wrecked the fool thing when the bird pitched down into the field. I ran the thing down the path broadside to the turkey and he saw it. He stopped and looked at it, but his head up, putted twice and got the hell out of dodge. I was in a ground blind, 15 yards off the field, hid better than a chameleon. Couldn't have spooked from me. Had to be the decoy. I tried to call to him and turn it around... no good. Had to back it up... turkeys don't back up. Then trying to reset it... I hit a tire rutt and flipped it. That was the end of the lesson for me.