To use a decoy or not to use a decoy.

What is your take on this subject ?

And why ?

The Pros and Cons of decoys.

Thank You

of course you need a decoy!!!!! first of allif they dont see a bird they have no interests of coming closer becasue they no they think the calling birds to far,and also they know theressomething fishy if they dont see another bird, second of all a decoy keeps them from looking at you, 3 of all a decoy brings them right to where you want, 4th of all a there stupid animals and will attack and even attempt to mate with the decoy so you dont have to worry about them no its fake.

Well it is a personal chocie. I have shot turkeys over or near a decoy, I have shot them without. Last year it seems that the birds stayed clear of dekes, so you just have to decide that day whether you want to see or not..... might work one time and not the next! [8D]

Have you been turkey hunting long?

Don't know about that...I've seen decoys ruin a hunt....calling gobblers to a hen call is reversing nature...the hen is suppose to go to the gobbler...too many times I've seen a gobbler hang up once he spots the decoys and struts out of range......without decoys that bird probably would have closed the distance....using decoys is a personal thing and each and every hunt dictates it differently. Sometimes I set them out, sometimes I don't...the situation dictates it to me on the spur of the moment....

Very rarely use them.I concentrate my effortsmore on my overall set-up and the art of calling turkeys ratherthanrelying onmy deke to bail me out!Its what I enjoy from the sport!!

I agree. You don't need decoys. They may help in certain situations, but they may also be a disadvantage.

First of all..the wild turkey is not a stupid animal at all. They are pretty wise and thats what makes them challenging to hunt. Its their instinct to breed a hen during mating season and when see one trying to breed your hen decoy..its just natural..they dont know the difference..at first anyways..thats if you even let him get that close to your decoys..Second, i have hunted without decoys and have gotten turkeys and have hunted with decoys and have gotten turkeys and then there is that time when i hunted with decoys and he paid no attention to my decoys. He is right though..sometimes it will keep the bird concentrated on the decoys instead of you..its just a matter of opinion and how and where you set them up.

What he said...every situation is different.
I tried this and it worked well.
If you are on a bird, and see a setup like 20 yards in front of you, set up where you are, then move twenty yards forward and setup.
If the bird hangsup once he sees the deke, then you have twenty less yards between him and you to close.
Just be damn careful about movin.