What one should I guy get for a strutting decoy a tom like B-Mobile or a jake like Jake-Mobile and why?
Jake - if you call a Tom in, he will be more interested (if it works) in kicking the crap out of that "youngster".
yep, what hayslope says. If the decoy is "bad-to-the-bone" a lesser Tom may not want to tango. A jake getting frisky with a hen will certainly get a tom angry.
I would see where decoys would be a necessity for bowhunting when hunting a field. I would use a jake. I have used both. The Tom is great, but you have one shot when he see's it. It is usually gonna happen right then or not at all. A jake is good because you can lay a hen down as if she is submitting. The more you call or even jake gobble, the more chance the tides may change. Especially if he is trailing hens. I don't use decoys at all when in the woods. I might put out the occasional hen, but no decoys seem to help the Tom search more. They are alot less likely to hang up in the woods if they can't see what is calling to them. Scratching in the leaves is key at this point. They can't stand it.
I've got a B-mobile that I swap a fans out on...have had birds come in to both set-ups....if I'm set-up on a specific gobbler then I use the full fan,if it's in an area were I'm not sure what might come in then it's the jake fan...
I do exactly what Mark does with the strutting dekes...last season I used the jake tail the most. Killed my first of '09 over a jake strutter...
I also use a standing jake as well for a different "look"...killed my second of '09 over a standing jake...
In my experience it has more to do with the color and posturing of the decoy's HEAD rather than the stature of his fan or length of his beard.
Maybe so Gary, but at a distance, nothing catches a gobblers eye like a open fan...at least that's what I've seen the last 4 years since I've been using one.
Especially early in the year.
Later on, as the season wears on, then color and posture will make a bigger difference.
Just my experience...
I forgot to mention, that plan on hunting with this decoy on the edges of fields.
like Spurs said..... i've never really had good luck w/ decoys,but to each his own! good luck to ya.
I'd never use a tom decoy simple reason being even a 2 year old gobbler way down do the pole.Are more likely to be scared off.But 2 year old or older will come to kick a jakes but.Add a hen also now you just touched another nerve.Sure it happens just not to me.Just a reason companty to sell tom decoys.
QuoteOriginally posted by Roy Steele:
Just a reason companty to sell tom decoys.
Not so Roy, not in my experience, or Mark's(bluegrassbowhunter) either....we've got the pix to prove it from the last few years :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
A strutting decoy is deadly!
I agree with Guru, I had a real fan off of a mature tom that I attached to a cheap foam decoy... The tail was all it took because the rest of the setup was pathetic.
Hey Curt, just to clarify what I meant earlier. Notice that I used the word "stature", not "pose" of the fan/tail. I was actually referring to whether the "stature" of the gobbler's fan, i.e., a mature bird's fan versus a jake's or "superjake's" makes a big difference compared to other aspects of a decoy. I hunt some of the spookiest old Easterns around and they pay attention to detail, even at great distances. Years ago I noticed that I could easily pick out a "fake" at long distances, so I could only imagine how quickly a sharp-eyed longbeard could do the same. That's when I began paying attention to details, like using taxidermist's eyes, freeze dried heads, and irridescent touch up paints. Those little extras worked pretty good, however my success skyrocketed after my wild turkey taxidermist (an avid turkey hunter and NWTF nationals judge) asked me if I had an old mounted bird that I wouldn't mind dragging through the woods. To put it simply, using a mounted "superjake" decoy has revolutionized my turkey hunting. I've probably taken 20 or so KY longbeards with a bow, and more than half of those were taken hunting over old "Frankenturkey", so named because he's probably the ugliest, most beaten up decoy ever to strut his stuff. There's something about the way light reveals those real feathers, glass eyes, etc. that reels-em in. Not to mention movement! It's the deadliest possible decoy for bowhunting - hands down! THERE, I've revealed my secret:^)
I will give them another try this year. The birds just get so much pressure here in MS. I am sure that they work well, but think that you would need some prime private land to use em around here.
Gary, your method with the taxidermy eyes, and irridescent paint sounds phenomenal. Where I hunt, it might be too real, and get a few unwanted #4's coming my way.
Well Gary, I don't think it's a "secret", or that anyone would doubt the fact that a mounted decoy is more realistic...hence probably more effective....
Fortunately for me, with the "dumb" easterns we have around here, that lack attention to detail, I haven't had to drag around a lifesize, full strut, mounted decoy yet ;)
Good luck this spring bud
I would be afraid to use a strutting bird in most places I hunt. Turkey hunting is the most dangerous kind, relative to getting shot by another hunter.
What constitutes a "secret" is relative I guess; guys around here are always asking me for the inside scoop on how I can possibly be taking 3-4 birds a year in KY . . . so far I haven't told them . . . until perhaps tonight:^). I kill a lot them basically sitting on a stump wearing a Shaggie suit Curt, so I need all the advantage I can get. Oh, the mounted deke's fan pulls free from the internal foam body while the body fits into a pair of oversized panty hose, that's right, panty hose (I know, that sounds like a Wensel technique, doesn't it?). It helps me avoid being shot at plus keeps the feathers in good shape. By the way, while I haven't heard of any "dumb" turkeys in the Northeast, I have nailed a few dummies in states west of here (non-easterns) that, unlike the birds I'm use to, run at you from all directions as if they want to commit suicide! Always happy to ablige.
You're right about that when it comes to hunting public land Don, especially when you set your dekes in the woods. That's why I stopped hunting places like TVA's Land Between the Lakes years ago and began concentrating on learning the lay of several pieces of private land, which in my opinion is the most important aspect of successful turkey hunting. When the longbeards are "henned up" knowing where you need to be before he, or often more importantly SHE, gets there is the ticket. We can discuss which decoys are best all night long, but nothing's been invented that works any better than the real thing! Learn the turkey's habits and habitat and you can hunt them effectively all season, with or without decoys.
Gary, I like to say that successful turkey hunting is 10% calling and 90% being where the turkeys want to go anyhow.
"Roger" on that Don. Calling is definitely overrated. As in deer hunting, there are a lot of things that can work under the right conditions, but in the long run consistant success usually involves a substantial shot of basic woodsmanship,something that the "industry" can't package, promote, and sell to the masses:^)
Well I am now thinking that the jake decoy is what I want. I understand the woodsmanship part and that calling is overrated. I still think when hunting ag fields on land with no other hunters a decoy like this can help. I don't plan on using it in the woods while hunting. Our birds head right to the fields after fly down and travel in open areas all day.
I saw this show recently hunting on reservation lands in Nebraska I believe. The guys would actually hold fans at eye level or higher to attract long distance birds and they came from distance. It's a method they used often for long distance open areas. Showed me the effectiveness that a fan can have in certain circumstances.
Wow Matthew, I just saw where you are teacher. With your schedule you need all the help you can get:^) . . . been there, done that. I retired nearly 3 years ago after 30 years in the classroom. There was one good year or two in there though - as far as hunting "privileges", the period when we had a principal who also hunted. I would hit the woods at dawn about 10 miles from school for a quick hit or miss hunt at fly down. The "agreement" I had with the boss was pretty nice; he would watch my class a few minutes if I ever bagged a bird and needed extra time to get home and change clothes. This was HIS idea. The only stipulation was that I had to call him on the way back so he could slip around back and check out my bird as I came through the school parking lot:^)!!
Where's Bryce Lambley when you need him? I bet he has a few teacher-hunter secrets he's perfected:^)
Here's spooky story to ponder. A conservation officer friend of mine told me about catching two guys who had been reported poaching turkeys from a county road that ran along the border of a national park. These guys would travel the roads on rainy mornings with their 22 varmint rifles, firing away at anything with a fan. They actually caught the rascals by stacking turkey fans in the fields and lying in wait. Apparently the idiots didn't take the time to verify that the "turkeys" had bodies.
QuoteOriginally posted by Don Stokes:
successful turkey hunting is 10% calling and 90% being where the turkeys want to go anyhow.
Agreed for the most part, but I'd have to break it down with a few more factors...But scouting(knowing where they want to go) is without doubt the most important.
Smoke, I saw that show as well. Although I wouldn't dare do that around here. It was good to show just how effective the big "fan tail" can be at a distance to draw birds.
Matthew, Primos has a new strutter caller the "Killer-B", that with the help of an attached string, the fan tail can be moved up and down....should be "killer"!!
I have not used a full fan decoy yet. Had some luck putting a standing jake right over a low hen so it looks like he wants to mount her.
We are so far East here I can get three hours of hunting in before school. I just wear coveralls over my school clothes.
One teacher I know uses the custodian's closet to change into his work closes before class. Just like Clark Kent. On an unrelated note, a couple years back Barry Wensel discovered a new technique at the Vinson Ranch for keeping turkeys within bow range. Whenever they got close he would stick his hands out of his blind and wave frantically in an attempt to drive them away . . . it didn't work. They kept hanging close. Remember my dumb turkey comment Curt? There ya go:^)
In most of the places I hunt, holding a turkey fan would be equivalent to dressing up as a buck in rifle season. Remember Murphy's Law!
Don, I couldn't agree more. We have quite the collection of outlaws in our part of the state.Lol! It is funny to talk about, but when you really think about it, it's not that funny. We really do have a problem up here.
OK, I'll muddy the waters here. I may be showing my ignorance, and will gladly defer to the experts on here that have taken more turkeys than me, but in my very limited experience, decoys work better in the woods.
I don't want that "dumb" bird to have a long time to look over my decoy. Given enough time to look over the set-up he might realize that there is no movement. I want him to come over a rise, or round some brush and be surprised to see another "bird" right there on top of him. I want him to react to an invader or interloper without thinking. If he thinks about it, I've lost.
Again, limited experience on my part, but my hunting partner is pretty savvy and he's the one that taught me that.
What say you?
Kentucky boy, eh? I say that you (or your buddy:^)) know something about how longbeards can react to decoys! I NEVER use fake looking decoys in the open as I have found them far less effective than taxidermist mounted decoys. I save my "fake looking" dekes for the woods - as you suggested. While I prefer to hunt over the more life-like birds, sometimes the REAL ones will throw you a curve and slip back into the woods following a LIVE hen. When that happens I sometimes throw on my Shaggie suit (I always have one with me when sitting in a DB blind watching a field)and slip ahead of them for a quick ambush. When I do that I have one or two Feather Flex (collapsible) dekes in one hand and my bow in the other. When possible I set them up exactly as you described Marvin.
By the way, I just returned from a morning drive to check out the fields around here. As predicted there are a ton on 2 yr. old gobblers this time. The ones I saw were still in bachelor groups, however the 3+ years olds are already beginning to strut among the flock. The perfect weather that protected the hatch of 2008 is paying off!
Gary, I'm jealous. We've had five years in a row of bad poult survival in MS, and last year was the worst of all. Populations in most of the state are way down. I'll probably have to go to MO for my turkey hunting this year.
The KY F&W biologists were predicting a banner season this year as far as larger numbers of two year olds. Considering all of the jakes roaming around last spring (after the big ice storm) I think that they've hit their prediction. I saw a "small" group of 11 gobblers in one field last week. The next field over had about 50 birds with several more mature longbeards fanned out among them. On the way home I stopped by the hardward store and the owner showed me a photo he had taken behind his house of at least 100 birds grouped up in a big picked corn field. Impressive!
Gary,
I'm still a relative newby to this and learning. I took my first two birds last spring in my third year hunting but it's a blast. I almost like it better than deer hunting.
I've got three calls in the Ford right now and I practice on the way to and from work. There's a lot to learn, but it's a fun trip.
I'm seeing a few small flocks on my commute (Scott, Harrison, and Bourbon Counties), but have yet to see a bird strutting. I've got the fever bad!!!!
Marvin, That's excellent advice bud!
Curt, do you ever work or are you just good at multi-tasking?? HHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!
Bourbon County? I taught with a lady from Paris, KY. Heading out for a hike at the local city park. I've been seeing a big group of gobblers each day within 100 yards or so of the track. The farm's usually closed to hunting except I hear that the owner may allow bowhunting this year due to too many birds:^)
Gary,
I live in Scott and drive through a corner of Borubon to get to work in Harrison (Cynthiana). The farm I hunt is in Harrison County, about twelve miles from my house.
Good luck with the farm. Sounds like a sweet spot to hunut.
Marvin
Well have to disagree with the 10% calling and 90 % where the turkeys going. I would say 90% of my birds where called in and only 10% where ambush since 1976. I know a lot of the new turkey hunters see whats on TV. Set up in a blind call a little and wait for the birds to come by which they do everyday in this field. If you can't call very good you're missing 90% of the fun. Mike
I don't necessarily like to assign a percentage value on specific hunting methods so I won't go there. However, based upon my approach ambushing almost always coincides with some degree of calling; it's not simply setting up in a spot and waiting for a bird to walk by. The idea is to substantially increase the odds that a call will be responded to in the manner that you want - a bird well under 15 yards! A lot of what I do depends on when my season falls and how the stages of the "turkey rut" are progressing. Hens call the shots a lot of the time, especially when I am hunting mature toms, or as my buddy Gene Wensel calls them "herdbulls":^) Consistantly taking trophy longbeards takes a knowledge of their habits and habitat plus as many weapons as possible in your bag of tricks. Sometimes you have to "hunt" the hot hens; you need to figure out where they're roosting AND most likely to head at fly-down. There are certain times of the season when no amount of "fancy" calling will bring a big boy within bow range. If a hunter can't find a way to get between him and his sweetie or beat her to a pinch point they're likely to pass through, well, the show might be over. I don't care if you can call like Ben Rogers Lee (For you old time veteran turkey hunters who remember:^)), he's not going to give up a sure thing to run to you. Yes, there are occasions when birds literally sprint across fielsd to decoys like love sick tweetie birds but that rarely happens in my neck of the woods - especially during the times I hunt and once again if I am targeting the biggest longbeards in the woods, my MO for the past several years. As far as calling technigues are concerned I have to say that I have had more consistant success using methods where you don't have to sound like a championship caller (Sorry Outdoor Channel fans). For example,things like slapping your hand on your thigh to simulate flapping winds, scratching in the leaves, using your own mouth to purr or spit and drum can be very effective. In fact, I have pulled hot hens past me by making simple scratching and feeding sounds without the aide of any commercial calls. Bottom line, I don't panic if I get out of the truck and discover that my slate or mouth call is in another pocket at home. Somedays that may actually be a good thing;^)
Sometime I may do a post on how to call turkeys across a field with a rod n reel and set of practice plugs. Just like trolling. No joke, there's a time and place where it's absolutely DEADLY.
Any one that has real turkey feathers on it, I have found that my mounted bearded hen works better than any decoy I have used in the past. even if you just glue some wings on one it will be more attractive to birds than just your run of the mill decoy. I started out in 1982 with a plywood cutout painted black with a red head then worked my way into a mounted bird, I have tried every thing in between.
Ben Rogers Lee- Gary, you brought back some memories with that one! He was the most famous turkey hunter in the world for years, and one of the fattest until he had a heart attack and slimmed down. Saw him give a talk one time.
I'll admit to being pretty good with a call, and can call with my mouth if I have to, but nothing beats being where the turkeys want to go, and I don't mean ambushing. That's not sporting in my book.
Anyone who thinks he can call well enough to pull gobblers away from hens that are headed somewhere else will experience lots of disappointment. You might pull in a lonely jake (satellite bull?) or two-year-old, but the dominant bird will go with the hens. In that case, if you can't get around and in front of them, your best bet may be to wait until the hens go to nest, and the gobbler may come back looking for you. I rarely do that, just because I don't like to sit that long when after turkeys. It's frustrating, though, to move on and then later hear him gobbling from the spot you left.
I love to turkey hunt. I also love to call. It's knowing when to, and when not to make a turkey sound. Like Gary said, ambushing almost always a key factor even if you don't want it to be. If you ever looked at a topo map for pinch points or possible strut zones, then you are ambushing in a sense. There is no real right or wrong way. Just get out there and enjoy God's beautiful creation. What works for some may not work for others. Turkey hunting is an unpredictable sport. That is why it is so contagious.
I learned turkey hunting from the daughter of the gentleman who owned the M. L Lynch turkey call company, back when Lynch box calls were the only call on the market, before mouth calls and decoys were invented. Polly was a pro, having called in her first one at the age of 12. I knew her in Forestry school at MS State. She gave me my first call, and taught me how to use it. She also instilled in me the disdain for ambushing, which she defined as just lying in wait and shooting one that didn't know you were there, or bushwhacking one along the roadside. Back then rifles were legal, and I remember her rejoicing when they were outlawed, because with a rifle there was no personal involvement with the bird when it was killed. Ever since, I've always called to them while hunting, even when hunting in a funnel, or other terrain or vegetative feature that naturally directed them my way. I have to fool them to make it worthwhile, I guess. I also resisted using decoys, until I started bowhunting for them. It didn't seem sporting to me while gun hunting. It may not make much logical sense, but it's how I feel inside.
Don, one winter in the late 80s or early 90s (If memory serves)I was deer hunting with my old friend Byron Ferguson near Coffeeville, Alabama and actually ran into Ben Lee sitting in a tree near the property line. We talked quite a bit about our mutual love of bowhunting. Ben had lost a lot of that weight but still had that sense of humor and enthusiasm he was famous for. he could sure spin a yarn! I remember him pulling a giant box call out of his pack and showing me all the notches on it, each made every time he called in a turkey with it. Sometime later I heard about the auto accident that took the old boy way too soon.
Here's another version of "ambushing" Don. I completed one of my degrees at Murray State University in extreme west KY (Who beat Vandy in the NCAA Tourney today). located only 18 or so miles from Land Between the Lakes. While there I belonged to a "secret" hunting club that had, shall-we-say, some pretty extreme initiation requirements. One was that you had to touch a wild turkey or deer on the leg with at least two members witnessing. Yes, we were all seriously demented and loved to throw away our weekends. On my successful outing we used one of the TVA abandoned fire towers for the "witnesses" while the "hunter" lay in wait for the turkey at a nearby green field. I managed to pull the stunt off by wearing a homemade "sniper suit" while laying face down by a "tree lap" along a field edge where turkeys came to dust themselves. I can still remember the jake practically stepping in my outstretched hand a millisecond before I clamped down on him - talk about a rodeo! He beat the holly crap out of me as I held on for dear life but long enough to be seen attached to the bird. Talk about the school of hard knocks. We didn't have any brains back them and I'm ashamed to say that we may have even been quilty of animal harassment:^) I guess this explains why I'm so partial to turkey hunting in my Shaggie suit today.
FYI: No turkeys were harmed due to our escapades:^)
Great info, tks for sharing.
Gary, you're lucky it wasn't an old longbeard! I carried a scar in my palm for a while from the first one I killed, not knowing about the "death shudder" that they do. I picked him up too soon in my excitement, with my hand wrapped around the spurs. Turkeys are amazingly powerful, and can really flog you.
You got it Don; they are so much more powerful than many guys think and when they get their RPMs up - LOOK OUT! Many a newbie has had the you-know-what scared out of them when they picked up their first "dead" turkey, HA! I spent a lot of time on the farm when I was a kid and learn "turkey wrestling" first hand:^) Now, what was the name of this thread? Sorry for getting off track, but some things were said that stirred some memories.
As the starter of the post, I am not upset that the post got turned a little to the past. I love reading about what others have done. We have our first youth hunt in two weeks. I hope to get the young boy I am taking a crack at one.
How about this. Maybe someone already thunk this one up.
Make a "sled" out of two pieces of PVC pipe, maybe 1" dia. The front of the sled shaped like some of Ron LaClair's snowshoes, with the upthrust points. The rear just going straight back. Guess you gotta have a piece that holds them apart.
Mount the decoy to the sled so it balances OK. May even need to add some weight really low.
Tie a string to the front of the sled and leave it out maybe 80 - 100 yards away, in the field (or in the timber if relatively clear). When gobblers apear, slowly reel that decoy towards you, in full strut. Then it is strutting (visual), walking (movement), and with you supplying the noise, maybe calling once or twice as well.
I may have to try that out this spring.
ChuckC
Course. if electronic decoys are legal. Mount a few on top of those little remote control off road toy trucks your kids have. Then bring them along and let them play with the decoys in the field.
At least that is looking to be a ton of fun.
ChuckC
Hey, that would work. Don't ask me where or when, but I do recall seeing a product a few years ago that used a rigging for moving decoys. It was set up so the decoy would walk one way, stop, and then reverse direction.
I mentioned earlier about using a rod and reel while turkey hunting. Here's how it works. First it has to be done when things are perfect. Ever seen turkeys feed their way across a field whenever the grasshoppers are "ripe"?? Well, sometimes those little longlegs bury themselves up and need a little push. I rig a line up with a swivel and basically attach 2-3 leaders to it, each tipped with a practice plug. I "cast" (lay out the first time)the whole thing out into the field in front of my blind. With my "trolling device" rigged and ready I wait for turkeys to appear and begin working my way. Once they get close enough to see my "baits" I begin slowing reeling the plugs toward my blind. As the plugs skim the surface of the fescue hordes of grasshoppers begin leaping into the air for all to see, and believe me, wild turkeys know what to do when they pick up on this - they come running! It's hilarious to see them stabbing away as the grasshoppers leap out before them. Bottom line, they will follow the leaping bugs straight to you. I doubt if anyone has heard of this technique, much less tried it. See what too much time spent chasin turkeys does to the mind? I had two buddies call me "hair brained" but then they hardly ever fill their tags doing whatever the heck they do. One more technique for that bag of tricks.
QuoteOriginally posted by Gary Logsdon:
Don't ask me where or when, but I do recall seeing a product a few years ago that used a rigging for moving decoys. It was set up so the decoy would walk one way, stop, and then reverse direction.
Gary,it was called a decoy walker & was marketed by a guy in KY...was a track that the decoy was pulled along & once it hit the end of the track it would rotate & look like it was walking back & forth..
I've even got a decoy that talks...I've got a 2117 aluminum decoy stake rigged up with a push n pull call...attach a swivel & an ultralight fishing reel to the call & your in business...it's not my idea,seen another feller do it along time ago & fixed one up myself...I'll take some pictures of it when I get a chance...
See there, necessity IS the mother of invention, HA!
I dont use either, just for the simple fact I am afraid someone will shoot at it, and I will be in the line of fire. I have a "shemobile". I have found that they just want to see what is making the sound. Without a decoy at all, they will look, and look, and eventually pick you out. But that is just me. I might eventually carry a bmobile, but I think that will be down the road!
SORRY not my experience I hunt pressured gobblers alot.The stuting jake yea.You'd have to have a domant bird to changle a big struting decoy.There's just to many subdomat gobbers that will shy away.
Roy, the only male decoy I use is what we call a "Super Jake" which is a more mature bird that has a larger beard (7") but not a full fan, fuller than a typical jake, but still a little short on the sides. He's a taxidermy mounted decoy with glass eyes and a painted head with muted colors, so not too aggressive looking. Jakes try to peck him but the big boys think they can whip his butt:^) My 11 yr. old son arrowed a huge bird at 4 yards that was all over the decoy. The bird weighed 27 1/2 pounds on certified scales, sported a 12 1/4" paintbrush of a beard, and had two 1 9/16" spurs. My taxidermist says he should score in the top 2-3 in the NWTF records for Easterns taken with archery tackle. I have 10 or so mounted turkeys but my son's is the only one my wife allows in "Her" living room:^)
Some good ideas popping up here. I like the push button call in the decoy idea. Might try that this year.
Gary,
Murray State grad here too. MBA in '95. Real handy to get to LBL from there. Missed my first turkey with a bow in a corn field one December afternoon.
Hunting LBL can be tough, but where else in KY can you find 100,000 self-contained acres to roam around in with very few restrictions?! The deer numbers aren't what they were when I was at Murray State but it's still a great place to get away from it all. I filmed a monster main frame 5X5 two years ago near Turkey Bay. He had a min. 24" inside spread, split brows, plus good mass and extreme tine length. The big ones are still there.
This is the first year in four that I haven't been drawn for the TN lbl hunt. I am bummed out about it. I was hunting an area last year and heard an awful screaming noise. I found out that I was hunting way to close to a ticked off bald eagle. I double checked the map, and indeed it was an open zone for hunting. My friend had the same happen to him. There are eagles everywhere up there. I am surprised that they allow us to hunt around them. Make mention of an eagle sighting here, and they want to shut down hunting for that area at certain times of year. Just thought I would share thought it was interesting. LBL is a wonderful place to hunt. It can be tough, but a wonderful experience nonetheless.
QuoteOriginally posted by Don Stokes:
I learned turkey hunting from the daughter of the gentleman who owned the M. L Lynch turkey call company, back when Lynch box calls were the only call on the market, before mouth calls and decoys were invented. Polly was a pro, having called in her first one at the age of 12. I knew her in Forestry school at MS State. She gave me my first call, and taught me how to use it. She also instilled in me the disdain for ambushing, which she defined as just lying in wait and shooting one that didn't know you were there, or bushwhacking one along the roadside. Back then rifles were legal, and I remember her rejoicing when they were outlawed, because with a rifle there was no personal involvement with the bird when it was killed. Ever since, I've always called to them while hunting, even when hunting in a funnel, or other terrain or vegetative feature that naturally directed them my way. I have to fool them to make it worthwhile, I guess. I also resisted using decoys, until I started bowhunting for them. It didn't seem sporting to me while gun hunting. It may not make much logical sense, but it's how I feel inside.
Hi Don,
M L Lynch make and named a box call after his daughter. Miss Polly :thumbsup:
Thanks for that Mike, I didn't know one had been named after her. Wish I still had that call she gave me- lost it in a house fire in '88.
Well I ordered the Jake Mobile and will test it out in two weeks when we have the DRN Learn to Hunt program in the area. I meet my young first time hunter this weekend. I hope to get a bird or two in front of him to shoot at. Last year my kid missed along with 10 of the other 30 that our group took out. It is a great program and a lot of fun for everyone.
Get the jake. In nature everyone wants to whip the little guy. especially if he's on a gal.
Your Welcome Don :campfire:
I also think it depends how far into the season your are. Weather you would use the Tom or Jake.