I've only killed a few turkeys and none with trad equipment but this year I've gone full blown trad only. Out of the few I have killed once they got close to my decoys they would quit strutting and look all around and walk away real fast. Most of them would never get that close. They would get within 30 yards or so see the decoys and just leave. I've been using HS strut decoys and I've been thinking about getting some Dave Smith ones I just don't know if ide be wasting my money or making a good investment??
The only deke better than a DSD is a real live turkey LOL!
I posted in another thread about dekes....they are not fool proof and don't work all the time. I've had mature paint brush toms turn tail after seeing a jake deke in a non dom posture with a hen deke nearby. Heck I've had full blown toms turn tail on a single hen, but more often than not day in and day out, you're going to kill birds more often with a single hen non looker type deke!
The tom/jake dekes do work....to a degree. There's a time in the season where they work REALLY well, when the birds are just coming out of winter flocks establishing dominance, well if you call winter winter in Mississippi LOL! There's nothing like early season bird hunting with a strutter/jake deke in hand! It seems to slow down until they hen up again but works to a lesser extent.
I used to be a feather flex guy when they came out, and than delta picked the design up with a light rubber version. Typically when I hunt with my old man I'd guess 70% of the birds would skirt my dekes and go to his jenny vanes (silhouettes). That was the tip off for me on bad dekes. Being a traveling guy its the ONLY reason I don't carry the DSD, though I'm contemplating getting one for the home in MN for our hunt this year.
I've ditched the jake/strutter deke and went back to strictly a single hen. Dad told me this in my early days, it only took 25 years to relearn it lol. I'll be honest, I really HATE sitting in a blind all day for birds. I've done it successfully but to me its not as much fun as running and both with the black powder and the longbow in hand.
I will say when they come in doing the mean walk ready to blast your tom/jake strutter....its the highlight of turkey hunting career. I spend more time cracking up than trying to shoot when it happens. It just seems to happen so infrequently that I don't believe traveling and than carrying it is worth it. It does bring in hens like you wont believe! This is when it really seems to work well when they're henned up, but for me at least the toms generally hang up out of range when coming with their own hens. They end up skirting instead of coming in and flogging.
By the best deke you can buy, or don't by anything! They only keep getting better and better!
I have and use them, but I haven't had much luck, either hunting or drawing in the Sharp Eyed Little Monsters. :pray: :biglaugh:
Shakes,
Google
"Bowhunting for turkeys" by Jack Brobst with Dr David Samuel.
This will help you along the way....it really doesn't get better on running and gunning for toms!
Avian X decoys are real close to being as good as the DSD's but they are cheaper and transport better because they are collapsible. DSD's are a hard shell. Before I got the Avian X I could get turkeys in but they would do just like you described and not come into bow range.
MSBOw
Not sure how far your decoys are from you blind but mine are within 10 yards. If the bird gets close he is in range. I'm still using the old Feather Flex Decoys I have had for probably 20 years.
Avian X decoys are amazing.
I highly recommend giving them a try.
I have decided to quit using decoys. NO decoy can't hurt, and having decoys can sometimes hurt. I have never had a bird run away because there was NOT a decoy.
I think 20 years ago they were pretty innovative and helpful. Now turkeys get decoy wise.....It's like the bugling elk call....critters learn....
I use AvianX myself however a stuffed hen is probably as good as it gets.
I'm also running avian x hen dekes. They are nice but I will admit the competitions catching up fast! There's some aweful let nice dekes coming every year!
i threw my deltas in the trash and had a patterning day on the feather flex after the last time a pair of toms completely went around my dekes into those Jenny vanes. I'd rather not use one! When they're hot enough to come into a bad deke, they'll more often than not come into nothing! Dad still talks about shooting the had off foam lol.
There's another deke on the market that has s foam core and a skin over it. Heck if I can remember the name. They looked pretty good as well but honestly the dsd isn't far and away tops.
Avian X for me. Got a taxidermist friend that has a mounted gobbler and hammers them. Would like to try that but I like to troll and it's not to mobile. Killed a longbeard right off the top of my Avian jake last spring at 7 yards. He was kicking the crap out of it! Wish I would have had video. Good luck.
In pa? Man those birds in micheux are scared silly of themselves. I resorted to clucks and purrs and more often than not they turn around and leave. We've had them come into to my buddy's looker avian x and he cleared the tree tops like it saw a ghost! I can't see spending the $ to hunt central pa again anytime soon!
Bestturkeydecoy.com
Montana deeks. Easy to carry, easy to set up, and sponsors here.
Thanks guys for all your input!
AkDan
So you think it's best to just use a single hen decoy? Do you think hen/jake combo in the begining of the year then switch to single hen? The only reason I was thinking of DSD decoys is because a few people told me that they will hang around them longer and closer for bow hunting, but I dunno.
I have used the same flambeu ever how you spell it dekes for near 20 years. There are some things that work better than other and some better dekes no doubt but this works for me.
I use two hens and never a jake. The times I had birds spook I had a jake out I face both decoys toward me and have them about 5 yards apart.
They must be kinda low no matter if in feeding position or mating.
I have used other types of decoys and if they shine in the sunlight they won`t work. at least for me. the two flam I have do not shine and I always try to set them in shadows.
I don`t hunt field Turkeys because they are tough . a Turkey in the woods feels safer I believ and will come in.
Of the 20 Birds I have killed with a bow all were close and all but 3 were focused on the dekes and strutting up to them.
I have been using the Avian for a few years now. I have a hard time getting them set up, as the jake wants to stay at home. Every year he gets his butt whipped. It has really been amazing to watch. One time the tom whipped on him for over 30 minutes - I had walked back to camp to a sandwich and watched through the bios.
Flextone Funky Chicken goofy looking but it sure does work. :thumbsup:
When RC talks - I listen. He seems to have this down to a science. I'm getting excited about turkey season just by reading this thread.
Bernie
So for the most part, if I'm getting this right it's probably best to just use hens with no jake and it's more about the way your decoys are set up rather than how realistic they look?? That's what will bring them in close and stick around long enough to get a shot?
Msbow, a lot of the time I agree with how you put it, but since I bought the Avian X hens I've had way better success getting the Tom to stay around, I set the hens facing away. I did get one of those Funky Chicken Jakes last year and it seemed to work pretty well. I face the Jake towards the blind.
I've had a lot of decoys but after last year I must say Avianx from now on. I hunted the entire month of May and had several birds come around but none came in. I borrowed an Avainx feeder for the last day had 5 different gobblers come right in to within 10 yards. I have to believe it was the decoy that made the difference. I now own an Avain feeder.
Not discounting any of the decoys listed, because there're some great ones out there, but I think a lot depends on the bird.
No doubt dhermon85 and the pressure put on him. RC
I have a flock of the DSDs. I love them. I have a close friend and hunting partner who uses AvianX. Both are great decoys. But it has already been said it really depends upon the birds in your area. If heavily pressured as RC just stated they are gonna be tough. But to answer you question in the original post. The DSD are great decoys and in my opinion worth the money. Just an opinion tho. Good luck.
I sure like my AvianX decoys
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a44.jpg) (http://s904.photobucket.com/user/TmPotter47/media/a44.jpg.html)
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a7-7.jpg) (http://s904.photobucket.com/user/TmPotter47/media/a7-7.jpg.html)
I have better picks but Photobucket is being slow tonight. I've had turkeys come up lay down right beside my avian's and dust and take naps on video with other Tradgangers hunting with me. Never had turkeys ever do that to any of my other decoys in many ,many years of bowhunting them. IMHO
Tracy
QuoteOriginally posted by TradBrewSC:
Avian X decoys are amazing.
I highly recommend giving them a try.
X2
The last pic Tracy put up has made me plan on buying one of those dekes. You gotta really look to tell whats real.RC
I thought that was a real hen behind a decoy for a sec in that last pic are those both avian decoys?? Is that darker decoy a avian jake? Ide like to thank all y'all for taking the time to help a new trad turkey hunter out with all y'all's advice on these decoys very much appreciated!!
In my opinion a good turkey decoy makes all the difference for bowhunting. I have had too many bad experiences with cheap decoys and once I switched to Avian X that all changed. My jake decoy got his butt whooped the first 2 out of 3 hunts with him and put my first 2 trad birds on my dinner table. They are worth the money!!!
DSD's awesome, if you have the money and don't mind carrying full body deke's.
Avian's great as well, they will fold down some, but are still heavier than foam.
I carry enough gear, so no full bodies for me....I want light and foldability(is that even a word).
I've at the turks seriously since 2000, and at last count was at about 25 or so birds killed and my experience has been drastically diff. than what I'm reading here....more than 95% of my birds have been killed within yards of a jake decoy!!!
Most of the time, I shoot them before they get to it, but I guarantee if I didn't....they'd have knocked the snot out of it!
For me, here in NY, for the first couple weeks of our May season it's hard for me not to hunt with a jake in the flock.
And if there is a jake out there, you might as well not even have the hens out because your shot will be as the gobbler is coming to kick butt... every time!!
I have sort of a 1/4 strut jake, and full strut jake that is killer....I have the video to prove it!
Plenty of pix as well...
I like dekes that are light and foldable....and every decoy I've ever bought I've altered with paint to add detail....I believe that's made a huge difference in my success with my "cheap" decoys.
BTW... that is an Avian hen(darker), and a real hen in Tracy's pic....awesome!!
Thanks guru for the info!!! I saw some avian hens and DSD hens at a sporting goods store today they had them on display its a lot different seeing them in person I couldn't believe how real they all looked especially those DSD's I still haven't bought any yet but ive decided it's going to be avian or DSD I would like to see a longbeard attack a decoy in real life I've only seen it on tv but it seems like it would be bitter sweet seeing a 100 dollar decoy beat up on. What decoys would be able to take a good beating without tearing up between the two??
Stay away from the Turkey Skinz. Pieces of Junk!
My dad has a mounted bearded hen. it has accounted for more than 50 turkeys killed over it in 4 years.
I think those Avian X and DSD decoys are as close as you can come to looking like a mounted hen.
QuoteOriginally posted by acolobowhunter:
I have been using the Avian for a few years now. I have a hard time getting them set up, as the jake wants to stay at home. Every year he gets his butt whipped. It has really been amazing to watch. One time the tom whipped on him for over 30 minutes - I had walked back to camp to a sandwich and watched through the bios.
LOL - my Jake got absolutely hammered once last spring - cracks me up! :biglaugh:
Curt is the turkey man and I've learned a lot from him since starting tradgang many years ago! He's right about the AvianX
being a little bulky but mine came with a nice carry bag with straps and I hardly notice them.
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/a25-2.jpg) (http://s904.photobucket.com/user/TmPotter47/media/a25-2.jpg.html)
Tracy
My first dekes were the fold up foam thins. They were cheap, light , packed well, and barely looked like anything turkey. I met a compound hunter with a dead turkey. He told me to put white wing tips and brighter blue and brighter red heads on mine and they will work better, they did. He was trying homemade cardboard, hand painted silhouette things that joined by a piece of tape at the beaks that day. When asked how they worked, he said the tom came charging in and then walked a wide circle around them right into his lap, so he shot it.
I like my MT decoy I think its called strutting tom. Super easy to transport, light as all get out, plus it moves w/the wind to give a more lifelike appearance.
Guys you can really transform a cheap decoy with a little paint and effort.
The new foam dekes are a lot better than the old big headed Feather Flex's.
I look for dekes with a good head, and feather texture....then detail them up with some fabric paint....I'll have to post some pix when I get the chance.
I spent $24 bucks on a hen and jake decoy last spring and made the look pretty dang good.... this turkey though so too the first time we used them...
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/Cadebowgobbler001.jpg)
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/Cadebowgobbler003.JPG)
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/Cadebowgobbler004.JPG)
• (http://www.tradgang.com/upload/curt/Cadebowgobbler007.JPG)
The next 3 gobblers we killed last spring were killed over our full strut jake deke "Floyd"...
I've got both Avian and DSD decoys. Last year was my first year using the DSD and on TWO occasions I had a hen walk into my decoys and attack the DSD while leaving the Avian alone. Two different properties miles apart so not the same hen with a bad attitude. The avian is in the feeding posture and the DSD is upright so that might explain it.
I added a DSD jake this year and I've got an old carry lite submissive hen that I'm going to use it with.
I like the avian's just fine but I don't see their collapsability as any kind of benefit because they look better if kept inflated and because I don't want to have to inflate them as I'm setting them out. I'll typically carry a pop up blind and a chair or a gobbler lounger if not using a blind and two or three full body decoys along with my bow and of course my calls and such. The decoys don't weigh enough to be a problem....if I'm hunting timber I generally don't mess with a decoy or if I'm running and "gunning" I might only carry one decoy so I can be quicker and quieter. The DSD hen is perfect for that.
I had an entire flock of various cheap decoys and up until a few years ago had all but stopped even using them. They scared more Turkeys than I could count.
Two years ago I took the plunge on good decoys. I have an AvianX upright hen, and a DSD Jake and DSD breeding hen. During the past two Springs I have killed a total of 6 birds, all with trad gear.
I'm a believer!
PLEASE - trad bows only! no pics or talk of any other weaponry.
Haven't used them yet, but broke down and bought me a breeder set of the avians. Man those things look real!!! I don't get to turkey hunt but a very few days in the spring and I got tired of all the birds shying from my old beat up cheap o's. I will report back after my spring trip. Hope I don't actually shoot my dekes! :scared:
Not sure who or what was said or pics that were posted about anything other than trad equipment but I intended this thread to be about what decoys a first time traditional turkey hunter would need to lure and hold a turkey in close for a shot with a traditional bow.
Still using an old feather flex jake, but plan to get a more realistic looking bird for this spring. Over the years, I have found that a single jake, or a jake with a hen in a submissive position is the be sty at drawing gobblers.
I'm sorry that I appear to have broken a rule by posting a picture of a turkey decoy that also had a non traditional bow in the same picture. I'm new to the board and to traditional bow hunting but I have been a passionate turkey hunter for many years and was only trying to show what my decoys looked like in a hunting situation and the OP had started the thread about turkey decoys. If I have over stepped the bounds here I truly apologize and did not mean to offend anyone.
Goose smasher
Msbow, strutting toms work good, the reason turkeys hang up a lot is because the hunter is calling wrong. in early season you need to set up so your strutting tom's fan is facing where the real tom is roosted (he will try to sneak up on him) then you need to make happy content calls, not excited hen calls. what this does is threatens his dominance, he is less likely to leave hens he has for a mystery hen but he will leave those hens if he thinks another tom is stealing his lady's... YOU should set up 20 ish yard BEHIND your decoys, so if he hangs up it will be right in front of you not 30-40 yards away... using this tactic I have had many toms and small jakes come out of their roost and sprint a 250 yard b-line to my decoy to whoop him...
Now don't make fun of my awesome computer drawling skills lol but here is a little picture of what I'm talking about, nothing is fool proof when turkey hunting but this has always worked good for me. Best of luck.
(http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums/b593/stdugo/turkeysetup_zpsed98216d.png) (http://s1293.photobucket.com/user/stdugo/media/turkeysetup_zpsed98216d.png.html)
If you over call or get too excited calling that tom will expect that hen to come to him (this is a lot of the reason for hang ups) and you have a good chance of the boss hen pulling that tom away from you(another reason for hang ups or the bird that just leaves). nice clam purrs and soft yelps will get the toms attention and when he see another bread with "his" hens he almost can control him self and will storm over there to show him who's boss (most of the time anyways). once you got his attention, STOP calling but just a few little purrs here and there, remember your not trying to seduce him your trying to piss him off that another tom has his hens. Now in late season when the hens leave the toms but they are still looking more exciting yelping and such can be very productive but in the early season this is the way to go (for me anyways). For me this is also a good way to do it when your in a area where the birds have a lot of hunting pressure because most of them are use to hearing a bunch of crazy yelping and know to stay away (educated). I hope this helps...
Goose, not a big deal. Just the policy since day one. Trad bow kills only.
2bird, that's a great diagram and good advice.
Thanks Ray, turkey hunting is my passion lol
I'm kind of a fan of those birds too. ;) :thumbsup:
(//%5Burl=http://s1246.photobucket.com/user/shrewshooter/media/PB070079_zps9b06e9e8.jpg.html%5D%20%5Bimg%5Dhttp://i1246.photobucket.com/albums/gg617/shrewshooter/PB070079_zps9b06e9e8.jpg)[/url] [/IMG]
:clapper:
2bird I have never tried hunting with a strutting Tom decoy I've always used a jake and 2 hens mostly. I have always been worried that 2 year old birds would not want to mess with him but I dunno I might be missing out btw I believe your drawing is a lot better than what I could have done on the computer. Couldn't I just use a jake and stick a fan on him or does it need to be a blown up strutting Tom? ... Goose you didn't offend me I never even saw the pic I thought it was something I said or did lol. Do any of you ever mix gobbles in with your hen calls so that he thinks a Tom is already with her?? If that makes any sense
Sure you can use a Jake with a fan attached, a Jake fan would be better, it's bad enough to get your girl taken away and even worse when it's by some punk kid lol haha... Ya know I have had plenty of young Jakes (2" and less beards) come to the strutting tom before. sometimes in pairs and sometimes they wont strut but they will come...
Turkeys are smart, sometimes you can do everything right and they wont come in, sometimes it can be easy. Last season I tagged out(2 bird, hence the name) in the 1st 30 minutes on opening day, and next week so did my son on his first Turkey ever, the year before everything that could go wrong did...
I havent mixed gobbles with yelps my self but i know guys that do. the thing with calls is you have to be adaptable, not every tom will respond to the same call, to be a good turkey hunter with calls you need to have several and know how and when to use them.
QuoteOriginally posted by Guru:
I've at the turks seriously since 2000, and at last count was at about 25 or so birds killed and my experience has been drastically diff. than what I'm reading here....more than 95% of my birds have been killed within yards of a jake decoy!!!
Most of the time, I shoot them before they get to it, but I guarantee if I didn't....they'd have knocked the snot out of it!
X2..
2bird
So you think hens and a full strutter or a jake strutting is the way to go? What about a 1/2 or 1/4 strutting jake? What kind of decoys do you use the most realistic ones you can get or cheap diy painted ones?? I know guru is from NY and I appreciate his advice very much but I'm thinking that there's not a turkey hunter around every corner in NY like it is here, but I have never even met another traditional hunter much less one that turkey hunted so I can't just go and ask them, so I'm not so sure the me painting a turkey would work out so well lol they would wind up looking worse then when I started. The birds I hunt are very educated and they get hunted by everyone and their mama. When I was on the phone with the fellow that owns Simmons sharks I told him where I was from and he said we had the hardest to hunt birds and deer he had ever hunted. Now, I've never hunted anywhere else so I don't know any different, but I've watched those paranoid schizo turkeys come into my set see my decoys and do a 180 and leave so it's gotta have something to do with my decoys. Ide like to thank all of y'all that have taken the time to help me out with my attempt at trying to kill a bird trad style !!!
Also what does it mean when my avatar is on everybody's message box ?? Or has it always been that way and I never noticed
ya know i just bought my decoys at wal mart, so yes they most likely are cheap ones. i like the 2-3 hens and a strutting turkey set up, it's not going to work every single time. To be a good turkey hunter you have to adapt to the turkeys you are hunting.
Give it a try and if they still do a 180 when they see your decoys then those bird are really educated, time to switch it up and maybe pattern them like deer.
I really feel the key to be getting them to you is knowing when to call and when not to call, decoys or not if you over call your going to spook them.
Thanks 2bird for all your help