Deadly decoy tactics for gobblers

Deadly Decoy Tactics For Gobblers

By Freddie McKnight

Each passing season brings new gear and gadgets to all segments of the hunting industry. It has been many years since the invention of a life-like portable decoy was made, yet these implements have been the demise of many spring gobblers. They have also spooked more than their share along the way. It is not the fault of the decoy or the hunter; it is just that sixth sense that boss birds have – a sense that keeps them alive.
I have experimented with all types of decoys while hunting and conducting photography sessions. What I found was they the all will work and they all won’t work -it is up to the gobbler to determine what will work by what it senses and sees. A turkey standing as still as a statue is an alert turkey, sensing danger is near. This interpretation sends many trophy gobblers on their way, rather than going home with a hunter’s tag wrapped around its leg. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to negate this effect.

One of the key things to do is to add movement to your turkey decoy. A simple spincasting fishing reel added to your turkey vest can work wonders for your setup. Most of the turkey decoys on the market use a stake system that runs through a hole in the bottom of the decoy and stops at one in its back. This allows for the decoy to be able to spin on the stake, giving it some movement to keep the incoming gobbler’s attention. Simply attach the fishing line, via a snap swivel, to the front of the decoy so that you can spin the fake turkey on the stake once the incoming gobbler is able to see it. This little bit of movement may be all that is needed to seal the deal for you.
Simple movement is an ideal situation for open field settings, but when using decoys in woodland cover, the setup can be entirely unnoticed. You can put the decoy in an area where you think the bird will work in, but if it veers off course to one side or the other, the gobbler may never see the decoy.

There are two basic methods that will help you make sure your fake is seen by the boss bird under these conditions. The first is to add movement to the decoy - more than just spinning it on the stake. String a section of fishing line between two trees about 15 feet apart. Next, use a piece of line with snap swivels on either end. Attach the one to the line you have strung up, the other to the top of the decoy so that it is both balanced and at a realistic height from the ground. Third, attach a line to the front of the decoy so that you can pull it across the distance of the strung line. Once the gobbler is within visual range of the setup, move the decoy until you sense that the bird has seen it, then it is simply a matter of him closing the distance for a shot.

The second method is somewhat less complicated, but works equally as well for me. Use a push-button type call, one with a small lanyard works best, and stake it directly underneath your decoy. Once again using the fishing line, attach the line to the lanyard via a snap swivel. Once the gobbler is getting close, simply switch your calling to the push button call via the fishing line. You can make clucks, purrs and yelps with very little movement. The combination of calling and a visual on the decoy keeps the bird’s attention focused in one area, rather than having a call originate from one place and a decoy in another. In the past, I’ve have had many gobblers walk past decoys and come to the calling, but none since employing this method which focuses their attention.

Adding other bits of realism to the setup can help greatly as well. You have undoubtedly seen the breeding pair of decoys and the new strutting models that are presently on the market. Both work well in preying on the dominant gobbler’s instincts to defend his territory. Once again, any movement you can add to the setup makes it all the more realistic. Spinning the breeding pair on the stake may work. Raising and lowering the tail feathers on the strutting decoys, where you use a real tail fan from a gobbler, also does the trick.

One of the best tricks I have developed works well for late season gobblers. Once the birds are pressured, they tend to hang on the roost for longer periods in the morning before flying down. During the late season, the foliage is usually nearly full, allowing for good cover and noise reduction. If I can pinpoint the tree in which a gobbler has roosted, I move in a couple of hours before dawn and set up a single hen decoy in a clear area where the roosted bird will be able to see it. Then I attach my fishing line to the decoy. Moving slowly and carefully so as to not make too much noise, you can get away with this attempt as critters of the night typically pass underneath the bird without spooking him.

Slipping back to a setup position, I wait until the bird is up and moving about on the limb before making any attempts to lure him down. Sometimes you will get lucky and the gobbler will see the decoy on the ground and fly down unprovoked. Other times it takes a couple of soft clucks on a mouth call to get his attention. Once he’s interested, slowly move the decoy with the line. This mimics the natural pattern of the hen going to the gobbler, which usually results in the boss bird coming to the ground well within gun or bow range.

There are no guarantees that these tactics will work every time, but they have helped me over the years to bring in gobblers that I believe would never have been taken without the use of decoys. These examples are just a small sampling of what can been done with the pieces of foam we call decoys. I’m sure that you can invent more on your own. Just remember that adding realism to the setups will pay larger dividends than allowing the decoys to sit motionless on the stakes.