For those that use a male decoy along with a hen what type are you using and why? I started off using a strutter cause that's all I had and I had multiple occasions where Ive had a gobbler hang up outside of shooting distance strutting around and not coming in to fight the decoy and then eventually leave. I've since then started using a jake decoy and they come in like a linebacker hitting a running back in the hole. Never had one shy away from a jake. But yet I see guys on TV and on instagram using strutter decoys and they have the gobblers running in to them to fight. This new property Im hunting has a lot of jakes and seems like some jakes are ganging up and whooping these gobblers around so Im scared to use the jake decoy but with my previous experience with a strutter decoy im hesitant.
Jake with laydown hen. 1. Jake is less dominant and 2. laydown hen for jealousy. Add in a feeding hen for realism.
Thats been my go to so far and its been killer. Ive got two old gobblers that have been around for some time now nobody has been able to kill and Im going to try this weekend and see but I wanted to see if its better to just go with a jake or a strutter decoy along with a lay down hen and feeding hen.
If the Old Timers have hens, then Good Luck! If you can strike up a conversation with the Lead hen of the group, you may be able pick a fight with her and get her to come over with him in tow. The advice I gave you in the earlier post has served me well, especially early season. Good Luck!