I purchased an Avian feeding hen and a Pretty Boy Jr. semi-strut jake. I am thinking of putting the hen about 15 or 20 yards in front of me and facing to my 7 or 8 o'clock and the jake maybe five or 10 feet behind her like he is walking up to her. How does this sound? What are some ways you guys setup your decoys?
I am looking at something like this:
jake
hen
me
That setup should work as good as any.
Make sure when you put them out that they're close enough if they bird hangs up, he is still in range.
Don't set them up 35 yards away from you.
Yeah, I was thinking more along the lines of 10 or 15 yards from me. That way if he hangs up, he will hopefully still be in the 40 yard range. I don't really know how far they tend to hang up, but I am just guessing and trying to get an idea of what I want to do.
I like 'em close too, all the way in my lap. To each his own though. Each situation is different.
I actually thought about putting them only five or ten feet in front of me, but still trying to figure things out. I feel like as new to this as I am, I might not want a gobbler just five or ten feet in front of me.
No that's too close. Put them about 15-20 yards out and you'll be good too go.
If he locks in on the deke you don't want to be so close you're pinned down.
My experience with decoys, although limited...
1) 15-20 yards is good... Any closer and you might draw attention to yourself.
2) Right or wrong, I tend to face the decoys slightly quartering away from the direction the birds are coming (I still want them to get a decent profile view though), to try and draw them in front of the decoys.
3) I put the decoys off to an angle from where I think the birds will come. I do not want to be in a direct line of sight with the birds and the decoys. I also do not like the decoys facing directly towards me.
4) As a right-handed shooter, I put the decoys slightly to my left. It is far easier to swing a shotgun to your off-hand side (if you do not believe me, try it). I can swing the gun over to the left if I have to, but if they come in too far to the right, it can be difficult to get the gun on them from the sitting position.
5) Don't put the decoys behind you...
Depending on a couple factors for me
1 weapon
2 style
If I'm bow hunting in a blind I'll put them 5-10 yards Jake facing me and hen away
Now if I have a shotgun hunter with no blind I'll put them 15-20 yards max quartering
Clear as mud? :OGani:
I like to set up so the bird will come in from 10 o'clock. I set my hen at 20 yards, at 2 o'clock, facing away from me. It's been my experience that the gobbler will approach the hen from the side, then circle behind her. I'll set a jake at 3 o'clock, about 6 yards from the hen, facing her. Sometimes he'll walk right by the hen, going for the jake.
Setup should work, but maybe a tip? Angle the setup to the left or right of you. If the setups at your 12 your in his feild of view constantly so if you move he spooks. Just my experience and hard learned lesson
:z-twocents:
A lot of it depends on the setup. For instance, I am a left handed shooter so I prefer to setup my decoys on my right side so I can shoot over my right knee. For a righty, this would obviously be the other way around. I have also found that with a Jake+Hen setup, the Gobbler's typically come in all the way since they want to kick some butt. When you have a solo hen, the Gobbler will often times "hang up" because he wants the hen to meet him part of the way and/or make sure the situation is legit.
I'm just waiting to have to buy another hen decoy after my Avian hen catches a pellet or two and busts. It will probably happen on the first hunt, but I think I would actually be ok with it as long as that gobbler is lying right there beside her...
Yeah, I am thinking about 15 or 20 yards out and to my 10 o'clock