Hunting with Decoys, why?

[RutnNStrutn]

I've had some bad experiences with dekes, mainly male dekes though, gobbler & jake. But my good experiences far outweigh the bad ones.

[jarbo03]

Have killed only 2 birds over decoys in 15+ years. I normalky have nothing but 3 shells, face mask and 2 diaphragm calls, I like to be mobile. Ny dad shoots his birds over decoys every year, to each their own.

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[guesswho]

That's what I'd say too..........if I hunted on turkey farms!!

If I ever actually had to hunt for a bird I'd probably have me a whole flock of decoy's, probably two of each one ever made .

[Spring_Woods]

I mainly hunt in central Florida. Here our gobblers hammer on the roost, and some on the ground, but usually go pretty quiet after that. I've got my Slam, so I know Rios and Merriams gobble their butts off, as do Easterns, thought not as extreme. All of those birds you can run and gun effectively on, while not so much for the Osceolas to my experience anyway.
Plus here in Florida we have a lot of fields & pastures, power line right of ways, etc. So the visual presentation is important. I have great success every year in the early season using a strutting deke over a hen with a couple more hens off to the side. I've had several gobblers come charging in to that set up, which was the last bad decision they ever made! As the season wears on, I put the strutter away, and go with hens only, eventually dropping down to just one hen deke.
I've killed birds with no decoy and it is very satisfying to know that you made it happen!! I won't hesitate to toss my dekes into some bushes and go after a bird if the situation presents itself. But I've also worked birds that I know would not have come in if not for the decoy.

I'd not know the satisfaction of killing one with dekes. 

Interesting how terrain seems to play a role in using decoys and weapons choice. Something I'd never thought of really.

[R AJ]

Never used them but last year I had a gobbler fly across a creek and land on a limb across a plot from me. A hen was in the tree below me. My calls and hers had him walking and jumping limbs for over 20 minutes. As soon as she flew down and landed 30 steps in front of me it was less than a minute and he came sailing within 10 steps of me and he lit nearly on top of her. I felt that if I had a decoy out in front of me it might have caused him to land earlier. I had more enjoyment out of fooling two w/o the
decoy.

I am too much of a mover to ever care for the decoy sit and wait hunt.

[leasburg]

I love seeing a big gob smash b mobile

[ryanva88]

Private Land-they are for the most part safer if you know your the only hunter.
Public Land Put them up and your tempting fate i my eyes...

Either way they have a slight chance of scaring a cautious bird or drawing one in for a clean kill.

Also have heard stories of coyotes stalking decoys...that would be cool to see! 

[Old Gobbler]

Ive seen coyotes stalk decoys -  Ive also seen people stalk at  the sound of a person calling and shoot at that sound  ......sad but true story

...since that day forward [for me]if anyone is getting shot , its going to be the plastic turkey , Ive also seen people shoot at decoys so be cautious how you set them up - used correctly a decoy can be a safety tool of unmeasurable value ,  or get you into hot water -use common sense -

Decoys have a way of distracting gobblers you have called in , and has a tendency to buy more time to  let the hunter make a good un-rushed shot 

Some of the first turkey decoys in use in modern times were at least 80+ years ago , there was a archived article in Field& Stream of a southern  turkey hunter who had a tame trained gobbler , that would follow the owner into the woods and strut on command , It worked effectively - These were in use around the same time market waterfowl hunters would use live mallard decoys commonly reffered to as "English ducks" they would tie their legs down so they wouldn't swim away 

The first commercially made decoys I could recall seeing was the carrylight fullbody and silhouette decoys in the early 1980's - From there countless others have entered the business -

If you go and buy a decoy and use it  , and dont call worth a hoot or dont call at all , you will likely have little success -In heavy timber a decoy may be of little value because the gobbler will key in on sound and wont be able to see anything until he is within shotgun range - Ive seen it a thousand times in very wide open country where there is nowhere to hide , and the gobblers wont pay you much attention unless they can see something -

Here in Florida by what people think is a natural process of elimination and survival to breed , the gobblers that like to sit atop a tall pine tree on the edge of clearings with no cover and gobble till they either see another hen or get spooked by a deer hunter pretending to be a turkey hunter , are the ones contributing to the gene pool - they also like to stop gobbling as soon as they hit the ground , never to be seen again - thats a subject for a whole book on its own --Shannon

[Thomas6689]

most of the time i dont use them because its just easier not to pack them, but they are necesary in some situation like in big fields where you cant get in the neighboring woods.  if the turkeys look in the field and there is nothing they won't come to you.

[Spring_Woods]

most of the time i dont use them because its just easier not to pack them, but they are necesary in some situation like in big fields where you cant get in the neighboring woods.  if the turkeys look in the field and there is nothing they won't come to you.

See that makes perfect sense to me. A scenario I'd never thought of. 

How about you guys post pics from your setups. If you got them now, post up!

EDIT: I didn't think I had any but I have one. This is the view behind the gunman. This isn't me but it was a great hunt. We had a standoff with 3 birds for about 2 hours until my bud layed out his first bird!

[Ticklishtompro]

As said by quite a few on here the biggest factors of using decoys is where and more importantly what kind of terrain you hunt.  Where the birds can see for a long ways, they most definetely help.  When running and gunning in timber, they really dont help.  They definetely can help focus the gobblers attention away from you, and that is why when I take out a newbie I almost always use at least one hen, it helps them get away with a little more movement.

As far as if you are a better hunter by not using them, I disagree.  That just makes you sound a little full of yourself.  There is nothing wrong with using them, and if you are that good, you should just leave your calls at home and use your voice, cause using calls is kinda cheating to then, right?

[TURKEYWHACKER]

I for one like the show a gobbler puts on when approaching a decoy. I enjoy watching them bow up and lay the smackdown on my jake. To each his own.

[Tail Feathers]

I use them occasionally. I'll use dekes if I think they will help me in the situation I expect to find.
But mostly I get tired of carrying them and don't use any.

[RutnNStrutn]

That's what I'd say too..........if I hunted on turkey farms!!

If I ever actually had to hunt for a bird I'd probably have me a whole flock of decoy's, probably two of each one ever made .

[Improvinghunter101]

Pretty much the same with everybody else.  I have used them but I prefer not to.  Where I hunt it's usually pretty thick timber.  Only hunted with a decoy twice around home.  I was hunting this field and tried everything with a gobbler that had 9 hens.  He wouldn't even gobble.  Just sit out in the middle of the field every day and strut.  One day I decided I was going to use a jake decoy and a hen.  If I would've let him walk any more, he would've smoked the deke.  But that was the only way I was ever going to get him away from all those hens. Another time I was using a strutter deke and had three toms top the hill to where they could see it and they got outta there.  Where I hunt out of state there is a mile long creek that always has birds on it but may be a few yards of timber on either side of the creek and the draws.  Not using them there makes me feel like PETA, just there to watch.  If they can't see anything, the gig is up.  I've also had birds that have got to about 50 yards and sit there and strut waiting for the hen and then just walk off.  Sometimes they work, sometimes they don't.  Either way I just prefer not to because I mostly run and gun.  Most of my birds come in the 9-11am period.