? For Deke And Blind Users

[guesswho]

I'm just curious, I get this way from time to time  

I don't care that some people use decoys and blinds.  It's a personal choice issue and I understand that and don't have any problem with it.   But I have two or three questions for those of you who do use one or both.
 
1. Why do you use them?
 
2.  Do you ever see yourself getting away from using either one or both?

3.  Do you feel you need them to be successful at killing turkeys?   

[redarrow]

Well ,I own both but don't really use them. However ,this year I will be a guest on a new farm and my buddy uses a blind,and dekes. So who knows . If I decide to hunt with the crossbow I will use a blind for sure. Mainly because I cant hold the crossbow at the ready for any length of time.

[TRKYHTR]

I don't use a blind. I've been in 1 a couple times and hate it. I need to be able to move. I do use a decoy from time to time. The main reason I use a decoy is to get better footage. It seems to keep the turkeys occupied for longer periods of time, which makes for better video. No I don't need a decoy to kill a turkey. I've probably killed 80% or more of my turkeys without a decoy. I look at it like another tool in my arsenal. Just like my thermacel, limb cutters, Nitros, calls, camo, etc...

TRKYHTR

[wisconsinteacher]

I use both when hunting with kids, my bow or in a field where birds can come from any direction to work the middle of the field over. 

[Gobble!]

I use decoys because it makes killing birds easier. Will I ever stop no way. Can I kill birds without yes I have many times.

[fallhnt]

Yes, I bowhunt in spring and fall.Turkeys come in by the dozen in march and april in NE. and KS.I don't always use decoys.So they are good tools for me.

[RutnNStrutn]

1. Why do you use them?
2.  Do you ever see yourself getting away from using either one or both?
3.  Do you feel you need them to be successful at killing turkeys?

I began using them because the guys that taught me the basics of turkey hunting used them. On Florida public lands, where I have done most of my turkey hunting, running and gunning doesn't work very well. So we do a lot of sitting over dekes. I have done very little blind hunting. I've only used blinds to get out of the rain, or when hunting with my Dad 'cause he can't sit still. If I were ever to bowhunt turkeys I would use a blind.
I don't see myself exclusively getting away from them, but I also don't always use them. I have done some running and gunning, and killed several turkeys without decoys, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I also have been on some hunts where I am certain the gobbler would not have come in if it wasn't for the decoy. Conversely, I have been on hunts where I know for certain the decoy kept the gobbler from coming in.
No, I don't feel I need them. I just think that turkey hunting isn't a rigid thing. Sometimes the run n' gun works, sometimes sitting over dekes works. Sometimes I do a hybrid by doing the run n' gun, and if I get a response I hustle and set up 1 deke and then get ready. Sometimes I spot and stalk, and have been quite successful at it. But I don't need dekes or a blind to kill a gobbler.

[mossy835]

Currently I do not use either one, but I am considering a half blind and two decoys for where I hunt. I am in the learning curve and will wait and see. We also film when we can and there a blind is necessary. My friend uses a commercial digital camera (video in his business) and I use a good quality DSLR so being able to use the camera almost means a blind is necessary. My first bird was during the fly down and I was sitting in a snow bank near a tree and the crazy turkey almost landed on my head so the camo worked that time. Good post.

[hookedspur]

I use both when hunting with kids, my bow or in a field where birds can come from any direction to work the middle of the field over. 

There is a time and place for them without a doubt

[blgoose]

I am currently looking into blinds, I have to cage that wild boy

All kidding aside he does really well but I don't see him at his age being able to stay motionless for very long.  I own decoys, have used them on occasion but usually they stay in the shed or truck.  Everyone is in it for different reasons and I respect that.

[Garrett Trentham]

I use both on occasion, sometimes just one or the other.

I use decoys 95% of the time. I think decoys are to me what calls are to a lot of people on this site. They are an art form. If used correctly, they can be a huge asset, when used incorrectly, they can ruin a hunt. If the paintscheme on a decoy doesn't please me, I will repaint them to look realistic (switched last season to photo printed decoys, can't out paint that!). I have been passionate about decoys since childhood, often taking duck decoys to show and tell at school. I currently work for a decoy manufactuer which allows me to test, study, and attempt to create or improve upon current decoy designs and methods. My style of hunting often incorporates fooling my quarry's sense of sight with good comouflage and good decoys.

I use blinds maybe 10% of the time. To me, blinds are a way of making the hunt more comfortable. When it starts to rain, or when I have covered all the land my legs can handle without raising a gobble, I can retreat to my blind setup in a likely spot and continue hunting when I otherwise would have headed to the house. I have done the whole set the blind up at daybreak where I saw a turkey the other day and then wait for him to come back. Thats fun and all and is still sporting, but it just isn't as fun as chasing the turkey on his terms. I can't say it's an easier method, but it is too much like deer hunting to me.

[Basser69]

Blind, with the kids? Always! Dekes, sometimes. Just calling without either, when I am alone. Which is not enough

[bowhunter84]

i have a blind but have never used it. i do use decoys a good but but not always.  when i decide to hunt them with a bow i will use a blind

[Kylongspur88]

I sit in the blind when it's raining or I'm bow hunting, I use a hen decoy basically to take the attention away from me. I think there have been times when a bird comes in and doesn't see that hen and leaves. "Visual reinforcement." I don't use a decoy much in the woods, but a hen on a field edge or in a logging road sure perks the curiosity of gobblers.
Tip: I use a plane jane foam decoy, tossed the stake that came with it and put an old aluminum arrow shaft with a field point out in place of the stake. On a windy day it will blow the decoy over, but in a slight breeze that decoy spins like a top. Last year when my decoy started to spin that gobbler came in on a string...
Using either is situational and I just see it as another tool to use:

[misfire]

I only use a blind in the rain, the rest of the time, nothing