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The Decoys "How To" to Using Them

Decoys can be a valuable addition to your hunting arsenal, but by no way can they be a substitute for bad calling, inadequate scouting, or being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  You can't just stick a decoy in the ground and hope for a turkey to walk by.  Some days, decoys don't work at all, and they can even cause a bird to hang up.  Don't become over dependent on decoys; people have killed lots of turkeys without them.  Sometimes setting out decoys isn't worth the risk of spooking a gobbler if he's nearby.  That said, a decoy in the right place and right time can work wonders.  It can literally bring a turkey running.  Here are some tips for decoy use.

• Set decoys about 20 yards in front of you.  If a gobbler hangs up outside the decoys, he may still be in gun range.

• One hen decoy is good, two or three hens are better

• Motion adds tremendous realism to decoys.  Set a collapsible decoy on a piece of aluminum arrow shaft, and it will move back and forth in the lightest breeze.

• Field edges are prime location to set decoys later in the morning.  Set out your decoys, build a blind and "blind-call," that is, call softly every 15 minutes whether you see something or not.  It's a dull way to hunt, but if you're patient, it will work.

• If you're trying to hunt a gobbler that struts in the middle of your field, find out where he enters and leaves the field and set your decoys there, in gun range of your hiding place at the field's edge.

• Hen decoys are most effective late in the season, when the majority of hens are on the nest.

• Hen decoys are least effective when gobblers are accompanied by lots of hens.

• Since afternoon hunting is legal in Washington, set out a flock of decoys where a tom will pass by them on his way to the roost.

• Fall hunters, when they break up a flock, should set one or two decoys out at the scatter point.

• A flock of 6 to 10 decoys can be very effective in the fall.  Scout until you know where birds are roosting and feeding.  The very best spot for a decoy flock is near a roost in the morning, along the bird's route of travel to a feeding area.  Build a blind nearby and aggressively mimic the calls the real turkeys are making.

• To keep gobblers from hanging up and displaying a long distance, try to set your decoy where a bird won't see it until he's in gun range, say, around a bind in a field or behind a small rise.  For safety's sake, you need to be able to see beyond the decoy however.

• A scattered flock of 6 to 10 decoys can work well if you hunt from a blind in the spring.  Spread them out in front of your blind so they'll attract birds into shooting lanes to the left, right, and in front.

• Some hunters believe a gobbler will display to a decoy's face.  They set their decoys facing their hide, so the bird will come around between the hunter and the decoy for a close shot.