Totally agree. If you're out in a field it really gives them something to focus in on. I've had toms literally run towards my decoys. I usually hunt with a jake decoy and a hen decoy. Sometime a tom and two hens. Good luck @Exfireguy !I’ve shot 50/50 with and without decoys. You don’t need to have them in the woods at all. In a field they certainly help.
Unless you’re hunting public land in the states and have thousand hectares to work with, I wouldn’t walk around too much trying to find themI have been hunting this crazy birds since the very first season in Ontario. I keep a shooting log so I know about half my birds were shot with decoys out. However, a percentage of these I don't think the decoy was a factor. Like birds that came behind me and could not have seen the decoy. On the other hand I have had birds walk right up to my decoy while I was sleeping so obviously they do work somedays even without calling. If you are serious about getting involved I would get a couple.
A lot has to do with where and how you hunt. Decoys can be great but they also anchor you to a spot. If you don't have many options and plan to sit at one location for hours I would put them out. If you have a big property to hunt and the option to listen for gobbles and then move closer maybe leave them at home.
I suppose if you have more than one property to hunt than who cares if you spook the toms off the propertyI don't know Derek I agree if you only have a very small piece to hunt you are better to sit still. But I have permission on a couple of properties which are over 100 acres and I am often successful with a "run and gun" approach. I listen for gobbles at dawn, move as quietly as I can, as close as I can and then sit down and start calling. Works for me.
Certainly being cautious is always a good thing. But I believe after 20+ years successfully hunting them I think they are a lot more tolerant of human activity than you obviously do. They are obviously extremely aware and alert to what is going on around them. I think for every turkey I see in the woods probably 10 see me. This means in agricultural SW Ontario turkeys see a lot of people, hikers, farm labourers, bird watchers, dog walkers etc. etc. . It is probably a daily occurrence for them. They will move away but often move back within an hour. I know the birds in the woods behind my house pretty well. I bet they see me every day of the season but 7 out of every 10 days they still roost in the same trees. I do avoid busting them off the roost, I think that can drive them away but if they encounter a person or two during their daily walk about that is just a normal day at the office for them.I suppose if you have more than one property to hunt than who cares if you spook the toms off the property
You can just go to the next one the next day.
but I certainly wouldn’t wanna risk scaring the crap out of the birds off the one property that I can hunt. Bugger up the hunt for next week or two..
there’s always cruising toms throughout the day looking for hens.
But if you spook them out of or near their roost they not going to come back that day for sure. Likely roost somewhere else for a week or two is what I believe.
I’m not arguing the style of hunting
In fact I much prefer to be mobile then stuck in one spot. I get antsy and curious..
but the property I hunt is 100acres
Approx 70 workable and 30 gully..
not much room to hunt in the gully and you’ll likely scare the birds on your way in or around.
their eye sight is sharp and they will pick you up moving threw the bush like 200 yards away. And fly down the opposite direction and move on out of there.
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