Opening day of turkey season was rainy and cold. However, thanks to scouting and trail cameras, I had a plan.
Here’s what I’d been observing during the wet days leading up to the season: When hens flew from the roost and finished feeding in the morning, many retreated to cover in a nearby coniferous forest. Here, they preened for hours, drying and organizing their feathers. Toms would come and go.
An hour before daylight on opening morning, I snuck into position, set a Dave Smith Preening Hen decoy on a game trail in the forest and waited. I called sparingly. Toms gobbled back from the roost. I went silent. They knew where I was.
Once hens began to disperse on the ground, I called more aggressively. Hen yelps, clucks and purrs brought in two toms. They strutted right up to the preening decoy, never gobbling. The shot was simple.
I used the same preening hen decoy a few days later on a river bottom, this time paired with an upright hen decoy. Hen numbers were high here, and I wanted to deliver a lifelike look of more than one hen. It worked, and my second tag of the season was filled.
Later in the season, as hens tended nests and toms grew more aggressive, I used a Final Approach Live Laydown Hen decoy and a Flocked Back Jake decoy. Tom numbers were high in the rolling foothills, and they were aggressive. That morning six different toms came in. They terrorized both decoys. My buddy and I enjoyed the show then filled two tags.
As I enter my 40th year of turkey hunting, I still have a lot to learn. But one thing I’m confident about is basing the use of decoys on what’s happening in the turkey woods at any given moment. Because turkey behaviors and population dynamics are continually shifting, keeping close tabs on what’s happening in your area is important to choosing the right decoy.
Two months before the season (and all season long) I try to scout three times a week. Physically seeing and hearing what’s happening in the turkey woods eliminates any guesswork. I also run dozens of Moultrie cellular trail cameras just for turkeys. The timely information these cameras provide is important, and they keep me from having to intrude into turkey territory and risk spooking them. All cameras are set on video mode, as a video clip reveals more than a still image.
Weather impacts turkey activity and behavior, thus your decoy choice. When it’s windy, I like going without a decoy. Toms can be leery in the wind, and often hang up once they spot a decoy. But if they don’t see a decoy as they approach they keep moving and searching, eventually getting within shooting range.
If tom ratios are high, a strutting tom decoy can be effective all season long. This is especially true if mature toms remain in bachelor groups early in the season, or flocks of two-year-old toms are present; they’re the bullies on the block. They feed off one another’s aggression, and a strutting decoy can boost their adrenaline. That’s when they make mistakes.
If hunting on private land where tom numbers are high, a MOJO Scoot-N-Shoot decoy can bring toms running. I like crouching behind the decoy and approaching toms in an open field. I’ve tried it in the timber, and the element of surprise often spooks toms. The further away they can see it, the better. Often, as soon as you hit the edge of a clearing or get in sight of toms, they’ll come running from 100 yards or more. I like putting a real tail fan and wings in the decoy for the authentic look it offers.
If I had one decoy to use all season long it would be a hen stuffer. Nearly 20 years ago I shot a hen during a fall season. I skinned the bird and we ate it, then a buddy helped me mount it. I ordered a hen form and fake head, and I got scrap steel for the legs. I used Bondo to secure the legs, wings and tail, and hot glue to piece together the neck feathers and fake head. It’s far from perfect, but it’s brought in more toms than all my other decoys combined. In fact, I had to make another one as toms and jakes shredded the first one.
When tom-to-hen ratios are low and jakes are present, and toms are reluctant to come to a call, it’s a good time to intentionally call in hens and jakes, hoping a tom will follow. Last season I faced this scenario.
I positioned an upright hen decoy on a game trail on the edge of a deciduous forest. Behind the hen decoy was a jake decoy. The look was meant to simulate a jake pursuing a hen, facing away from where an anticipated tom would approach. I’d been after this sly tom for three seasons. Finally, this decoy strategy fooled it. When a jake heard my calls, it came sprinting into the decoys. Its head turned flaming red and it gobbled at every sound I made. I called with aggression to keep the jake fired up. The cagey tom couldn’t resist. It quit gobbling in its strutting zone on the edge of a forest and sprinted over 200 yards into my lap. It was one of my most memorable turkey hunting moments.
Studying turkey behavior throughout the season allows you to know exactly what birds are doing and understand why. In turn, this will dictate what decoys to use and what sounds to make when trying to fool a boss tom.
*For signed copies of Scott Haugen’s popular book, Turkey Hunting The West: Strategies For All Levels, visit scotthaugen.com. Follow his adventures on Instagram and Facebook.
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