Help! Turkey pulled a fast one on me!
Contributors to this thread:Turkey
From: Bowtech Archer 0880
02-May-15
Called 3 long beards into 50 yards and they could see decoys but wouldn't come in and worked off kinda slow. As soon as they were out of sight 4 jakes gobbled 10 yards to the back of the blind. Jakes then proceeded past and when they saw decoys and I assume they watched toms walk off trotted towards the toms providing no shot. I had a hen and jake decoy. Jake decoy was not strutted type of any kind. They had no hens with them. I was dumb founded they wanted nothing to do with the setup.
From: buckhammer
02-May-15
Welcome to turkey hunting.
Sounds like a typical day in the blind for me.
From: rgb
02-May-15
Just remember that although they are very wary, their brain is about the size of a peanut, so they won't always do what makes sense. :)
From: Knife2sharp
02-May-15
I think there is more at play then we realize and there are many factors when bringing in birds to decoys: location, mood, time of day, timing of the rut, the bids social/breeding status and the number of birds in a given area.
This is why I quit hunting turkeys with archery equipment. I became too Dependant on blinds and decoys. And sometimes birds would hang up or circle around within shotgun range. Even though I sometimes use blinds and/or decoys with my shotgun, I like to go without either many times. But I also hunt public type land.
From: playin' hookey
02-May-15
They probably thought the non-strutting jake decoy was a hen. Normal turkey behavior is for interested hens to go to a strutting gobbler they can see, and when that doesn't happen the gobbler typically doesn't approach to bow or even shotgun range. The remedy is a strutter decoy, preferably with a real fan. Since I learned this principle of turkey behavior, my success decoying them into range (of my shotgun) has increased greatly. In fact, if you are calling from a field edge, I think it's best to just put the strutter where you want to take the shot and omit the hen entirely. If using a tent blind I don't know, a hen may be useful with the strutter.
From: Bowtech Archer 0880
02-May-15
Thanks for all the input. Been after these birds for 2 weekends and tried different setups. To finally have them come in close enough to see decoys then not close enough to shoot I was "what the heck"....another day in the turkey woods for archery. Lol. I will be back after them tomorrow morning.
From: jims
02-May-15
Quite a few guys on this website seem to have great luck with a jake and hen setup. Where I hunt in Nebraska I've had horrible luck with that scenerio. You might as well change it up and possibly try a strutter with a real fan. The toms I hunted the last 3 years seem to get in a trance once they see a fan but really don't want anything to do with jake decoys not fanning. If you try a strutter and have luck let us know what happens! Good luck and keep trying new stuff.
From: jims
02-May-15
Quite a few guys on this website seem to have great luck with a jake and hen setup. I got a tom earlier this summer in Colorado with that scenerio but where I hunt in Nebraska I've had horrible luck jakes. You might as well change it up and possibly try a strutter with a real fan. The toms I hunted the last 3 years seem to get in a trance once they see a fan but really don't want anything to do with jake decoys not fanning. If you try a strutter and have luck let us know what happens! Good luck and keep trying new stuff.
From: writer
02-May-15
Just the opposite experience quality jake decoy vs. strutter.
Today Judas, our Dakota jake, added four more kills to his tally over the past three seasons.
Never hurts to shake things up a bit, though.
...and don't get too complicated, trying to figure out what's they're thinking. Their balls are ten times bigger than their brains right now.
From: stick n string
03-May-15
Lol writer
From: TwoDogs@work
04-May-15
Keep in mind that turkeys are going to do one of three things when they see your decoys. Ignore them, be alarmed by them and move away, or be drawn to them and come into your setup. Sometimes things just do not work out. I also seem to do best with a single non strutting jake decoy.
From: ToddT
04-May-15
Bowtech archer, I hear you about, "what the heck."
That has been the theme of my turkey hunting for the past two years.
I find it very funny when guys speak of the turkeys small brain. Though these comments are accurate, I do believe they have an innate ability for survival. Otherwise, they would all come running as soon as they heard a few yelps, or happen to see a decoy.
What they are thinking, we obviously will never know, but it seems as the area that I have hunted for turkey for the past 20 years has been saturated by an extreme increase of other turkey hunters. With that said, it seems our local birds have learned quickly how to play the game to stay alive.
Good luck and understand that there are many others out there that feel the same frustrations as you.
From: Tracker
04-May-15
Never can figure them out. I have two Jakes come in last week and proceed to bump my dsd submissive Jake around. Yesterday I had a jake come over the hill and when he saw the Jake you would have thought he saw some big old boss gobbler. He wanted nothing to do with the jake and circled around my blind to avoid the decoy. Each day is a different adventure.
From: Knife2sharp
04-May-15
I got to thinking about me decoy spreads, ones with success and ones without. It never really dawned on me, but I've never had a tom not commit when I've used two hens with a strutter. I always started out that way when I started using a strutter, but went to just one hen with it to decrease the added weight and bulk walking in. There may be something to a small flock that is more appealing then just a lone hen with a tom.
From: snapcrackpop
04-May-15
In my limited experience, I've had better luck when setting up where the birds can't see your decoys until they are close.
Anyone else notice that?
From: Brotsky
04-May-15
You might be surprised how many times turkeys DON'T see your decoys when you think they do. In most cases your decoys aren't moving, they are just little plastic statues. Nothing about them really attracts a turkey's attention until he either gets real close or sees for sure that they are other turkeys in his mind. Get on your hands and knees in the brush and try to spot your decoys sometime, it's an eye opening experiment!
From: Bowtech Archer 0880
04-May-15
Thanks again al for the insight. I got a little to close Sunday morning and spooked them off the roost and they never gobbled when they flew down. Never heard another bird rest of the morning. Crazy thing was the past 2 weeks I had 4 jakes 2 toms and several hens roosting there. Saturday called in the three toms and 9 jakes all together with no shot... I hope the pressure I have put on them the last 2 weeks and having them come into multiple setups hasn't been a factor? I am going to try another area I had birds in prior to season but haven heard any on the roost and not hunted.
From: Bowtech Archer 0880
04-May-15
Thanks again "all"
From: shade mt
07-May-15
Brotsky. Is exactly right, sometimes they simply do not see a motionless decoy. Other times they might see them and could care less, and still other times it might even spook them.
I've seen all three reactions more than once.
