Is home-modified decoy better/worse?
Contributors to this thread:Turkey
From: stick slinger
20-Apr-18
I am on the cheap side and don’t want to spend any more on turkeys. I have a cheap rubber Jake and hen decoy. Would it increase or decrease my chances if I modify it with a fan and wings? I saved them from a Jake I got last spring, but not sure it’s worth the crafting. Any thoughts. I got a screenshot off YouTube of homemade turkey decoy. It would end up looking something like this.
From: Jaquomo
20-Apr-18
Turkeys aren't real bright (except in Alabama). If a 300 pound guy wearing Sitka can crawl up on one while hiding behind a fan, I suspect your modification will work just fine.
From: grubby
20-Apr-18
Mine is home modified and it works great, I definitely feel that it works better than the standard plastic. Mine has a fan wings and back feathers on it
From: stick slinger
20-Apr-18
So Jaq, your saying the trick is wearing Sitka? Maybe you didn’t catch the “cheap” part. :)
From: Tdiesel
20-Apr-18
Oh yeah don’t ya know you have to wear Sitka to kill anything sheesh I was pretty sure that was first requirement even before the license ;)
From: Jaquomo
20-Apr-18
Something that really seemed to help was really "Redding-up" the head of my Jake decoy with red gloss paint. As soon as I did that I started getting more pissed-off toms attacking it.
From: Grubby
20-Apr-18
This one is looking pretty rough here
From: Grubby
20-Apr-18
From: Grubby
20-Apr-18
From: stick slinger
20-Apr-18
I decided to go for it. The glue is still setting up here. I know what you’re thinking, “how is he so humble with mad taxidermy skills like that.” We plan on turning it loose in the morning, we’ll see how it goes.
From: Jaquomo
20-Apr-18
That looks so real I nearly jumped outta my seat!! ;-)
From: greg simon
20-Apr-18
Is that a dead bird? Where is your decoy?
From: drycreek
20-Apr-18
Stick, I gotta be honest. My first thought was "What the hell is he doing with two bows, he can't shoot but one at a time" Then, I noticed the cool taxi work......
From: t-roy
20-Apr-18
I find this to be more important than what type of decoy I use. Do NOT place it on your decoy, rather place a small amount on a stick 3-5 yds downwind of your decoy. Makes no difference for jakes, but mature toms, especially limbhangers, will always circle downwind of your spread, more so late in the season. If the birds are silent, I will sometimes drag a rag soaked in it on my way to the blind, then make a figure 8 pattern in front of the blind to help hold the birds longer. Even works on Bama birds, just don’t use as much, as they are incredibly wary.
From: stick slinger
21-Apr-18
Well, we had a couple close calls. Couple Toms in close, but not in front of the right windows. I think some scent would have done the trick. I don’t think they liked the smell of silicon and liquid nails. He did fire at a Jake that was on the edge of his range and just missed using a bullhead. They seem to have moved off for now.
From: t-roy
21-Apr-18
I forgot to add that 90% of the time, my system works 50% of the time.
Good luck, Stick! (The Jake came in from upwind, didn’t he!)
From: jims
21-Apr-18
From: jims
21-Apr-18
Looks like fun! One word of warning with using real wings and skins....make sure to get rid of all the meat and fat. Also rub the skin with borax. If you don't you may have bug problems...that could potentially spread to your other taxidermy work. Good luck!
From: stick slinger
21-Apr-18
We’ll be back out tomorrow morning. It’s youth weekend so I was with one son this morning and the other tomorrow. Big boy season opens on Wednesday.
Jims, the tail and wings were cleaned up and boraxed for about 6 months so I think they’re good, thanks for the tip though.
Any suggestions on getting the wings attached better? I’m thinking Velcro would make transporting easier as long as I can get the Velcro to stick to the wing and the foam. One wing came off on the way home.
From: snapcrackpop
21-Apr-18
I know a hunter that added a track system to his strutter. He says it works so well it almost feels like cheating. When the birds start to lose interest, he pulls the string and they come running back in. Just a PIA to transport....
From: jims
21-Apr-18
Turkeys definitely like movement...especially if they've been hunted hard. I believe Paul and others on this website have used a string attached to decoys with good success. There also are sleds, robo-toms, motion stakes, decoys that move with a breeze, etc. Make sure it's legal in the state you are hunting!
As you found out wings and tails permanently attached take up a lot of room and get beat up. Hopefully the Velcro works for the wings. It may be tough to keep them on in strong wind if not permanently attached. You may try a couple bolts, large washers, and wing nuts. I've used bondo reinforced with mesh to add solid area that can be drilled for bolt holes.
From: stick slinger
21-Apr-18
Thanks for the ideas Jims. I had some monofilament fishing line attached to the tail and neck so I could rotate him.
From: Bou'bound
21-Apr-18
Looks great
From: Paul@thefort
21-Apr-18
Movement. If you look closely to the lower breast of the tom decoy you can see an electrical tie formed in a loop. I attached a similar loop to the tail end of the decoy, ran two dark colored strings 15 yards, from the blind, (strings under the blind wall) to both loops and can move the decoy 180 degrees. While movement is not needed all of the time to attract a tom to bow range, some times it is and in this case, it worked very well. While mono can work as a string, (it can get tangled and hard to handle) I prefer nylon or cotton line and then rap it around a stick to keep it., my best, Paul
From: stick slinger
22-Apr-18
We named him Tom Brady
We named him Tom Brady
Back in the woods. Got two gobblers going nuts from the roost. Shaping up for some more action this morning.
From: stick slinger
22-Apr-18
Well that was a bust. They headed in the other direction.
I guess my calling is that lousy.
The Velcro worked well and I used Paul’s zip tie and detachable string idea (much better).
From: Scrappy
22-Apr-18
Good luck guys
From: t-roy
22-Apr-18
“We named him Tom Brady”
Make sure you read your game regulations thoroughly. I would hate to see you get a citation for violating the rules! I’m not sure if I would do any videotaping either;-)
From: Jaquomo
22-Apr-18
I once rigged up a string to a whitetail tail on a decoy and ran it up to a foot pedal on a treestand. That movement made a huge difference in getting bucks to pay attention.
From: stick slinger
27-Apr-18
Well, I got it done this morning. I think they were running in to tell me how nice my decoy was, but I crashed the party. Unfortunately my boys were off to school today so I was alone.
From: cbfromnd
27-Apr-18
Stick Slinger your hard work paid off! Well done.....
From: Stoneman
27-Apr-18
it was just a matter of time, well done!
From: greg simon
27-Apr-18
Way to go!!! Gotta love it when two toms come in!
From: CJE
27-Apr-18
Great Job! I'm still waiting to try out this decoy. I have some fine tuning to do before it becomes field worthy.
From: midwest
27-Apr-18
WTG, Stick!
From: Tody
27-Apr-18
Nice work!! To bad the kids didn't get a chance to be there.
From: IdyllwildArcher
27-Apr-18
“We named him Tom Brady”
Why, because it's like cheating?
From: stick slinger
27-Apr-18
Thanks guys. CJE, that is impressive. Is that a knife in your hand? If you don’t scare them to death you can stab em.
The boys will be back out for sure. Season is just starting.
Idyll- yea, it’s like cheating. And it looks pretty sad.
From: CJE
27-Apr-18
The knife is actually on my hip, the angle of the picture with where my hand is at makes it look like I'm holding it. But that's what I had in mind!
From: Moben
28-Apr-18
Good job stick, doesn't seem to matter if your decoy wings are on the wrong side.
From: Starfire
30-Apr-18
Before and after
From: Starfire
30-Apr-18
Don’t know why it didn’t post the before pic
