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The new rage seems to be the submissive jake decoy and rightly so as it is not threatening and really pisses of the dominate tom and in some cases to lose it's head.

What jake decoy are you using today?

my best, Paul

Also have a DSD hen.

Also have an older Pretty Boy full strut decoy with submissive hen.

Also have a Heads-Up decoy.

I have the most confidence in the DSD jake paired with the pretty boy submissive hen.

I am most excited about the Heads up decoy. I used it a bit last year with okay succces. I really want to give it a good workout this year.

Nothing like having a bird come in trying to fight you!

I have DSD's too, but the stuffer wins hands down as you'd expect.

This morning I had a herd of toms hit my Dakota jake so hard, and often, they bent the stell stake...and that's not easy to do.

I like the Dakota because the head is tucked down, in a more submissive pose. Killed strutting birds off it every month of our spring,fall and winter seasons.

Lots of other decoys will work as well.

Ron, I'm glad you said " almost unfair ". I would hate to think I was taking unfair advantage of them pore ol' turkeys. :)

The evolution of the tom decoy continued. We can all remember using the foam fold up decoys with good success . Have the turkeys become more educated or is it just like fishing lures, more catch the fisherman than the fish?

When I shotgunned them, I never used decoys. Just called them in close.

No doubt, like the Dave Smith Jake or tom decoys, the look and shape of these decoys have reached a new high and bow hunters are having good success.

I wonder what is next or will there be some "new fishing lures" come along that we will all have to have, ie bigger/better/improved?

Good luck to all. my best, Paul

Some of the best, and most successful, turkey hunters I've been afield with call a lot, most of the time, but they know how to read the many variables.

I do know that usually, when you have good decoys, in the right location, the fake does most of the work while the hunter kids himself into thinking it was his great calling. :-)

Writer when I first stated to hunt turkeys my calling sucked and even though I used decoys I had much trouble getting turkey to respond. I then hunted with an experienced turkey hunter and he gave me some tips on my calling. I then noticed that although I still used decoys as my calling got better I had many more encounters. Sure the decoys may have sealed the deal sometimes but without good calling I may never have got even a response to them.

When I purchased the Primos Pretty Boy strutter a few years back, I attached two long strings fore and aft on the decoy and ran them back to the blind for control, and that allowed me to turn the decoy 180 degrees. Worked great and all three toms that year fell to the decoy and movement.

In prior years, with no wind or decoy movement, I had the same successful results; Dead toms. And last year, with the new and improved jake decoy, no movement, I also had good results with three killed toms and all shots were within a few feet of the decoy.

So does movement of the decoys help or is it even needed, or is it the decoy set up and calling that really draws them in?

I can understand that when a tom is really fired up and just can not help himself, he might come to anything that resembles a hen.

It might be that the really cautious/pressured toms might need everything that the hunter can muster up to bring him in and that includes, the best most realistic decoys, movement, and sexy calling.

my best, Paul

As Paul also mentioned, decoy movement can also help. I'd take the movement of a mediocre decoy over a great decoy that doesn't move. How many times have you watched a smart ole tom waiting for movement and headed the opposite way when decoys remain solitary or calling didn't get them fired up?

Woodsmanship is most important, but a good woodsman who is also good with calls is the best turkey hunter, every time.

My point was, once the tom sees the decoys, the decoy does most of the work.

In areas with thick cover, like the eastern U.S., hunters have to rely more on calls because there's not as much open area for the decoys to work.

Glad you're having fun, and have probably learned some excited yelping and cutting can fire up birds that ignore the old "yelp three times and cluck twice, then shut-up for an hour," school of thinking.

A 2nd method is to stay mobile and not set up a decoy until turkeys are heard, spotted, or in an area known to hold turkeys. In this 2nd scenario calling is often used to locate toms. If tom's are quiet it makes this 2nd scenario a lot tougher. Experienced callers often know how to get responses from quiet toms and have the ability to call in toms that may come in silently to the right calls.

I'd say that calling is pretty darn important! Firing up toms, lead hens, silent or flocked up groups of turkeys is mighty important for getting them to turn and head towards hunters. In country with dense trees, brush, or tall vegetation, hilly terrain turkeys often don't even see decoys until they are within shooting range! If you can't get their attention and get them to head your direction they won't ever even see your decoys. Obviously in open country or areas with open fields decoys are seen from longer distance.

With that said, I would have to agree with having turkey "smarts" is as important as just about anything else. Being willing and able to change things up is often vital for success. To me, that's one reason hunting wise ole turkeys is so challenging.

Jake and hen, strutter when I'm not on public.