Imo... You're camo must blend with the habitat you're hunting in. You must be close to 100% camo coverage. Exposed hands or face colors in my hunting area will get you picked off. Then on setup its best to sit in or up against or behind a tree, bush, rock etc that breaks up your outline. If you up against a tree lean into it. What makes this work is the camo blends well and absolutely no movement. During the day try and setup in the shade not in the sun. I place decoys anywhere from 12-16 yards away and usually have a tree, bush, or object near the decoys to use to draw when a bird passes behind it to get to the decoys. If I don't have an object to block my draw I'll wait until the bird attacks the decoy or blocks his head from me with his fan.. Biggest thing with natural setups is movement.. Don't move until it's time to draw if the birds in view. That's a short natural burner as I gotta go. Good luck.
all of the above ,we like to have the gobbler decoy in front of you facing you dead on so bring the gobbler to turn and face the decoy allowing you to draw ,like trkysler said hold still is a challenge a QQ Archery support stick will be just the ticket ,check one out ,no matter what ya do getting them in close is all the fun in its self ,enjoy and good luck
I agree with all of that especially the having the tom decoy face you as many times the tom has passed in front of me with his fan up to face the decoy head on. I have had hens catch me move and putt but the tom in strut with his head away from you usually doesn't realize what happened until it too late ! Also the sitting in the shade part. I sat in a spot one day and the sun moved around and I was exposed. A group of turkeys came down the field edge but at about 40 yards a hen began to put and putt while looking in my direction I didn't move but she just knew something was there that shouldn't be !
Turkeys can be patterned pretty easy, find where they are roosting and where they fly down and then the food source they are hitting. Then set up between the fly down and feed. Natural blow downs or a small stand of white pine or cedars makes for great cover and draw when bird is fanned and facing away if possible. I myself am trying the new turkey fan this year and see how they work. Mine is a homemade job that I made from a few fans I had and an old umbrella. Shawn
I have killed all my turkeys without a blind since I can't stand being in one. I sort of get claustrophobic and the reduced visibility drives me nuts.
The embedded video from last spring shows a pretty typical setup for me and includes many of the things already mentioned above. I like to hide in the shadows of a cedar if possible, but I've also arrowed birds while hiding in the shade alongside a blowdown or the trunk of a very large tree. I set my decoys "behind" me a bit from the direction I am expecting the bird to approach so that the tom has to go past my hiding spot to get to them. That's usually when I take the shot.
After the tom charges the decoy and I take the shot in the video, wait a moment and you will see me crawl out from my hiding spot.
Good luck giving it a go without a blind. I think you will find the encounters much more intense knowing that a small slip up will get you busted. I don't mind using a blind if someone else is along, but when I am by myself I never use a blind. Have fun! :-)
Ha Ha Ha that was an awesome video and I do the same thing. I keep saying I am going to wait for the tom to interact with the decoy to get some good film and then I shoot right away like you did ! I think its just natural instict for some of us to kill at the first opportunity or you may be SOL !
If you click on the link below, it takes you to a write up on a Nebraska forum by my son back in 2006 when he arrowed his first turkey from a natural hideout. It includes some pretty good pics of the same type of setup I described in my earlier post.
