DSD turkey decoys
Contributors to this thread:Turkey
From: Buskill
13-Mar-18
Thinking about getting some DSD turkey decoys. Pretty pricey so I wanted to check on opinions of those who have tried them . So, what’s the verdict ? Did they seem worth that big price tag or not ? I’ve used el cheapo decoys in the past with ok results but they do seem to spook some birds later in the season .
From: Brotsky
13-Mar-18
I would pay double what they cost. They are the best decoys on the market and it's not even close IMO. Realism and durability is worth every penny. Get yourself a jake and an upright hen and you'll be good to go for the rest of your life.
From: Bake
13-Mar-18
I think they're worth it
From: Charlie Rehor
13-Mar-18
Just like expensive broadheads! Gotta have em!
From: Timbrhuntr
13-Mar-18
I agree also agree about the jake and upright hen if you just want what is absolutely necessary .
From: trkyslr
13-Mar-18
what brotsky said x100000000000
From: pointingdogs
13-Mar-18
"link" to the last thread on this subject: http://forums.bowsite.com/tf/bgforums/thread.cfm?threadid=469574&messages=54&forum=14
From: pointingdogs
13-Mar-18
pointingdogs's Link
try once more:
From: Killbuck
13-Mar-18
Long story short. I had several gobblers last year walk right by my Avian X decoys and proceed to do very rude things to my DSD decoys.
From: HUNT MAN
13-Mar-18
Let’s see a picture of the umbrella turkey?
From: SBH
13-Mar-18
T-roy had a few used ones for sale a couple weeks ago if you wanted to save a few bucks, shoot him a pm. Not sure if they are still available or not but worth a shot.
From: t-roy
13-Mar-18
Still have a feeding hen, an upright hen and a breeder hen available. The info about them is on the Iowa forum.
From: Buskill
13-Mar-18
Thanks a lot guys
From: Ermine
14-Mar-18
They seem to be pretty good. I think it depends on where your hunting thou. I’ve used DSD in past. They work but I’ve never had birds come charging into the decoys like some guys.
From: jims
14-Mar-18
Depends upon your method of hunting. If I sat in a blind all day and did a lot of gobbler hunting it would likely be worth the investment. If you only hunt turkeys a day or 2 a year it may not be worth it. I do a lot of running and "gunning" hunting and would rather not haul around a couple fairly large, bulky decoys. My preference is super light and compact decoys (miss perfect) that hardly take up any room in my pack and are super quick and easy to set up when needed. If DSD came out with a collapsible decoy I would certainly buy a couple because people that have them swear by them. As it sits, I don't have DSD's and harvest quite a few turkeys each year without them.
From: CJE
14-Mar-18
I love mine. Honestly I've had more success with these than any others. Well worth the money in my opinion.
From: HUNT MAN
14-Mar-18
Very interesting . Thanks for posting. Good luck this spring. I can’t wait. Hunt
From: Brotsky
14-Mar-18
That is interesting Ground Hunter. Turkeys can be both the smartest and the dumbest birds you'll ever hunt! I have no doubt something like that could work on them!
From: writer
16-Mar-18
Never seen them smart. Seen them wary a bunch, though.
From: jims
16-Mar-18
I guess it depends on the definition of "smart" and "wary"? I always had the opinion that if turkeys had the nose of a whitetail they would pretty darn tough to harvest.
From: trkyslr
16-Mar-18
Ground hunter something like that jus wuld not work on Northern California gobblers.. these gobblers are on a different hi level of edumication. Tuffest turkeys in america! ;-)
If you’re new to the site you just won’t understand hehe
From: scentman
16-Mar-18
I have 9 gobblers coming to my bird feeder during this harsh winter season and i can observe them from about 10 ft from my kitchen window... if i were to stick a DSD in the middle of them it would be hard to tell the difference.
From: Timbrhuntr
16-Mar-18
Ah- mur- ica
From: scentman
16-Mar-18
"Never seen them smart. Seen them wary a bunch, though." While in my archery stand one October morn, Boss hen saw me climb in and sit down... some young-ins were in front some in back, she flew down off her roost and called each bunch so they would not hit the ground near my stand, she went out of her way to make them come to her call, i am convinced she strategically did that
From: DEC
16-Mar-18
DEC's Link
Here is a video run down on the entire DSD turkey line up for 2018. I have no official affiliation with them, other than that I have been personal friends with them for a number of years now and have hunted with the guys as well. This video is just of all the decoys in one place.
From: stanlh
19-Mar-18
Definitely worth the money to buy a high quality decoy and DSD are the best quality. You can have luck with the cheapest folding foam decoys, but you will have better luck and see more fun stuff with a high quality decoy. Your most valuable and probably limited expense of hunting is your time. Don't waste it. Avian X laydown hen is a good one too.
From: writer
19-Mar-18
Jims...any animal that will keep trying to push themselves through a woven wire fence they could hop over, instead isn’t smart. But, since that same bird can see a guy totally camped lift his hand, then walk away, at 80 yards is wary. Good luck on those gobblin Einstein’s this spring, Slayer. Maybe this is the year you finally get one. ??????
From: Knothead
19-Mar-18
I've got a DSD jake and two hens I'm kicking around the idea of selling. My way of thinking is more in line with Jims. Out here in AZ we have to run and gun and we move a lot. The Merriams out here are very nomadic and seem to travel long distances each day. Carrying around these decoys gets to be cumbersome after awhile. Even though these decoys are the most realistic decoys I have ever owned, I can't say I have called in any more turkeys than I did before I got them. Think I want to find a good collapsible hen & jake combo that will easily fit in my vest.
From: Dan Mallia
22-Mar-18
Fooled this guy for a bit!
Best turkey decoys, hands down. They hold birds at the decoys, which is key for bowhunting them. You won’t be disappointed with them.
From: Dan Mallia
22-Mar-18
Dan Mallia's Link
From: Brotsky
23-Mar-18
The decoys are so good that some guys like Pat have gone to shoot and release!
From: Buskill
23-Mar-18
I ordered the breeding pair , will try when season starts
From: jims
23-Mar-18
Knothead, you might give Miss perfects a look. They are super compact, quick to set up, and light weight for hauling long distances. It's also nice that you can move the head/neck to different positions. They work great as breeder hens, upright, or feeding and only cost around $40! I do an incredible amount of hiking each day and carry a couple miss perfects plus a reaper decoy with real fan. No need to haul around bulky, hefty full size decoys all day long! I keep saying this but if DSD came out with a decoy for those that hike a lot they wouldn't be able to keep them on their shelves!
From: Backpack Hunter
23-Mar-18
They have always worked well for me.
From: trkyslr
23-Mar-18
Jim’s, I hike a lot and the DSD work fine.. I have no issues carrying a full spread over the hills in their carrying bag..
DSD are tremendous deeks, the best made, and are fine for the running and gunning type bowhunter (and gun hunter if you dont have the Indian skills). Been doing it for years and never had one slow me down or limit my distance :-)
From: jims
23-Mar-18
Large decoys in a bag may work ok in mild, gentle country but you would likely think differently hiking a few "hills" all day long like in the background in this picture!
From: jims
23-Mar-18
Here's another example of the country I hunt. It would be a fun hike from the bottom up to where I got this tom (in a walk in only area)!
From: jims
23-Mar-18
Here's an example of a walk in only area in Nebraska. I hiked in from the other side of the far "hill" on the horizon to get this tom. It would likely be a challenge hunting, killing a tom, and then hauling a tom, bag with DSD's, shotgun/bow, and gear out of the hills in any of these situations?
From: David A.
23-Mar-18
I haven't seen the very latest decoys, but relatively recently I would have to say AvianX decoys seemed as good as my DSD decoys. The best was to put "turkey skins" on them.
But after using Montana Decoy's purr-fect hen with success last year, I'd probably be happy to sell all the others and go with purr-fect hen and jake, and maybe experiment more with Flextone's funky chicken/jake. All three so much easier to deal with, esp. for running and gunning. Montana's purr-fect decoys are really breakthrough products, and the funky chicken/jake may be also, time will tell.
From: jims
23-Mar-18
Even though I'm a critic about hauling DSD's around for my particular style of hunting, DSD's are likely worth the investment if you do much blind hunting or hunting relatively close to roads. If I was spending lots of time sitting around decoys I would have faith that they are about the most realistic decoys....next to possibly real-life turkey skins mentioned in the post above!
From: trkyslr
23-Mar-18
Lol ok fill your head with your awesomeness if you must.. gentle rolling hills lmao.. I love when people talk without any knowledge as it results in them saying a lot of factual bs. Funny is you’ve said all this bs before on another thread and got shut down. Way to taint another thread with it. Good luck this season. Tell your cousin tbm hi!
From: Dan Mallia
23-Mar-18
Some of the stuff ya read on the interweb.................
From: trkyslr
23-Mar-18
Dan riiite!
From: jims
23-Mar-18
I'm just stating facts on what has worked for me on heavily hunted public land in rough country in Colorado and Nebraska. There's a lot of guys on this website that don't have the luxury of hunting private land . I could care less about posting photos of toms I've harvested but was trying to press a point how rugged the country I hunt is and that it may take a bit more boot leather to be successful on heavily hunted public land. It's a lot easier accessing the type of country in the photos above with a less bulky and lighter load...that's pretty much all I'm saying. I wouldn't be too terribly excited about carrying a bag full of DSD's up those slopes...especially if I have to pack out a tom or 2! There likely aren't that many gobbler hunters that hunt that type of terrain or very far from a truck and DSD's likely work perfect! For those that do...I'm just suggesting there may be other options that likely work a little better!
From: Brotsky
24-Mar-18
Chris, I’m glad we only hunted the gentle terrain. We couldn’t handle the hilly stuff! LMAO!
From: longbeard
24-Mar-18
I don’t think anybody is saying they aren’t good decoys. I think some may say they aren’t worth the $$ when less expensive work just as well
From: jims
24-Mar-18
I'm also not saying that you may be hunting some "hills!" Come try some mtns in Colo where it's around 2 to 15 miles between flocks...if you are lucky enough to find them!
From: Matt
24-Mar-18
The turkeys where I hunt are only about 20#, not too hard to pack.....anywhere.
From: Timbrhuntr
24-Mar-18
Some people are just more knowledgeable and better hunters it's too bad they have to try so hard to convince us unwashed! No point in arguing. I'll keep hunting with my dsds no matter what the terrain. Maybe when I'm 70 they'll be too heavy to carry for me too.
From: Panther Bone
24-Mar-18
I've got a DSD jake and love it. However, the zink hen is all I take when I'm going off grid so-to-speak.
From: Dan Mallia
24-Mar-18
DSD’s heavy? Maybe on the pack out, but that isn’t from decoy weight.
From: Ermine
24-Mar-18
I bowhunt the mountains of colorado. I don’t find turkey decoys to be heavy. Fairly light to carry one or two. I do find elk quarters to be heavy. The fun part of turkey hunting is it’s similar to Elk hunting but without the heavy packout .
From: Matt
25-Mar-18
Ermine, I almost posted a question about packing out an elk in response to the question of packing out a turkey and decoys.
From: jims
25-Mar-18
Not saying full sized turkey decoys are that heavy but 3 full sized decoys (especially jakes or toms in a set) take up an incredible amount of room in a pack and would likely be a pain in the rear lugging around bags for miles and miles. It may be a bit easier stalking turkeys all day with a couple small collapsible decoys rather than a set of full sized decoys through brush and thick trees? I do a lot of knee crawling and this is challenging enough with a small daypack, weapon. plus other gear. If you've hunted the cedar jungles in Nebraska or thick oakbrush country in Colo you know exactly what I'm talking about! You are absolutely right that packing out a tom is nothing like packing out an elk! For most hunters that don't hunt far from a truck it may not matter and DSD work perfect! If carrying full sized decoys works for you great...if you cover lots of thick, nasty country there may be a better option! That's pretty much all I'm saying!
From: Ben Farmer
25-Mar-18
My 9 year old daughter shot this big gobbler last spring over the DSD Jake. Bird come in and beat the crap out of the Jake for about 45 seconds before he stood still long enough for her to get on his head.
Awesome decoys!
From: joehunter8301
25-Mar-18
I see a pattern here :-)
From: Timbrhuntr
25-Mar-18
I have carried my dsds sometimes with a chair and blind in new Mexico texas Montana South Dakota Wyoming Nebraska kansas Alabama Iowa Georgia Michigan Ohio Kentucky Ontario Florida north carolina sometimes with 3 harvested toms. I leave the truck and am usually gone all day hiking and my dsds have never slowed me down. I could and have carried every different type of decoy and when Dave came out with the dsds line I thought over priced scam .I also felt the same way about the thermacell. Now i almost always carry both everywhere. Sometimes I will dump them and go old school on a tough Tom but I always have them.
From: Brotsky
25-Mar-18
Yeah, but Timbrhntr you aren’t hunting the “Jimalayas” for the elusive Mountain gobbler:) The common man would need a Sherpa or 2 to bring even foam decoys up there. :)
From: Buskill
08-Apr-18
So, I’m got to use the Breeding Pair I bought a little while back . Two gobblers showed up 100 yards away with four hens . Upon sight of the decoys they ran in hard . One mated with the hen decoy while the other thrashed the jake decoy . Pleased thus far .
From: Glunt@work
08-Apr-18
I use a DSD jake by it's self a lot. They are great but we killed a lot of birds that were standing next to some way less realistic decoys over the years. The old foam ones that looked like a cross between a turkey and a parrot with encephalitis accounted for quite a few. They always seemed to never go back to straight after being folded up for a year in the garage. We started thinking the crooked head and twisted beak may have triggered something that made toms want to attack it.
My old Carry-lite jake from 30 years ago is still in the mix and its been shot more than once due to toms standing against it.
From: Coach
09-Apr-18
The DSDs are definitely worth the price. I arrowed this gobbler at 7 yds. I used to think that it didn’t matter as far as decoys go. I’m sold that these are the way to go after them for 3 yrs. now.
The DSDs are definitely worth the price. I arrowed this gobbler at 7 yds. I used to think that it didn’t matter as far as decoys go. I’m sold that these are the way to go after them for 3 yrs. now.
