How far to set Decoys from your Blind
Contributors to this thread:Turkey
From: BigStriper
26-Mar-19
I am wondering how far away do you guys set up your Turkey Decoys from your Blind and what direction do you face your Decoys.
Kurt
From: BigStriper
26-Mar-19
I am wondering how far away do you guys set up your Turkey Decoys from your Blind and what direction do you face your Decoys.
Kurt
From: Mt. man
26-Mar-19
Sun at your back and about 15yds for me.
From: Matt Palmquist
26-Mar-19
6 to 8 yards and usually facing the blind. I want them closer when they decide to hang up.
From: midwest
26-Mar-19
Same as Matt. The jake is no more than 10 yards. I may set the hen out further to catch the sight of birds further out that may not see the jake due to the surroundings or land contours. Sometime stick the hen up on a tall stake to make her even more visible.
From: jcurri
26-Mar-19
10-15 facing away from the blind.
From: Brotsky
26-Mar-19
8-9 yards for the jake and hen, feeding hen slightly off to one side or the other and may be slightly closer or further away depending upon the terrain, visibility, etc. as indicated by Midwest.
From: Paul@thefort
26-Mar-19
15 yards with the compound and 10 yards away with the recurve bow. Usually, tom facing the blind with bedded hen.
From: Paul@thefort
26-Mar-19
From: JohnMC
26-Mar-19
There no reason to have them more than 10 yards away. Put blind where you can have decoys close. A blind does not bug a turkey in the least. I am in blind currently with them at 7-8 yards. Normally I have Jake facing blind or away from where I expect turkeys to come from and hen opposite.
Honestly after years of hunting them I don’t think it matters the way they face. However if you think turkeys will come from left or right. Have them off set in your shooting zone out of your window so if they hang up just before they get there you will have shot and not blocked from blind and scrambling to close one window and open another.
From: Nick Muche
26-Mar-19
Close (8-10 yards or so) with the Jake facing the blind.
From: Kodiak
26-Mar-19
10-15
From: kentuckbowhnter
26-Mar-19
i put mine at 5 yards or so and the decoys facing me. i am not sure it matters which way you face them the turkeys usually move all over the place anyway.
From: t-roy
26-Mar-19
I set my jake decoy facing away from the blind at about 10 yards. I put a small eye screw in the breast area below the beard, on my DSD decoy, then I attach some fishing line too it, then run it back to the blind. I’ll push the stake into the ground at a slight angle so the decoy always swings back facing away from me. I can easily create movement with just a slight tug on the string. If it’s windy, I’ll push a couple of sticks in the ground on either side of the tail end of the deke (like in one of Paul’s pics) to keep it from spinning wildly. I’ll leave a little bit of a gap between them so there is still some movement, but not too much.
From: Teeton
26-Mar-19
I like mine close, as close as 5 yds. I face them towards one of my blind corners.. Like they are looking just passed the blind outside corner.. If I have birds gobbling and am setting up my blind the decoys are on the far side.. Sometimes I set the blind up so my corner is facing the decoys. Mostly use my blind with the 8 corner windows and 4 high viewing windows.. Love this blind... I want another one!!!! Ed
From: Dale06
26-Mar-19
What Nick Muche above, 8-10 yds, not further, with the jake facing or quartering to the blind. I then put a hen 3-4 yards closer and to the side of the jake a couple yards. Used to put the decoys at 20 yards. Why take a 20 yard shot when you can take a 10 yard shot?
From: Beav
26-Mar-19
5-7 yards and Jake facing the blind. Sometimes Inhave had inexperienced kids shooting and have set them at 3 yards and had plenty of luck as well.
From: Brotsky
26-Mar-19
From: Ziek
26-Mar-19
8 - 10 yards. The wind pretty much determines which way they face.
From: OFFHNTN
26-Mar-19
12-15 yards. Too close and you will shoot through the side of your blind below the window. lol
From: Paul@thefort
26-Mar-19
There are times when I only use a hen decoy or two. On thing I did notice concerning my hen decoys was that their factory color blended in to the environment too much and were hard to see. What I did was, see pictures of my setups, I gave each hen decoy a light spraying of flat black. Now they stand out much better, with or without a tom decoy and are much more visible to an incoming tom. Use the idea or not, but it seems to work.
From: BigStriper
27-Mar-19
Thanks for all of your advice fella's, trying to get my First with a recurve or longbow,maybe I will get it done this year. You guy's have some nice set up's. Thanks again.
Kurt
From: Dan Mallia
30-Mar-19
Seven yards and usually face them away from the blind.
From: Jims
30-Mar-19
You may want to watch the turkeys reaction to your blind and adjust blind or decoys accordingly! I've had times when turkeys were totally spooked of blinds and they didn't work at all. Sometimes the only way I could get them to come to decoys if I set up without a blind.
From: olebuck
31-Mar-19
i have a particular spot that i love to bow hunt turkeys. its a 1/2 acre plot - with 4 lanes going from the plot - 2 lanes out front and 2 to the side - the blind is set up at the back of the 1/2 acre field and you can see down all 4 lanes.
on more than one occasion i have had turkeys cross the lanes and look at my decoys in front of my blind - start to come in and then all of the sudden spook off.
Yesterday this happened - i got up after my hunt and walked out to see what the turkey was seeing. with the strutting decoy right in front of my blind it just looked very unnatural and i can see why a turkey didn't like it all.
I know the blind doesn't bother the turkeys as i have them on trail camera right in front of my blind... i will make a point from now on to make sure my set ups are a little different with my decoys and blind placement.
From: Hawkeye
31-Mar-19
10-12 yards:)
From: BigStriper
31-Mar-19
Dan it looks like your set up worked well and I see the MAIN Target in the middle of your picture,the Turkeys would have to wait.LOL.
Kurt
From: bradbear
31-Mar-19
What Matt said
From: HULLHEAVER
31-Mar-19
8-10 yards. I set the Jake/Strutter decoy where I want to shoot them. Also face the male decoy the opposite direction of the way you want to shoot the bird. Tom's almost always come to the male decoy and will face it before it pounces on it. Have your hen(s) in a shooting window as well. Some Tom's (normally Jakes if coming in solo) will go to the hen decoy and try to mount her.
From: Dan Mallia
30-Apr-19
BigStriper the turkey hunt ended and the coyote hunt began (and ended of course) LOL
