Turkeys wont come in close enough

[onpoint]

I've killed about 75% of my turkeys without a decoy. Using decoys causes the turkey to focus on it and not you, though sometimes they can scare birds off. My experience is if a more dominant gobbler is coming in to decoys around a strut zone, your decoy is probably going to get his rubber @$$ kicked if you don't shoot that gobbler first.

I've been able to sneak farther away from a hung up gobbler and continue to call to make it sound like the hen is leaving. Often, that tactic will break the gobbler out of being hung up and get him to commit to your decoys, where the shooter will get a better shot. You may consider adding movement to your decoy by tying some braided fishing line to it to give it a little bit of motion. Calling with contented purrs and quiet yelps has worked for me too, just don't get too loud or move around much. I hope this helps.

Jim

Good advice Cut. You also might consider making your set-up using the terrain (if possible)in an area where the birds can't see your dekes until they're a little closer or put 'em in a different location. Decoy movement is key. If you use only a single hen, don't put her in the "alert" position. Try feeding or in breeding position near the jake. Agressive calling can make a jealous boss hen leas the gobbler away. However, if she gets agressive toward your soft calling, you can try "cranking it up" a notch (cutting, excited yelping) and maybe she'll get p.o.'d and come over to whip your butt with the "big boy" in tow!!

[retranger]

One thing on decoys,,,,when I do use decoys I always try to place it so by the time the gobbler see it he is in range of what ever firearm you are using. I normally use just a single hen and is just a hit and miss thing on when I use it. Something is not working for you ,,,,,, like I said before mix things up till you get something that works.

[spurgirl]

I sure do appreciate the input. I think I am stuck in a rut. Moving away sounds like a good tactic Cut N Run but I am unable to move away with the river bordering one side of the property with a thin strip of woods and the other side is dotted with private properties around the field. I definitely can see I need to shake things up tho. I was looking at some moving decoys yesterday. And you may be right xcal1ber, those toms were possibly waiting for the hen to come over. It can be frustrating.
So gopher, yes, I do sort of hunt turkeys like I hunt deer. Glass the field for weeks prior. Set up several blinds were the birds have been spotted strutting. Toss out 1 or 2 decoys. Call and wait. I have always filled my tag. Hmmmm...How do you hunt turkeys here?

I have never heard of ditching the decoys. Im a bit leery of gambling on my short 5 day hunt. But I will consider it. I dont know what the regulations are in the rest of the country but we can take only one bearded bird per year here in MN. The season is too short IMHO. Not that Im a fan of 4 AM wake ups but there is something magical in watching the natural world come alive at dawn in spring. And oh my, to be witness to the spit and drum of a fine Tom turkey so close you can almost feel the wind off his fan. That is simply priceless.

[Gopherlongbeards]

Where do those turkeys typically enter the field? Try setting up in the edge of the woods there. Or set up in the woods between where they roost and the field. Decoys can be handy in a field, but in the woods they aren't nearly as helpful. Instead, you need to move on a hung up bird and sneak into a position that he feels comfortable coming to. People enjoy different styles of hunting. I'm more of a minimalist, so the less stuff (no blinds or decoys) I have to cart into the woods the better.

[dewey]

I sure do appreciate the input. I think I am stuck in a rut. Moving away sounds like a good tactic Cut N Run but I am unable to move away with the river bordering one side of the property with a thin strip of woods and the other side is dotted with private properties around the field. I definitely can see I need to shake things up tho. I was looking at some moving decoys yesterday. And you may be right xcal1ber, those toms were possibly waiting for the hen to come over. It can be frustrating.
So gopher, yes, I do sort of hunt turkeys like I hunt deer. Glass the field for weeks prior. Set up several blinds were the birds have been spotted strutting. Toss out 1 or 2 decoys. Call and wait. I have always filled my tag. Hmmmm...How do you hunt turkeys here?

I have never heard of ditching the decoys. Im a bit leery of gambling on my short 5 day hunt. But I will consider it. I dont know what the regulations are in the rest of the country but we can take only one bearded bird per year here in MN. The season is too short IMHO. Not that Im a fan of 4 AM wake ups but there is something magical in watching the natural world come alive at dawn in spring. And oh my, to be witness to the spit and drum of a fine Tom turkey so close you can almost feel the wind off his fan. That is simply priceless.

Hey spurgirl welcome to the forum! What part of the state do you hunt in? I personally hunt near Detroit Lakes and I know Gopherlongbeards and turkey junky hunt the SE portion of the state. I do a combination of using decoys along field edges and travel corridors in the morning and evenings relying on scouting from the farmer that owns the land. Then during the day I will run and gun looking for turkeys. Of course to be able to run and gun you need to have the acreage to do it. I use decoys almost all of the time but this spring I ran into a situation on a hunt in KS where the turkeys wanted absolutely nothing to do with my decoys. However I have also had toms walk right up to the decoys and eat a face full of lead for it but then this spring I had a tom walk right past the decoys because he was looking for the hen that made the sounds. Unfortunately for him all he found was me.

Be sure to check out the MN section as we always love to talk turkeys with other Viking land hunters.

Dewey

[eggshell]

It all in personal preference when using decoys. I don't like packing them. I have hunted turkeys 41 years and been responsible for the death of nearly 200 of them and I don't even own a decoy. The only time I ever used a decoy on a hunt was an old bird about 20 years ago that three mornings in a row came to 75 yards and stood and looked for a hen then turned and walked away. I borrowed a deke off a friend and the next morning was that old birds last on earth. So there are birds that definitely come to them, but I've been able to find enough of the other kind without packing around any extra baggage. I don't own a blind either. The three calls I carry are two woodhaven mouth calls and a willowridge slate, this year 7 gobblers have died to those three calls.....that is good enough for this ole boy. Guess I'm just a basic turkey hunter.

[ticklishtompro]

One other thing to think about. I don't know what kind of calling you are doing when they are hung up. Yelping probably won't do it, cutting might, but what I recommend is purring and clucking! A lot of times that will bring them the last 20 steps or so, they just can not seem to resist it!!! Many a hung up birds have died to this! Also if you are in the woods and they are in the field a little scratching in the leaves can also help seal the deal with the purring.
On one hunt with my wife we had a gobbler hung up at about 60 yard or a little more. for at least 15 minutes. I purred and scratched and that was the last sounds he heard before she put a load of #5's into him.

[spurgirl]

First off let me say that it is a joy to talk turkey with you all. It is so nice of you to take the time to respond.
Gopher, the turkeys typically enter from across the river. Im sure the one I got was roosting across the field tho because I spotted him extremely early in the morning. Setting up on that north end of the field may be the ticket. I tend to avoid it because they fly across there. I sit in the dirt on an old iron chair with the legs broken off. I have camo netting that I clothespin to the brush to set up a nest. Im old school and I like it. Trouble is there is no cover on the end of the field they enter. BUT, I have a hunter going Sunday who is going to try it. We shall see if that wide open, sitting duck blind works. I will let you know.

Dewey. Im in the St Cloud area. I will look for the MN forum here.
Geez eggshell. 200 birds? What the? You da man. How many birds can you take there a year? Yeesh!
Ticklish, I tried out right yelping after purring to bring him in or at least stop him from walking off. He didnt care what I did. Like he was deaf and the decoys were invisible. I think I need to brush up on my calling.

[dewey]

First off let me say that it is a joy to talk turkey with you all. It is so nice of you to take the time to respond.
Gopher, the turkeys typically enter from across the river. Im sure the one I got was roosting across the field tho because I spotted him extremely early in the morning. Setting up on that north end of the field may be the ticket. I tend to avoid it because they fly across there. I sit in the dirt on an old iron chair with the legs broken off. I have camo netting that I clothespin to the brush to set up a nest. Im old school and I like it. Trouble is there is no cover on the end of the field they enter. BUT, I have a hunter going Sunday who is going to try it. We shall see if that wide open, sitting duck blind works. I will let you know.

When you say no cover do you mean a plowed over field with absolutely nothing there or a grassy area with no tree cover. Either way you could ambush the turkeys in that area. If you could pinpoint the area they enter the field or at least get within 40 yards you could get them there. My thought would be go sniper on them and get there early and collect grass and anything else and cover yourself up with that. Absolute worst case is if it is a plowed over black field you could dig yourself a slight depression and cover yourself with the camoflauged netting you mentioned. As long as you don't move they may walk right next to you without hem even paying any attention to you at all.

Thoughts?

Dewey

[ylpnfol]

I've found that most people here in MN think the only way to hunt turkeys is to sit in a blind on a field where they've been watching turkeys for several weeks, put out a duck sized spread of decoys, and sit there until their 5 day season is up. In short, they hunt turkeys like they would hunt deer. If they only knew what they were missing

hallaleujah.....