Turkey Hunting Home Page

Tips For Choosing A Turkey Decoy

Without a question experienced turkey hunters will all agree how important turkey decoys are to successful hunting. Not only will decoys attract distant turkeys, decoys will also help finish the approaching gobblers into effective shotgun range. Another benefit is when properly placed the decoy/s will also help take the keen eyes of decoying turkeys off the hunter. The only question that remains is what decoy to purchase. Here's a quick overview of the decoys available to turkey hunters.

Silhouette – One Dimensional

The most basic turkey decoy designs are silhouettes, which are simply turkey images put on chloroplast, plastic cardboard. To eliminate glare or shiny spots the chloroplast is first coated with a fabric to give the surface texture, and then the image of a turkey is applied. The benefits of these decoys are their portability, lay flat, and are very light weight. The weakness of silhouette decoys is that a real decoy is located to the sides of silhouette decoy the decoy is full size and looks real. But from a straight on view the decoy will disappear to the real decoy. The only solution here would be to use two decoys with each decoy place perpendicular to the other. In conclusion a silhouette decoy is not the best choice for successful turkey hunting.

Full Body – Three Dimensional

By far, the best of decoys are the realistic full body decoys made from vinyl, foam or polyethylene. While some "molded" polyethylene decoys are a little more cumbersome to carry into the woods these decoys offer far more realism than collapsible foam decoys. Inflatable styles decoys are also available but their downfall is their smooth surface, which will shine in the sun. Another benefit of full body turkey decoys is they will move in a slight breeze, thus looking even more real and drawing more attention to wild turkeys. Without a doubt a full body decoy is the way to go.

Turkey Decoy Postures

The body language and sex of a turkey decoy can make a big difference. Such an example is Jake turkey decoys. When an old Tom spots a young Jake by his hens his first instinct will be to charge in and challenge the young gobbler. Another posture is a hen in the “ready” position, full strut Toms, and even a breeding pair with a hen below, and a Jake on top of her.

For starters I would recommend getting two full body hen decoys, each in a different posture such as an upright hen and a feeder. Then I would get a Jake decoy.

Motion Decoys

Several decoy manufacturers have started to manufacture decoys that offer movement. These include just a simple full body decoy that can rotate in the wind on a stake, or movement that is created by the hunter pulling on a string to make the decoy head go from an upright position to a feeding position such as the Buckwing LifeLite Bobb'n Head Series Decoys or the MOJO Outdoors Turn Around Remote-Controlled Turkey. Before using these motion decoys be sure to check your state’s regulations. By adding movement to a decoy you are adding just a little more realism, and that may be just what it takes to bring in an old Tom to your setup.