Completely agree that the reaping/strutter tactic has caused it's fair share of damage, but sure seems like there is more going on here.
Won't totally disagree, but I believe the "benefits" of reaping and of using strutter decoys has been greatly over-stated. There's a reason the most avid, accomplished, experienced turkey hunters either never or seldom use these tactics:
They do as well or better without them, and they are going to limit out, with or without. Will also add I believe such tactics would become even less used by the novice hunters if our season opened a week later.
I've never tried "reaping", but during the first 3 years or so of Knight & Hale putting our their "Pretty Boy" strutter decoy, I certainly did quite a bit of experimenting. It wasn't that it didn't sometimes work, but seemed more often it cost me long-beards I believe I would have otherwise killed. Same can be said for a flock of turkey decoys, with or without a strutter or jake in the mix.
Personally, I didn't stop using the stutter decoy because I thought it was "unfair" or unethical, but totally because such use was more an overall liability than an asset. Most of those crying about decoys have never themselves used decoys, thus don't understand the full ramifications of all those liabilities. All most see are the turkey-shooting videos which are mostly made to help sell products, such as turkey decoys.
IMO, those speaking out most against decoys are much like some purist fly-fisherman proclaiming that no one should be allowed to use spinning gear or bait-casting tackle. There are many methods to fish, and many methods to hunt. If you think your way it the best, promote its merits, but you're hypocritical when you limit out every year while demanding other hunters only do it your way or the highway.
To what extent decoys may help a novice hunter kill a turkey,
outlawing decoys would mainly just make a shift as to which hunters kill most those same turkeys?
Once a hunter figures out how to kill turkeys (without decoys),
it's really not that hard, and a lot more novice hunters might more quickly become accomplished turkey killers if decoys were outlawed, ultimately bringing us back full circle to the original problem of us all collectively killing too many turkeys than the resource can annually withstand.
So without decoys, more less experienced turkey hunters fail to kill a turkey,
only to have those turkeys killed by the highly accomplished hunters who themselves limit out, and often limit out in multiple states.
Decoys or no decoys will make little difference, but I agree it is a factor, just more a factor as to which hunters kill the turkeys and how fast they can limit out.
