Fall hunting. To decoy or not to decoy...

[Rollo]

.... if hunting mostly fields and small plots near woods. Had some hens the other morning cutting back at me but wouldn't come out of the woods. Would a decoy have helped in this situation???

 

[timberjack86]

Wouldn't hurt.

 

[catman529]

Never gave it a thought, then again I don't use decoys in spring either. In the fall if they're in fields I use the cover of woods to close the distance. If they're in the woods then stay in the woods to stalk or call them. They're not going to come out into a field where they can plainly see there's no turkeys, even if they hear your calling. I guess that's when dekes would work, but fall hunting is easy enough I wouldn't bother with decoys and would stay more mobile and move on the birds. But that's mainly a preference thing... Like timberjack said, it wouldn't hurt to try

 

[Trapper John]

I've done it both ways. Sometimes they come to the decoy, other times they just don't care.

 

[RUGER]

I've done it both ways. Sometimes they come to the decoy, other times they just don't care.

That has been my experience with decoys for sure.
The only addition would be, sometimes they run like heyal when they see the decoys.

Never hunted in the fall though.

 

[MRUTVOL]

I have used decoys in fall a couple times and they had no use for them . If anything they moved farther away from them when they seen them. In fall it is more of a sneak and ambush type hunting. The 2 I killed this past weekend was a abush type hunt. When they came off roost they landed out in front of me at about 40 yds and I cut loose on them. There were between 30 and 40 birds with about a dozen being toms. I killed 2 toms and feathered a 3rd but he kept going b4 I could reload.

 

[Rollo]

Thanks everyone for the responses. The theory I had is if I'm calling on the edge of a field and there is nothing there to portray where the call is coming from then why bother? I usually call to locate turkeys in the fall, not attract. I personally have not been successful in stalking turkeys. They usually stalk me... but I'm willing to try other methods. Thanks again.

 

[catman529]

Thanks everyone for the responses. The theory I had is if I'm calling on the edge of a field and there is nothing there to portray where the call is coming from then why bother? I usually call to locate turkeys in the fall, not attract. I personally have not been successful in stalking turkeys. They usually stalk me... but I'm willing to try other methods. Thanks again.

you may have trouble stalking into range, but if you see turkeys in a field and watch which way they are going, and can make a really wide loop through the woods well out of their visual range, and get ahead of where they are going, then you can set up for an ambush. Don't be afraid to shoot through bushes, it's a shotgun and you only need a small opening to shoot through.