

Realistic turkey decoys are very, very important
Can you kill a turkey with a $11 foam turkey decoy – you bet, but you can not do it on a consistent basis, and you will rarely enjoy the full version of one
of natures finest shows.
Understanding how important realistic turkey decoys are
To fully understand why it is so important to use the most realistic turkey decoys you can, we must study our quarry in depth. Take a mature whitetail. We all know a whitetail lives and dies by it’s nose, and that we can sometimes fool a mature deers ears and eyes. Because we know a deers nose will get us, we make a game plan to eliminate that defense tool. We use scent free soaps, carry Nosejammer, and always try and stay downwind. Many die hards would not even consider hunting certain spots until they get the perfect wind.
A turkey uses its eyes are like a deer uses its nose. A turkey will not second guess what it sees. If you are like me, and will not tempt fate by letting a deer smell you, trust me when I say you have to run the most realistic turkey decoys you can afford. I can’t tell you how many times a mature tom will approach your set silently to see who is making all the noise. I watched a pressured tom stand motionless for 45 minutes one spring in Florida. He was looking at our turkey decoy setup from 100 yards, and if he blinked, I never saw him do it. This smart old bird (yes I think turkeys are smart and learn like we do), had learned to smell out a rat, and why he hung out so long in one spot I can only guess. That turkey used only his eyes to let him know if our turkey decoy setup was the place to be or not, and he decided from 100 yards it was only a good place to die. This scenario plays out all over the country every spring, and running shoddy turkey decoys is a big factor.
Realistic turkey decoys lower suspicion
If you do anything to make a turkey nervous, odds are he will not come to your turkey decoy setup. One of the easiest ways to keep him at ease as he approaches is to run the most realistic turkey decoys you can. Sometimes these are taxidermy mounted jake turkey decoys and the hens that go with them, and sometimes you may need something more portable like our Dakota Extreme Jake, but don’t kid yourself. He is going to look hard at your turkey decoy this spring, and the more realistic your turkey decoys looks, the more mature toms you are going to kill.
Realistic turkey decoys the ticket to the big show
As you watch your favorite hunting shows this spring, mentally keep track of the toms reactions as they get close to the turkey decoys being used. Do they stay in strut? Are their dew snoods hanging long and confident? Do they attack, or try and breed the fake? Realistic turkey decoys are crucial when those big black birds get spitting close to keeping them relaxed, and a relaxed turkey is the one who gives you the show. Everybody rambles on about ‘being out there and just sucking it up’, and if you are truly one of them, a realistic turkey decoy gives you a whole bucket of experiences to suck. The spectacle of an enamored or irritated tom is something everyone should be able to enjoy, and realistic turkey decoys are like a back stage pass to a part of the show many never see.


