Creating The Best Turkey Decoy
Any turkey decoy can get a tom into shotgun range, but if you want him archery close, realism sells. If you don’t think your turkey decoy looks real, a pressured bird won’t either, and your odds of success drop quickly. Basecamp llc has assembled a dysfunctional crew of hunters with varying fields of expertise to fill a void in the world of turkey decoys. That void is an archery friendly jake turkey decoy that will fool any gobbler. (under $100). If you want to learn to hunt an animal, you have to bowhunt it. With a shotgun, the hunt is over at 40 yards. 40 yards is where a lot of things can go wrong. Blink an eye, move your leg a little, or sit over any of the many turkey decoys available at your big box stores, and your hunts in jeopardy of failing. How many times have you heard the expression ‘decoy shy’ from turkey hunter. No big surprise when you look at the turkey decoys available. If you are one of the lucky few able to chase unpressured birds the game is easy, but as with any game animal, pressure changes everything. Pressured turkeys don’t run to bad calling, fidgety hunters, or turkey decoys that don’t look like real turkeys. To score on hunted birds, everything has to be right, and the easiest thing to change this spring is the turkey decoy you use.
Selecting our crew was easy
Our Turkey Decoy Field Staff – a crew of die hard bowhunters that love to chase turkeys.
We selected our field crew from a pool of bow only turkey hunters. These are not the big name TV personalities lucky enough to hunt farms with untouched populations of turkey to mess with. These guys spend their days chasing pressured birds and learning what it takes to get them archery close. Mounted hens and jakes are their tools of choice. They found Dave Smiths line of turkey decoys last year. Dave’s line of turkey decoy are a quality offering, but our crew identified 3 key areas they needed adjustment. The turkey decoy head lacked the slight ‘bluff tilt’ jakes like to sport for intimidation, the turkey decoy feather posturing needed a little more sell, and the turkey decoy paint scheme needed some minor refinements. They also wanted to shrink the turkey decoy to ‘runt’ size for portability, and to ensure the turkey decoy would not intimidate shy birds. These traits were all present in our crews personally taxidermied turkey decoys, but not available on any line of production turkey decoys, Smith’s included.
Our field staff identified the features that needed modification to create the absolute best turkey decoy. If we could replicate the turkey decoy head posture, the body language of feathers on the rise, and incorporate a top quality paint scheme, we knew the turkey decoy would be a home run.
Our Carver – A legend in turkey sculpting.
![dave-pic2[1]](http://bestturkeydecoy.com/turkey%20decoy%20story/files/page4-dave-pic2005b1005d.jpg)
Mention the name Dave Constantineto anyone big in the NWTF and they know who you’re talking about. Only a master carver with a passion for turkey hunting could capture the body language we were looking for in a turkey decoy. Head slightly tilted up, back feathers ready to rise, and belly feathers ready to drop, Dave is familiar with the subtle signals of arrogance that consistently fill a mature tom with rage and the urge to stomp. Watching the turkey decoy come to life was painfully slow, but we knew when the turkey decoy was done and painted, it would be the most realistic turkey decoy ever designed.
Our Manufacturer – Experience, aptitude and drive.
A realistic carving was only the start. To bring that turkey decoy to production we needed someone with manufacturing experience and expertise. It did not take long to sort through the catalogs and web forums to identify Bill Willroth from Dakota Decoys as the man when it comes to realistic waterfowl decoys. It was apparent he didn’t know shit about turkey hunting, but his eye for detail is second only to mother nature herself, and his years in the industry date back to his tenure with Bigfoot Decoys. He is one of the few pulling the whole decoy industry forward, with polymer advances and paint schemes that make his decoy line an affordable work of art. Quite frankly, it’s hard to believe his top end waterfowl decoys carry a middle of the road price tag. Quality and value are a rare combination, and we are lucky to have been able to partner with a manufacturer who delivers both.