The wiliest, craftiest old turkey gobblers are a real challenge. They often won’t approach a caller, become silent on the limb, and beat up on less dominant toms such that they become silent also. However, the dominance of this bearded bully is its Achilles spur, and nothing exploits that bullying behavior better than a gobbler decoy. You may have seen videos of two turkey gobblers approaching a caller and when one bird is shot, the reaction of the second is to begin flopping and pecking its former buddy. Talk about agression! For an extra hoot, place a small video camera on the gobbler decoy and you’ll have double the excitement and relive it over and over again.
Matt Wettish shows just how successful a gobbler decoy can be with the following video. I’ve personally witnessed the same behavior many times. However, using a gobbler decoy requires extreme safety, so keep these points in mind. Wear a hunter-orange hat when deploying the decoy and place it in a wide open area where turkeys and an approaching hunter can see it well. Decoys that rotate in the wind add great realism as does a real gobbler tail. Anticipate the approach of another hunter so that your position is not within shotgun range and sound out your location should any human approach. Check out the action on Real Outdoors TV.
