AUTHOR’S PHOTOST
HE GOBBLES ringing out
from all ends of the creek-
bottom had me giddy as
they ricocheted from bluff
to bluf. Multiple birds were
sounding of in the predawn darkness,
and my blind and decoys were set up
smack in the middle of the cacophony. It
was a matter of time.
At frst light, I scratched out a series of
tree yelps on my slate call. Several toms
answered, and before long I was work-
ing a diaphragm call and a slate at the
same time while several birds gobbled
ever closer. Other than a few mornings
in Northern Missouri back in my high-
school days, I had never heard so many
public-land gobbles.The first birds I laid eyes on were
sprinting through the foot-tall grass in
my direction. When the Nebraska jakes
spotted my setup, they stopped at 80
yards, gobbled a few times, and strut-
ted their way in reverse. A half-hour
later, the bass-note drumming of a bird
caught my ear, and a quick peek through
the back blind window revealed a lone
tom at 10 yards. Once he cleared the
blind and saw my decoys, he walked of
without ofering a shot.
In total, I called in a dozen long-
beards and jakes that morning, and
while I fnally did get a shot at a cagey
jake, he was standing at 30 yards and
not looking like he was too fond of com-
mitting any closer. Te white-tipped tail
feathers that my broadhead shaved of
his fan were my only consolation prize
from an otherwise epic hunt.
For four days my hunting partner
and I trekked from one end of that par-
cel to the other without killing a bird,Tried & True
Deceptive Dekes
Equipment EditorThe right turkey decoy can make all of the difference
when bowhunting longbeards.
TONY J. PETERSON
24 >BOWHUNTER APRIL/MAY 2015No matter what turkey species you
are bowhunting, decoys can help
you get the job done.