and I lef feeling confdent it wasn’t our blinds or calling that
had sealed our fate. It was the decoys, and while I had killed
plenty of birds over all kinds of decoys in the past, it simply felt
like these hard-hunted toms were on to us. I vowed to spend
the money on more realistic dekes to ensure that future birds
would cross from shotgun range to in-my-lap bow range.
Afer doing some research at home, I opted for a fock of
uber-realistic decoys that carried a price tag that would have
given my wife a heart attack. Te frst time I used them was
while guiding a shotgun-toting youngster and her dad on their
frst turkey hunt. An hour into it she dusted a tom at fve yards.
Later that spring, I tried the decoys out on a home-state bow-
hunt and had similar results. Since then, my bow-tagged turkey
stats have skyrocketed.
Tere are some downsides to full-bodied decoys, though.
For instance, they are big, bulky, and tough to carry long dis-
tances. Tat doesn’t stop me on some of my hunts, but on oth-
ers, where I’m toting a blind, chairs and the equipment for an
all-day sit, I tend to leave them at home and opt for foldable
decoys. Tese I spruce up by stapling real turkey feathers to the
head, the tail, and randomly on the body. Tis provides addi-
tional realism and subtle movements.
Of this decoy style, Montana Decoy makes some of my
favorites. Teir extremely lightweight yet realistic look makes
them my go-to choice for on-the-road hunts where I’m pack-
ing in tons of gear. For the same weight of a single full-bodied
decoy, I can pack in an entire fock of Montana Decoys. Teir
latest ofering, the Miss Purr-fect ($50), is ideal for bowhunt-
ing birds near and far, with its feathery 1 lb., 6 oz. weight and
folded size of 9" x 13". Unique feather-cut fabric provides subtle
movement in even the slightest breeze, which is as important as
looking just like a real hen when it comes to bowhunting rang-
es, and it alleviates the user of any need to add extra feathers
for movement. Te Miss Purr-Fect also represents a deviation
from many of Montana Decoy’s past oferings, because she fea-
tures a full body thanks to a truly innovative design.
Another easy-to-tote decoy is ofered by Primos. Teir
Gobbstopper Jake ($40) is covered in a high-defnition paint
scheme to fool even the wariest of approaching longbeards.
Tis decoy is foldable and designed to pack away in a turkey
vest, which is perfect for all styles of bowhunting turkeys.
If you take a close look at any decent decoys, you’ll notice
an attention to body-language detail. Tis is no accident, and
is perhaps most evident in the Penny Snood Feeder Hen ($8 0)
from Hunter’s Specialties. Te Penny Snood decoy is foldable,
and when fully infated presents a relaxed hen feeding content-
edly. Tis is an excellent way to calm down approaching hens
and gobblers and get them to commit to your spread.
Another decoy that has the body language thing down pret-
ty well is the Leading Hen ($130) from Dave Smith Decoys.
Tis decoy is designed to represent a hen taking charge and
leading her fock on to greener pastures, which conveys a sense
of urgency to approaching longbeards. Having hunted exten-
sively with DSDs over the years, I can say that while they’re def-
initely not inexpensive, they are worth every penny, especially
when bowhunting gobblers on pressured ground.
Dakota Decoy’s X-Treme Jake Turkey Decoy ($110) is an-
other great choice for hard-hunted birds. In fact, one of the
coolest things about this realistic decoy is that it can be used as
a stand-alone decoy that tends to tick of dominant birds in aTr ie d & Tr ue
28 >BOWHUNTER APRIL/MAY 2015
Montana Decoy
Miss Purr-FectPrimos
Gobbstopper
JakeHunter’s Specialties
Penny Snood Feeder
HenFlextone
Game
Calls
Funky
ChickenDave Smith Decoys
Leading HenDakota Decoy
X-Treme Jake