I have been looking forward to turkey season this year since well, since waterfowl season ended in March! I set a goal to kill a turkey this year with my bow. It has been a long time since I have and it’s a tough feat to accomplish. With the right decoy setup and a blind I can shift the odds slightly.
I would like to share with you the Decoy setup and why it’s perfect for bowhunting from a blind.
The first thing to having the perfect setup for bowhunting turkeys is a blind. You don’t need one but it will increase your odds. The use of a hunting blind like this Buck Bourbon Rack House 150+ will allow you to draw your bow and be completely concealed. You can get away with a lot more movement in a blind and hub style blinds are the easiest to setup.
The next thing that will help bring that big gobbler into range is a decoy or decoys. This part is what varies and can even change based on the time of season. In the beginning of turkey season I like to use three decoys. Those three decoys are one male turkey and two hens. Between those I like my male decoy to be a 1/2 Strut Jake, and then I like my hen decoys to be two separate postures. The first hen is a laydown hen and the second is a feeder hen.
You can kill a turkey without decoys but I believe that the right setup can add a level of realism that takes attention away from the hunter.
Now to the exact setup of the decoys. With the blind about 5-7 yards away set up your 1/2 strut Jake, then about 2 feet in front of the Jake place the Laydown hen facing the same direction as the Jake. Next, place the feeder hen 6-10 feet away from the Jake and Laydown hen in the same direction that the Jake and Laydown hens are facing. The only thing that changes with the feeder hen is to point it in the direction of the blind.
This is by no means a perfect science but I think this decoy setup emulates a very comfortable group of turkeys. You can see how perfectly it worked on the hunt below. Try a variation of this the next time you’re hunting turkeys from a blind.
Outdoor Jack 