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| Key Feature Homepage Stories |
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| Tackle Tough Field Birds With Decoys and Strategy |
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| By Craig Sanford |
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Originally published in the March 2010 issue of AON
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Is there a tougher challenge for a turkey hunter than a gobbler in a field with hens? It’d be even tough to play with this jake while he’s in a field with hens. Good scouting and the proper use of decoys are two keys to outwitting a tough old field bird.
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The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon when we heard the gobble. Unfortunately, my hunting partner and I were on the south side of a 200-acre, freshly plowed cotton field, and the bird was on the north side about 400 yards from us. Years of hunting this lease and chasing those field birds had taught me there was no way we could get to the bird before he made his way to the middle of that huge field.
While we were pondering our options, the gobbler grew quiet and obviously flew down. Shortly thereafter we heard a most unsettling sound. A shot echoed across the field from near where the bird had been. A hunting club bordered us to the north, but their line was a decent way from this field. Angry that someone was trespassing, we stormed out across the field to confront the shooter.
Halfway across the field we spotted a turkey near the north wood line. We immediately dropped to the ground and studied the bird through binoculars. It appeared to be a hen. After some short discussion on the possibility that maybe the shooter hadn’t been on our property, we decided to try to belly crawl to a low spot in the field. We were exposed, and I was shocked the bird had not already seen us.
We finally made it to the low spot, and I peeked up to see where the hen was. To my surprise, she was in exactly the same spot as before. In fact, she had not moved an inch! We lay there for about 10 more minutes studying her through binoculars. In that entire time she never moved. Something seemed a little odd about that hen.
At a distance of only about 150 yards, that hen should have spotted us instantly when we stood up. I began feeling more than a little foolish when we were close enough that I could see the hen sported a single stick for legs and a really bad paint job. Sure enough, next to the fake hen was a fresh batch of feathers. Apparently our trespasser had high-tailed it out of there when he spotted us and didn’t have time to grab his decoy or his gobbler. While we didn’t catch the poacher, I did vent my frustrations on the only remaining target. Take my word for it; three-inch No. 4s will cut a decoy in half at 5 yards.
This event occurred almost 15 years ago when turkey decoys were illegal in Alabama. A poaching incident was my first experience with a turkey decoy.
Since turkey decoys became legal in Alabama, I have no doubt as to their effectiveness when chasing field birds.
My first experience hunting over decoys occurred one afternoon when a friend from out of town stopped by to help us roost some birds. He had a gobbler-tending-a-hen decoy set and two extra hens. We placed them on the edge of the field near where we thought some birds had been roosting. It didn’t take long before we heard two gobbles come from the other side of a hedgerow. Once the two red heads rounded the corner, they were locked in on the decoys. They came in on a string, and we went from trying to roost a bird to shooting a double. From then on, I was sold on decoys for field birds.
A lot of you may be wondering exactly what a “field bird” is. Many of you seasoned veterans no doubt grimace when you read the words field birds. To me, a field bird is the most heinous of creatures. A field bird is a turkey, usually a mature gobbler you have been after for years, that tends to roost on or near an exceedingly large field, and then flies down into the middle of said field at first light. They may also fly down near the field and move at a high rate of speed to the center of it at first light. Either way, those sorry winged demons will absolutely not give you a shot en route from their roost to that field.
For those of you who, like me, have spent way too many fruitless mornings trying to call a gobbler to the edge of a large field, I have one piece of advice. Buy some decoys. Sure, I have killed the occasional stupid or nearsighted bird off a large field without a decoy, but your chances go up exponentially with one.
However, using decoys for field birds is not a slam-dunk. Sound turkey-hunting strategies must still be employed.
One of the most effective ways to gain an advantage on a field bird is to roost him the afternoon before. You don’t have to know exactly which tree the gobbler is roosting in, but you need to be certain of the general area. There are basically two different tactics when it comes to setting up decoys on a roosted gobbler.
First, and most obvious, you can elect to set your decoys very close to the bird in an effort to get him to fly down to a specific spot. This method seems simple, but in reality it is very tricky and has many drawbacks. It is hard to sneak into position near a roosted bird, and even harder to place decoys out in the field without being spotted by the gobbler or a hen that may be in the trees near him. If you feel confident you can sneak into a spot where a gobbler will fly down or walk out without being seen, then you do have an amazing advantage. In this situation I will use only one or maybe two hen decoys. I place these about 30 yards out into the field. The gobbler will often fly down a little way away from the hens, and then proceed to make his way toward them. If he flies down in the woods and walks out onto the field, he will almost always make his way to the first birds he sees. Using wing beats and fly-down calls are usually all you need in this situation.
In most cases, getting that close to a roosted gobbler is not an option. You need to know the fields you are in and decide on a spot that will be fairly easy for the gobbler to see when he flies down. This can be across the field, around a little finger of woods or in a corner of the field on the same side as the bird. On this set-up I will use a gobbler or jake decoy and several hen decoys. Gobble back at the tom you are after, and really work your full range of calls to get him worked up enough to come challenge the new arrival. The object is to make the tom you are after think another gobbler has invaded his territory.
More often than not, you do not have a gobbler roosted. If you show up one morning and you hear one gobbling on roost, without a lot of luck, it is hard to get in position on him in a field before he flies down. Most of the time, you will come upon a gobbler already out in a field, or you will set-up on a field and blind call.
A gobbler in a field with no hens is an ideal situation. When you find a lone tom, use the terrain to your advantage and set a trap for him. In this situation, I will once again use just one or two hen decoys. I will usually back off the bird and circle around to a spot where he has to come look for me. This can be around a hedgerow, a few isolated trees in a field or even on a high or low spot in the field not immediately visible to the gobbler. On a more open field without a lot of cover, pick the shady side of the field. Stick your decoys 30 yards or so out in the field, and let the shade help conceal you and confuse the tom until he comes in a little too close.
An old gobber that already has hens with him always presents a problem. The question, of course, is why would a bird leave the group of hens he is with to come check you out? Prior to the legalization of decoys, trying to coax a tom with hens to the edge of a field for a shot was a lost cause. Even with decoys, it is tough, but at least you have a chance. I prefer to once again use the jealousy tactic and make him think there is a rival bird with hens on his turf. While it is usually not practical to carry many decoys around, setting up with multiple gobbler or jake decoys with a few hens is the way to go in this situation. You really want to try to bring out the bird’s territorial and fighting instinct.
Cold calling on a field you know is used by birds can be effective both in the mornings and afternoons. In the mornings, set up in a spot between roosting and feeding areas. Since you don’t know whether the gobbler you encounter will be with hens or not, I like to go ahead and use a gobbler decoy with a couple of hens. There are some good decoys with a gobbler tending a hen that can be very effective.
Cold calling in the afternoon with decoys is one of my favorite ways to hunt. I will set up my decoys in the field adjacent to a roosting area. Once again, I will use a gobbler decoy with a couple of hens. If you are positioned between the gobbler and his roost, he will invariably come check out your decoys, often whether he has hens with him or not.
So how much calling should you do over a decoy spread? I have found that calling over decoys is a lot like calling a gobbler anywhere else — the less you have to do it, the better. In fact, once you feel a gobbler has seen your decoys, it is usually best not to call anymore. Play it by ear, but I don’t recommend calling when you see a bird is coming to decoys unless he holds up out of range for an extended period of time.
I know a lot of people do not believe in using decoys. Most of these folks spend a majority of their time chasing gobblers in hardwood bottoms and ridges. I admit, I don’t use decoys more than half of the time when I am hunting wooded areas. However, I always use them when hunting field birds.
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