here is my take on decoys
just like with deer, yes they can work, and yes they can also spook birds away
I have tried a bunch, from the one's you blow up, one's that have them umbrella things in them to open up and prevent the folds from folding, the hard plastic one's and even the photo one's
I come from a hunting camp that is BIG into turkeys and we tend to elave things there for each to use if where not there
so I have used decoys from the 10 dollar cheap one's to the 200+ buck one's
I have mixed feelings on them
and to be honest these days I don't carry any if I go out
more due to lazy and like to travel light, even the gun I use is a light weight short 18.5 in bbl gun, patterns verty well at 40-45 yrds too!
so to me, there NOT needed
I personally think if you don't ming carrying them, having two or 3 works better than just putting out one
seems to make them more at easy, and more likely to come in, ad gives them more to look at, over looking for you!
I like to set them up about 20 yrds from me with HOPING the bird will show up over my left side ( I'm a RT handed shooter)
and I try to have the decoy out so it can be seen from farther than just close range birds, I want eye candy I guess when I set them out, I like a Jake decoy and a hen too, when I use them
all models will work I think, the one's with real feathers or one's that can move a little with the wind I think are best
BIG hard plastic one's look more real, but SUCK to carry and make a lot of noise if they touch branches while walking in, setting up
I have hd decoys out in front of me, and had them fall over(didn';t have time tio set up right, got too close to a bird) and when the tom started walking in to the decoy, at about 10 yrds from decoy(no shot yet) the decoy fell over LOL
that turkey looked at it for about 25 minutes without moving, and again NO shot, had me frozen!
and then it just went back the way it came
so decoys can make a hunt very hard to forget LOl
I still laugh when I think what that turkey must have thought happened to the hen he was coming into get some off of! HAHA!!
Must have thought she,it fell over when she seen the stud he was I guess! and had a heart attack! LOL