Look what I got

Can’t wait for the season to get here.

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I just hope I don’t have to sit in a snow storm this year. This reminds me that I need a new decoy this year.
DT

If you keep em in the box you can still return them and get some Dave Smiths. – QB

The DSD stuff is nice but man are they bulky. Trying to carry a blind, decoys, bow and video camera all at once is a real pain. Guy needs a sherpa just for turkey hunting.

DSD are nice but to bulky for run an gunning. Avian x are the way to go good choice. I was curious how they would hold up after 2 seasons o being pecked and spured still going strong.

Good decoy’s
I have a couple and only use maybe once a spring out of the 5 states I hunt. I do like how they look.

Going out with a few kids this spring first time hunters and might have to use them and maybe get some video.

Have you guys saw the MERRIAMS version new this year?…. Man they look awesome.. I have 4 avian Xs.. and now they come out with merriams… The lighter colors make them stand out I think.. Like that “smokey” decoy maybe HS has??? Its almost albino looking.. and that decoy gets the most attention according to a good buddy of mine.

I haven’t but I’m in the market so I’ll go check it out.

I did see the new merriams they look very nice, in south dakota i think they would be an advantage but the merriams I have killed have not seemed to mind the regular patterned DSD. I like the avians as well just started with DSD. SOdak as well as Nebraska seems to have so much hybridization that I think we are losing more merriams to cross breeding, I am not a bioligist just a obervation I have seen over the years. – QB

When I’ve hunted NE SD I’ve noticed mostly easterns. Where to you see the lines blurring? My experience down in the White River area(while very dated) was all Merriams.

DSD’s are over priced and not needed.

I’ll agree a good decoy can work wonders but the last couple years Joel has convinced me to abandon the decoy in most cases, and what can I say..he has a way with this long beards. I’ve definitely upped my game ditching the decoy and staying much more mobile. Even over the last few years, all of my archery birds have been out of a blind without a decoy, granted that was in the cedar thickets of SD, and not in Minnesota (That would be a pain in the rear)

If I use a decoy it’s just the B-mobile with a real fan or last year I started using the Dakota Jake decoy with success. I’ll also throw in a submissive hen in most cases.

My challenge lies in either archery tackle or my young daughter needing support for the 20 gauge. A blind is a must. I personally don’t have any confidence that my calling will lure a bird in not having a decoy. I guess that means I need some more practice…

I hear you there Kooty. Decoy’s and blinds are a must for a lot of archery situations and obviously if you’ve got some young ones.

And for the record, Joel’s not that good…

I grew up hunting that way Ben. We NEVER used decoys. It does allow you to be more mobile but now that I use a decoy some I find that you get busted way more when not using a decoy. The decoy really helps to take the focus off the hunter. I also think that more and more toms are closing that last little bit silently, so if you don’t have the gun in the right spot when he comes into view… you might get pegged moving the gun since there is no distraction. Both ways are effective… when hunting with inexperienced or young hunters though… its a no brainer.

Iv shot lots of birds with and without decoys. It really depends on the scenario and the bird. Iv also had birds get spooky of decoys.

I’m with Joel and Ben on this my decoys stay in the truck 99
% of the time . Only reason was thinking maybe for the youths might like them out on the hunt. But in my experience I will get the birds in closer and less hang ups will happen .

Most my birds with bow are taken with out a blind or decoy setup with the right background and terrian and the birds will walk right on top of you.

Now you do have more chance getting busted but sure makes it fun.

I picked up a feeder hen Avian X. Looking forward to trying it as it is my first season. Like the detail and the fact it can collapse down and inflate easily.

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kooty wrote:

And for the record, Joel’s not that good…

I hate when I miss a good shellacking, mostly because of the opportunity lost to give it back.

Like Ben said, i’m just turned off by decoys most of the time. If you can call even decently, you can steer birds much more readily without decoys. With a decoy, no matter how much you try to steer them towards you or around obstacles, your play is made.

That said, I picked up some of the Avian X’s too. For my son Isaac’s hunt mostly but I’m willing to give them a shot again. If I do use decoys, I just want them to be a more mobile kind of deal.

One thing that’s gaining some more popularity with bowhunters is a 3 decoy set of a strutter, jake, and breeding hen, with the strutter and hen setup together and jake off to the side. More often than not, if a gobbler isn’t willing to challenge the full-strut deke, he’ll come straight in to the jake. Even if he can’t be top dog, he’ll still be bigger/badder than that jake. This comes in response to my own personal experiences with full-strut dekes scaring the daylights out of mature toms.

Joel