Best Turkey Decoys for 2023

Turkey searching has commanded my springtime calendar for the previous twenty years. I’ve chased gobblers all through the United States and Mexico, searching a median of fifty days throughout a half-dozen states every spring, whereas stacking up a World Slam and a number of Grand Slams. As I test off the remaining states to seize a U.S. Super Slam, I put together for each hunt with the utmost scrutiny in relation to gear I take advantage of within the subject, particularly the most effective turkey decoys.  

Decoys are at all times a part of my turkey searching arsenal, and I solely depend on probably the most real looking ones once I’m making an attempt to fill a tag in a brand new state. Here’s a have a look at the most effective turkey decoys for a number of the most typical searching situations you’ll face regardless of the place or the way you’re chasing turkeys.

Turkey Decoys and Hunter Safety

The greatest turkey decoys are extremely real looking, which implies that it’s doable for hunters to mistake a decoy for the actual factor. You should be extremely cautious when utilizing tom or jake decoys on public lands and even non-public floor the place different hunters are current. When you’re transporting decoys, be sure that heads, followers, and beards are tucked right into a bag with a strip of orange tape on the surface. Never use a reaping decoy on public land or on non-public land the place different hunters could be current. Also, keep away from utilizing a reaping decoy or strutting tom decoy in heavy cowl. If there’s any query about security, merely go away the decoys within the truck.

The Best Turkey Decoys Reviews and Recommendations

Best Overall: Montana Decoy Wiley Tom 3D & Miss Purrfect XD

Key Features

• Less than 5 kilos mixed weight
• Three dimensional 
• Easily folds for storage
• Hen: adjustable head; “feather cuts” for real looking texture
• Tom: possibility so as to add actual feathers to tail and wings

Pros

• Lightweight,minimal bulk
• Easy to shove into turkey vest
• Stake system prevents spinning in wind
• Quick deploy
• Miss Purrfect XD: a number of stake positions for various physique postures

Cons

• Not waterproof
• Stitching on tom head may be fragile

I used hard-bodied turkey decoys for years, and whereas they’ve advantages, the additional weight and bulk is an pointless burden for almost all of my turkey pursuits. I’m additionally not completely offered on 2D (flat) turkey decoys for conventional stationary setups, so I used to be desperate to strive Montana’s new line of packable 3D turkey decoys. I used the Miss Purrfect XD, Jake Purrfect XD, and the unique Wiley Tom throughout 2021—my most profitable turkey season ever. The Wiley Tom 3D is an improve from the unique Wiley Tom. It has extra real looking dimension that packs down for operating and gunning, but it really works simply as properly for reaping or stationary setups. I examined the prototype throughout a fall turkey hunt and killed a gobbler the primary morning. 

Stuff the Wiley Tom 3D and the Miss Purrfect XD hen turkey decoys in your vest and also you’ll be lined for practically each turkey searching state of affairs. And if you wish to run a jake imposter as an alternative of a tom, simply use the second (greater) row of tail feather holders on the Wiley Tom 3D to imitate the pronounced heart major feathers of a jake fan. 

Best Hen Decoy: Avian-X HDR Hen

Key Features

• Non-chip paint
• Flocking on again
• Light and sturdy
• Includes two head positions
• Includes decoy bag

Pros

• Ultra-realistic
• No shine on sunny days
• Multiple head positions
• Accurate dimension and physique posture

Cons

This is probably the most real looking and helpful hen decoy we’ve ever hunted with. If you’re going to set only one decoy, use this one.

Maybe you don’t need to haul round a complete unfold of turkey decoys. Or, possibly you hunt pressured public lands the place it’s unsafe to set a tom or jake decoy. In that case, you may need to set only one, single hen decoy. You need the The Avian-X HDR hen. This blow-molded hen decoy appears real looking in each facet: feather element, physique place, dimension, hell, even the legs look actual. The decoy comes with two interchangeable head positions. One is a high-stretched head which signifies a dominant hen. The different is a decrease head place to point a submissive, breeder chook.

You’ll discover that the decoy is flocked on the again, which is a wonderful contact that not many different turkey decoys provide. This decoy can be a wonderful alternative for hunters who principally name in open hardwoods. In this case it’s usually greatest to have one highly-visible and real looking hen decoy. The Avian-X HDR Hen matches the invoice completely. -Alex Robinson

Most Realistic: Avian-X HDR Strutter and Feeding Hen

Key Features

• Vivid paint jobs and flocking
• Durable shells 
• Realistic legs
• Strutter: modular design (two head choices; add/take away wings; adjustable beard size); metallic stake
• Hen: built-in stake for simple storage
• Decoy baggage included

Why It Made the Cut

The Avian-X HDR Strutter and Feeding Hen turkey decoys ship astounding iridescent realism and element up shut and from a distance. 

Pros

• Super real looking 
• Adjustable components for numerous situations 
• Built for years of heavy use

Cons

• Moderately cumbersome
• Expensive

Product Description

When Fred Zink’s crew launched Avian-X decoys round 2010, the brand new LCD (Lifelike Collapsible Decoy) design, that includes inflatable rubber our bodies, was all the fad. I’ve watched dozens of gobblers crumble over Avian-X decoys. In latest years, the model transitioned from rubber our bodies to the extra widespread plastic shells that you just’ll discover with most premium turkey decoys. But one issue has at all times remained fixed with Avian-X turkey decoys: realism. The inflatable dekes have been nice as a result of they may very well be damaged right down to a manageable dimension for journey, and I even as soon as conveniently packed an Avian jake for a Gould’s hunt in Mexico. While the brand new HDR (Heavy-Duty Realism) plastic variations aren’t fairly as cellular, I’ve tagged many gobblers over them because of their hyper-realistic appears. 

The HDR Strutter decoy includes a modular design. You can swap between pink/white/blue (subordinate tom) and stable white (dominant tom) heads, and the adjustable artificial tail fan and beard mean you can rework the decoy from tom to jake. The tail fan and wings are detachable, so you possibly can add actual feathers at your leisure.

The HDR Feeding Hen has a content material physique posture that might lure in lovesick gobblers or just entice different hens to start out a turkey occasion (the boys will finally come knocking).

Or you possibly can pair the 2 decoys to check the ego of a dominant tom and trick him into your setup.

Best Budget: Redhead Foam Turkey Decoy 3-Pack

Key Features

• Lightweight
• Packable
• Two-piece metallic stake

Pros

• Inexpensive
• Easy to hold
• Adjustable for motion

Cons

• Not superb for heavy winds
• Not sturdy

Old-school turkey hunters in all probability bear in mind the previous Featherflex foam turkey decoys—the one available industrial decoys again within the day. The paint jobs on these foamies dulled rapidly, and I actually imagine pressured gobblers can acknowledge apparent dupes. Manufacturing strategies and paint have come a great distance, so the resurgence of froth decoys like Redhead’s 3-Pack is nice for hunters who aren’t prepared to drop their fuel cash on turkey decoys.

The Redhead Foam Turkey Decoy 3-Pack is so simple as decoys come but when used correctly, they’ll get the job executed. If you’re the kind of turkey hunter who believes decoys are pointless, you would stuff the 3-Pack in your vest for a JIC (Just In Case) state of affairs. Make certain the wingnuts are tight and the stakes are safe if you happen to deploy these dekes on a windy day. Pro tip: If you’re having bother eradicating creases within the foam after they’ve been folded up throughout journey, strive operating a hair dryer on them in your Motel 6.

Best for Ground Blind Setups: The Grind Reaper Quarter-Body Strutter and Lay Down Hen

Key Features

• Strutter: quarter-body design for simple transport
• Adjustable metallic stake
• Detachable artificial full fan (possibility so as to add actual fan)

Pros

• Reasonably priced
• Gobbler is twin function (stationary setup or reaping)

Cons

• Hen: not simply seen in tall grass
• Decoy bag bought individually 

Hunting from a floor blind in open areas, resembling large ag fields, means it is advisable to earn the eye of gobblers and get them to decide to your setup. Combining a full-strut gobbler decoy with a laydown (breeding posture) hen is a superb start line, and this pair from The Grind is real looking and manageable to haul together with all of your floor blind gear. 

Given the general high quality and realism, this turkey decoy duo affords an awesome worth for turkey hunters preferring hard-shell decoys. These may not be the most effective for operating and gunning, however they’ll work properly in your setup if you happen to fancy lengthy hours in a floor blind. 

As a quarter-body decoy, the Strutter shaves off some pointless weight, and most actual longbeards don’t appear to care concerning the lacking again portion of a gobbler decoy. Remove the artificial fan and substitute it with an actual gobbler fan, and the Quarter-Body Strutter shall be tough for dominant gobblers to withstand, particularly if the decoy is positioned over the Lay Down Hen decoy. A wingnut secures the two-piece heavy-duty metallic stake to the decoy, which may be loosened or tightened relying on how a lot wind movement you favor. Not solely is the the portray course of on these decoys hyper-realistic, it’s made to final. Each colour is utilized, then baked and dried onto the decoy earlier than the subsequent colour is utilized for optimum sturdiness.

Best for Pressured Late-Season Birds: Primos Lil’ Gobbstopper Hen and Jake 

Key Features

• Extra small profiles
• High-quality paint schemes

Pros

• Lightweight 
• Packable for cellular or stationary hunts
• Low value

Cons

At lower than $60 the Lil’ Gobbstopper Hen and Jake combo from Primos provides quite a lot of worth in a small package deal. 

With smaller profiles, the jake is much less intimidating to skittish gobblers, and the hen is less complicated to hold than full-sized decoys. Deploy these decoys collectively to simulate a mating pair, or run them individually, relying on the reactions of your late-season targets. Consider beefing up the plastic stake with a metallic substitute so that you received’t have to fret about penetrating more durable floor.

Best for Reaping: Killer Gear JakeFan

Key Features

• Umbrella-style design 
• 3D head
• Adjustable viewing window

Pros

• Packable 
• Mimics a jake coming out and in of strut
• Comes with carry bag and face masks
• Designed for self-filming with POV digital camera

Cons

• Limited utilization for stationary setups

The JakeFan is the offspring of the unique TurkeyFan that makes use of a singular umbrella-style system that simply permits reapers to imitate a gobbler going out and in of a strut. You merely shut and open the umbrella whilst you’re hiding behind it. While the 2-D TurkeyFan decoy has a full fan 4 instances the scale of an actual gobbler, the JakeFan is extra realistically sized and constructed with a 3D head.

This decoy contains an adjustable viewing window that’s handy for bow or gun hunters to purpose at approaching gobblers, and it’s straightforward to rig a POV motion digital camera (bracket bought individually) to seize video footage out of your hunt. Use the built-in stake to anchor the JakeFan if you wish to name a longbeard within the “old-fashioned” manner. 

How To Choose A Turkey Decoy

Selecting a turkey decoy is dependent upon your searching ways and desire, but it surely doesn’t must be tough. Identify your funds first, after which work out your most typical searching type. Choose probably the most real looking turkey decoy(s) you could afford, and ensure it accommodates your most probably searching setups. Remember, with some creativity, practically each turkey decoy can be utilized successfully for quite a lot of situations, and generally you’re higher off going with no decoy in any respect.

Read Next: Best Turkey Mouth Calls of 2022

FAQs

Final Thoughts on the Best Turkey Decoys

Hunting turkeys over decoys can provide many benefits. Decoys can provide turkeys the visible affirmation they should shut the space in your setup. When a turkey is concentrated on a decoy, it may possibly enable you extra leeway for making essential actions resembling elevating a gun or drawing a bow. And there’s nothing fairly like watching a dominant gobbler march right into a well-placed decoy setup for ol’-fashioned beatdown. While decoys provide many up-sides, generally you’re higher off not utilizing them, and forcing tom to come back in search of the supply of your pleading hen calls.