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Turkey reaping, anyone?

Tjraley2

Tjraley2

Well-Known Member
Vendor Rep
Joined
Feb 21, 2018
Messages
814
Location
Stoughton, WI
I’m thinking of trying to reap a turkey this year. I have several places I can hunt where I often see turkeys on the neighboring property, but it’s hard to call a bird across a wide open field.

Curious to hear your thoughts and experience with turkey reaping. Specifically, have you found it to be effective? If it’s as effective as YouTube would have me believe, is it ethical? Finally, any cheap decoy recommendations? Don’t want to drop $125 if a $40 decoy will have the same effect.
 
Aside from being super careful. I don’t see how it’s ethically any different than a layout blind. But I have just fanned before & also got a reaping setup that’s basically a 1/2 golf umbrella with a molded 3D head & neck. It’s very effective in certain situations. The purist in me still enjoys the cat & mouse of a great setup with no decoys. But the tag soup side of me has reaped some turkeys on out of state hunts when other methods weren’t having success.
 
Bigterp said:
Aside from being super careful. I don’t see how it’s ethically any different than a layout blind. But I have just fanned before & also got a reaping setup that’s basically a 1/2 golf umbrella with a molded 3D head & neck. It’s very effective in certain situations. The purist in me still enjoys the cat & mouse of a great setup with no decoys. But the tag soup side of me has reaped some turkeys on out of state hunts when other methods weren’t having success.
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How has just using just a fan compared to using the full setup with the head worked for you?
 
The fan is more of a hung up field Turkey kinda thing, I have too big a profile to feel confident in crawling out behind it. I would just flash it & spin it a little to get them to break.
 
I think all decoys should be illegal, especially male decoys and doubly especially a decoy such as a fan that’s used to “reap” a turkey. Either learn to hunt them on straight up or take up golf.
 
dalton916 said:
I think all decoys should be illegal, especially male decoys and doubly especially a decoy such as a fan that’s used to “reap” a turkey. Either learn to hunt them on straight up or take up golf.
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Haha! Gotcha. I’m guessing you don’t use calls, camo, guns, or other things that give you an unfair advantage?

Just messing with ya. I’m not there though. Even in golf I’m always looking for an edge. Until I can get one every time out due to a male decoy, I think I’ll keep using them. Fwiw, I’ve only killed two turkeys, one with no decoy. It was easier to get birds to commit without a decoy.
 
dalton916 said:
I think all decoys should be illegal, especially male decoys and doubly especially a decoy such as a fan that’s used to “reap” a turkey. Either learn to hunt them on straight up or take up golf.
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What makes this feel unethical or an unfair advantage to you? No interest in taking up golf btw.
 
ThereWillBeSpuds said:
Pretty sure it's only illegal on public here... seems like a good way to get shot in any case.

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Around here, they'd shoot you and then the taxidermist would have to break the bad news to them.
 
Bigterp said:
What makes this feel unethical or an unfair advantage to you? No interest in taking up golf btw.
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Don’t remember using any of those terms.

I went on my first Turkey hunt in the 70’s. I’ve seen the numbers low and I’ve seen the numbers WAY too high. Around here the numbers are just now getting balanced out to a sustainable value and folks that started when the numbers were grotesquely high think it’s the end of the world.

I love Turkey hunting. I hate Turkey hunters. If you can’t kill birds with a gobbler decoy or a fan then I got nothing for ya, but that nonsense needs to be shut down.

The upside of this is the simple fact that your numbers will decline, you won’t be able to just pop up your blind, stick a few rubber turkeys in the ground and wait em out. The numbers of hunters will then fall and we can go back to killing turkeys with woodsmanship and a caller.
 
dalton916 said:
Don’t remember using any of those terms.

I went on my first Turkey hunt in the 70’s. I’ve seen the numbers low and I’ve seen the numbers WAY too high. Around here the numbers are just now getting balanced out to a sustainable value and folks that started when the numbers were grotesquely high think it’s the end of the world.

I love Turkey hunting. I hate Turkey hunters. If you can’t kill birds with a gobbler decoy or a fan then I got nothing for ya, but that nonsense needs to be shut down.

The upside of this is the simple fact that your numbers will decline, you won’t be able to just pop up your blind, stick a few rubber turkeys in the ground and wait em out. The numbers of hunters will then fall and we can go back to killing turkeys with woodsmanship and a caller.
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Gotcha, just trying to figure out why the strong stance against. Turkey hunting is at the top of my list. I too prefer to hunt them without decoys in the woods but that’s not every scenario & definitely don’t think there’s anything wrong with using them. Outside of shooting them on the roost, all other legal methods I’m fine with.
 
I definitely think it’s not wise on public land. Or states where it’s legal to shoot turkeys with a rifle. Also wouldn’t be anywhere near a field edge.
 
timbrhuntr said:
I actually feel safer behind a fan out in a field than I do sitting in the woods calling lol
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I was thinking this same thing. I’ve never tried it, but in a place where rifles are not allowed and fields are very large, such as southern Wisconsin, it seems like it isn’t a bad option.
 
Most fun hunt I've ever had. Tom had saw me twice so he wasn't about to come in to me. Busted out a real turkey fan glued to a plastic turkey decoy stake and started crawling right towards him behind the fan held upright. All I could see because of terrain and grass was the top of his fan. He was originally looking directly away from me but as soon as he saw my fan, he came out of strut and ran straight to me. Shot him at 5 steps. No chance I ever kill him any other way!

Time and place for every move. Its the one and only time I've tried it because its the only time I've been in that situation.
 
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