We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn more ›
Today, turkey decoys are almost as important as our turkey calls, shotguns, shotshells, and vests. And, like each of these pieces of essential hunting gear, decoys are practically without number and variation. There are high-tech composition decoys, foldable plastics, inflatables, and motion decoys. They can range from ten dollars apiece to ultra-realistic life-size hens costing $130 or more. So, what's the best turkey decoy for you?
We asked three of our turkey experts to pick some of their top decoys—new and old—that they bring with them in the woods. Below is a long lineup of decoys that excel across a number of hunting situations and techniques. Here are the best turkey decoys you can buy this year.
The Best Turkey Decoys
Best Overall: Avian-X LCD Hen
Best Jake: Avian-X HDR Jake
Best Motion: Higdon TruStrutter Motion Tom Turkey
Best for Reaping: MOJO Outdoors Scoot ‘N Shoot Gunner
Best Budget: Game Winner Turkey Flock
How We Picked The Best Turkey Decoys
We try to be as tough on gear as possible. This helps weed out equipment that doesn't hold up in the field for whatever reason. And we take this same approach when testing turkey decoys. Below are the criteria we consider when choosing our top turkey decoys.
Price Point: Is the price point in line with how we expect the decoy to perform afield? And does the price reflect the years of service you should get out of it?
Realism/Naturalism: Turkey decoys should look like real turkeys. Plain and simple. How good does the decoy look in the field?
Construction: Turkey decoys are like anything other piece of gear; there’s good, and there’s not-so-good. Seams can split on foldable decoys. Stakes break. Paint flakes and chips. Nylon bristle ‘beards’ crumble. We consider how a decoy is assembled and whether the quality matches the price point.
Stake System: You shouldn't have to perform gymnastic movements to get a decoy set up. The decoy also shouldn't blow across the field. The stake system should be simple and secure.
Motion vs. Stationary: Motion can clinch the deal when seducing a reluctant gobbler. However, it’s possible to have too much of this good thing. We look at two things: Does the decoy move, and if so, how? Is the decoy simple to operate?
Ease of Transportation: Decoys are often bulky, big, and awkward to carry. The easier to pack in the field, the better.
Best Overall: Avian-X LCD Hen
Specs
Weight: 3.4 pounds
Body Type: Collapsible PVC dura-rubber
Stake System: Collapsible carbon stake
Pros
Ultra-realistic feather and paint detail
Smaller than a real hen, so it’s easy to carry
Foldable one-piece lightweight carbon stake
Natural but not exaggerated motion
Cons
Expensive
For the money, I don’t believe I’ve ever had any turkey decoy work as well, nor last as long as I have my Avian-X LCRs. Today, my "flock" consists of four hens in various postures and a half-strut jake. That jake took a nice pounding from my stepson’s Mossberg M835 at less than 25 yards several years ago. It still rattles, but there’s no problem with functionality.
Legendary goose caller and carver Fred Zink was the mastermind behind the Avian-X line of decoys—waterfowl and turkeys. The LCD (Lifelike Collapsible Decoy) has excellent feather detail, body posture, and paint scheme. As for the collapsible part of the equation, each LCD decoy uses a small ‘pop’ valve under the tail to inflate/deflate. Pull it out, and the decoy can be compressed, folded, and secured with an included strap. When ready, put two or three breaths into the valve, push it closed, and the decoy is ready for action.
This is easily the most realistic hen decoy I’ve ever used. The paint job mimics the natural reflective nature of real turkey feathers, and because it’s inflatable, it offers lifelike motion on breezy days. Although the decoy is smaller than the average hen, it has some extra height to make it more visible through thick woods or across open fields. —M.D. Johnson
Best Jake: Avian-X HDR Jake
Specs
Weight: 3 pounds
Body Type: Hard body, blow-molded plastic
Stake System: One-piece stake stores inside decoy
Pros
Black-flocked back
Comes with two heads – one passive, one aggressive
Stake stores in decoy body
Highly realistic
Cons
Bulky
Expensive
Lays the iridescent color scheme on a little thick
The HDR (Heavy Duty Realism) Jake is a blow-molded, hard-bodied plastic decoy. It’s carved to a high standard of realism, with terrific feather detail. The bungee-d on legs even have stubby jake spurs. The bird is posed in quarter-strut, with the feathers of its back beginning to stand up. The back feathers are flocked a deep black, while the body feathers are painted in a rich iridescent scheme.
The quarter-strut is a provocative pose, and the HDR Jake comes with two interchangeable heads so you can set the intensity level. One head has a curled neck, with the snood engorged and lying over the beak, which signals a high level of confidence. The other has a stubby snood, a raised head, and a color scheme that’s not as aggressively red, white, and blue as the curled-neck head—depicting an uncertain and wary bird. Body language matters to turkeys, and Avian pays attention to details like snoods and head posture. As a general rule of thumb, you start the season with the more aggressive head and dial the temperature down as the season goes on.
This is a big, bulky decoy. It’s hard-bodied, so it can be noisy if you bang it into trees while walking. Also, the paint scheme may lean a little too hard into the bronze and copper iridescence of wild turkey feathers. On the whole, this is a highly realistic decoy with two heads to fine-tune the message you want to send to gobblers. It comes with a sturdy bag, and the one-piece stake slides firmly into a hole underneath the tail, which is very convenient. —Phil Bourjaily
Best Motion: Higdon TruStrutter Motion Tom Turkey
Specs
Weight: 8 pounds
Body Type: Hard synthetic
Stake System: Metal stake
Pros
Side-to-side motion
Ability to incorporate a natural fan
Convenient handle underneath the tail
Battery operation affords round-the-clock motion if desired
Cons
Motion depends on battery operation and the use of a handheld remote
Electronic decoys are prohibited in some states
Expensive
There’s no denying the motion generated by a fake gobbler like Higdon’s TruStrutter can be the deciding factor when it comes to convincing that wary longbeard to walk those final 50 yards. Aside from the price tag, which is expensive, there’s not much bad that can be said about the TruStrutter.
The colors are right, and the motion is there. The ability to swap out the included synthetic fan for a real fan is a bonus. Add in the decoy’s aggressive body posture and its smaller size, and this thing is a game changer for drawing in territorial toms. You will need to confirm electronic decoys are indeed allowed in your state prior to staking the TruStrutter out. Other than that, he can be a valuable asset. —M.D.J.
Best for Reaping: MOJO Outdoors Scoot ‘N Shoot Gunner
Specs
Weight: 1 pound
Body Type: Composite with fabric fan
Stake System: Metal handle stake and shotgun mount
Pros
Built-in bipod allows for steady rested shooting (when possible)
Simple, easy-to-use design adjusts to fit most single-barrel shotguns
Artificial yet realistic fan features see-thru mesh for good visibility
Rapid deployment
Cons
Hunter safety issues involved
Can be unwieldy in some situations
Difficult to shoot at a running bird with a fan attached
Let me get this out of the way first. If you decide to hide behind something that appears to be a full strut gobbler during turkey season, you need to take serious precautions so that someone isn’t going to misinterpret what they’re seeing as the real deal and create an issue.
That said, fanning or reaping can be an effective tactic, particularly on stubborn henned-up gobblers. Mojo Outdoors has put a lot of thought into making their Scoot ‘n Shoot Gunner as user-friendly as possible. It’s large enough to hide behind but not so big and bulky as to make seeing and, hopefully, shooting a problem. If you do miss that first shot, I’m afraid putting a hit on a running/flying gobbler with the Gunner in place would be challenging. For more on reaping turkeys, check out our article filled with reaping tips. —M.D.J.
Best Budget: Game Winner Turkey Flock
Specs
Weight: 1 pound for three decoys
Body Type: Foldable EVA foam
Stake System: Two-piece metal stakes
Pros
Ultra lightweight
Excellent head coloration on jake decoy
Quick and easy deployment afield
Affordable
Cons
Flimsy bodies could be damaged with hard use
Whether you’re a new turkey hunter or just looking for something new, different, and highly portable, this Game Winner three-bird turkey flock is a great buy. The package includes one upright jake, one upright hen, and a feeding hen. While the coloration isn’t particularly detailed or reflective, it is realistic enough to fool even decoy-savvy birds.
Each decoy rolls up into super compact packages that are easy to stow in a turkey vest. I’m not a fan of the two-piece metal stakes because they can clink together and make a lot of noise, but they are plenty sturdy and allow for some realistic movement, even with minimal wind. —Alice Jones Webb
Primos Lil’ Gobstopper Combo
Specs
Weight: 1.9 pounds combined
Body Type: Hard plastic
Stake System: Folding stakes with wingnut attachment
Pros
Compact
Very lightweight
Passive jake head colors and snood won’t intimidate any gobbler
Hen stores inside jake
Very affordable at $85 for the pair
Cons
Not as realistic as many decoys
Small size doesn’t show up as well
Stake wingnuts are an extra step, a chore in the dark, plus they are easy to lose
The Gobstopper is now the Lil’ Gobstopper, smaller and better than ever. He’s picked up a mate, and the two make an effective, easy-to-transport team. The Lil’ Gobstopper is significantly smaller than the original, making it light and easily portable. Better yet, the hen slides neatly most of the way inside the jake, so you can pack both at once in the game bag of your vest. Between the two combined, they weigh just under two pounds, making them the ideal decoys to use if you have a long hike or if you like to combine a morning sit with some running and gunning later on.
These decoys are not works of art. The carving and paint scheme are only okay, although sometimes I think realism may matter to us more than it matters to a turkey. The stakes are threaded at the top to go through a hole in the decoy’s back, and you secure them with the included wing-nuts. Therefore, they take a little longer to set up than other decoys, and there is the possibility of losing a wing-nut in the dark. They are light enough to move easily in a light breeze if you take the time to enlarge the holes in the decoy’s backs. The bottom line is you can pack them in, set them up, and they look like turkeys. Overall, the Lil’ Gobstopper Combo is a winning solution for the hunter who wants to carry effective decoys without adding weight or bulk to their gear. —P.B.
Dave Smith Turkey Flock Decoys
Specs
Weight: 18 pounds for four decoys
Body Type: Advanced crosslink elastomer resin
Stake System: Aluminum
Pros
Unmatched realism
Head-up posture attracts gobblers as well as dominant hens
Taller height shows up well in cover
Lightweight and easy to pack around
Cons
Expensive
Short of a taxidermy hen, you won’t find a more realistic-looking turkey decoy. Yes, all this realism and technology comes with a price, as in $140 for Smith’s upright hen and almost $600 for a four-pack (3 hens/half-strut jake). However, this is an investment. Made from a high-tech elastomer resin, Dave Smith decoys maintain their shape even through rough use in the field. The material is soft and quiet when you’re walking through the woods. It is also self-healing, so if one accidentally gets peppered with 5 shot, it doesn’t have to end up in the garbage bin. —M.D.J.
Montana Decoy Miss Purrfect XD
Specs
Weight: 22 ounces
Body Type: XD fabric over wire
Stake System: Two-piece metal stake
Pros
Feather-cut fabric provides subtle and realistic movement
Adjustable head positions
Ultra-compact and lightweight for easy transport
Cons
Not as realistic as some other options
Not waterproof
I’ve mainly used hard-bodied turkey decoys over the years, and while they are wonderfully realistic options for wary birds, the bulk and weight are an unnecessary hindrance for most turkey pursuits. Montana Decoy’s Miss Purrfect is an awesome solution. The fabric body collapses down to a more realistic package for super-active run-and-gun hunts.
While this isn’t the most realistic decoy on the market, the coloring is highly detailed. The fabric composition also creates just enough movement to coax in skittish gobblers, and the body has unique feather cuts that flutter slightly in a soft breeze while softening the profile for a more convincing look. With two leg pole slots, you can change the position from a feeding pose to an upright position. You can also arrange the head position by fine-tuning the wire construction to get the perfect runway model pose. —A.J.W.
FAQs
Q: Are decoys necessary for turkey hunting?
Absolutely not. I’ve killed plenty of gobblers without decoys over the past 30 years. However, decoys can be a useful addition to your turkey hunting toolbox when used correctly. Decoys can complete the illusion you’re trying to present with your turkey call. You’ve given him something to hear, and now you’re giving him something to see. Decoys can bring a hesitant tom closer, sometimes within feet of a ground blind, making them a great option for archers.
Q: How much do turkey decoys cost?
You can buy a foam hen decoy for as little as $10, and there’s a good chance it will work fine. Or you can spend $150 for a single hen decoy. Cheap doesn’t always mean poor quality, and expensive doesn't always mean the best.
Q: Do decoys scare turkeys?
Decoys can scare turkeys. A full-strut gobbler decoy can intimidate a less dominant, albeit mature tom, causing him to scurry away at high speed. A jake decoy can frighten adult gobblers if there happens to be a pack of mean-spirited jakes roaming your property and causing mayhem. And yes, even hen decoys can create a problem should a longbeard low on the pecking order show up on-scene and be reluctant to approach. Does this mean you shouldn’t use them? No, but the better you know the birds you’re hunting.
Why Trust Us
For more than 125 years, Field & Stream has been providing readers with honest and authentic coverage of outdoor gear. Our writers and editors eat, sleep, and breathe the outdoors, and that passion comes through in our product reviews. You can count on F&S to keep you up to date on the best new gear. And when we write about a product—whether it’s a bass lure or a backpack—we cover the good and the bad, so you know exactly what to expect before you decide to make a purchase.
