Bill Marchel: Set out your hen decoy, then watch them strut

When the 2010 Minnesota turkey hunting season opens a half-hour before sunrise on Wednesday, hunters will be faced with various decisions.

Many hunters employ decoys to help lure an amorous gobbler into gun or bow range. There is an infinite number of decoy options, from simple silhouette versions of hens, jakes or toms, to photo-real inflatable decoys with bobbing heads and bodies that swivel left or right with the slightest breeze.

While it is wise to use the most realistic decoys possible, perhaps a more important decision -- one that is often overlooked -- is how many decoys to use and of what sex.

I contend that under most hunting situations, you're better off using a lone hen decoy.

Turkeys, like most wild critters, establish a pecking order before the breeding season. Usually the oldest, largest and most aggressive toms occupy a spot at the top. Younger, less confident toms rank lower, and jakes (1-year-old toms) lower still.

At least that's supposed to be the way it works. Not always, though.

Several years ago, I witnessed an especially interesting display of turkey breeding behavior that was contrary to what is considered normal.

Suddenly, I spotted a tom turkey in the picked corn about 200 yards away. I yelped with the diaphragm call, and immediately he responded with a thunderous gobble.

A few seconds later, the gobbler took off running, not toward me, but away. Before I had a chance to analyze what went wrong, four jakes appeared. Much to my surprise they chased the adult tom out of the cornfield and into the woods.

Later, the four jakes reappeared and headed in my direction. Eventually they strutted all around my hen decoy. Each time I called the four youngsters responded in unison with loud gobbles.

During all this, two adult toms wandered into view, one from the north, the other from the south. Neither bird dared to approach the decoy. Eventually one of the adult toms poked his head over a rise in the meadow about 30 yards away in view of the jakes. Instantly the gang of jakes ran at the tom and chased him. When the group was out of sight, I heard an awful ruckus. How I wished I could have seen and photographed what was going out just over the hill.

At this point, the second adult tom took advantage of the situation. With the jakes gone, he ran for my decoy. The long-beard strutted for my hen decoy and even attempted to mount it. When the jakes returned and saw the second adult wooing their lady, they chased him off, too.

Even so, my turkey-hunting equipment includes a variety of decoys. I like the inflatable models because I can carry an entire flock in my backpack, including an adult tom strutting, a jake strutting, and several hens in a variety of positions, which ensures I'm prepared for any hunting circumstance.

After recognizing "normal" can mean anything, usually I stake out a single tom-attractive hen decoy.