The Mojo Scoot & Shoot

[Western Hunter]

Summer is just around the corner.  Now is a great time to start thinking about turkey hunting.  Every year there is a pile of new turkey hunting gear introduced to the market.  In recent years, several companies have introduced turkey decoys that are more lifelike than ever. From feeding decoys to strutting tom decoys and everything in between, there are more options available now than there are days in the week.

One decoy that is perfect for hunting in the open country of the West that recently caught my eye is the new Mojo Scoot & Shoot decoy. This decoy is designed to be used while stalking. In open country, you use this decoy to sneak up on a longbeard in the middle of a field or prairie. Crawling on your belly can be very difficult.  Calling a bird to the edge of a field or opening can also be difficult. With the Mojo Scoot & Shoot, you go to the bird.

The wings make this decoy a little different from most of the other strutting decoys.  The wings are flared out, which help keep the hunter hidden behind the decoy as they stalk the live bird.

In the video below, you can see that you can make a lot of movement behind the decoy without getting busted because the live longbeard is locked in on the fact that another gobbler has snuck into his area. The video even shows a hunter walking hunched over and sneaking up on a gobbler and not getting busted. By doing this, the hunter is able to cover a lot of ground in open terrain in plain view of turkeys without alarming the birds.

When the decoy attracts the attention of the tom and the tom starts coming to the decoy, the hunter sits tight until the bird is within range at which point they set up and shoot. The draw back of this style of hunting is you are often shooting at a running bird that was just spooked.  However, as the video shows, in most cases the hunter has plenty of time to get the shot off.  This decoy will work well for gun hunters and bowhunters.

If you already have a strutting decoy, it would probably work almost as well as this one. The scary thing about this style of hunting is that if another hunter sees the moving decoy, they may mistake it for a real bird. The decoy has orange stripes on the wings to help eliminate this problem. This decoy should probably only be used on private land.

One of the keys to bringing turkeys within shooting distance is having realistic decoys. Regardless if you are hunting in open country or heavy timber, good decoys can pay off. In addition to the Scoot & Shoot, there several great options including Avian X, DSD and others.

 

If you are on a budget but want to spruce up your current decoy spread, consider purchasing Turkey Skinz (Awayhunting.com). Turkey Skinz made by A-Way Hunting Products is a cover that goes over the outside of your decoy. Turkey Skinz is the actual skin of a hen turkey that has the feathers attached. When you wrap your decoy in a Turkey Skinz, you get the realistic look of a real hen because your decoy is wrapped in real turkey feathers. This eliminates the shine often given off by reflection from the sun bouncing off a decoy and adds a lot of realism to your decoy.

One thing is certain: there are plenty of realistic turkey decoys on the market this spring that will help you bring turkeys in close.

About the Author: Tracy Breen is a full-time outdoor writer, speaker and marketing consultant in the outdoor industry. Learn more about him at www.tracybreen.com.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9WT9qhH-yg

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