Put them in the best place possible

Where to set up around decoys can also make or break your turkey hunt.

“If a turkey must walk by the hunter to get to the decoy, most likely the hunter will get busted long before the bird gets to a position for a shot,” said guide Tim Valentine.

Some of Valentine’s other tips include:

• Never set up behind or in line with a decoy — for safety’s sake, as well as to keep out of a gobbler’s line of sight. Set the decoy up to the side.

• Never set a decoy up in wide-open country; always set it up along an edge, say, the edge of a field or power line right of way. You want to bring him closer to you, not hang him up.

• When a dominant gobbler approaches a decoy, he will usually want to meet the decoy face-to-face. Therefore, set a gobbler decoy facing your set-up position, so the bird will approach the gobbler facing away from you. Never face the decoy away from you.

• When setting a decoy up, set up on the side of your body where your dominant eye is. If you shoot right-handed, set the decoy up to your right side, so all your movement with the gun will be to the left — natural, as it were. If you’re left-handed, set the decoy up to your left.

• Never set a decoy up more than 20 yards from your setup.