Mhay said: “Hunting these high pressured public land birds with a shotgun is tough. To get one with a bow is tougher yet. Doing it without a blind and decoy is no doubt the toughest.”

Tough, you bet, hunting non-agricultural forests for turkeys with a longbow is a top challenge. Blinds are useless since it’s all a walking game, so you have to get good at hunkering down fast in the nearest shade and count on blend-in clothing and zero movement for concealment. Getting that far is fun and in a good area can come repeatedly in a day. Being able to draw without being seen just when the bird is vulnerable, and many hens often watching, is the toughest part. So far as dekes, I’ve pretty much quit using them as you can only carry a couple at most on a long hike, a gobbler is often on you before you have time to get them out and you risk getting busted, and most toms either hang up, shy off or just haul-a.. when they see one or even two dekes. Best I’ve done is have toms circle a hen deke once or twice and then take off. Works for a shotgun but not a bow. So mostly I just go light, no blind and no dekes, and “walk and talk” then set up when I get a near reply, before calling any more. Finding an area with plenty of birds that aren’t gun-shy is the magic bullet, IMHO.