Jake or Tom ???

[NWBuck]

Looking for a little input here...

I have a jake fan and a full tom fan, and am planning to use one or the øther to modify an existing decoy into a decoy for use in the upcoming season(s). Which fan would would guys choose??? I currently have both thawing out, but am undecided as to which one to use. Thanks all...

NWBuck

 

[blake]

If I wanted to harvest a mature tom I would use the full fan. I would want to play on a mature gobblers sense of dominance so he would come in and challenge the decoy.

There are several other factors to consider using my advice.

A mature tom that had just gotten his butt kicked by another older bird might run in the opposite direction when he saw your full fan decoy?????

Immature toms and jakes may not wish to come into the decoy for fear of getting smacked around??????

Or a mob of jakes and younger tom’s might just come in and beat up on the decoy?????

So I quess I am not at all sure what I would do if I were you.....does this help?

 

[dblmainbeam]

Bad news it takes 3 weeks to get a fan dried with salt.

 

[NWBuck]

Oh no,,,we can get 'er up and running in a whole lot less than that. Amazing what a few finishing nails and a small piece of plywood can do

NWBuck

 

[dblmainbeam]

[ QUOTE ]
Oh no,,,we can get 'er up and running in a whole lot less than that. Amazing what a few finishing nails and a small piece of plywood can do

NWBuck

[/ QUOTE ]Iguess it cold enough you dont have to worry about flies. Good luck. I'm trying a tom fan this year.

 

[dominator]

im using a jake fan because i really want to saw a head off, the size of the beard wont matter this season!!

 

[Liv4Rut]

I would dry out both if I were you though, it is always nice to have two fans. That way if one gets soaked in the rain or really beat up, then you at least have a spare. Also I honestly don't think it matters which fan you use. I don't think turkeys are smart enough to differentiate the two, I think just a strutting bird in general gets the jakes and immature toms worried.

 

[Ghost]

NWBUCK...just the other night I did a fan similar to what you are talking about. (Gobbler fan already dried in position.)

I traced a coffee can and cut out two circles of 1/4" plywood with a jig saw.

Then I cut off the bottom 1/3 of the circles in the radial arm saw so they matched.

I predrilled five pilot holes through both halves inbetween the feather quills.

Then sandwhich the tail fan between the two pieces of plywood and use 1" wood screws to pull everything tightly together.

(Support can be beautiful!

)

I painted the plywood a dark feather color to match the decoy. It really keeps the fan in perfect shape and is easy to carry without worry of the fan falling apart.

Worked great on the pretty boy and Gabe and I are going to give it a test in the morning.

 

[NWBuck]

That sounds about right Ghost. With craftsmanship like that, those gobblers will probably be giving themselves up this spring

Good luck tomorrow

NWBuck

 

[THA4]

i might go with a Jake fan, but i guess either side of the arguement has some valid points, i like to display my tom fans

 

[Skully]

All the above ideas are great but you can also lay your fan out on a piece of waxed paper. Use a few finish nails to spread it out on the bench. Coat the tail base and upper 1/2 inch of the quills with automotive bondo. "You can get it at Wal-Mart in the automotive section". In a few hours you have a rock solid "TAILBONE" for your fan.

 

[gundog870]

I just epoxy'ed a black leather circle folded over it. Call me lazy.

 

[NWBuck]

Thanks Skully. I'm going to do one fan traditional and try your method with the other. Looks to be considerably less work

NWBuck