"Turkey Tips" by M-O prostaff writer Kent Thomas

Tip for Windy Spring Time Turkey Hunts :
I’m sure that most of you, as you have headed into the spring turkey woods, have encountered a windy day that played havoc on your decoy(s). I found a way to combat the wind and use it to my favor as it added great movement to my decoys.
When using a single decoy, I strongly recommend you purchase a Primos decoy stake. The one that I am speaking of is the one that primos came out with when they introduced their B-Mobile gobbler decoy. What makes this stake great on a windy day is the wing-nut on the top of the stake. Once screwed down, your decoy will simply sway from side to side on the stake and you won’t have to worry about it suddenly catching a gust of wind that fills the inside of the foam body and launches it straight up into the air!!
I am very fond of the Feather-Flex breeding pair (Jake that sits atop a hen), but my use of these has been very limited because of our windy West Texas days that happen so often in the spring. Well, I solved that problem this season. I, once again, use the Primos stake and punch it straight through the hen’s tail and sit her directly on the ground. I then position the breeding jake on top of her and mark two spots, one on each decoy, where I then attach fishing swivels to attach the two. I affix the swivels to the decoy body by using a fastening brad (the thing in a folder that a kid uses for school to keep loose-leaf paper). You should be able to get these by the box at any office supply store. If you have trouble finding a box of these fastening brads, simply buy a folder that has them and gently remove them. I paint them with a flat black spray paint as well as the swivels and they worked like a charm this spring. What you will end up with is the swivels coming out of the jake’s chest and snapping to the swivels on the hen’s back. With the jake being screwed down by the wing-nut on the Primos stake, he will dance from side to side as he sits on top of the hen. Very realistic looking!! This particular set-up withstood an hour’s worth of 30+ mile per hour winds on one particular hunt.
Hopefully this tip will help you as you fight the wind on your next spring turkey outing. Good huntin.

Kent Thomas