Decoys take the approaching gobbler's eyes off your position. Decoys give an approaching gobbler an explanation for the sounds he hears you making. Most gobblers will come all the way to drive off a plain little standing jake decoy because it is in a nonaggressive pose. Most gobblers are afraid to approach decoys in these aggressive poses. If you place your little standing jake decoy no more than 17 to 20 yards from your shooting position, gobblers that respond will be brought into very close killing range.
Decoys only work if they can be seen.
Set them in open places where they can be seen from a distance. Turkey hunting is a close-range sport. Long shots cause cripples. Always use magnum loads with the highest pellet counts of either No. 5 or 6 shot for your first shot. If you use a repeating shotgun, use magnum loads of No. 2 shot as backup in case you have to stop a running cripple at longer range.