The act of fanning a wild turkey should be made illegal in the United States. Many arguments have been started over this statement on social media sites, and it has created a huge rift among turkey hunters. Moving behind a turkey fan or a decoy into shooting range of a tom is called “fanning,” which is also known as “reaping.” This method has become very popular in the last 10 years. It’s gone from a fringe tactic to one that’s now being deployed by many turkey hunters.
Now, the most popular way to hunt turkeys on The Outdoor Channel and on social media sites like Instagram and TikTok is to reap them. The video footage of an angry, charging wild gobbler tends to garner hundreds of thousands of views. Because this method works so well, it’s also easy to get more kills on camera to show the audience. Because of this, a whole new generation of turkey hunters has learned that fanning and reaping are good ways to hunt turkeys.
There are several augments I could make against fanning in terms of hunter’s safety and hunting ethics. But those arguments have been made hundreds of times with little effect. But there is one important part of the fanning debate that isn’t talked about nearly enough: the biology of turkeys. To protect the wild turkey for future generations, I believe that rules or laws must be made that make this activity illegal.
As spring turkey season rolls around each year, hunters start sharpening their skills and tactics for bagging a longbeard. One advanced and exciting technique for taking a stubborn tom is called reaping. But what exactly is reaping, and how do you pull it off?
What is Reaping in Turkey Hunting?
Reaping refers to stalking within close range of a gobbler and then popping up a decoy to draw him in. It’s most effective when a tom is hung up in a field and not responding to calling. The hunter stealthily sneaks into the bird’s comfort zone presents a decoy as a challenger and hopes this triggers an aggressive response.
Unlike sitting in one spot and calling, reaping is an active, move-and-shoot tactic When done properly, it takes a hung-up tom by surprise and prompts him to come investigate the decoy. He expects to see a rival gobbler but instead gets a shotgun blast or arrow
Why Use the Reaping Method?
There are a few key reasons reaping works on stubborn toms:
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Surprise Factor – Suddenly having a “strutter” appear in his space catches the turkey off-guard. He’s more likely to react instinctively.
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Curiosity – A decoy popping up out of nowhere will spark the turkey’s curiosity and competitiveness. He’ll want to check out and confront this intruder.
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Safety Zone Invasion – By sneaking into the tom’s comfort zone, you force a response before he can gather his thoughts.
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Change of Pace – If calling and sitting in one area failed, reaping changes the game and may be just the ticket.
How to Reap a Turkey: 4 Key Tips
Reaping takes patience, woodsmanship skills, and the right gear. Follow these pointers for success:
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Pick Your Spots Carefully – Only reap in open fields with good visibility and no other hunters. NEVER attempt on public land.
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Use a Lightweight Decoy – Portable fans or lightweight foldable decoys allow sneaking up on the tom. Avoid bulky models.
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Get Close – Crawl, crouch or snake your way to within 100 yards or less. Get inside the tom’s comfort bubble before exposing yourself.
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Minimize Movement – Slowly lift just enough of the decoy to grab the tom’s attention. Avoid bold waving or fanning motions.
Best Decoys for Reaping Gobblers
Specialized decoys built for reaping include:
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Fans – Compact for travel and easy to slowly unfurl while sneaking in low.
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Foldable Models – Lightweight frame with attached fan that expands for use. Easily packed.
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Hub-Style -Rotate just the hub portion into view and leave folded fan hidden in grass.
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Bow-Mounted – Fan or decoy attaches to your bow for hands-free reaping. Practice first!
Safety Considerations for Reaping Setup
While exciting, reaping has risks. Be smart with these safety measures:
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Never attempt on public land or where other hunters may be present.
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Ensure reaping is legal in your state. Many don’t allow it.
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Use a shotgun only. NO centerfire rifles for reaping under any circumstances.
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Make absolutely sure of your target and what’s downrange before taking a shot.
Putting it All Together
Here are the key steps when executing a reaping strategy:
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Scout and find a hung-up tom in an open field. Ensure safe setup.
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Choose your lightweight decoy and sneak into 100 yards or less.
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When close enough, slowly lift the decoy into view while hidden in grass.
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Call softly if needed. Be ready to shoot immediately if the tom approaches.
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Take a close, clear broadside or frontal shot. No risky angles.
While not for beginners, reaping is an advanced tactic that could make the difference on a stubborn gobbler. With proper gear, preparation and safety measures, it puts the odds in your favor. Just be patient and let the tom make the next move. Master this specialized skill and you’ll have a deadly weapon in your spring turkey arsenal.
Fanning vs. Turkey Biology
The wild turkey is in decline across most of the country. Its decline has been most noticeable in the Southeast, which used to be a stronghold for the species. I believe the advances of modern tactics have compounded this issue with reaping being at the forefront. Like Commissioner Wright stated, reaping is allowing many turkeys to be killed that otherwise would not have been. This is why reaping is so bad for turkey populations. First, let’s look at how the wild turkey lives.
The wild turkey is one of the few bird species that is hunted during its breeding season. In late winter and early spring, the male wild turkeys fight to determine a hierarchy for their area. The dominate male wins out and is selected by the hens to be their breeding partner. He is chosen by the hens because his genes and strength give them the best chance of having strong, healthy chicks. Therefore, one gobbler tends to do most of the breeding for the area. The Creator designed it this way to ensure the survival of the species.
A shotgun that could shoot from 40 yards, a few calls, and maybe a foam hen decoy were all you needed to go turkey hunting 20 years ago. The big gobbler in the area who had 20 live hens around him all day in early spring was probably impossible to kill. Even the best callers in the world can’t always get a gobbler to leave his flock of live hens without seeing them. Thus, in the early season, hunters would usually end up harvesting satellite and subdominant males.
The gobbler would not be able to be killed until the hens had given birth and left him late in the season to nest. At that time, he could be tricked into range and killed. But at this point, he has already passed on his genes to the next generation and taken his place on the landscape.
I believe the act of fanning has changed this dynamic and has created the opposite effect. The area’s subdominant males are more likely to run away when they see a full fan because they don’t want to get hit again by the dominant tom. Whereas the most susceptible turkey to reaping is the dominant gobbler that has all the hens. He has been fighting to keep those hens, and he won’t let another strutting gobbler get close to his harem. If a hunter comes up behind a full fan decoy and charges the flock in the field, the dominant turkey will charge and be killed. He has now been removed from the flock and his genetics will no longer pass on.
Studies have shown that the hens do not just immediately move on to the next available gobbler. The selection process takes time as they determine the next best option for breeding.
Respected turkey biologist Dr. Mike Chamberlain stated in his presentation to the Alabama Conservation Advisory Board in August of 2021: “Within that group of toms that’s in that picture, there’s one dominant bird. Okay. The other two birds are subordinate to him, and in some cases they can breed and in some cases they cannot breed. And the reason is, testosterone levels from that dominant tom are super high. We see this when we hunt this bird. He’s aggressive. He comes to a decoy. He comes to a call. He’s looking for a fight. That is typically the dominant bird. Those other two birds, their testosterone levels are suppressed because of his presence. And in some cases, research has shown, even if you remove him, those other two toms don’t just suddenly become breeders. Their testosterone levels are maintained lower because he was constantly kicking their tails for months and months and months and, therefore, the testosterone stays low. So just keep that in mind. This notion that, well, you shoot one or one’s dead or gets killed by an owl or whatever and others just step up, well, normally that’s not the way turkeys work.”
Chamberlain also said, “[A hen] checks herself against the male next to her and asks, ‘Are you as fit as the guy next to you?’ If not, I’ll keep looking until I find a male I think is fit, I’ll breed with him, and then I’ll go through this process again.'” ”.
Further studies have shown that the later a hen nests, the lower the chances for a successful hatch. In his talk, Chamberlain also talks about this: “This bird’s nesting season is taking way, way too long.” It should not take four months for this bird to lay all their clutches and move on. This should be about a 60-day process. We regularly see it’s twice that in the South. Putting all of that together, the science suggests that what we’re doing is contributing to this prolonged nesting effort, and I think it makes sense that nesting should lead to less food being produced. We’re seeing it. Since these birds are being spread out over months, you should see low nest success and low brood survival. And that’s essentially commensurate with the data sets that we have. ”.
Dr. Mike Chamberlain used this research to show that the South may be starting its hunting seasons too early. I think it also supports the idea that a method like fanning, which is very good at killing the dominant breeding gobbler, is also bad for nest success. He even went as far to say, “he [the dominate bird] is looking for a fight. “When the best genetic option for breeding is taken away and the nests are put down later, there is less chance that the eggs will hatch and the chicks will live.”
Banning the Fan in Tennessee
In Tennessee, where I live, we have seen a big drop in wild turkeys, so I have been fighting to get this method banned. The harvest rate is staying the same, and in many places it’s even going up, even though the population is going down.
After the 2021 season, a poll of Tennessee license holders showed that 60% thought the state’s flock was going down. It became clear to the TWRA commission after the 2020 season that something needed to be changed because the turkey flock kept going down. As of before the 2021 season, you could only bring in three birds per season statewide and only two in a few of the worst-affected counties. Seasons also started later in these counties.
At the most recent commission meeting, TWRA commissioner Tommy Woods said that the harvest rate has stayed the same, even though 60% of Tennessee hunters say they are seeing fewer birds. He said he thinks the method of take has improved with reaping and the use of TSS shotshells. We are taking a greater percentage of turkeys from a falling population.
You can see this trend play out in our harvest statistics from recent years. The 7-year average reported harvest in Tennessee is 33,655 turkeys. The total reported harvest in 2020 was 40,141 and the harvest in 2021 was 32,772. From 2015 to 2019, the average number of turkeys killed on Tennessee’s WMAs each spring was only 1,668… on public lands. Between 2006 and 2010, when turkey numbers were thought to be going up, the average WMA harvest was 1,256 turkeys.
But in 2021, hunters on state WMAs almost broke the record by killing 2,422 birds, even though the bag limit had been lowered and there was concern that the resource was running out. That’s a 45 percent increase over the average. Even though the season has been cut short by a few days and hunters are seeing fewer turkeys, Tennesseans are still killing as many, if not more, turkeys on state lands than ever before.
It’s important to note that these harvest increases correlate with an increased number of turkey hunters in Tennessee. However, it’s clear that the state has a goal of increasing hunter participation and this isn’t likely to change. So, if the state is set on increasing or maintaining the number of hunters on the landscape, and we believe that our turkey population is declining, then it’s obvious that we should restrict our method of take to prevent over-harvesting. That means banning fanning and reaping.
Hank Wright, a commissioner for the TWRA, said at the most recent meeting that he thought reaping was killing a lot of turkeys that would not have been killed otherwise. Tennessee wants to stop fanning on all WMA lands, but I think this should be done on all lands.
Alabama, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and South Carolina are the only states that do not allow reaping. Just in case you aren’t angry enough to stop reading now, let me tell you why I think this act should be illegal in all remaining states. It’s not just for safety and moral reasons.
First-Time Turkey Reaping
FAQ
What is fanning in turkey hunting?
Why do turkeys go to fields when it rains?
What color should you wear when moving in the turkey woods?
Where do turkeys go when they are wounded?
Is Turkey reaping dangerous?
Turkey reaping could be especially dangerous if performed on public land or near dense vegetation where your presence is not obvious. Some “turkey purists” are adamantly opposed to it, claiming that it is not only dangerous, but unsportsmanlike. Finally, in some states, stalking turkeys is illegal.
What is reaping turkeys?
Reaping turkeys is now the most prominent form of turkey hunting seen on The Outdoor Channel and across social media platforms, such as Instagram and TikTok. The video footage of an angry, charging wild gobbler tends to garner hundreds of thousands of views.
What is the best Turkey reaping decoy?
The MOJO Scoot-N-Shoot MAX is one of the best turkey reaping decoys. It is super realistic whether you use the included artificial fan and wings or you remove them to add your own real fan and wings. A good handle and stake make this decoy easy to handle in the field.
What is spring turkey hunting?
The beauty of spring turkey hunting is that success can be achieved through multiple hunting styles. You can run-and-gun with a shotgun or set up shop in a hub-style blind with your bow. You can crawl around and bushwhack them, or put out a whole spread of decoys and only take the safety off when a gobbler struts in to put on a show.
What is ‘Fanning’ in turkey hunting?
This statement has triggered countless keyboard arguments on social media platforms and has caused a giant divide among turkey hunters. Fanning, also known as “reaping,” is the act of moving behind a turkey fan or a decoy into shooting range of a tom, and this tactic has grown in mass popularity in the past 10 years.
Should Fanning a Turkey be illegal?
Fanning targets the most mature toms. John Hafner The act of fanning a wild turkey should be made illegal in the United States. This statement has triggered countless keyboard arguments on social media platforms and has caused a giant divide among turkey hunters.