In June of 2010 I wrote a blog titled “The Convergence of Technology & Hunting” that elaborated on the emergence of technology in the hunting industry and discussed how technology can give hunters advantages. A lot has happened in the technology world since I posted that blog and the evolution of technology continues to advance. Though, the one thing I didn’t anticipate is that I would be participating in the evolution in a way related to physical products. 

Introducing the Tech-Turkey & Internet Controlled Decoys 

The “Tech-Turkey” is a project I’ve been working on for a little while now. If you’ve noticed that it’s been kind of quiet around WeHuntSC.com lately, a large part of that is due to me investing so much time learning and building what you see in this blog post, an automated, internet controlled turkey decoy.  The process has been both fun and challenging!

This decoy system gives you the ability to control your decoy from your cell phone, tablet, computer, or anything connected to the internet. This project is a work in progress and currently in prototype phase as I continue to enhance the solution. The roadmap for the project has some slick enhancements already lined up as well. 

You may be reading this and wonder “Why would I want to control my decoy from a cell phone?” Well there are a few advantages to having your decoy be controlled through the internet ie: your smart phone:

• Distance: You don’t have to be in close proximity to the decoy. No matter how far away you are, as long as there is cell phone service, you can control the decoy. This frees you up as a hunter to set up in any way you would like without the concern of distance or proximity to your decoy. 
• No Remote Controls: You no longer have to carry yet another controller (such as a remote control) into the woods with you. I always lost those extra controllers! Usually we carry our phones with us everywhere we go so there is an added convenience to being able to control the decoy from your connected device. 
• Complete Control: By having this level of control you can get as granular as you want with the movements of the decoy. You can twist the head, raise & lower the neck, and spin the entire decoy with the push of a button. If you don’t want that granular level of control you can simply start a feeding cycle and the decoy will move until you tell it to stop. This frees you up to hunt in the scenarios where you’re hunting by yourself.
• Battery Efficiency: Since you have control, you don’t waste battery power and thus are more efficient with energy.

To best communicate what the turkey can do, check out this video that we made of the decoy in action

I am excited about this project and am indeed looking for a few field testers for the upcoming spring. I want to get the technology out in the field on some live hunts and get feedback from actual hunting scenarios. I definitely won’t be able to give everyone a decoy to test with, but I would like to work with a few of you to get your thoughts and opinions of the decoy. It is definitely helpful if you can provide me with a YouTube link of some of your hunting videos as I will want to get some quality footage of the decoy in action in live hunting scenarios.

If you’re interested in field testing the Tech-Turkey just submit the form on the “Tech Turkey” page.