Robotic Turkey Lures Toms To Blind

2014 - Volume #38, Issue #4, Page #40

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Wayne Stang’s motivation to invent a robotic turkey was to help his daughters be successful hunters. And, it has worked.
    “I’m 43 and have never shot a turkey. My daughter has shot seven,” Stang says.
    He came up with the idea in 2012 on a windy day when his turkey calls failed to get the attention of toms 200 yards away because they couldn’t hear him. Stang decided to attract them with movement and grabbed a decoy, held it above him, and crawled back and forth. It worked, and a tom came in within 100 yards. He went back to the blind, but the tom moved farther out. Stang repeated his decoy antics until he got the tom within 75 yards.
    Though his daughter was unable to shoot because of a tree in the way, it got Stang thinking. To avoid future crawling, Stang researched remote-controlled toys.
    “I wanted one that could handle the load and not get stuck, and that had a wide stance and low center of gravity so it wouldn’t tip over,” he explains.
    He purchased a Mad Torque Rock Crawler remote-controlled truck for about $180. He bent the aluminum frame to create a bracket to support an all-thread bolt that sticks straight up. He put a turkey decoy down over the bolt and fastened it in place with a screw-on carrying handle.
    The flexible suspension and low torque allows Robo Turkey to roll easily over minor obstacles and up and down slight inclines. It travels as fast as 4 mph, and Stang has operated it from as far away as 250 yards. Sometimes, he has it make short runs, other times he drives the decoy out 50 yards and brings it back toward the blind. It is especially effective when toms are more aggressive at the end of the season.
    Stang has also mounted a hen turkey decoy on the chassis and has experimented with rigging it to lure in coyotes.
    This spring Robo Turkey helped his younger 9-year-old daughter also have a successful hunt.
    Stang notes that the decoy is legal in Nebraska, but hunters should check regulations in their states.
    It really works well, he says, and his daughters love to drive Robo Turkey. Stang considered patenting the idea, but recently discovered someone had a patent pending on a similar model.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Wayne Stang, 362 W. 9th St., Wahoo, Neb. 68066 (ph 402 689-9602; wstang2008@windstream.net).

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Robotic Turkey Lures Toms To Blind FARM HOME Novelty Items Wayne Stang’s motivation to invent a robotic turkey was to help his daughters be successful hunters And it has worked “I’m 43 and have never shot a turkey My daughter has shot seven ” Stang says He came up with the idea in 2012 on a windy day when his turkey calls failed to get the attention of toms 200 yards away because they couldn’t hear him Stang decided to attract them with movement and grabbed a decoy held it above him and crawled back and forth It worked and a tom came in within 100 yards He went back to the blind but the tom moved farther out Stang repeated his decoy antics until he got the tom within 75 yards Though his daughter was unable to shoot because of a tree in the way it got Stang thinking To avoid future crawling Stang researched remote-controlled toys “I wanted one that could handle the load and not get stuck and that had a wide stance and low center of gravity so it wouldn’t tip over ” he explains He purchased a Mad Torque Rock Crawler remote-controlled truck for about $180 He bent the aluminum frame to create a bracket to support an all-thread bolt that sticks straight up He put a turkey decoy down over the bolt and fastened it in place with a screw-on carrying handle The flexible suspension and low torque allows Robo Turkey to roll easily over minor obstacles and up and down slight inclines It travels as fast as 4 mph and Stang has operated it from as far away as 250 yards Sometimes he has it make short runs other times he drives the decoy out 50 yards and brings it back toward the blind It is especially effective when toms are more aggressive at the end of the season Stang has also mounted a hen turkey decoy on the chassis and has experimented with rigging it to lure in coyotes This spring Robo Turkey helped his younger 9-year-old daughter also have a successful hunt Stang notes that the decoy is legal in Nebraska but hunters should check regulations in their states It really works well he says and his daughters love to drive Robo Turkey Stang considered patenting the idea but recently discovered someone had a patent pending on a similar model Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Wayne Stang 362 W 9th St Wahoo Neb 68066 ph 402 689-9602; wstang2008@windstream net

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