Frank L. Sears Turkey Logbook page 13 "Using Decoys"

The BEST thing you can do is see the turkeys fly up to the roost the night before you are going to hunt or listen and locate them gobble on the roost.(midnight owl hooting) You can get them to gobble on the roost by using locator calls or a gobble call. If you did not locate them the night before, you should try some locator calls (Loud noise,owl hooter) to find where they are roosting in the morning. If you have no success hearing any turkeys gobbling, you should set up in a spot where you think they will be. (Turkeys will respond to alot of different noises, owl hoots, radio, dog bark, door slam(all have been proven by fls)
A well known turkey research biologist told me once (March99) that she and other hunters have found that for the most part all wild turkeys tend to fly down from the roost away from the rising sun. They are not sure why this is true, but they think it is so they can better see predators when they fly down. Keep this in mind when setting up, make sure you use this to your advantage.
Usually a good distance to set up from the turkey is about 100 yards. If you go any closer you must be very quiet. Turkeys normally fly near or into a field, firelane or open area. Setting up on the edge of the field is where you want to be most of the time for your first setup. So, putting your decoys in the field should work well.(or firelane in woods) Gobblers normally fly where there is sun, so they can show off their bright feathers to the hens. So keep this is mind too when picking your set up spot. If you are trying to decide between two places to set up, go where there is more sun. (very good thing to remember)
It is a good idea to set up one or more decoys. It usually works best to have one or two hens and have a jake (1 year old turkey) decoy. Put the jake decoy behind one of the hens so it looks like they are in a mating position. This will help to draw a gobbler in, and make him angry. Try to get your decoys to move as much as they can. Inflatable decoys will move when the wind blows. Using aluminum arrows for stakes instead of the stakes that come with the decoys will help the decoys move more in the wind. I usually only setup the mating decoys when mating season is obvious. If mating is not obvious, I will set my decoys in a triangle pattern about 7-10 feet apart and out 10-15 yards from my blind. That way if the turkey hangs up it is still in shooting range. Position the decoys to one side or the other of you. Do not put them right in front of you. If you know where the turkey is put the decoys to the side away from the turkey. Then the turkey has to walk past you to get to the decoys. This way you should be able to get a good shot.
After your first setup you will probably not want to set up on a field anymore. Generally after one or two hours after a turkey has flown down from the roost it will start moving to higher ground. You then will want to set up on slopes and ridges, unless you have located turkeys elsewhere. Alot of times, I don't use decoys mid-day to early afternoon. I might use a lone jake decoy for the sunset hunt.