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Using Decoys
The use of decoys for hunting is certainly nothing new. Waterfowlers have been doing it for centuries. Some of the gorgeous, hand-carved ducks and geese of yesteryear are proof of man's affliction for this method of hunting. Holding one of these masterpieces is like stepping back in time. You can almost smell the scent of peat moss permeating the air, hear the sound of a thousand geese descending on a well laid out spread and see the bright orange legs of drake mallard extending as he makes his final approach.
While there is a rich heritage in the use of using decoys for waterfowl, there is little record of their use for big game hunting. And with most modern hunters heading afield with high powered rifles, such practices are no longer recommend.
It has only been in the past few years that the hunting community has taken this decoy thing seriously. I remember seeing my first deer decoy about 10 years ago. It was a fairly crude plywood/Styrofoam cutout that had been hand painted in a friend's garage, and I never really gave it much thought until one day when I saw a number of deep gouges in the side of it.
"You should be more careful throwing that thing in and out of the pick-up", I said to my buddy in a half jesting manner. "Look it's getting all scratched up".
...using decoys is pretty well limited to bow hunting.. too dangerous in rifle areas.
"
"That's not from the truck", he smiled. "That big old deer over there did it", he continued, pointing to a beautiful 5x5 deer in the corner of the garage that he'd shot while hunting just the week before. "Crazy deer, he knocked it down and just kept beating on it. Hardly stood still long enough for me to get an arrow in him."
While hunting stories like this are fairly common place today, 10 years ago it was an unheard of phenomenon. It didn't take me long to get my own decoy. My first attempts at using the decoy were with the camera and in the first year I had more deer photographs than I had taken during the previous 10. Soon after I began using it for bow hunting, and as they say, the rest is history. I have upgraded decoys several times and even had to retire a few battle scarred veterans, but there is no question that they work great during hunting expeditions.
Unfortunately, using decoys is pretty well limited to bow hunting. It is just too dangerous in rifle areas. Modern decoys look so real that they could easily be mistaken for the real thing by another hunter. Even when bow hunting I prefer the decoys that can be broken down and carried into the field in a duffel bag, and I never set up near a road or an opening where it can be seen from a distance. It's just better to be safe than sorry; especially when hunting.
Using decoys is certainly not be all and end all of deer hunting methods. Setting up a decoy will not ensure that a 170 class buck comes running to your stand every time. It is like all of the other methods of hunting deer: use them properly at the right time and you have a better than average chance of success.
For a decoy to be of any use at all to you while hunting, the deer must first be able to see it. The ideal situation is on a well used travel route or scrape line that affords good visibility but is not so wide open that the deer feels uncomfortable. Read the sign in the woods and set up where the deer are already traveling. Deer, especially heavily pressured bucks avoid wide open spaces like the plague. They will, however, use openings and ridges that are concealed within a stand of timber.
Once you have chosen your hunting location, make sure that there is a nearby tree suitable for a tree stand. I do all my decoy hunting from a tree stand. Not all deer will come running in with fire in their eyes, quite the opposite in fact. The majority of deer will come in cautiously, from downwind, approaching slowly and quietly. Even the bucks that have trashed my decoys still came in cautiously and walked around the decoy several times before deciding to take it on. If you are on the ground, there is just too much chance of being scented.
Decoys work during the entire hunting season, although for different reasons. During the early part of the season, before the rut, a doe decoy seems to work best. I call it a confidence decoy. Deer naturally feel comfortable when they see other deer around them and will usually come to investigate. Set up in established feeding areas or on trails and rely on the deer's sight.
As the hunting season progresses, and the deer begin splitting up, the doe or buck decoy works equally well, and rattling is a great way to draw them closer. Deer are moving a lot during late October and early November and it pays to be in the woods all day long. In mid-November, in the heat of the rut, I rely exclusively on the buck decoy, and this is usually when you will see the aggressive behavior towards the decoy. While rattling may have some effect, the use of a grunt tube is the surest way to draw an irate buck. I combine the rattling and grunting at this time of year, but it is the grunt tube that gets the most response. The Quaker Boy Phantom Buck has been dynamite for me.
Like I've said before, there are no secret methods, lures, calls or anything else that will instantly make you successful at deer hunting, and using decoys is no different. It is one of a number of effective techniques to employ when hunting deer, but it does take time to become proficient at, and you will undoubtedly have a number of disasters with you first try. But with that said, they are few more exciting ways to hunt, and the first time a big buck comes in, circles your decoy and then launches it toward Mars, you'll be hooked.
Article Source: T.J. Schwanky of The Outdoor Quest
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