Buck Decoy

[deerminator]

I see FF has a carrylite model for $99 where you can take the antlers off to use it as a doe too. I was thinking about trying out and have read up on lots of articles and threads about how to use them and success with them. One thing makes me nervous, though, in terms of most of the situations where I'd use them. You could see the decoy, though distant, from the road. Granted in almost every situation, we're talking from hundreds of yards away but all it would take would be for some silly-me poacher to start shooting at it. I thought about putting a strip of blaze orange tape on the side facing the road. Any thoughts/experiences here? Am I being overly concerned?

[Bear55]

An orange strip isn't a bad idea. You shouldn't have any trouble with people taking a crack at your decoys but that doesn't mean it can't happen.

[BLACKJACK]

I saw that ad in FF also, let us know how it works out. Biggest issue I've seen with decoys is that even in the store, they look unsteady, don't know how they'll stand up in the wind.

As far as your concerns about people shooting at your decoy, I'd be concerned if I was you, goose hunters have been shot by people trying to 'scare' geese with rifles, all it takes is one yahoo!!! And a blaze orange strip won't scare deer, I'd add it.

[deerminator]

Yeah, sorta what I was thinking. Not likely but one yahoo is all it takes. Not sure if I will pull the trigger on the decoy yet. I was also looking at those pack-n-stack ladder stands (rivers edge) they have instead. I thought about getting two of those for the price of the decoy to add two new hunting spots to my grounds. Anyone have any experience with those. They're 13 feet and I know that's too low for some people but in the right setups with the right cover, that's plenty high enough for me.

[C10]

Ya it sounds like an extra stand would benefit you more than a decoy.

No experience with the pack n stack but I did have one kinda like it. It was uncomfortable and noisy. I prefer hang ons with climbing sticks. 3 sticks should easily get you to 13+ feet.

[Finlander]

You could spray paint the antlers blaze orange as deer see blaze orange as white in there eye's!

[slimngrizzly]

The decoys stake in so they dont blow over. I have had a carrylite for about 12 years and now its finally cracked and brittle. I like to put it out in front of the camera for fun in the rut. Now the deer have just beat it to pieces. They work!

[deerminator]

I ended up getting the decoy AND a stand after work yesterday. I don't spend a lot typically and rarely travel to hunt so that was my justification to the misses. Yes, I can think of a few situations over the past few years where a buck was running by on one of my field edge setups during the pre-rut about 50-60 yards out focused on trailing a doe somewhere. I grunted with my tube and they stopped, looked around, and then kept moving. Perhaps a decoy would help draw them in. We shall see. BTW, my 8 year old asked what the decoy was for and after I explained it to him, he goes "Oh, so it's a trap!" lol