Decoying

[BradB]

This will be my second year of deer hunting over a decoy and I think I've made an improvement. Last year I used inflatable decoys and had some fun watching coyotes, wolves, and other wildlife try to sneak upwind of them and check them out. But they were noisy, smelly, and a slow to set up. This year I am trying some silhouette decoys made by Renzo's that are extremely easy to pack in (they fold), look great, and have movement in the tails and heads (wind). I'm going to put out a feeder doe and a bedding doe and see what happens.

I will be hunting does only, unless a big buck comes out (highly unlikely where I hunt). So mostly this is just something to amuse myself during the long hours on stand.

Does anyone else hunt whitetails over decoys?

[catman71]

I have not, but always wanted to try it. What you described sounds pretty fun. is it considered safe on public land during rifle season?

[BradB]

I think the decoys I am using would be safe as they are packed and folded up for transport. I don't hunt on public land, so it is less of a concern for me. But I'm still cautious.

The ones I'm using unfold and are set up like this:

and they look like this:

I've had them in the back yard for a week (to get any scent off) and they look great. You don't clip the fold on the head and the wind pushes it side to side, just like the deer is eating. What the photo doesn't show is the tail, which also moves. It's held on by a metal clip and is perpendicular to the body, and the wind flips it around just like a deer.

[BradB]

The ones I used last year looked like this:

Although they did inflate/deflate they took up too much space for my long carry and were difficult to assemble quickly and quietly.

[tealitup]

You bought these where and how much?

[bigbucks]

I've used a full body decoy off & on the last three years. I've used it three times this year & had small bucks circle down wind twice. The other time I also had a small buck close, but I don't think he saw the decoy.

[BradB]

Quote:

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You bought these where and how much?

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Where: Renzo's Decoys I don't know if they are sold at retail anywhere.

$32.99 ea + shipping.

I found out about these from a guy I hunted with in Northern Manitoba. He had their geese silhouettes and I was impressed with the quality and the price.

[BradB]

One thing I'm not quite sure about is placement of the decoys relative to the wind. I field hunt waterfowl in Canada over silhouettes and learned that it makes a big difference (ducks and geese both) if you place their heads 90-110 degrees away from the wind. This goes against the conventional wisdom of putting their heads into the wind. The theory here is that when they are coming into the sweet spot they see a lot of the silhouette and are reassured that nothing is wrong.

I'm going to set up one feeder doe and one bedding doe. I have the buck silhouette, but I cut off his antlers per the instructions (you can put them back on with a stick/wire/etc.) I'm just going to hunt does this year and let those small bucks get bigger.

I guess my thought is to put them 25-35 feet out from my stand (upwind). Then face the head of the feeder about 15-30 degrees off the wind, and the bedded doe 10 yards behind the feeder perpendicular to the wind.

I'm going to set up in one of many small woodland hay fields depending on the wind. The idea would be to have lots of areas the deer in the woods could see them from and come out to investigate.

I welcome any discussion of wind and decoy placement. I've searched the web for this and read a few books, but most of the discussion is about decoying in bucks. I want to decoy does.

[bottomdweller]

I believe Farm Fleet has the renzos for fifteen bucks.