DECOYS FOR DEER DECOYS FOR DEER
by T.J. Schwanky
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. Countless hours went into the carving and painting of these decoys, yet, unlike the show pieces that are carved today, they were used in the marshes and lakes of western Canada. 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 decoys for waterfowl, there is little record of their use for big game. The plains Indians were famous for donning buffalo robes and sneaking into the middle of herds of peacefully grazing bison, but that wasn’t really decoying. And with most modern hunters heading afield with high powered rifles, such practices are no longer recommend, but it does give testimony to the effectiveness of fooling usually wary ungulates with look-alikes.
It has only been in the past few years, however, that hunters have been taking this decoying thing seriously. I remember seeing my first whitetail 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".
"That’s not from the truck", he smiled. "That big old whitetail over there did it", he continued, pointing to a beautiful 5x5 buck in the corner of the garage that he’d shot 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 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; I talked my buddy into building one for me. My first attempts at decoying were with the camera and in the first year I had more whitetail 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 they work.
Unfortunately, decoying 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 the decoy can be seen from a distance. It’s not that I’ve ever had a problem, it’s just better to be safe than sorry.
Decoying is certainly not be all and end all of whitetail hunting methods. Setting it up 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, 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. Bucks, 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 location to set up the decoy, 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 bucks 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. I typically set up 20 to 25 yards away.
Decoys work during the entire 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 your decoy. Calling and rattling are of little use during this portion of the season. Set up in established feeding areas or on trails and rely on the deer’s sight. Remember that a deer only stands about three feet tall, so just because you can see the decoy from a hundred yards away doesn’t mean a deer can.
As the season progresses, and the bucks 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 into bow range. 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 a successful deer hunter, and decoying is no different. It is one of a number of effective techniques to employ when hunting whitetails, 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.