The author used a Carry-Lite buck decoy to dupe this Kansas trophy.
Break Out the Decoys!
October 28, 2009
There are many great ways to bowhunt big whitetails. But in my opinion, for sheer fun and overall effectiveness, decoying is hands down the best of all.
Stan Potts, my co-host on North American Whitetail Television Presented by Arctic Cat, got me into decoying long before either of us was appearing on TV. We first dabbled with doe decoys, but over the years moved primarily to using fake bucks. And along the way, we learned a lot that has helped up become consistently successful at decoying deer.
This technique can work at any time of bow season, but now's the period in which it's particularly effective. From late October through the breeding period (mid-November in most places), I practically refuse to head out with my bow in one hand unless I have my Carry-Lite decoy in the other.
During the 2008 season, both of the bucks I arrowed on our TV show -- one on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the other in southwestern Kansas -- were taken over one of these full-bodied decoys. More recently, so was the central Kansas 9-pointer I shot last weekend. And you can bet I have one of these decoys with me this week, as I bowhunt western Illinois. And yes, I'll also be toting it to northern Missouri and western South Dakota between now and Nov. 12.
The Kansas buck I got on Oct. 18 came to the decoy around 8:20 a.m., as cameraman Mike Clerkin and I hunkered in a brush blind on the edge of a small Buck Forage oat plot north of Wichita. The deer popped out on the edge of the plot for a quick bite, but then spotted the Carry-Lite 70 yards in front of him and made a beeline for it. That beeline brought him directly toward our makeshift blind, with Mike capturing great video of him all the way. Once the buck turned to face his supposed rival, I was able to draw my Mathews DXT and place a Muzzy-tipped Beman carbon shaft through the deer's vitals. He literally almost ran over the video camera (and cameraman) as he made his escape back into the CRP grass before tipping over.
The following afternoon, campmate Brent Beimert of Beimert Outdoors in Pillager, Minnesota, set up his own Carry-Lite in a small oat plot on the property and whacked a big 8-pointer as the deer postured to the decoy. Brent made a perfect heart shot at 32 yards to down his tall-tined buck. Chalk up another one to decoying.
Keep your deer decoy as clean as possible. Wash it regularly with water and use an odor neutralizer in the field.
Not surprisingly, such hunts have made me a firm believer in this method. It works amazingly well any time the bucks are displaying aggressive behavior, and we're now entering that period. So if you're a bowhunter who doesn't have a decoy, I strongly suggest you get one and give it a serious chance to work. But whether you're new to decoying or not, here's a quick list of tips to remember:
For safety reasons, only decoy during bow season.
In most cases, a buck decoy will out-produce a doe decoy. But a two-decoy setup, with a standing buck positioned over a bedded doe, can be quite effective during the rut. (Just remove the antlers and legs from your decoy and you'll have a good imitation of a bedded doe.)
Always place your decoy where deer can see it from at least a reasonable distance, such as in a food plot, field or cutline. Whitetails don't like to be startled by anything, and they sometimes spook upon encountering a decoy at close range. Let them see it from a distance and they're far more likely to approach it in predictable fashion.
Mature bucks tend to walk around in front of a buck decoy, presumably to express their own dominance; young bucks tend to walk around behind or to one side. So if you want to shoot older bucks over a decoy, position it to face your stand, or just off to one side or the other of where you'll be. In my experience, bucks tend not to look where the decoy is looking; they're fixated on identifying this new deer and getting a reaction from it.
I place my Carry-Lite no closer to me than 18 yards and no farther than 27. An ideal range might be 22-25 yards. At this range, an approaching buck has enough room to walk in front of the decoy but still is close enough to shoot if he for some reason elects to pass behind it.
Keep your decoy as clean as possible, to minimize any telltale human odor. I haven't noticed a clear tendency for bucks to circle downwind of decoys, but you still don't want a lot of foreign odor present if you can avoid it. I've had good luck using Hunter's Specialties products to both neutralize my own odor and add realistic buck odor to my decoys.
Decoys are so fun and effective that it's easy to overuse them. Avoid that temptation. Whitetails have good memories, and you don't want to give them too many chances to figure out that your "deer" isn't real. Along those same lines, wait until right before shooting light to position the decoy on a morning hunt, and get it out of sight as soon as possible after an evening hunt, so deer don't approach it at a time you can't shoot.
As with any other hunting method, have faith. If you decoy in the right way and at the right time, in an area that contains mature bucks, you should have some positive reactions and get shots. But it might not happen on Day 1, or even Day 10. Keep plugging. Once you see how effective decoying can be, you'll be hooked!
North American Whitetall North American Whitetail is designed for the serious trophy hunter. It provides authoritative coverage of world-class whitetails, the latest approaches to deer management and advanced hunting techniques.
© 2009 Intermedia Outdoors, Inc.
