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MoBuckChaser
Guest
I have a buck decoy, but don't use it much. Should I? Do any of you guys use them? Maybe a Buck and doe decoy, maybe none at all? Thoughts?
biglakeba$$
5 year old buck +
Well I use one in MN,, but you might not want to ask us guys up here.
I leave mine out for 2 weeks over first half of November with 2 trail cams on it. Last years excitement was a button buck pushing it over......
I have exactly zero pics of a buck around the decoy during legal daylight in 3 or 4 years now.... But I do have pics of my decoy in pieces a couples over that span.
Buck shows up at night, pics taken with hate in his eyes, and the next pics are decoy in pieces when the next deer comes by and triggers the cam.
I leave mine out for 2 weeks over first half of November with 2 trail cams on it. Last years excitement was a button buck pushing it over......
I have exactly zero pics of a buck around the decoy during legal daylight in 3 or 4 years now.... But I do have pics of my decoy in pieces a couples over that span.
Buck shows up at night, pics taken with hate in his eyes, and the next pics are decoy in pieces when the next deer comes by and triggers the cam.
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MoBuckChaser
Guest
A friend of mine got me into using a decoy as a deer stopper. If you have a narrow lane you are shooting down that the deer cross. A decoy may get them to stop and look at it before they cross the opening, giving you just enough time for a shot maybe!
JackTerp
5 year old buck +
We've been using them for about 5 years in PA. We have had great success with them but it was a learning curve. First of all, they only work good about 5-8 days right at the peak of the rut. You will not see small bucks or does come in near the decoy. If a good buck is hot on a doe and she sees the decoy, she will take him away with her. They also are great at getting a buck to stop. If he sees the decoy, he IS going to check it out. He may not come in, but he will stop moving. IF he comes in it is usually fast. We have killed about 8 bucks off of the decoys in the past three years. All were pretty good bucks for our property. Now for the bad part, I have had 0% success with them here in SC. I don't know what the difference is. Here, if a deer sees the decoy they vacate the area post haste.
The season in PA ends about the 15th of November and we will only use the decoys for the last 7 or 8 days. It has been very good for us.
The season in PA ends about the 15th of November and we will only use the decoys for the last 7 or 8 days. It has been very good for us.
SD51555
5 year old buck +
I used one for a couple years. It was a feeding doe decoy. I never had any action with it because there really weren't any deer where I was hunting. But hey, I was in the stand.
I did a hollywood makeover on my decoy too. I bought some lure building components and added white fur around the ears, tail, and back of the legs. It was a neat little project. I never put scents onto my decoy either. When I was done hunting, I'd take it down, pack the legs inside itself and stuff it in the bushes by my stand.
I did a hollywood makeover on my decoy too. I bought some lure building components and added white fur around the ears, tail, and back of the legs. It was a neat little project. I never put scents onto my decoy either. When I was done hunting, I'd take it down, pack the legs inside itself and stuff it in the bushes by my stand.
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dipper
Guest
Mine got destroyed when a 120 iowa buck decided to hit it harder than a date on prom night. It withstood the first couple rounds, but that jackrabbit wasn't letting up. After it collapsed he tried missionary. That ackward position did her in. I was a little pissed but it was a hell of a show.
I used it many times in wi with nothing more than old sows snorting and stomping their feet at it.
I used it many times in wi with nothing more than old sows snorting and stomping their feet at it.
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MoBuckChaser
Guest
:eek:
MN Slick
5 year old buck +
I've had some success with buck decoys in Northern MO and Iowa. I've only shot 1 buck that has come in but have had plenty of non target animals come in and put on a show. The most important thing is to place it where it well get seen from a distance. Putting it in heavier cover tends to spook them if they get in too close before seeing it. I place the decoy facing me since most of the time a buck will circle and challenge the decoy head on. They are fun to use.
Turkey Creek
5 year old buck +
I have an upright doe, I have had some good luck at times with it. Does do not like it! I have watched a buck try to breed it and numerous bucks respond for a closer look. I do believe timing is everything and placed where deer can see it from a good distance away. I am going to convert it to a single antlered buck and give it some trys this year.
j-bird
Moderator
I use my 3D archery target as a decoy ,but I hunt large open areas where I am trying catch a deer's eye from a good distance away. I have had some interesting responses to it. I ONLY use it a the edge of a harvested field. I tend to sit in the cover with the intent of the deer walking past me as they investigate the decoy - I do NOT want them to reach the decoy I use zero scent and use a thin plastic film on the tail to give it some movement in the wind.
Once - only once did I use it as a doe (on purpose -more on that in a minute). The response from the other does taught me a lesson! Does are far more social and as such they tend to know all the other does in the area. My doe decoy.......Stranger danger,stranger danger!!!! is all I have to say. The does flipped out! Snorting, and foot stomping, and head bobbing and everythign possible - not a pretty picture!
Once I as taking my decoy to the field and just by chance I had taken the antlers off to simply keep from loosing them. I had the decoy upon my left shoulder,thus blocking my visin to my left (I did have 2 hunter orange ribbons on the decoy to avoid being shot at and it was archery season). All of the sudden (from my left) I was face to face (30 yards away) with a nice buck in the wide open. He was coming to check out the "doe" - we both just sort of stood there not sure what to do. The buck let me set the decoy down and load and raise my bow, but just about that time he realized HE was abou to get the shaft! He bounded off! This was 2:00 inthe afternoon in the middle of a 40 acre cut corn field.
I have had bucks cross open fields to check out my buck. I have had yearlings slink past for fear of a but kicking. In every case - that decoy was the focus of those deer - I could have poked one with an arrow once he was so focused on my decoy. Does tend to stray away but don't freak and geek about a buck decoy.
I like them, but they are more work. Takes a proper set-up as well and you have to add some sort of movement to it. The deer need to see it at a decent distance or they panic!
Once - only once did I use it as a doe (on purpose -more on that in a minute). The response from the other does taught me a lesson! Does are far more social and as such they tend to know all the other does in the area. My doe decoy.......Stranger danger,stranger danger!!!! is all I have to say. The does flipped out! Snorting, and foot stomping, and head bobbing and everythign possible - not a pretty picture!
Once I as taking my decoy to the field and just by chance I had taken the antlers off to simply keep from loosing them. I had the decoy upon my left shoulder,thus blocking my visin to my left (I did have 2 hunter orange ribbons on the decoy to avoid being shot at and it was archery season). All of the sudden (from my left) I was face to face (30 yards away) with a nice buck in the wide open. He was coming to check out the "doe" - we both just sort of stood there not sure what to do. The buck let me set the decoy down and load and raise my bow, but just about that time he realized HE was abou to get the shaft! He bounded off! This was 2:00 inthe afternoon in the middle of a 40 acre cut corn field.
I have had bucks cross open fields to check out my buck. I have had yearlings slink past for fear of a but kicking. In every case - that decoy was the focus of those deer - I could have poked one with an arrow once he was so focused on my decoy. Does tend to stray away but don't freak and geek about a buck decoy.
I like them, but they are more work. Takes a proper set-up as well and you have to add some sort of movement to it. The deer need to see it at a decent distance or they panic!
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BJE80
Guest
Only younger bucks have come into mine. The mature bucks always went the other way. I don't really mess with them anymore.
Brush Creek
5 year old buck +
This buck stomped 200 yards across a cut cornfield at 1:30 in the afternoon in NE KS on his way to kick a decoy's arss.
![rsz_brycamks_(16)[1].jpg](https://habitat-talk.com/data/attachments/2/2704-2430fd6944127f19d79b64609ab6fecb.jpg "rsz_brycamks_(16)[1].jpg")
Brush Creek
5 year old buck +
This buck did the same thing 2 years later but not at 1:30.
![rsz_dave_6[1].jpg](https://habitat-talk.com/data/attachments/2/2705-45ee2196905ff7fba86b3c6127925ba9.jpg "rsz_dave_6[1].jpg")
I had good luck using a decoy last fall in SE MN. I had issues getting bucks to come into range at night during bow season since they were feeding and chasing does randomly in a 5 acre field. I put out a half rack buck decoy and I had a nice 2 1/2 year old 11 pointer come in. I was waiting for an older deer, but it worked really well since this buck posed at 12 yards for several minutes. I'll be using that decoy again very soon.
bwoods11
5 year old buck +
I had a buck in Iowa mount my doe decoy
Knocked it down, didn't really get scared.
Got it all on video.
Shot a nice 9 in MN that came intoy doe decoy. Probably top 2/3 hunts I've had in my life!!
j-bird
Moderator
My experiances show that the size of the rack on the buck decoy will influence the response (just my experiances). Typically the bucks interested in your decoy will be roughly the same size or larger! Not many will pick a fight knowing they are going to get their but handed to them. In most of my cases the responding buck will be trying to assert himself and thus. If for some reason your decoy has a much larger rack than the buck you are looking to harvest - remove one of the antlers or cut the antlers down in size. Obviously this isn't written in stone -besides deer can't read even if it was! I try to have mine be an average size of a 2 1/2 or 3 1/2 year old buck for my area.
JackTerp
5 year old buck +
We use Flambeu's Boss Buck decoy. My cousin won one in a drawing during a fund raiser about 5 or 6 years ago. we toyed with it several times and got very negative responses from every yearling and every doe. When the rut really kicked in, we got several medium sized bucks that came a long way to check it out. They never challenged the decoy, but they were interested. Dave finally killed a really good 8 that did come in to challenge. We went out and bought 3 more decoys, on sale, right after that season ended. we have been using them ever since but only when the time is right. In our case it is the last 10 days of PA's archery season. We have killed 5 really good bucks off them. One of the great benefits is that once a deer sees the decoy, it has 100% of their attention. You could dance a jig in your treestand and they will never notice. We make no attempts to makes sure the decoy can bee seen at a great distance. If fact, we use it mostly in heavy Timber. We normally carry it into an area and it spends the entire season in that area. We lay it down and cover it with camo cloth when we leave. Both the decoys and the camo cloth are outside the entire year. When I bring mine home, it gets put out back, covered and spends the rest of the year under a magnolia tree hiding. :)
JackTerp
5 year old buck +
Especially during the rut, a decoy will scare any doe. If you have ever witnessed breeding deer, it is not a pleasant experience for the doe. It is a totally dominance thing for the buck. Well before the rut, doe do not pay a lot of attention to a decoy. They avoid it, but it doesn't panic them. As the rut gets nearer you can see the doe becoming more and more fearful of any buck decoy.
