Opinion on deer decoys

[kt]

A buddy of mine is dying for me to get a deer decoy out in the early archery season when deer are all out in fields but come out of the corn anywhere, thinks this will bring them to me. One place i hunt i am the only hunter another place though has a handful of hunters on it. Now i plan on doing this before anything other than bows are legal. So what do you folks think, yes/no, any body have experience with them. Should i get one that stands or lays, sillouette or feather flex body?
kt

[Steverino]

IMHO KT,
They work well throughout the season but I have found them particularly effective during the pre-rut and rut phase when deer are searching. Deer are curious by nature and will usually investigate if everything else in their environment is undisturbed.

I use both the standing Renzo plastic decoys (which are nice because they fold-up and are lightweight) as well as a solid 3-pc foam decoy. One trick that I use (sparingly) and when I feel that the time is right, is to tack an old white washcloth to the backside of the decoys and get a little tarsal gland scent or estrous during the rut. I find that the washcloths get the wind better for scent disbursement as well as just a little more visible as opposed to just a scent wick.

Another thing that I have personally found to be effective is to move the decoys around when you are hunting as opposed to just leaving them out. Deer will program the decoys if left out for periods of time and will lose their effectiveness. I also do not use them everytime that I hunt (same as grunting and bleating) I find that when I am selective, they are more effective.

I would set up a couple either outside a feeding area or where they are visible from a distance off a bottleneck, funnel. or secondary pathway leading into your feeding area.

You will probably find that you will have your best opportunities in the area that sees little human contact and hunting pressure. Deer can be conditioned over time so make your first opportunities count.

Good luck and keep us posted!

[WT Kevorkian]

I have used a full body decoy several times in the past, and killed a nice Pope and Young class buck over one. Just remember the bucks will approach another buck head on and a doe from the rear. I used a doe decoy. I place my decoy out farther and try to draw the deer past me, they tend to get a little edgy when they get in close and realize the gig is up so I kill em before that happens.