LAST UPDATED: January 12th, 2016
Welcome to the rut. Bowhunters across North America have been waiting and working for this time of year since this time last year. It’s an exciting time to be in the woods. Anything can happen. Whether you’ve been watching a slammer for months or not, now’s the time one can walk into your life. If he does, will you be ready?
Put a decoy to work and prepare for the big show! You just never know what you might see.
Deer are curious creatures. They also are social creatures. And during the rut, bucks are territorial and aggressive. Put all those pieces together, and you’ve got the perfect ingredients for using a decoy.
If ever there’s a time to be aggressive – to switch your hunting tactics from passive to active – it’s now. Bucks can be lured in by calls, scents and by decoys. Heck, using all three can be deadly.
But what should you look for in a decoy? What’s one that will work where you hunt?
Here’s a quick rundown on some killer decoys for the rut..
Flambeau Boss Buck
Let’s start out with the biggest and the baddest. Flambeau’s Boss Buck is about as big as decoys come. It’s about the size of a 170 pound deer, with a 120-inch rack. For looks, it’s dead on. It’s very realistic.
The Boss Buck from Flambeau.
But if you’re going to use the Boss Buck, or one of a similar size, you’d better have some big, mature bucks in your hunting area. If you hunt an area where 3.5-year-olds are considered “mature,” then don’t go for the Boss. In my experience, this decoy intimidates a lot of bucks. It seems like only the biggest, toughest bucks on the block will take on the Boss. If you’ve got such deer around, then this decoy is lethal.
It’s a bit heavy – 22 pounds, to be exact. So hauling this decoy into the field will be a chore. You might not like it if you have to travel very far on foot. But if you don’t have to go far, then this is a decoy that will catch a buck’s eye from a long way off. It won’t disappear in a cut cornfield.
Plan on setting The Boss upwind from your stand, but down wind from where you expect deer to approach. A buck most likely will want to check the decoy’s scent before initiating a fight, and that means he’s likely to circle down wind of it. Hopefully, that should take him between your stand and the decoy. So don’t put your decoy any more than 30 yards from your stand.
Face the decoy toward your stand. Approaching bucks like to look an intruder in the eyes. By facing the decoy toward your stand, you are further encouraging the buck to walk between you and the decoy.
Montana Decoy Dreamy Doe
MT Decoy Dreamy Doe
Another decoy that’s good for use while hunting from a tree stand or ground blind is a doe decoy. The Montana Decoy Dreamy Doe is a two-dimensional decoy that you would stake into the ground within bow range of your position.
Tack a white handkerchief to the butt, and run a length of fishing line to your stand or blind, and you can make that doe’s tail twitch. Such signs of life often are just the trick to convince a buck to move closer.
A lot of hunters don’t like to use lone doe decoys. I’m one of them. You’ll attract too many deer you don’t want to shoot, such as fawns and other does. Having all those eyes, ears and noses around is never good. You will end up getting busted.
If you’re going to use the Dreamy Doe, use it in conjunction with a buck decoy. The buck will keep the does and fawns away. Only a buck is likely to venture close to such a tandem.
Lucky Duck Renzo Buck
As I said, peak rut is the time to get aggressive with your tactics. And what is more aggressive than getting on the ground and stalking deer behind a decoy? Basically, you are the challenger.
Lucky Duck’s Renzo buck decoy is ideal for spotting and stalking rutting bucks. It’s a photograph of a
Lucky Duck Renzo Buck Decoy
young buck that will certainly aggravate any buck over 1.5.
This is a two-dimensional decoy, so you simply walk toward a buck while hiding behind the decoy. Down wind, of course. Use the Renzo decoy stakes, and you can set this decoy upright, while kneeling behind it with your bow at the ready.
Move in slowly and stop often. See how the buck reacts to your encroachment. As long as he’s moving toward me, I stay still. As long as he stays still, I’ll move toward him.
This decoy works best, I’ve found, when you can obscure an approaching buck’s view of it. Use it in tall grass, or just over the top of a hill the buck must climb. Just give him a glimpse of the decoy, and watch him go wild.
Be prepared for this tactic to spook many bucks. It doesn’t always work. Like calling and decoying a big old spring gobbler, you’ve got to find the right buck, in the right mood. When you do, hold on to your hat. You’re in for a new level of bowhunting excitement.
Non-Traditional Decoys
Wanna be the decoy? Add this hat to your arsenal and you’ll be set up for a decoy experience like no other.
So not all of us like to march in a straight line. Some of us like to do things a little different. Here are a couple of decoys that might fit your taste.
Be The Decoy makes a foam hat that looks like the head of a deer. The idea is, you stay low, and sneak in on a buck while only exposing your head. Obviously, when using this or any decoy on a spot and stalk hunt, be careful! When you are pretending to be a deer, it’s possible to get shot by another hunter.
Primos makes the Waggin’ Whitetail decoy, which is a
Primos Waggin’ Whitetail.
remote-controlled, wagging deer tail. You can attach it to a 3-D decoy or to a fence post. Hit the remote and the tail twitches.
Finally, the creme-de-la-crème of electronic decoys is the Custom Robotic Wildlife bedded deer
decoy. It’s basically a taxidermy deer in the bedded position, and the head and tail move under battery power. Of course, this one costs $1,500, so it’s not going to be practical for everyone.
If you’ve never tried decoying deer, give it a shot right now, while the rut is raging, and see if it doesn’t help you fill your tag. If you do, I guarantee you’ll never forget the experience.
