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HUNTING DEER AND MOOSE WITH DECOYS?
WHY NOT?
Text and photographs by Philippe Dupuis
Decoys of all sorts have been used for many years to lure any game animals.
Hunters were the first to use decoys and, at first, they were live decoys.
Many may have heard from their grand-parents that live ducks were used.
More often than other, it was a couple of paddlers – sometimes Canada geese,
depending of the season – innocently brigning its sort where the hunters
were waiting for them. One gun shot – caliber 8 or 10 at the time 0- and
they hit many birds.
Times have changed and the use of live ducks was replaced with wood ducks,
cedar body and pine head. Those decoys were the trade mark of any specific
region. Some were the ducks of Hector Desmarais from
Notre-Dame-de-Pierreville, of Aurel Leboeuf from Lac Saint-François, of the
Lauzon family from Lac des Deux-Montagnes, of the Lacelle family from
Pointe-Fortune, etc. This is a real craft production heritage which is now
replaced with polymeric and thermoplastic forms. May we say here that these
new products as efficient as they can be, do not have the equal quality of
those produced by our ancestors during long winters.
WHY A DECOY?
The decoy is first used to create a confident climat
establishing a normal presence in some habitat – birds being attracted to
them.
But the gun hunters are not the only ones to use this technic. All the bow,
black powder and fire arm hunters have a good success using decoys to lure
the wanted game animals. Nothing more is to be said on the subject as our
cousins from the United States already showed us a buck trying to couple
with a 3-D decoy... We must say that using decoys is a real asset.
But there are at least two problems for the use of 3-D forms in a usual
manner. First, morning dew on the decoys reflects sun rays which results in
reducing its efficiency. Second, for big game animals hunting, far in the
forest, decoys are heavy and difficult to transport. But we now have
solutions.
VELVET FINISH
Before anything more, a preliminary remark: In Fall, the use
of decoys should be limited to private territories only, for as well as for
bow, black powder and gun hunting. For security reasons.
There are different kinds of decoys existing on the market to simulate a
deer or a moose, depending of the different situations that may occur.
But silhouette-decoys have three qualities required by g<big game animals
hunters. First of all, they can be used in any situation because of their
light weight and compactness. Then, they do not react to sun rays because of
their patented revolutionary finish. This velvet finish offers incredible
results for the hunters.
Two words on this famous velvet finish. It captures daylight making the
decoy visible from farther than any other products on the market (visibility
to 1.6 km or 1 mile). As well as not reflecting the sun rays, in induces and
astonishing 3-D effect (see the moose photograph) making it impossible for
the animal to see the difference.
TRANSPORTATION
Solution if to replace the 3-D form by the silhouette of the
wanted animal.
For a deer, the silhouette-decoy can be folded on itself for dimensions of
2.5 cm (1 inch) thick, a surface of 60 x 102 cm (24 x 40 inches), total
weight of 1 kg (2 pounds) including pickets. Transportation bags for 2 or 3
silhouettes are available.
For a moose, the silhouette-decoy is made of five sections which can be
dismantled and held together with plastic screws. Dimensions of 10 cm (4
inches) thick, a surface of 81 x 122 cm (32 x 48 inches), total weight of
3.6 kg (8 pounds) including pickets. This decoys represents a buck of 360 kg
(800 pounds).
Both models are offered with a panache which can be adapted for females or
males, as required. The decoys can also be modified to simulated sleeping
animals; you only have to take off or fold the legs. This contributes to
make a polyvalent decoy being an econimic asset for the hunter.
OTHER BENEFITS
This kind of decoy insures the approaching animal of, as an
example, the presence of a female. For bow hunting this is a capital matter
because the insured animal comes to a good distance for the hunter to
succeed when he shuts. As per Ontario’s biologists, the use of decoys for
such hunts brings a 80% success for male hunting.
SOME RECOMMANDATIONS
Before market introduction, the manufacturer made a lot of
experiments with its decoys. According to him, it is not necessary to use
urine with its decoy to attract cervids. This has the same logical as for
hunters using decoys to consolidate identification of the species by their
sorts; this goes also for birds.
Also, the use of urine in a non suitable manner (past date or bad quality)
could have long term negative effects. In fact, the velvet absorbs liquid (eventually
the urine) and stinks for a long time... the hunting season can than be
compromized. Instead, it is suggested to hang a small rag impregnated with
urine to the decoy’s tail. The move of this odorant object will increse the
natural element identification of the animal.
It is recommanded to remove the decoy during the night and re-install it the
day after.
Two weeks or even more before the hunting season, if you can find some, why
not insert with the decoy, some cedar branches or any other coniferous from
the hunting territory to impregnate it with the real odour from the hunting
place.
At the end of the season, it is imperative to store all the decoy pieces in
a flat place, in its original package or on a special shelf to avoid
distortion.
HUNTING TECHNICS
For deer as well as for moose, the goal is to imitate the
real situation in the field.
Here are some successfull hunting situations using the decoys. Each could
learn something from them and live its own experiences counting on the
different hunting situations such as mountains, marsh, etc. The decoys have
proven versatility in many hunting situations corroborated by scientific
studies. This suggests that the decoy must be used in different ways
depending of the hunting period and the general context.
DEER IN THE FOREST
For bow hunting, only one decoy is generally required to
hunt in the dense forest. The junction point of many paths made by the deers
must be found; this point is often identified because of an opened area
formed with the animal’s motions. The ideal place for the decoy is near the
hunter to use this presence.
In the case of a muddy swamp, with a dominant male in the area, the decoy
must be installed besides or near the swamp (10 to 15 meters – 33 to 50 feet).
This creates a confident zone for other animals and makes the approach more
efficient until the shooting time. In this last case, do we have to specify
that a female decoy is imperative.
DEER IN THE FIELD
When the hunt occurs approaching a field, it is important to
identify the potential sites where the cervids go to eat at night.
Experiences proved that using three decoys and more, the hunter will attract
one or some dominant males.
For the black powder hunting period, this is also a good technic but it is
recommanded to add a panache to the decoy and also use a urine saturated rag
from on heat males.
MOOSE IN THE FOREST
The technic used for the deer is still good for the moose.
But more, the decoy may be placed along the hunting path using the front
part of the decy (shoulder, neck, head). At the beginning of the season, the
female model is better. But, after a few failure days, it is suggested to
put on a panache on the decoy to challenge any male in the area. Of course,the
call must be adapted to the situation. The hunter can even take off the
decoy’s legs and install it straight on the hiding place. This will make the
animal to come even nearer and this difference in the distance is major for
the bow hunter.
MOOSE ON THE STAKE
Rule of three decoys is still good here to create the
illusion of three females at the same place. Experiences made in such
situation with one, two and three decoys prove that rule of three decoys is
more efficient. The animal’s reaction, deer or moose, is faster with three
decoys.
In a swampy area, in a small bay along a lake where the moose go for feeding,
the use on only one decoy was very efficient, though.
At the time of the next hunting season, being for deer or moose, the hunter
must not hesitate to use decoys for his cervid’s hunting. They are the key
to success.
Have a good hunting season!
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