Decoy stories

[Lefty]

As an avid waterfowler. and more of a goose hunter. Decoys are extremly effective with many animal
I really would like to hear some stories on decoy use.
In the future I expect to own some decoys , Likely A Heads up, Jeff's, and a Montana so my wife, daughters and hopefully grandkids will hunt with me.
What are your expieriences?

[easeup]

never used one on an elk. So I have always got an ear for decoy chat.
for turkey, it is a must have.

[cnelk]

I have a Montana cow decoy.
I have used it
I have see it to be effective
I sometimes use it
I carry it more than I use it

It mostly Depends on your hunting style and terrain

[>>>---WW---->]

Many years ago, I took a friend on his first archery elk hunt. This guy didn't even have a set of camo to where. But he did have a pair of blue jeans and a brown corduroy coat. I got a chuckle out of the garb he had on that day.

As luck would have it, I was able to get a nice little five-point bull cranked up and he was coming in on a string really fast. So I told this guy to get set up and get ready. Well he really didn't have any idea what I was talking about so he just backed up against the big white Aspen tree. He stood out like a diamond in a goats butt. There was no time to tell him any different as this bull was coming over the hill and as soon as he reached the top he did a radar lock on that brown coat my friend was wearing and he started heading his way real fast. Before that bull had realized what was going on he was within 8 feet of my friend. I swear, he was locked in on that brown jacket my friend was wearing and there was nothing I could do to distract him away from it. I tried every call in the book to get him to look my way so my friend could draw his bow. But nothing seemed to work. I'm not kidding when I said that bull had a radar lock that is exactly what I meant.

All this got me thinking that maybe there was something to this brown coat deal. So why not try to use it as a decoy and see what happens. So, I got to thinking, a burlap feed sack (we used to call them gunnysack's) was actually pretty close to the same color as an elk. So I figured I'd give it a try and ever since then I've always had one in my pack.

So on to the next little story: On this particular hunt I was on my way to one of my favorite hunting spots. As I topped over the first hill down at the bottom was a spike bull and a yearling cow. They were at the edge of this little clearing that I had to get across in order to get to the area I wanted to hunt. So, I found a little stick about 3 feet long and inserted it in my gunnysack. With one hand I held the gunnysack behind me in a horizontal position and with the other hand I held my bow crosswise over my head to simulate antlers. I thought what the heck, I really didn't want either one of the elk below me so why not give this crazy idea of try. To be downright honest with you, if I wasn't a bow hunter I would be plum ashamed of myself. LOL!

I started walking down the hill trying to give my best imitation of an elk as I entered the meadow the spike in the cow were in. They had watched me come down the hill and didn't seem to be alarmed. I was within probably 70 yards of them. And as I walked out into the open they both just stared at me as I walked across the clearing. Neither one of them ever offered to run. And when I got to the other side they both continued to eat grass.

So I'm pretty sure that decoys do work and a couple of weeks ago I bought one of Jeff's umbrella decoys. I can hardly wait until September comes around so I can give this thing a try. I have no doubt it's going to work, and possibly even better than my old gunnysack.

[eltaco]

I've used mine successfully a few times. Often times it just keeps the bull around longer than he would otherwise, but sometimes it brings him straight in.

This year I pulled a bull about 250yds through a clearing. I just sat behind a bush and randomly flashed it once in a while... gave it a couple of shakes to simulate movement and brought it back behind the bush. Any time the bull got a bit Leary I'd give a soft cow call. I got him in to 40yds, but then he started walking directly at us. He rounded the bush and basically pinned us down and when we sat up he made us hold at full draw staring straight at us.I finally got him to turn but my dad's shot ended up a clean miss. Still wish I had touched off on that bull... he was just begging for an arrow

[ORelksniper]

I've used an old Carhartt jacket thrown over a bush from time to time. The color is close enough that with a few seductive mews an elk just has to come investigate. Of course, it helps to plan ahead and be set up off to the side. Learned that one the hard way.

[Buglemaster]

I've got a great story about elk decoys! A few years ago, we had one of the first uni-sex decoys to hit the market. It had no head, so you positioned it with the front end out of sight. It has a couple guy ropes to secure both front & back. From a distance it looks like the real deal.My brother & I were set up mabe 15 yds from the decoy with his son about 20 yds down hill from us anticipating the bull we were working to come from that direction.The targeted bull was still a couple hundred yds out when a bull bugles directly behind us & close.This was in the oak brush so we could not see the decoy or the bugling bull, but we could hear him coming thru the scrub oak.We all heard the "twang' of the guy rope as he went right by the decoy & lunged out in front of us at 10yds,stopped & turned looking at"sexy shela".My Brother had my video camera in his hands & did'nt even raise it, just hit the record button & I've got a terrific video of this bewildered bull totally unaware of us & totally focused on the decoy.He finally turned & walked down to where my nephew was set up & promptly got shot thru the heart.Have the whole thing on video!! I regret not getting a digital recorder as some probably wont believe me, but if your ever in my neighborhood, stop in & we'll go to the movies. I also killed a nice 5x a couple years lated that came from over a half a mile after hearing, then seeing the decoy.We had worked this bull earlier & he always had cows, but the day I got him, he was alone & a much better bull was in the timber with the 5x's girlfriends.He came out of the timber with his tail between his legs looking terribly disapointed in losing his girls. I hit him with a few cow calls & got his attention. Once he started, there was no turning back & I whacked him at 17yds looking at the decoy.I do not believe we would have had a chance without the visual contact he got with the decoy. We had "sexy shela & slutty suzy" staked out that time.They are a bit of a pain to pack, but weigh nothing & in the right circumstance are worth their weight in backstraps! My son got me a heads up for Christmas this year, so i now have a tripple whammy for a lucky,or unlucky bull...Jeff, I've never packed an umbrella, but it does rain on me every now & then... We have had several close encounters over the years that did'nt play out like we wanted, but I firmly believe the decoys did their part.Gotta getcha one...some.....hell, get a whole herd!

[romey]

Elkmtgear decoy worked REALLY well for me

[elkmtngear]

Before we started our venture in 2009, we had used a Montana (the profile cow decoy), and had some great encounters. Problem we were having is a lot of times, we were caught out in the open with only the decoy to hide behind, and the bulls would just know something wasn't right.

But we did kill a couple bulls with that Montana Decoy, so we knew they worked.

One day, my buddy calls me on the phone, and says "what if you could make a blind, that was a walking stick"?

I checked it out, nobody had ever done anything like it, so we built a prototype and started the patent process.

We didn't want to just print the umbrella in Mossy Oak or Realtree....so we came up with the idea of making stretchable covers that would fit the umbrella like a "second skin"

Our first Slipcover we had made, was an Aspen Camo pattern I made in Photoshop, from pictures we took on our hunts. Then we knew we had to make other patterns, including high resolution, photo-realistic decoys (which we have done very well)


(our first slipcover- aspen camo...made of lycra and too shiny...and a sticker magnet)

So as you can see, our original idea was not to become a Montana knockoff.....it was to make a walking stick blind.

Now for the Story:

It was September of 2009, DIY, in the Flat Tops

We had a prototype decoy cover for the unit (profile elk)....and we were down in one of our honeyholes one morning, where we had killed several bulls. There were two bulls screaming at eachother back on a timbered ridge where we knew there were a bunch of wallows. Problem was, we had to cross an open park to get there, and there about a half a dozen cows and spikes several hundred yards away, on the next knob up from the bulls. Wind was still steady blowing down the canyon, so from our point, we needed to make a wide semicircle around the cows and spikes, to get back to where those bulls were going at it.

We thought, "what the hell"....and put the umbrella up to shield us, and started to sidehill around those elk (open ridge). We actually almost started laughing, we couldn't believe we were getting away with it. The cows and spikes just kept watching us, but they didn't bust out.

We got back to the edge of the open ridge, figuring we were probably 150 yards from the bulls. Using what available cover he had, Cory snuck down toward the bulls about 80 yds and set up behind a big spruce, and I set up the decoy pointed toward where I thought they would come out. Then I hit an excited cow call.

The nearest bull ripped off an agressive scream, and here he came out of the timber, dripping black mud. When he saw the decoy, he locked onto it, like a pointer dog. I had my video camera, but I was afraid to move from behind the decoy (kicking myself for this still).

He stood there focused on the decoy for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, I gave a soft cow call, and I could visually see him relax, and he started to sidehill up toward me (in an effort to get somewhat downwind I think). Cory was waiting, and buried an arrow in his chest at a distance of less than 8 yards.

After getting the bull taken care of, we hiked back to our rig, and drove nearly 100 miles to get cell phone reception, so we could tell the Factory that the project was a "Go" (this was a huge investment for us)

So this is how Elk Mountain Gear came to be....and now you know "the rest of the story"

[Da White Shoe]

It was a very cold morning in the saddle and I was wearing a very faded, tan Carhart coat.
We heard a bugle and quickly tied up, with no time to take the coat off.
The game was on! We could tell that it was a good bull with a bunch of cows, but we never did get a look at him.
We stayed with them for quite a while, but they finally shut up and we lost them.
The Carhart had long since went in my pack, but as we stopped for lunch I pulled it out and put it on, cold as it was.

We finished eating and decided to do some calling. We figured the elk couldn't be bedded too far away... as thick as it was.
We bugled and raked a tree. Immediately, cows started calling back from less than 200 yards away!
Kept calling and 8 cows ended up parading by, single file at 25 yards... none of them could take their eyes off my coat!
At that time, my brother had never shot an elk before... so I was waiting for him to shoot. We only had one day left to hunt!

The cows finally left and my brother never did shoot. He told me that he had been waiting to see if there was a bull with the cows. Great!
Ok... lets try this one more time. We bugled and raked a tree again trying to sound like the bull we had heard earlier with the cows.
They came in exactly like they had before... really looking at that coat!
This time I didn't wait for my brother to shoot!

She was standing at 25 yards, totally focused on me. She never moved at the shot.