Advice on using deer decoy

[tef]

Thinking of getting one, never used one before. Any tips? Where to position, etc.
I know to spray it down, use scents and so forth. Not sure of angle to provide broadside shot on approaching deer. Thanks

[TexasAggie'16]

would like to know as well

[rednecktbrizz7]

In for the tips

[Usdi Yonv]

You def want it upwind. Doe decoy will bring in a buck wanting to mate, buck decoy will attract one wanting to fight. My BIL had one so tore up from a bucks antlers it was amazing. Good luck.

[8pointer]

If you use a buck decoy, have him facing you. That way approaching deer circles in between you and the decoy for a good shot in range. Position decoy no more than 15 yards away. That way if approaching buck gets locked up at 35 yards and doesn't want to come all the way to decoy, you still have a shot.

[Okiehunter]

I used a Montana Decoy Dream Team the last two weekends in Cottle County. The biologist tells us the buck to doe ratio in one to two. Here is my experience. IMO if you buck to doe ratio is out of whack, they will not work as good.

I set both the buck and doe (with a little Franks on the doe) up in an open field between two large tracks of typical Cottle county mesquite and cedar tree flats.

This was Nov 9th calm and cool morning. Had a mule deer doe walk across the field about 150 years from the decoys and crossed a fence. She then walked down the fence/tree line past (downwind) the decoys and circled in downwind and walked to within 10 yards of the decoys and checked them out. After she checked them out, she walked off, occasionally looking back. She walked to a feeder about 330 yards away and got her belly full.

A couple weekends later it was warm and WINDY. I set the two decoys in the corner of a “want to be” wheat field, about 75 yards from one tree line and about 100 yards from the other. The decoys were about 100 yards from a feeder. Did I mention that it was windy, so windy that one end of the doe decoy pulled out of the ground and she swung around like a flag. A lone whitetail buck walked along the tree line towards the decoys never taking his eyes off the two decoys. He walked all the way to my blind before I shot him.

I think if your buck to doe ratio is close then the decoys work. If you are hunting where you have 25 does to every buck I suspect you are better off without a decoy. The closer to the rut the better. I will use them again if the conditions are right.

Here is that buck, the decoys and my granddaughter.

[Jpenn24]

I use decoy s quite a bit on east tx. From my experience it's better to put the buck quartering toward you about thirty five to forty yards and up wind . Usually they make a fairly big circle and if he comes in behind you he can get your wind . If he comes halfway at forty yards and circles you have a 20 yard shot . You never put any pee on the decoy itself but use wicks and hang on it . If you put it on the decoy after a while the scent goes bad. I also recommend placing it in a fairly open space so they can see it from a distance and not be alarmed. I have put mine in close quarter s before and it usually scares them because they are alarmed. Also the primos tail twitch with remote works great!

[Fling em]

Will a 3D target work at a decoy? Like a Glendale buck or something like that!

[tef]

Good info, thanks to all. We have a good buck/doe ratio. In Foard co. Even though it's a 1 buck and 4 doe limit, we don't see a lot of does. I guess that's why, liberal doe harvest.
Ive heard of people using the 3D deer targets, no reason it wouldn't work. They are cheaper too. I may look into that myself.

[tef]

I dug out an old 3d target. Have one currently in the yard that I shoot into. I may try to fill them in with foam and paint them up. Surely the paint smell will wear off by Nov.