Live or motion decoys?

bowhunter57

bowhunter57

New member
I know callers that use kittens inside a cage and put an open can of tuna outside the cage where they can smell it but can't reach it...they make a lot of noise that attract coyotes.

Other callers that use the Decoy heart with a rabbit pelt wrapped around it and some rabbit training scent on it with good success for coyotes.

What are your experiences with live or mechanical decoys?

Thank you, bowhunter57
 
Bowhunter that kittey program sounds like a lot of effort .
I am not sure that it would prodice any more than a much simpler system
I am not going to say it won't , since I sure don't know it all. but it doesent sound like something I want to mess with.
Not to mention that even though a lot of folks couldn't care less about a cat, it still seems rather extreme to say the least.

I havent been using decoys as long as some others here I know but I do have a few experiances that may help .

I jsut recently came back from a contest here in AZ where my partner were lucky enough to come out on top.
Here are a few things I noticed.
I was using a Foxpro on many of my stands , I did not use a decoy of any kind on the first half of the first day. I noticed that the coyotes that came in during that period were not near as aggressive in their approach.
Nor were they as fixated on the sound, it seemed as if they could smell a rat so to speak. I got the impression that they felt that they should be seeing something ,and since they werent they were checking out the surroundings much more.
I started using a simple feather decoy of sorts after that and things seemed to change for the better.
They were coming in harder and more fixated,although trying to get them to stop for a shot did get harder.
I actually had to shout at a few , where before a lip squeak seemed to be all it took.

It didn't really matter however since I only set my caller out about 25 yards most times. This makes one in easy shotgun range no matter how hard he is coming in.

The decoy I use is simply some feathers set in a fan shape and the cap off a small marker pen hot glued on the bottom.
I place this on a twig , by my caller , or in a bush , or often just stuck on the antenna of the caller itself.
I am liking the results of a visual attraction to hold their attention and interest.
I do feel however that at least in the country that I hunt that it doesent take much.
I am into simplicity , every thing that I take to a stand is one more thing I have to carry, set up, pick up, and put away.
Time to me is pretty valuable, I don't really want to rush through a hunt , but again I dont like to waste much time either. I like to get parked , get set up, and get to making noise as quickly and quietly as possible.
 
On the live decoy note.I have a 3 month old walker coondog that I take to coyote hunt.I creep in with him on a leash and when I let to my stand I let him loose to wander around.He stays within a few feet but he attracts attention from me.Since im in full cammo and he's black and white they dont even notice me,they're fixed on him.
Another way we used him to hunt was clip his leash to a fence,on top of the hill,then sneak down to a tank dam between the creek and were the dog was.After he couldnt see us anymore he'd start to whine.It was the best pup-in-distress call I've ever heard.He called us in a double last Monday.
 
Yes, Craig, post a picture of your feather fan and the way you set it up on your Foxpro. The first coyote that came in to the Rabbit Distress #2, came to within about 150 yards, paused for a second or two straight north of the Foxpro and then circled way around to the ENE and then headed south to try to get around me to catch the wind. I'm almost certain if I would have had some sort of attractant (feather fan) it might have come right in to the caller. I had the caller hanging off my camera tripod with the speaker of the Foxpro sticking out of the face hole of a ski mask.
 
Well Craig,
I guess I'll take that as a compliment.I just figured I'd let yall guys in on a little secret,to a good use for yappin little hound dogs.I figure he has to earn his keep some how.

Later,
Jbrad

P.S. It dosen't have to be a huntin dog either,don't any of your wives have lap dogs?
They work good too.
 
My hunting partner and I have always jokingly talked about using the family poodle for live bait. His wife bought him a poodle when he wanted a good hunting dog. This cartoon fits the way both of us feel that poodle should be utilized!!!!

View


I am firmly convinced that a good decoy, live, motion, feather fan, whatever can help put the odds in your favor by attracting the predator's attention and letting you do your thing with your rifle/shotgun.
 
Rich in MO--Check out the Gun Camo Directions post immediately below this topic for a link to Coyote Ugly's directions on how to camo a rifle. Very informative.
 
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