Anyone use doe decoy into December with any luck?
Well here in TX the bucks are still chasing. Had a 6 pt. chase 2 does off of the feeder in the front yard this morning. He didn't have corn eating on his mind. LOL
Mike
As long as there are does to breed a doe decoy should work. I've seen bucks chasing does in march. When the doe/buck ratio is out of balance a secondary or 3rd or even 4th rut can occur every 28 days or so.
Sure... at least you'll never have to say "didn't see a thing".
plus, a doe decoy can relax any approaching deer and keep them calm.
Had 2 eight points fighting in my back yard Thursday morning. Did not check the scrape today that one had going but as of yesterday they had not freshened it up sent the recent rains.
I stop in December in Colorado, but I don't think I'm the guy to emulate!
I don't think there is a "too late" or a "too early", but they would react differently, for different reasons as the season changes. That decoy may not be attractive for rutting purposes in off times, but it sure could be an attractant due to a "deer" being out there and relaxed.
ChuckC
I have tried using a doe decoy at least a dozen or more times. It has never worked for me. Does more to spook the deer than make them curious. Never had one yet come in to check it out.
Heh, funny story. First time I ever used one, I set it up just off a main trail on a hill side in New York. My tree stand looking down at it, fairly steep both up and down hill. The trail ran right along the middle of the hill, with my tree on the downward side. So my stand was 35 feet up, but only 18 feet above the trail because of the steepness. .
That afternoon, I'm nestled in, all excited. Sure enough, here comes a couple of does and a small 6 point. All slowly walking and feeding along the way. It was super quiet. When they got about 10 feet from the decoy, the lead doe saw it and freaked out, letting out a loud blow and jumping straight into the air. The other two then panicked, and all three fell down the damn hill! Rolling and tossing all the way, what a racket! So funny, I never have seen anything like it since.
I've used em on the last day. To me its more to let other deer know there is already a deer in my food plot. Gets them to move in just a bit earlier some times.