I'm looking to buy a deer decoy, and don't know which brand to get. Any help out there as to which one to purchase as to most realistic, ease of setup etc. I'm not looking to kill a monster buck, just want to get a deer in close enough for my first Trad deer harvest. Thanx,...Lloyd

Decoys can be awesome, but if you are looking to shoot a doe I would advise against using one. Does usually react negatively to a decoy, with or without antlers from my experience. I use the carry-lite and would recomend one. On really cold mornings be carefull assembling the legs as the fastener thingamajigs can break off. The Carry-Lite is the only decoy I have used, and it is a good one, but I am not entirely satisfied with the assembly system and will probably try a different one next year.

I have never used decoys.  I do find it real interesting that out in Wingnut's (Dryad bows) 3D course every year the foam buck gets his can plumb kicked. the poor ole foam buck will have tine makrs all over him.  his head will be pulled off and is body pulled apart.  I recall if Wingnut has ever seen the aggressor.  Ya'd think if foam 3D targets work that well the decoys would work.

rusty

yep that and the pig in the front yard that has been molested a couple of times.

Pretty sure I know the aggressor.  I've seen a 170 class 10pt during the rut each of the last couple of years and we have a deer trail running right through the front yard.  At night . . .of course.

My neighbor took a 156" 8 pt with stickers last year 4 house up from us.

Mike

heck, a friend of mine intentionally puts out a saw horse each year with a rack on it in his back yard.  Thing gets the crap kicked out of it over and over.  Said it takes the wear and tear off his 3-D target.....

That isn't paint on this 3D's hind quarters. OUCH! :eek:

I've showed these pics before but here's what I'll be using this year.

Only used them the one time I took the picture last year so not experienced in how they'll work personally but I've heard good things about them.

If you don't know, they are Montana brand decoys.
 

Here's from the other side...
 

dave they look so real  wow!!!

Montana gets my vote, just use a doe decoy and put a couple wood clthespins on it for antlers. make it a little spike buck and you will be surprised. Big horns have a tendency to scare off most bucks(unless ya have monsters where ya live)and as said above a doe decoy makes other does nervous. I have tried several brands and like the Montana the best. Shawn

I picked up a pair of those last season but don't have that much experiance with them either way.They carry nice both fitting in my pack easily and they look good to me hopefully theyll draw somthing in close enuff for me in the up coming weeks

I'm borrowing a page from Shawn's book this year, I picked up the Montana doe and moused away some clothspins from the wife.  

Looks to be a GREAT addition to my gear - easy to pack, looks great in the field, and cost effective to try.

Hopefully it'll work!

I used the Montana Doe last year.  I almost shot her a few time because she looked so real.  I was able to harvest a mice doe using her in the am and a buddy used it in the om to take a 7ptr.  

They are easy to carry and look super.  One of the bungees came undone in one of the leg sections.  I contacted the company to see how to fix it and they sent me a whole new set of poles 2 days later.  Awesome service.

Our season opens in a week and it is one of my most important pieces of equipment.

Glenn

Those "mice" does are really hard to hit because they are so small!      

Allan

What month do you all start to use your decoys? What situation is best to use them?

JDS III

JDS, I'm still working on figuring all that out but have some ideas on some basic do's and don'ts.

I figure that the ideas stated above about the doe-vestite with spikes is a good all around way to set up.  Neither does or bucks should spook easily from a spike and I'll give that setup a go at ANY time.

As for where to actually put them, I'm not real sure about using them in dead open areas where deer can circle and get edgeways to them but guys on here have said it's kinda comical.  My fear there is that while it might be comical on a little basket racked 1 1/2 year old buck, it could be anything but comical to spook a mature buck of a lifetime critter.

In the pictures above, I was using a tree stand from the tree just to the right of the doe in the second pic.  You can see the tie on steps if you look closely at the middle trunk.

Also, if you look at the second pic, look at the somewhat open area running off behind the doe on the side hill.  That's actually the side of a levee and there is a pretty long corridor there where a deer coming over the levee into the brush could look my way and spot the decoys.  He'd have to go past my stand to get to them.  My hope was that he'd stop short and be dead broadside to me in my stand.  In the first picture the background looks like real tall weeds and it is but what you can't see is a similar corridor of visibility running off to the right.  The bucks chase does out in the weeds and cross the open area coming and going from the timber.  

So, in the set up above, I was near an edge, near a bedding and breeding area.  There was a crossing point on the levee where you see the open area I mentioned and the tree I was in was part of a short fencerow that extended about 80 yards out into the weed field and was a natural travel corridor.  The thickness provided seclusion.  My little open area was a crossing point for several directions and there was enough visibility in several directions for deer to see my decoys by chance if just passing and enough cover for them to sneek in if I rattled or grunted.

Yea, I'll be back there this November!!!

Oh yea, one other idea I had that I wanted to run by some of you guys was strictly for the breeding phase of the rut.  I plan to use the buck and doe both together kinda like in the pictures but I'll use the doe completely without the legs and set here right on the ground to try and make it look like she is bedded.  I figure a mature buck standing over a bedded doe might just drive the local big boy into doing something stupid within say 20 yards????  I think it'll work!

TTT,

Still wondering what you guys who have them think of the buck over a bedded doe setup?