Should we use a cow decoy for archery rutting bulls?

[jeffpg]

My hunting partner and I will hit the mountains in NW Wyoming for elk with our bows during the mid to late September archery elk season. The rut should be going strong and we will attempt to lure a bull within range of our bows. I have always hunted solo and never had help before but we plan to set up 30 yards back behind the shooter to call for each other.

I am considering investing in a Montana elk decoy Big Game Decoys | Montana Decoy and wanted to get you guys opinion on both the tactic and the particular decoy to use. I'm thinking that the caller can dig in right behind the decoy if cover isn't available.

Miss September should get his attention!

thanks,
Jeff

 

[Elkangle]

Your set up is directly related to the Terrian your in....i like to be just out of site of the bull and just in site of the shooter....so in the open stuff that can be 150 yards away or in the thick stuff it can be 10 yards away....i like the decoy in the open country when they need alil visual booster to tip them over the edge

But in the thick stuff I don't ever end up using one

Hope this helps

 

[MAT]

If you bring one use it every time. I can't count the times I got lazy and didn't and ended up wishing I did!

 

[HuntHarder]

They work great. Set the shooter up somewhere between 60-120 yards ahead of the caller (depending on terrain). I then set the decoy up between the shooter and the caller, closer to the caller. If nothing else, it will give the bull something to investigate and take his attention off of the shooter. I have had bulls peg the shooter when he is drawing, but a loud estrus call and the decoy seem to make him question what he saw just long enough to get an arrow in him.

 

[jeffpg]

Good stuff guys. I'm convinced that it'll make a big difference so I'm going to get one or two of them.

What do you think?
The Ms September that quarters away?


Or the Rump?


Or both of them set up together?

 

[KMT]

I have the ms September. It works. Or at least it doesn't seem to hinder anything. I dont hunt with it all of the time. I wouldn't say it had made me more or less successful. Sometimes I just don't feel like carrying the extra weight or want to bother setting it up.

 

[5MilesBack]

If I was hunting with a partner, I would definitely bring one. But by myself I'm always on the move so it would get left behind if I did set one up.

 

[whitingja]

I like the rump. More realistic. If the elk can see the head of the cow, they will expect some type of movement or chewing. If its just a butt, they don't expect as much. And they don't know if its a cow or bull. IMHO.

 

[IdahoElk]

I think decoys work,are great and they do have their place but by late September the bulls will be herded up and the likelihood a bull is going to leave his cows to check one lone cow 80yrds away is slim.
I have found that when you get into a bull with cows in the late season and present yourself as a lone cow looking for "action" in attempts to draw the bull to you, often you will alert not only the bull but cows.Typically the bull will notice and call out to you in addition the cows will call to you also,failure to come in to the herd sets them into suspicion mode.
The late season is a good time to move as close to the herd as possible and bugle to the cows and not a challenge bugle to the bull as many do.A bugle to the cows would be a short concise bugle with no grunts,chuckles or lip bawling.

 

[squeekieslayer]

tried one in the MO breaks one time, have never seen an elk run so fast hahaha. In the woods the one i have has never seemed to hurt anything... but i have never seen it do a lot to help either so i quit carrying it. I, sure they have their place, but i hunt on the move so much it just seemed to be a hassle. the MT decoys are fairly heavy too. I ran the Heads up, so maybe MT is better?

Joe

 

[westrnwild]

I think decoys work,are great and they do have their place but by late September the bulls will be herded up and the likelihood a bull is going to leave his cows to check one lone cow 80yrds away is slim.
I have found that when you get into a bull with cows in the late season and present yourself as a lone cow looking for "action" in attempts to draw the bull to you, often you will alert not only the bull but cows.Typically the bull will notice and call out to you in addition the cows will call to you also,failure to come in to the herd sets them into suspicion mode.
The late season is a good time to move as close to the herd as possible and bugle to the cows and not a challenge bugle to the bull as many do.A bugle to the cows would be a short concise bugle with no grunts,chuckles or lip bawling.

I tend to agree with you in my experience. Later in the season the harder it gets to pull the big bulls and those herds that time of the year can start to get big, so getting busted seems to happen more regularly. I have mixed feelings on decoys. I know they work and with multiple people in the right situation. However like others i tend to be on the move a lot.. sometimes up to 15 miles or more a day trying to cover ground and glass new areas. I found myself running after the herd and leaving the decoy only to come back hours later trying to find it. Im sure if i hunted with more people like your planning it would work a lot better..

 

[Blackcow]

Heads up with the clamp works great, and easier (for me) to set up than the montanas.

 

[gelton]

Heads up with the clamp works great, and easier (for me) to set up than the montanas.

I was thinking of getting the heads up + a clamp, however, their website isn't the greatest and I haven't been able to find any photos of it in use with the clamp. Can you give some details of how it works, like can you clamp it to a tree or branch and still have it look presentable?

 

[Blackcow]

Tree branch, deadfall, trekking pole, center post or leg of tripod.....in beween sets i just clamp it to the lower webbing part of the shoulder strap on my pack.

 

[Devonian]

Would anyone be comfortable using a heads up decoy while archery hunting during Colorado muzzleloader?

 

[buttekid]

I hunted that part of the state last September. Although I carried my decoy, I did not use it. There were a lot of shot opportunities and it didn't seem necessary. We were in an area with a lot of griz and it was just one less thing we had to worry about.

 

[KMT]

Would anyone be comfortable using a heads up decoy while archery hunting during Colorado muzzleloader?

NO!

 

[ElkNut1]

NA!

 

[Devonian]

Okay thanks. I've used hen turkey decoys on public land in the east but always felt on edge doing so.

 

[missjordan]

I have a Montana decoy and always pack it with us but have never used it! We always think that it will come in handy but either forget about it or it didn't seem right for the situation.


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