Every spring for years, turkey hunters have hit the field with their hen or gobbler decoys under their arms and calls in their vests. Bow hunters have stepped it up and have been taking their doe and buck decoys into the field to bag more game and draw them in close. Decoys have been used in every type of hunting known to man but many people forget and leave them out of their equipment bag when hitting the pasture to predator call. Predator Calling Decoys range for elaborate commercial decoys to home made sticks and feathers. We at predator 1 outdoors have found that sometimes the cheapest home made decoy has worked the best. When using decoys in predator calling there are three things to remember, size, action, and location.
When choosing a predator calling decoy try and find one that is relative in size to the prey sound you are simulating during the calling set. If you are using a woodpecker distress sound, you do not want a large hairy decoy sitting out there intimidating anything that is responding. The larger the decoy the more predators are going to get intimidated and hang up. If your decoy is relative in size to the prey sound the predator that is responding will think it is chasing food and not walking into a fight.
Every decoy on the market or homemade has a different type of action. The action a decoy has can range from large smooth movements to short erratic movements that correspond with distress sounds. Predator 1 Outdoors have found the short erratic movements that are not continues but somewhat correspond with the calling sequence have proven to be the best. If you follow this principle you can not go wrong and you will bag more game.
Once you have chosen a decoy type and have hit the field selecting the location of your decoy and call is very important. When calling try to position the decoy and remote call up wind about 25 to 30 yards for your location. Remember when daytime calling wear full camo and use the decoy. The decoy will take the attention off of you no matter what type of call you are using. The use of a decoy when mouth calling will greatly increase your odds of bagging more game.
The use of decoys during all types of hunting has been known to create predator responses even when the predator has not been the target animal. We at Predator 1 Outdoors have used many different decoys but have found that the old home made feather on a stick decoy. It is the simplest and cheapest we have found and produces more game than any commercial grade decoy we have found. If interested email predator1outdoors@yahoo.com and we will give directions on how to make your very own feather on a stick decoy. In closing remember to use a decoy when hitting the field predator calling; you will have some great responses and bag more game.
