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Duce


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Decoys: how much and how many?
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I was wondering what kind of decoys do you guys use and/or like? I like the versitility of the Boondocker but I haven't bought any yet. Also how many do you use in your average stationary one blind hunt?

Right now I have about 10 silhouette's I made out of 1/4 inch plywood painted all black in two positions, feeding and sentry. I was wondering though should I encorporate them into full body decoys or just get rid of them?

 

Thanks.

 



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Lone Star Phil


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Duce:

I hunt with TCP members who have more decoys than Carter has pills, so I graciously cede that issue. 

The lore I can share with you about decoys is:

1. If you are stand shooting (not "run 'n gun") make sure you have "sentry" decoys as far up in the trees around your kill zone as you can get them. There are a number of techiques employed by the Boys on this web site to accomplish that deed (i.e. tying two full bodies together with a yard of string and throwing the ensemble up into a tree - shoot the branch they hook on to recover, use a telescoping pole to place a full bodied deke with a wire hook on this back onto a tree limb, etc.).

2. Most would agree that you can never have too many dekes.  Crows are a gregarious species.  During lulls in the action, collect the gene pool extracts you put on the ground and toss them into the kill zone.

3. Flocked decoys leave no doubt as to the authenticity of the decoy.  You've commited a lot of time, effort and money to setting up for the 'moment of truth' so improve your odds with the highest quality finish.

4. Finally, and I'm a stickler for this in our TCP set-ups - you will improve your odds if the decoy 'display' matches what your electronic caller is putting out.  If you've set up a 'feeder' display, an in-bound crow may hesitate when he crosses the last tree line, sees your display and hears and "owl-crow" fight sequence.  Play a feeder call.  If you plan on playing an "owl-crow" fight sequence, then, put sentry crows up in the trees around Mr. Owl perched on a pole (at least 20' above him), a dead crow in his talons, a couple of dead crows on the ground below his perch and concentrate on thumbing shells into your shotgun during the lulls in the action!

Phil



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Texas Crow Patrol

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Duce


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Ah, thanks I'll have to remember that. Yeah I've been hearing that flocked decoys are worth the extra. Might be kinda tricky to find that pole though

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jonthepain


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Lone Star Phil wrote:
...collect the gene pool extracts you put on the ground...

 lol



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chip


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Duce,,,,   I haven't field tested the boondocker yet,,,, but I own a half dozen of them and can't wait to try them. I only wish they would have came out before I spent the money I did on all my other decoy's. When I do a feeding set I put 2 or 3 sentry's up as high as possible then about 10 or twelve deeks on the ground. I normally use my JS come ere crow sound to get em in. After I bust em I will switch to Bob A's excited crow or his mourning sound. Crows around here run in murder's of 7 to 15 birds. When one buch sees another bunch they have to either fight them or steal what they are eating. To do that they always seem to get in shotgun rangebiggrin Crows live to do 3 things fight, steal from each other and breed, that is it. A crow would rather fight than eat. I truly believe that. As long as you are still and hid well, you will get a shot at a crow. The right sounds come from trial and error. Time in the field and watching the birds will teach you more than anythingbiggrin 



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bulpup


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This is a great thread.

I am awaiting my boondockers and I have the day off opening day on the 8th of August here. I never did get up a tree bourne sentry. I have some plastic dekes I got from Dick's Sporting goods and I was trying to think of a way to hang them easily. The best way I can think of won't allow me to get them back down.

Any thoughts on hanging a deke that wasn't meant to?



-- Edited by bulpup on Sunday 31st of July 2011 04:53:25 AM

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chip


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Marv from Iowa used to post all the time on this site... He hasn't posted since the change in the site. He has the ultimate sentry hanging Idea, He sent me instruction and poloroid pics on how to do it. It's amazing. I'm talking about hanging sentry's high and quick. And taking them down just as easy. When my season gets closer I will post pics on the day that I do my inventory. It will amaze you guy's how easy this isyawn 



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8fishermen


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chip wrote:

Marv from Iowa used to post all the time on this site... He hasn't posted since the change in the site. He has the ultimate sentry hanging Idea, He sent me instruction and poloroid pics on how to do it. It's amazing. I'm talking about hanging sentry's high and quick. And taking them down just as easy. When my season gets closer I will post pics on the day that I do my inventory. It will amaze you guy's how easy this isyawn 

 DUDE!!! confuseThis is US you are talkin' to! You can't tease us like that and then just leave! no You got to fess up now. Come on. Do tell. Pretty Pleeeeease!!!biggrinbiggrinbiggrin



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Duce


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Laughed when I saw that gene pool comment too, very clever way to put it lol.



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Lone Star Phil


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Duce:

The Texas Crow Patrol plies its black trade in pecan orchards (exclusively stand hunting).

1. Most are 'planted' trees (i.e. they are mono-culture trees no more than thirty feet high).  We have used telescoping poles (golden retreivers that golfers use to retrieve golf balls from lakes and ponds) to place sentry dekes up high.  Practically speaking, that's too much work and excessive equipment.  Just tie two cheap plastic dekes together with a three foot length of camoflauge cord and hurl them up in a tree - good enough.  Shoot the limb to free the dekes. Takes seconds to deploy and retrieve.  KISS. Need to devote time to keeping long gun loaded.

2. In the taller, native pecan orchards we've occasionally found ourselves, Texas Matt has a great technique and throws a heavy fishing weight with a fishing line attached way up in the tree and pulls up a series of cheap dekes tied to the line.  The few times we've deployed the line it worked wonderfully.  Keep long gun loaded.  This scheme gets the dekes up high, say thirty or more feet.  Pull both sides of the line to retrieve. If difficuties encountered on retrieval, see technique 1.

3. Bring a couple lengths of cord about three feet long.  After downing a pair of bandits, tie their necks to the ends of the cord and hurl them up into a tree. No retrieval necessary.  Two cords = four 'sentries', arguably non-attentive but that'll do.  Remember to top off magazine.

Phil



-- Edited by Lone Star Phil on Sunday 31st of July 2011 02:52:40 AM



-- Edited by Lone Star Phil on Sunday 31st of July 2011 02:54:16 AM



-- Edited by Lone Star Phil on Sunday 31st of July 2011 03:09:53 AM

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Duce


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Thanks Lone Star, I especially like # 2 and #3. Using live.. well once alive.. birds to bring in more birds is something I've heard before but never in the way you just said, I'll have to try it.

KISS- how I live my life.

 

Once again thanks Lone Star  for excellent advice.



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