antelpoe decoy

[hoytarcheryrocks]

Drew a tag with bow ..wondering what was ur success with a goat decoy, with a bow ! want was ur set up ?..water ,open country ,,gullies, brush, etc. ? thanks !

 

[12ring]

Tried one 2 years ago. It was a archery hunt late August. Tried going at them and they would let us get to about 100yds. Tried circling them and they would let us get to about 100yds. Tried setting up, letting them see it and come in. They would come in to about 100 yds. It was really open terrain. Brush here and there with "small" rises and dips. We did that for 2 days and had tons of failed stalks. We decided to sit water after that. I killed on day 3 and my buddy the next day on day 4. Same water hole.

We used the decoy on a rifle hunt which I believe was in early October and it was a different story. They were rutting then so the Bucks would come in to check out the small buck decoy. My buddy waited for a nice buck to leave his does and run another buck out of the area and then he cut in between that buck and his does with the little buck decoy. The bigger buck didn't like that and hauled butt in to run him off. I think he ran up to about 40 Yds where his son shot the. Buck.

In 2011 I killed another buck on day 2 spot and stalk but he happened to be in a great spot where I had a little bit of cover to sneak in on him. That same year my buddy killed off water 30 minutes into day one. We drove almost 1800 miles between scouting a few times and setting up blinds and cameras. It was worth it though as we went 4-4 on archery goats the 2 times we have drawn archery tags and the kids we took went 3-3. My suggestion is, ditch the decoy and do your homework on water sources or areas where you may have cover to spot and stalk. Good luck.

I went 10 years before ever drawing a antelope tag but now I have drawn 3 tags in 6 years. We have archery tags again this year in an area we don't know so, here we go again with all the miles driving, hours of map time, scouting, camera set up and blind set up. It's all fun though. Not sure I'll ever top the buck I killed 2 years ago but that's ok, I can't wait to get out again.

 

[Dirtbag]

I used a decoy to take two archery bucks. Best method that worked for me was to get within 200 yards unnoticed and then pop up the decoy. About 70-80% of time buck would run in and then pull up 40-80 yards away....giving you a shot. If I would pop up decoy 400-500 yards away the bucks wouldn't be as aggressive. I guess maybe when decoy was closer buck felt more threatened.
Anyway.......Good luck.....it is a blast!

 

[BeDawg]

Tried it as an archery option during rut to get close. It worked slightly better than stocking but was not a deal maker.