Saw a video of someone somewhere having luck with a mature buck decoy and was curious if many THF folks use them and if they are worth fooling with.

Thanks.

I do use them - both buck and doe (for doe you just take the antlers off). During active chase times they can be very effective. The main thing to remember is to orient them properly, use proper scent control, and use the right lure with them.

I bow hunt with them so I usually set them up 30 yards from my stand. The fun part about them is that even when the buck is too young to shoot, alot of times you will have a show to watch as he tries to figure out what it is. I enjoy calling in even young bucks to the decoy.

For a buck decoy, rattling and grunt calls work and for a doe decoy I will add a bleat. I do NOT call unless I see and buck and he is not coming in. I only use a call if I see a buck that I know sees the decoy, but yet he is a little hesitant to come in and I don't think he will come in any other way other than me calling. Calling in my mind is a last resort with a decoy.

I will, however, rattle with a buck decoy whether I see a buck or not. I hope any of this makes sense.

It does make sense. Thanks

I've used one on several occasions. I put it out in the middle of a field with the antlers off. Sometimes by a feeder. It seems to calm other deer and make them feel safer.

I left my 3D target buck up last year in camp while I was off hunting and when I got back a buck had jumped the fence come into the edge of camp and tore up my target I mean wore him out. Wish I had had a camera on it. I thought the guys in camp had run over it with their four wheelers but the tracks and scrapes told the tale. They must work when used properly. I would like to try one one of these days.

I have one and I'm still unsure if it's a good thing or if it scares them away. I've seen does walk into my food plot and shy away from it by walking as far away from it as they could while feeding. I've also left it up during the day when I wasn't at the blind and come back to it knocked on the ground. I can only guess that a buck attacked it.

I put it up this year and left it up for about a week. No deer tracks where near it, so I laid it on it's side and their are now tracks walking right past it.