Key Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Deer Decoy

Deer decoying is a relatively new tactic that lots of people are talking about! A decoy adds the visual to the scent (urines) and sound (deer call). Hunters can use a urine without a call or decoy, but shouldn't use a call without a scent (the call will position the deer downwind to scent-check). Hunters should also not use a decoy without a call and a scent.

To properly use a deer decoy, first spray the entire deer with a scent neutralizer, then don’t touch it without wearing gloves. Do your best to keep the decoy from picking up any unnatural odors.

Use a drag soaked in buck or doe urine (buck for a buck decoy and doe for doe decoy) to create a trail into your hunting area. Then use a scent dispenser with the same scent near the decoy

Place the decoy within your comfortable shooting range. Most deer will approach the decoy from behind and downwind, so face it away from you and slightly upwind. Make sure the decoy is placed in an area where it can be seen from afar.

Buck or doe? During the early season, bucks are more interested in other bucks because the does are not ready to be bred, so try a buck decoy during this time. If the decoy allows it, install only one of the buck’s antlers. This shows the deer already has been whipped once, and may prompt another buck to come in and give him another.

As the rut gears up and does begin showing signs of becoming receptive to bucks, switch to a doe decoy and use it with estrous urine. Bleat with a tip-over call and you might see a show you’ll never forget.