Getting closer, Montana elk decoy.

[MIKEXRAY]

I drew an eastern archery elk, the same area I drew before. Last time I called bulls and saw half a dozen but couldn't draw them closer than 60-75 yards. they wouldn't budge. I was considering trying a montana decoy ? Anyone ever use one ? My bulls wouldn't come in without seeing elk. If you did  use the decoy did it ever scare game ? They have a side shot or a butt shot of a cow, any preference ? This is my year to get my big bull and I want to do all I can, looking for a little edge. Thanks in advance for ideas / your opinion.

[Todd_ID]

My input into this is that the decoy solves part of the problem about 2/3 of the time.  That being said: I never hunt elk without mine!  When a bull is coming in he wants to hear elk, smell elk, and see elk before he will walk through an opening and give you a shot.  Hear elk and smell elk are easy: calling and scents.  The decoy can help with the see elk part, and I'd say that 75% of the elk I get within 80 yards actually see the decoy.  I've had elk come in in their usual wary manner then see the decoy flitting in the breeze; about 1/5 of those that see it will come on a beeline, and the rest that see it will still circle downwind of the decoy.  One tip is that when you are setup in that downwind circle path that you expect the elk to take, you've got to quit calling because he thinks he just saw the elk that's making the noise: I've learned that one the hard way because they just widen the circle to get downwind of the "new" caller and bust you. 

Fooling a cow with a decoy is a bit easier than a big bull, but I've had plenty of cows sniffing the decoy.  They see it and head right in to check out who the new girl on the block is.  I'm planning on using it in the late cow season this year.

Some of the time the elk will not cooperate and will not see the decoy, so the extra weight was for nothing.  I can't say that I've ever had an elk ignore it, though.  What I have found is that it helps me better predict that last step before he either busts me or he gets the shaft (arrow, that is). 

You'll find that the stakes are a pain to carry and hard to use quickly, so maybe you can use another method of mounting it.  I put a rubber band on mine at the balancing point and can hang it from basically anything.  As far as which one is better....  Good question.  We used to use painted burlap over cardboard that worked just fine, we're probably only talking varying degrees of better.  The hind end one is by far the easiest to carry and use: 2 of my hunting partners carry this one.  The alert cow is the one I have and has worked for me, but it takes longer to get it set up.

Hope this helps some.  Here are some pics of my mounting system.  You might want to try it out unless you're hunting the sagebrush areas.

[MIKEXRAY]

Perfect info Todd ID, thanks for the answer. I am going to get one today. I was worried that a cow would come close and be scared off ? Kind of sounds like they just check it out. Do you put cow scent right on the decoy ? I've used cow in heat and actually had bulls looking for me like a bird dog. I've also had it scare them off. I was thinking of just a little on the decoy ? I'm going to get one and play with it preseason. I'll try the call him in, pop up the decoy (while on his way)and head to the down wind circle. Thanks again. Mike

[DeKuma]

Thanks for the write-up.  I have wondered if anyone used them succesfully.

[Slider]

We also use the broadside one. And kinda like Todd we just made a 12" loop with 60lb fishing line and placed it on the balancing point in the center of the decoy and hang it on a tree. It is harder to set up then the rump. The rump was designed to set up on a trail on a steep grade. Yes they do sometimes work and sometimes you don't have time to set them up. Simply another tool in the arsenal.

[Intruder]

There're nice to have especially if you have another guy callin with you who can handle the decoy. 

[Todd_ID]

I generally do put the cow scent on the decoy.  It lasts for a couple days, and I can leave the decoy outside the tent to avoid the smell.  I don't use the cow in heat too much because I think that's a pretty limited-time smell in the woods.  I use a regular cow scent that is non-esterous so I can be just another elk in the woods.  A bull will come to a cow whether or not she is in heat.  He's hoping that she'll pick him to be her breeding partner once she does come in heat; I think of it as the same as we did when we were in our teens and 20's, try hard to get a girl to pick us so we could breed when she's ready.

But, if you've got a good esterous whine to your calling, and the time of year is right, then the esterous scents can be deadly potent.  My mouth calls generally don't have the sound I want to get the whine, so I switch to an exposed reed call if I want to get that tone and then will switch to the esterous scent if I feel the breeding season is happening fast enough that I can fool a bull into thinking I'm the last cow that hasn't joined a herd.  That's when the esterous scent comes into play for my hunting.

The decoy works pretty much any time of the season.  In the off-season (like now), it'll probably pull elk across a field just for the company since they're a pretty social critter.  Don't, however, count on a decoy to be the magic fix to elk hunting.  The decoy allows you to sometimes predict the next move or get the elk to do what you want instead of what he wants, so that makes it an asset in my pack.  You've still got to play the wind perfectly, and you've got to say the right thing in your calls.  I've found that probably 1 in 6 setups happen so quickly that you simply don't have time to get the decoy up.  I've been busted before while setting it up: the bull says, "POOF, there's an elk that wasn't just there a second ago with something crouching behind it hoping to not be seen, so I better scram."  Yeah, they unfurl quickly with just the flick of the wrist, but hanging it on a branch or tree takes time and movement that you may not have.

If you haven't seen them yet, I recommend getting Elknut's set of 4 DVD's.  They're not hunting movies; there elk talk phD seminars on video.  I've been chasing elk a long time and guided plenty of hunters to kills, and I've learned plenty of mistakes I've made over the years from his videos.  I've always got one playing in my shop when I'm working on the bow or the mower, etc.

[MIKEXRAY]

Bought the same "cow elkk III pictured, thanks for the ideas. I know its not a fix all, but in the situations I was in it would of helped on some. Does it scare deer or elk ever ? I'll check out the videos Todd ID, any idea where to get them ? I can PM him.

[Todd_ID]

I've had plenty of animals see my decoy, and I've never seen a bad reaction.  A deer will generally walk around it, but it will get an elk's attention almost every time. 

You can get Elknut's videos off his website: www.elknut.com .  He's a sponsor on here, so there's probably a link there, also.