grandmapatty
06-09-2004, 08:20 PM
:-) I went hunting this year during the muzzleloader season in Mo. which was after regular rifle season ( which I could have used a muzzleloader also ) . During muzzleloader this season I decided to place up three decoys, and use a popup camo blind and then use some old oak tree limbs to break up the outline. I was using a cap and ball, old fashion gun, it has a set trigger, and I had practiced shooting it and it was ready. I had also shot two caps off and checked the patch inside after each shot. It was not burned really well but burned in the center. This would come to haunt me later.
I had a feeding large doe deer, a small alert doe, and a medium decoy that I practiced shooting at with my bow, but stuck some horns on it. ( our farm is surrounded by a river on three sides so no one can hunt there) I did put paint on the tips of the horns I used on the deer ( hunter orange ).
There were several deer in the field and each one checked the set up and then relaxed. The buck I do believe was the reason they were relaxed and they looked natural.
Finally a nice doe came out and walked between the decoys and the blind. I videoed it until it was in front of me, and then I layed down the video recorder and picked up my gun off of my lap. I had optic fiber sights on it and stuck it out the front window. Everything was perfect, I thought, until I pull the trigger after setting the set trigger. It went pop and then nothing for a second and then bang, and when the smoke cleared there was no deer laying down. Then I quickly looked out the side window to see its flag going into the woods.
What amazed me the wind was blowing from the east to the west. And the deer came from the east ( left ) to the right (west). After the smoke cleared there were still all the other deer feeding in the field and not one ran into the woods to the east. They picked up their heads and looked toward the smoke but seeing the deer decoys. They just kept feeding until they decide later to go back into the woods.
So if anyone has a place they can hunt with decoys and not trespassers sneaking into their hunting area. Try the three decoys and this was during the rut, November's third week and fourth week.
We have a very high doe to buck ratio so we have a trickle rut, and during the last week of archery season before gun season, the bucks were going crazy and moving everywhere and it was really unusual.
Hope to get a turkey this coming fall with a bow.
I had a feeding large doe deer, a small alert doe, and a medium decoy that I practiced shooting at with my bow, but stuck some horns on it. ( our farm is surrounded by a river on three sides so no one can hunt there) I did put paint on the tips of the horns I used on the deer ( hunter orange ).
There were several deer in the field and each one checked the set up and then relaxed. The buck I do believe was the reason they were relaxed and they looked natural.
Finally a nice doe came out and walked between the decoys and the blind. I videoed it until it was in front of me, and then I layed down the video recorder and picked up my gun off of my lap. I had optic fiber sights on it and stuck it out the front window. Everything was perfect, I thought, until I pull the trigger after setting the set trigger. It went pop and then nothing for a second and then bang, and when the smoke cleared there was no deer laying down. Then I quickly looked out the side window to see its flag going into the woods.
What amazed me the wind was blowing from the east to the west. And the deer came from the east ( left ) to the right (west). After the smoke cleared there were still all the other deer feeding in the field and not one ran into the woods to the east. They picked up their heads and looked toward the smoke but seeing the deer decoys. They just kept feeding until they decide later to go back into the woods.
So if anyone has a place they can hunt with decoys and not trespassers sneaking into their hunting area. Try the three decoys and this was during the rut, November's third week and fourth week.
We have a very high doe to buck ratio so we have a trickle rut, and during the last week of archery season before gun season, the bucks were going crazy and moving everywhere and it was really unusual.
Hope to get a turkey this coming fall with a bow.