PROPS FOR POPPING PREDATORS

DECOYS AREN’T JUST FOR DUCKS

HOW TO USE FAUX BUNNIES, BIRDS, FELLOW FURBEARERS TO HELP ATTRACT STEALTHY PREDATORS

By Art Isberg

The remote, high sagebrush desert country of northern Nevada is about as far from any signs of civilization as a man can get these days.

Roads, where you can find one, are little more than rutted four-wheeldrive tracks leading off for miles into who knows where. This is the same brutal land that pioneer-era wagon trains struggled through heading west 170 years ago.

Nothing has changed. The wagon tracks are still there. I have spent many moons in this vast land camping, hunting predators and just enjoying the sundown solitude. And with every species you can target, decoys can play a role in your success.

COYOTE One would think hunting coyotes here would have to be duck soup. I did until I seriously spent time going after them. But the fact is that the wily coyote (Canis latrans) was as wary and smart as his suburban relatives living at the edge of cities and urban sprawl. It was a lesson learned.

I’d call in the little brush wolves, only to have most stop well out from my stand and refuse to come closer – no matter what calling change I

Hunters in search of wily and stealthy predators like bobcats, coyotes and foxes can follow the lead of waterfowl hunters and use decoys to help bring in critters. A double decoy set-up for fox hunts is one such tool to help hunters. (ART ISBERG)

made. That puzzled me greatly.

Then I had a brainstorm. Maybe I could use that same open country against them. How about trying a coyote decoy? It changed everything from that point forward, introducing me to a new kind of predator hunting – and more successful to boot.

I began by looking over a large variety of decoys designed exclusively for coyotes. The list was impressive. I quickly found two perfectly suited for the occasion. The first one is made by Flambeau; the second is from Lucky Duck Yote 3-D.

Each was a full-bodied decoy – with legs and all. The Flambeau stood on all four feet and is made of hard plastic. It also has a faux fur tail that waved even in a small breeze.

The Lucky Duck Yote 3-D was a rubberized, fold-up model staked in the middle at its balancing point so the entire decoy could rotate in a

Set your coyote decoy out in the open where it’s easily seen by approaching animals – near or far. (ART ISBERG)

This fold-up fox decoy is light, easy to pack and also set up. It works on both red and grey fox. (ART ISBERG)

wind. It also has the same faux fur tail. That kind of lifelike movement proved to be deadly on suspicious coyotes. It finally started luring them all the way in.

Back in my old stomping grounds that spring, I set up my new decoy and began calling with my favorite longrange Circe, a jackrabbit call. A long 20 minutes later on stand produced nothing, but the key to success in this big land is to move if one spot doesn’t pan out.

Even here, coyotes are not wall to wall. I four-wheeled another 4 miles and set up again at the edge of a flat-topped plateau above several breakaway canyons thick with sagebrush. This time I staked the decoy about 30 yards away from my stand in a pile of black volcanic rocks, and I began my siren song.

I must have been close to the pair of coyotes that came in at a dead run only a few minutes later. They were in a line – one behind the other – weaving through sagebrush until hitting an opening where the lead

animal could see the decoy about 40 yards away.

He came to a sudden stop, eyeing it as his partner closed in. I would have loved to know what was going through his mind to find his tribe already here and stealing his rabbit breakfast. As all his attention was riveted on the decoy, I lifted my .243 Winchester bolt-action rifle and took a shot I knew I couldn’t miss.

The coyote’s pal took off at a blistering run, flashing through sagebrush. I took one running shot as it dodged behind another brushy screen and missed, but I’d learned a most valuable lesson that morning out in the middle of no place. Decoys can work big time.

For coyote hunting, your first priority is to place your decoy well away from your stand and at an angle not on the same line of sight. Lowering a call and lifting a rifle require hand movements that the sharp eyes of coyotes will pick up in an instant. The decoy covers you for this.

A second point is elevation. Use it every time you have the opportunity. Coyotes have some of the finest hunting eyes in nature. A decoy placed up on a mound, rocky outcrop or along a ridgeline will be seen at long distances and hold their attention as they run closer.

And third, you should choose a decoy that offers body movement, turning with a breeze or wagging tail. That can be absolutely deadly. These three things give you an edge like nothing else will.

FOX As with coyotes, there are a number of very effective decoys that can be used on fox (Vulpes vulpes). Such hunting can have startling results that have to be seen to be believed.

I live in mountain country of mixed tall timber and brush interspersed with large, weedy flats. There are a lot of red foxes here and, like fox everywhere, they always prefer to live, move, hunt and travel in cover. That’s because coyotes, hawks and

Author Art Isberg’s number one bobcat decoy is this broken-winged woodpecker, clipped to low branches and limbs at a cat’s eye level. (ART ISBERG)

owls will kill them if they get the chance, and they know it.

I’ve found two good decoy choices for these little predators. First is the Lucky Duck Foxxy decoy by Edge Expedite. It is a rubberized, fullbodied fox decoy, which offers the same staked, center body balancing point as the coyote. That allows it to move even in a slight breeze, and with its faux fur tail, the movement is simply irresistible to these little predators.

Another decoy I’ve carried and used is made by Renzos. It is made of a flat, durable vinyl body with a picture of a red fox imprinted on both sides. This silhouette decoy folds in the middle for easy carrying afield and then staked on a steel rod in position. It’s also light and handy.

The first time I used this decoy, I looked for a spot in tall timber and brush where it could be easily seen. I found an old logging road, set it up right in the middle, then backed off into blow-down timber and began calling with my cottontail rabbit call, which has a somewhat lower-pitched tone than the bigger call.

I stayed on the call for about 15 minutes. Like coyotes, a fox can pick up sound at unusual distances. Nothing showed up except two magpies that perched in a tree and wondered if there was an easy meal to be had.

I made another series of calls and had just about made up my mind to pick up and move, but something stopped me. All this took place about a quarter-mile uphill from a large river in the valley below me. I knew both coyotes and foxes moved along that waterway, using it as a travel lane to hunt along and get an easy drink in hot summer months (it was early August now).

I got back on the call and the whole setup just looked too good to walk away from. Five more minutes into calling, the biggest-bodied red fox I’ve ever seen suddenly broke from cover onto the old road. He came to a sudden stop and was eyeing the decoy 20 yards away. His long, fluffy tail was the length of his body and his neck stretched high.

He made a little jump forward and froze again; it was fascinating to watch his antics. He was starting to circle to get a scent when I finally took the shot. The long calling time on stand was because he’d made the climb all the way up from that waterway.

The keys to using fox decoys

The author totes two quivering body decoys that can be used on both fox and bobcat. (ART ISBERG)

are finding the right spot to place them where they can be easily seen. Choose small openings around mixed cover where the animals must show themselves once they’re close. They like to approach in cover, unlike coyotes, which can come barreling in at a dead run right out in the open.

Fox are generally too cautious for that and also have good noses, so watch the wind and pick your location with care. I stop calling when I see a fox approaching – even if well out. I don’t want to give away my location with hand movements.

I shy away from staking a fox decoy on high points, as I would a coyote. Fox are too clever to fall for that. Both decoys mentioned here will work, but remember that body movement is a big plus in your favor.

BOBCAT To me, hunting bobcats (Lynx rufus) has always been a much different game than targeting either coyotes or foxes. The reason for this is the cat’s secretive lifestyle. They are so much slower and more cautious when responding to calling, either mouthproduced or electronic sounds. For example, I’ve never had a cat come to my calling at a run, and I’ve called in more than a few in a lot of different places over the years.

Cats want a sure thing, something they know they can overpower and kill without causing any harm to themselves. They are slow-motion stalkers and killers that can sometimes do amazing things when calls and decoys are involved.

Once, when hunting with my boyhood pal Jim Cupp, I watched a bobcat stalk the biggest decoy imaginable – Jim himself! I was 8 feet up an oak tree calling as Jim sat at the base under me – his back to the tree – ready to take a shot if Mr. Whiskers showed up.

We were situated in scattered oaks next to a very thick brush field while trying to call a cat out of cover into the open along the fringes. I hadn’t been on the call more than six or seven minutes when something told me to look behind us. To this day I don’t know why. I’d heard nothing, nor seen any movement.

Twisting quietly into an odd and uncomfortable position, I nearly fell out of the tree with amazement. There, not 30 feet behind Jim, a big bobcat was slinking across the ground step by step and boldly stalking him. Somehow I managed to get the little .243 Winchester bolt gun up and the cat in the scope, as I fought to keep my balance.

When I took the shot, Jim jumped up like he’d been stuck with a pin. He was so surprised I’d shot so suddenly. We both talked about that one for a

long time afterwards. It showed how stealthy and unpredictable cats can be with or without a decoy.

There are several good decoys to use on cats. The trick is where and which one to use, depending on what type of cover you’re hunting in.

It’s important to remember that cats generally hunt close to the ground at eye level, and that level is pretty low. One type of decoy I’ve used is a small, 12-inch-high plastic rabbit called Quiver Rabbit, which is made by Edge Expedite. It sits atop a battery base that supplies power. This gives the decoy a shivering, shaking movement that mimics fear as a cat closes in. It’s easily carried in a daypack that includes extra batteries when needed.

Another Edge Expedite rabbit decoy is one with the same type of battery-operated stand, but this time with a rabbit-shaped faux fur sock body, which comes in two different sleeve colors for use in different seasons. One is white for winter, the second a grey and black body for summer use. You slide them on and off their wire-shaped body. The erratic, twisting, dancing body is the key to their success.

Another option – a small but ingenious one – is a bird decoy, made by Mojo Outdoors and called the Woodpecker. This hand-sized decoy has a battery in the body cavity that drives a single, fluttering wing like a crippled bird that cannot fly.

Cats stalk, kill and eat a lot of birds, including game birds like quail, chukars and young pheasants. This bird decoy has a spring-loaded clip on its stomach so it can be attached to low branches and limbs right at the eye level of stalking bobcats. That fluttering wing rivets their attention on the decoy as they close in for the kill. It is a deadly choice to use in such a small package.

The first time I used this bird decoy was in thick brushlands of steep, open canyons topped with rolling hills solid in manzanita, chemise and madron. I had no choice but to go into the thick

“Decoys aren’t just for ducks” is a mantra Isberg can’t stress enough to predator hunters, who can enjoy some outstanding hunting throughout California and the West. (ART ISBERG)

stuff if I wanted to call cats.

I sat in solid cover where I couldn’t see much more than 8 or 10 feet in any direction, and it didn’t appeal to me for a lot of very good reasons. Instead I clipped the decoy onto a brush limb near the ground, found a rocky outcrop nearby, climbed it and began calling.

I expected a long wait. But again the cats surprised me. I had called for only about 10 minutes when I noticed a flurry of little birds erupt up from cover near the decoy. I stopped calling and waited, concentrating on the spot where the decoy was. Suddenly, as quiet as a ghost, a big bobcat walked into view out of shadows. It sat down and stared at the decoy and its fluttering wing. I slow-motioned a .243 Savage lever gun to my shoulder while taking one careful shot. From that day on, the bird decoy became my number one go-to decoy in really solid cover. It nearly seems to hypnotize cats.

Both of the quivering rabbit decoys mentioned earlier can also be used in cover, but I prefer to set them in broken or more open spots of mixed cover rather than the really thick stuff. Places where heavy cover ends next to open ground is a good match. Also, any small opening surrounded by tall, thick brush or timber would be another. Your goal is to size up the area you’re in and then match the decoy that fits it best.

Always remember that regardless of what species of predator you are hunting, buy into the mantra that decoys aren’t just for ducks. It will open up a whole new world of predator hunting for you and is one filled not only with excitement but many surprises. CS