The KISS Theory on Decoys

Over my fifty plus years, I have found that I achieve greater success in life and hunting when I make decisions based on the KISS theory.  For those of you not familiar with this theory, it stands for “Keep It Simple, Stupid”.

I have been calling or at least trying to call predators for almost half a century.  Until I started using electronics with wireless remote capabilities, I rarely, if ever used a decoy.  Now every time I read an article on predator calling, it seems that someone is trying to convince me that you can’t call a critter without one.

The reason that I did not use a decoy when using hand calls is that I was the source of the sound.  Experience has taught me that a decoy is rarely effective unless the distress sound is coming from an area close to the decoy.  If the decoy is very far from the sound, the responding critters will ignore it.  In my opinion, there is no need to use a decoy unless you mate the decoy with the sound.

After experimenting with several types of decoys, I am using the simplest, cheapest and lightest weight decoy that I have ever used…a turkey tail feather.  The first time I ever saw a feather used as a decoy, I was in Mr. Robinson’s fifth grade class at Devine Jr. High.  I was tagging along with “Bootsy” Burris, a government trapper who was setting a few traps on the family ranch for coyotes and bobcats.  I don’t have a clue why he was known as “Bootsy” for I never saw him wear anything other than a set of P.F. Flyer canvas tennis shoes.

Mr. Burris’s favorite set for a bobcat was to tie a chicken or guinea fowl feather onto an overhanging limb using braided fishing line.  Once the feather was in place, he would not use any bait (stink or otherwise) as the action of the feather being moved by the breeze was all that was necessary.

The turkey tail feather is a flat, broad feather that is easily moved by any breeze and creates a wobbling motion.  Since I generally set the electronic caller and decoy in open areas, there are no overhanging branches on which to tie the feather.  I tie the feather to a 1/8^th inch fiberglass rod that is approximately 30” long using a 4 to 6 pound monofilament fishing line.  I attach a lightweight swivel to the rod to keep the feather from twisting the line.

This simple decoy is easy to carry, does not make any noise nor produce any odor.  Another benefit that this decoy offers over all others is that will detect any change in wind direction.  In broken country, it is not unusual for the wind to be blowing in a different direction at the caller and decoy than it is where I am sitting.  A change in wind direction will alter the path that a coyote will respond to the caller.  (A coyote will almost always go to the downwind side of the caller).

Rather than wasting your money on one of the “high tech” “space age” battery operated decoys, “Keep It Simple, Stupid” and save your money for ammo, you are going to need it.

Last 5 posts by Gary Roberson

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009 at 7:43 am and is filed under Instructional. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.