In the hunting industry there are many products that can be termed, well, pointless and ineffective. Yet hunters often hurry to purchase the newest thing on the market, eager to try anything that will give them an edge over a savvy whitetail.

When I first started hunting, I was a skeptic about turkey decoys. I mean, you look at them in the store, and then perched in a field on a stick, and it seems impossible that a real turkey would fall for it. But they do. I never considered using a deer decoy until I experienced the fun of it on an out-of-state hunt.

I was on a guided hunt in Illinois when one of the guides asked me if I wanted to hunt over a decoy. At the time, I said no – I was there as a writer with a bunch of other hunters in camp, and I didn’t want people to feel that I was getting special treatment. Instead, I said I’d like to film a young mom and daughter, as they hunted over a decoy.

And what a treat that was! The guide Steve Wilson took extreme scent precautions with the decoy, toting it while wearing gloves and soaking it in scent killer spray. The decoy was a young buck, with a cloth tail that would move in the breeze. Looking at its blank eyes and faintly embossed sides, made to look like hair, I didn’t think another deer would be interested. I thought too that any deer that observed it would quickly realize that the thing didn’t move for a long time.

The mom and daughter climbed into a two-person ladder stand, and I used a climbing stand to get positioned in a nearby tree, close enough to whisper to them. Steve put the decoy out in the open in a large meadow, easily visible for long distances.

We maybe sat for about an hour, and a doe sashayed up to the fake buck. She stamped her feet at him, but it wasn’t as if she felt alarm – she was asking him to move. Soon her antics put her in great position to be shot, and the woman’s daughter arrowed her first deer. The doe booked away and exited the field into the woods on the far side of the meadow.

Since it was so early in the afternoon, we decided to let things as they were and continue hunting. The bloodstained arrow was stuck in the ground near the decoy. I thought surely the scent and sight of the arrow would spook any other deer that arrived, but I was wrong.

The buck entered the field not far from where the doe had disappeared. He stared at the decoy and approached, stiff-legged, with the hair on his back bristled. As he neared the decoy, the buck lowered his head and stood posturing, face to face with his plastic adversary.

It was mom’s turn – they had drawn straws. The decoy was placed perfectly to give the hunter a quartering away shot, and she made a perfect shot. The buck kicked and scrambled out of the field, right back the way he had come. When Steve came to get us, he was pleased to hear that we had two blood trails.

Can a deer decoy work for you? Steve said that the most common mistake is letting human scent on the decoy and/or using a deer lure by dripping it onto the cloth tail. Unless the tail is removed and washed, the scent will accumulate and grow stale and stinky. Steve said hunters should put a deer lure on a scent tab or felt and hang it nearby, instead of directly on the decoy.

Also, positioning is important. The decoy should be placed where it can be seen, and also in a manner that will provide the hunter with a shot, whether it is with archery or firearm equipment.