2010 Plans

Spring is on its way...I think. Summer will soon follow and BOOM! Archery season will again be upon us. Between now and then, I will be working on getting back in shape, working on new decoys, and working on improving the Heads Up Decoy market position.

In early January, Heads Up Decoy was in Denver for the International Sportsman's Exposition. Wow, what a show it was. Denver was very good to the Heads Up Decoy. The support was awesome. I hope all of you that purchased my decoys or plan on purchasing them before this coming season have as much success as I have had.

Myself, along with a few others, will be filming our hunts and putting together a DVD using the Heads Up Decoys. We will be working on it starting this spring, through the summer, and obviously the fall archery season. We hope the DVD portrays our season "chasing" animals with as many close encounters as possible. I hope to portray the season that encompasses not only the hunts, but the preparation that goes along with hunting with a bow.

'09 Muley Heads Up Decoy Success

November 22nd proved to be a very defining moment in the short life of Heads Up Decoy. Sunday morning of the 22nd found us driving and glassing the cut milo fields where we had seen a very large muley buck 2 days before. Long before shooting light we glassed up or binoculated, as I say, some muleys in some fields. As we changed positions we soon found the big boy's buddy and felt he was in close proximity.

My film crew and I spotted a bedded muley buck in the field and managed to get within 100yrds. We waited and flashed the Heads Up Decoy muledeer doe as they would periodically get up and change positions. The doe that was with this buck would block the buck from making his way over to use.

After 4 hours of goofing around with them it was "make-or-break-time" and the muley decoy went in and on the bow mount. Folks, I stood up in the cut milo field using the decoy as a shield and mosied to 30yrds of the buck and doe to deliver what I thought was a fatal heart shot. As the buck stood in the field just out of bow range I decided to nock another arrow and shoot again. I closed the distance again and delivered another shot which proved to be the fatal hit. He was not the big muley we saw a couple of days earlier, but he is certainly respectable.

Ya know, I thought it would be possible with mule deer to walk up on them, but not in the openness of a cut milo field. What a deal...what a deal. I will never forget it.

Your '09 Heads Up Decoy Experience

Tell us about your 2009 hunting experiences with the Heads Up Decoy

November 7th-8th

got busted by several deer on Saturday morn. Crops still in the field. Farmers are working hard. Deer coming from all directions on Sat morn and they all seemed to see us or smell us....frustrated.

Rut activity is starting. Little bucks getting chased off by bigger bucks. Does getting harassed by all the bucks.

Saturday night the 7th. Finally managed to see deer that didn't see us. Made the move on a nice 140ish 8 pt. Got too dark, need to hunt the stands at night and ground in the morning.

Sunday morning...decoyed a mule deer buck in with the whitetail doe decoy broadside at 30 yards and I whifted big time.

Alittle sore from crawling on Saturday. Cactus needles in the hands. Back at work hungry for my next time in the field.

G

'09 Heads Up Decoy-What not to do #2

Saw a shooter buck today. I was by myself. The wind, on initial check was out of the WSW. I hunted a new area this morning, Nov 1st. None of the milo or corn in the area was cut due to the wet weather pattern we seem to be in. The morning was cool and the wind was about 5-10mph. I took the whitetail doe and mule deer doe Heads Up Decoy with me not know what I might find.

I also took the video camera...big mistake. It was a pain and may have cost me a close encounter.

I saw my first deer running through the pasture towards the timber. I saw that it was a doe. I was suprised that nothing was chasing her based on her actions. Shortly thereafter, I saw what I thought was a shooter whitetail buck. I jockeyed the video camera and my decoy around only to find that I had a snowball's chance in hell of getting the footage I was after. I crawled through the grass and presented the decoy to the buck that was probably about 150-200 yards away. He acknowledged the decoy and immediately headed in my general direction.

My first mistake was taking the video camera. My second mistake was not getting in better positon to draw the deer to me. He was easily able to get downwind of me and the hunt was over. He did manage to come within 60 yards.

Morale of the story, don't try to video on the ground unless you have help. Secondly, get yourself in a favorable position so the deer cannot easily get downwind of you.

However, I was pleased that the buck responded to the decoy.

'09 Heads Up Decoy-What Not to Do #1

I had turned David and Lincoln on to an area that is loaded with deer, but does not present any traditional whitetail ambush spots...no trees. The terrain is open with thick native grass about knee high to chest high is some places. The deer are easily visible but difficult to get close to. During the rut, the buck will chase does from one end of the field to the other, literally all day long.

We were surveying the area on a mild mid October Sunday morning. The wind was about 10mph from the NNW. We spotted some does moving in our direction on a ridge. We quickly positioned ourselves with David the shooter ahead 40 yards, myself operating the decoy, and Lincoln on the camera. The does acknowledged the decoy but bedded down leaving us wondering what to do. As Lincoln and I discussed our options a good 8 point buck rose from his bed and moved only to bed down a short distance from his original spot. David had no idea the buck was there.

David and I put together a game plan for putting a stock on the bedded buck while Lincoln stayed behind to video from a distance. We belly crawl through grass, yuccas, and cactus to within 47 yards of the bedded buck. I was to hold the decoy up and get the buck to rise drawing his attention while David poked him with the arrow. The wind had layed down some, and I wanted David to try to get closer. The buck spotted David's movement and we didn't get a shot.

Morale of the story, when you have a decoy...use the dang thing. It's to lure in an animal from a distance. We were close enough. We had the cover to use the decoy and to draw the bow, just got too greedy.