Interesting Decoy Idea

AWS

AWS

Custom Accessory Maker & Retired PM Staff
My wife was cleaning out some craft stuff and came across a solar powered hummingbird, it rotates and flutters. It seems a little fragile but they are cheap, $5/each delivered from Amazon, you can probably find them cheaper. What a subtle little decoy that has a lot of movement yet small and non-threatening might be very attractive to cats, fox and coyotes. I think I'm going to have to experiment with it.
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In my younger days I have had success with decoys at night. At least I think I did. Smashed a lot of fox at night with Quiver Critter decos but hunted snow on moonlit nights. Haven’t decoyed at night in years.
 
Your little humming bird should work great for a predator decoy.

The little Whirling Woodpecker decoy with one small spinning wing worked great for me, many years ago. Hanging the little wood pecker decoy over my e-caller with fishing line worked great. The decoy would hover around just above my caller.

IMG_2580 copy by Robert Morris, on Flickr

It looks to me like the closer you can get the decoy to the e-caller the better a decoy works.
 
Bob, I've been a fan of the whirling woodpecker for many years. I have replacement motors,.brass wing connectors, wire to make new wings and Material to make new wings. Some of mine are so old the bodies are held together with camo gaffers tape,.the switch died and I wire.them.direct,.just put the bat in and they run. They are still pulling in critters, three have been attacked and one carried off, we found the dead coyote.about a half hour before the decoy, had to do a grid search along his escape path, he slowed down about 200 yards out and my nephew dropped him.

I'm always on the look out for broken Whirling woodpecker decoys. Will pay postage for them.
 
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IDK why but I've never had a coyote get that close to my decoys. Bob not only gets them that close, he takes pictures (great pictures) of them in the act.
Did have two different owls steal the topper off my decoy twice in one day, another pair of owls and one hawk make failed attempts on it. All four attacks were about a mile or more apart on separate stands but all one morning. Never have figured out why all the interest in one day.
 
I set mine up in bushes and have had a few sit down under the bush and just stare at them. One sat there staring while I cleared two fail to fires including a stovepipe, killed him with the third round all this at 28 short guy paces.

A couple times I've had coyotes launch themselves and grab the decoy or at the decoy as they are flying past, those are a rush, so far have killed all the decoy grabbers.
 
AWS said:
I set mine up in bushes and have had a few sit down under the bush and just stare at them. One sat there staring while I cleared two fail to fires including a stovepipe, killed him with the third round all this at 28 short guy paces.

A couple times I've had coyotes launch themselves and grab the decoy or at the decoy as they are flying past, those are a rush, so far have killed all the decoy grabbers.
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I really like your idea of the 1/4x20 stud in the top of your walking stick, Erich. Wish I had seen that back when I was able to get out; perfect solution to placing your decoys in bushes.
I often hung my call on low hanging tree limbs. That cost me a bobcat one day when the cat was approaching in some pretty thick brush. I watched him coming in for some time and was anxiously awaiting a clear spot for the shot when he bolted. The breeze had increased enough to cause the call to swing enough, & combined with the rising sun caused a flash of light at just the wrong time for the cat to see it and bug out.
Perfect setup would be stick with 2 studs on top, one for call and other for decoy.
 
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