The archery antelope season opener in most of the areas is right around the corner. It might be a little bit early yet for the rut, but there could be some bucks that will respond to a decoy. If you don’t have one, you have a little time to go pick one up.
You don’t have to buy one, though. If you’re at least halfway artistic and know your way around a jigsaw, you can cut out an antelope silhouette from some plywood, then paint it to look like a buck antelope. My dad did that many years ago, and it worked pretty well. Make sure you don’t go crazy with the horn size, though – if your decoy is a monster, it might scare off the critters you’re trying to hunt, rather than lure them in.
I’ve had good luck with decoys over the years. The best way to put it to use is to find a group of speed goats you’d like to get close to, then figure out a way to sneak some of the way to them out of sight. Where I often hunt, there’s an old, abandoned irrigation channel that provides good cover for a sneak, and I use that to close the distance as much as I can. Then I come up the bank, with the decoy leading the way. My decoy has metal posts I can sink into the ground, and I prop it up and just wait.
If the buck in the group is curious enough, or territorial enough, he’ll come over to investigate. One year, the buck was extremely aggressive, and I thought he was going to run me over. They don’t always get close enough for a shot, but when they do, they make it a lot easier for you.
And if you are moving around behind the decoy, that’s not a bad thing. The buck will expect some movement, so you can get to full draw, then come up over the top of the deke.
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