squirrel decoys???

[scruffy]

Just curious if anyone uses anything like this.  Last year, I had layed a squirrel I had gotten ealier in the morning behind me on a log (didn't want to "squish" him in my vest...).  Ten or so minutes later another squirrel was behind me, up the tree, barking away at the squirrel on the log.  I leaned around the tree I was sitting against and dropped him.

Ever since then I have laid my dropped squirrels 10 to 15 feet infront of me in the grass, stretched out.  Kind of like a decoy spread.  As squirrels approach from other trees they see the squirrel(s) laying on the ground and either come to take a closer look or come to run him off.  Either way the incoming squirrels usually present a good shot.  Out on a limb, on the front side of the trunk, even a couple on the ground.  And about half the time or more the incoming squirrel is shaking their tail, making them very easy to spot.

Does anyone else use this strategy?  It seem to work well for me this time of year with all of the leaves, getting the squirrels out in the open where I can see them, and then again late in the season when squirrels are spooked from me hunting them all season, again getting them out in the open where I can see them.

Often times for me the first squirrel of the day is the hardest to get.  So I'm thinking of tanning some squirrel hides w/tail to use as decoys.

What do you guys think???  Am I nuts?  :wink:

later,
scruffy

[mjbgalt]

i dont know about you being nuts....


but hell, if it works, it works!

i will try it next time i get into the woods...now the trick is being able to get those first few....hmmmm...

-Matt

[AZ223]

I never tried it, but since they do tend be territorial, it makes sense. I'll give it a try this season, thanks!  

[GrampaMike]

It has always worked.  When I was a boy, my father did the same thing when we went Squirrel hunting.  The first one is always the hardest.  We found a stuffed squirrel from a yard sale, it was a big sucker.  After that we never any problems getting the FIRST one to show himself.  Thanks Scruffy for bringing back good memories.

[HuntenNut]

I wonder if just a tail would work? You could attach a string for some live action. I have heard of this being done with Deer tails.

[scruffy]

I wondering about just using the tail also.  I was thinking of tieing a couple tails on low tree limbs so they could blow in the wind.  But having them on the ground with a string and giving them a tug every so often might work even better to getting them infront of you where you can get a good shot.

Unfortunately I don't have any tails on hand right now so I won't be able to trial the tail tomorrow morning.

But one thing I will try after getting the first squirrel is use soft squirrel barks every so often to get them to come in to take a look at the "decoys" rather than just waiting for them to pass through the area.  I dug up my nearly 20 year old squirrel call and put a lanyard on it and it's ready to go.  I should have between 6:30am and 8:30am to hunt, although I don't expect to see any squirrels until 7:00am at the earliest.  I like to get out early and set in my cammo lawn chair infront of a hollow nesting tree before they wake up and wait for them to come down for their morning "pee".

later,
scruffy