Via Gord Nuttall
Via Gord Nuttall

Bull Moose Hanging Up? Try Using a Life-sized Cow Decoy

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Gord Nuttall
Gord Nuttall

Moose decoys come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and prices. But in my experience, an effective cow decoy needs to be both lightweight and full-bodied in size. The simplest decoy I’ve seen was a moose-sized piece of black landscape fabric hung from a horizontal pole in thick brush (above), and it did indeed resemble a big, black animal. Moose will fixate on objects such as that, and circle downwind to scent-check them. That particular decoy simply rolled up on the pole, making for easy carrying.

The decoy I use now is the Moose II, from Montana Decoy. Printed on fabric, it’s a life-sized image of a cow moose looking back, in a quartering away stance. It’s supported on two collapsible tent poles, so it folds up and easily straps to my backpack. And because it’s printed on both sides, it works well from all angles.

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Of course, decoys can get even more elaborate. During his retirement years, for example, my dad carved a full-bodied cow out of multiple layers of two-inch-thick construction Styrofoam, giving it a 3-D look once it was wrapped in black landscape fabric. He also pivoted the decoy on an aluminum peg and attached 40-metre-long strings, enabling us to impart movement from our set-up (below).

Although Dad’s decoy was lightweight, it was also large and proved awkward to carry into our hunting location. So when it wasn’t in use, we simply covered it up and left it in position. But still, it worked great. We sat and called by it for two days and two nights, and on the third morning, a bull moose came to within 35 metres, spotted the decoy and focused intently on it. Oblivious to my nearby presence, he soon became the very first bull I ever arrowed.

Gord Nuttall
Gord Nuttall

Beaumont, Alberta’s Gord Nuttall bowhunts for a variety of game, including bull moose.