If anyone can provide me with information on where I can find info on past usage of live duck decoys I would be greatly appreciative. Or, if anyone has any personal knowledge, I would also like to see that as well.

What inspired me, actually, I was watching a show on turkey hunting and they were using decoys. I knew they used live decoys in the early 1900's for ducks, but I wondered if it would be possible to use live turkeys as bait for tom's and whatnot. It got me to thinking about how live decoys were actually obtained and kept by hunters, which is what I am mainly after. It seems like a lot of work just to get a few deads ones when you have 30 or so sitting at your house??

I thought this would be the best board to put his question out as it seems to get the most traffic.

Regards,

Buell

Buell
I've got a book that mentions live duck decoys. Its to long to go into here, but if you email me your address I'll copy the pages and post them to you.

Bakes

illegal in all 50 states...

like punt guns...

jeffe

Near as I can tell, the use of live decoys isn't illegal for turkey hunting, as long as you don't use a WILD turkey, since you need some sort of permit to keep live wildlife. A domestic turkey hen might work real good.....

BTW, before some of you get all wrapped around the axle, it is LEGAL to bait game animals in Kansas. The prohibition against baiting migratory birds is a Federal one, and of course, we can't do that here. But everything else can and has been baited to the gun or bow.

Don't really know about the live ones, but I can get you plenty of the dead type and you can freeze em ahead of time LOL.

They usually used what were known as "English Callers", sometimes they were tethered in the decoys, others were free flying I've heard and would actually lead the ducks in to the blind(and, of course, to where the callers were fed). Obviously great pains were taken not to shoot the caller.

It worked well and was widely used in La, long after it was declared illegal, so I've been told. I've never shot birds over callers, but hunted with many who had when I was younger. Kind of the pre-modern answer to electronic calls.

I've used live duck decoys in Mexico in the past and they work like a charm. Requires different shooting etiquette, no shooting of sitting ducks! We also used a human retreiver down there, but that's another story.

Are Ducks now Big Game or is there a duck out there I have not heard of yet.

Turtle

I only wish! Ranks up there with if yellow decoys were legal.

There is a book called Outlaw Hunter that talks about all of the things market hunters used to use. It's fun reading.

Best,
QD

I've got a copy of Outlaw Gunner and it's a great book with discussions of all all the old gunning methods: bait, sink boxes, punt guns, lights...

I guess I'll ask again
Are Ducks now Big Game or is there a duck out there I have not heard of yet .

BTTS
T

Still legal and widespread in France where strains of calling ducks have been bred, including long range, medium range etc callers.

You will not be surprised to know that females are considered best at this function!!

Boghossian,
females have been luring males to their destruction since Adam and Eve!
good shooting

quote:

Originally posted by Buell98:
If anyone can provide me with information on where I can find info on past usage of live duck decoys I would be greatly appreciative.

I knew they used live decoys in the early 1900's for ducks,

It got me to thinking about how live decoys were actually obtained and kept by hunters,

If anybody has seen the ducks in the lobby fountain at the Peabody hotel in Memphis, that is apparently how the tradition of the Peabody ducks started. They actually belonged to a wealthy local hunter, and he kept them in the fountain when they weren't hunting.

Now they are a huge tourist draw every afternoon!