MPR: Bringing Up the Rear

Bringing Up the Rear
By Bob Kelleher
November 5, 1999

Deer hunters are always scheming how to outwit their nervous prey. Some perch for endless, chilly hours hidden high up a tree. Others brazenly barge through the woods, to chase the skittish white-tails into a fellow-hunter's target range. Some go so far as to douse themselves in doe urine. And a few will be turning to a small battery-operated device that draws in the deer with the flik of a fake tail.

Come Alive Decoy Products of Greendale, Wisconsin, calls that one the "Deer Rear." And they recommend pairing this foam version of a deer's least-attractive side with the battery powered Tail Wagger; kind of a pin-the-tail-on-the-deer.

OUTDOOR WRITER Jeff Murray of Duluth is a fan of the small, motorized, fake deer tail sold by a Wisconsin Company, known as "The Tail-Wagger."

Murray: What it does is it flicks. It's a soft, foam-type material, and it has a little hook on it, and you can attach it to any deer decoy.

Every seven or ten seconds, the fawn and white-colored tail flips up to one side, then settles down again, just like the tail on relaxed white-tailed deer.

Murray: The manufacturer also provides a unit that's just the rear end of a deer.

Murray: If you study white tails to any degree at all, you're going to notice something almost right away. And that is they flick their tail. And what it is, it's a, it's a friendly gesture. This tail thing; what they do is once they survey everything, with their eyes, ears, nose; and they're satisfied for the moment, at least, that everything is cool; they flick their tail. And then they go back to eating; go back to feeding.

The lure of the tail flick was no great secret to deer-hunters. The Tail-Wagger's inventor, Eric Lenz says hunters have tried for years to mimic a deer's movement, by hanging fake tails or tissue to deer decoys, sometimes attaching a fishing line to flik the tail by hand.

Lenz: I tried those methods, and yes, they did work. It's just they were not very reliable or very difficult to use. So, I tried to come up with something that will work all the time, and be easy to use.

It's not uncommon for deer hunters to use decoys. Bow hunters in particular might drag a full-sized foam deer along to set up near their stand. One designed by a South Dakota School teacher pops out of a suitcase, although Murray says it looks more like a sunfish from the wrong angle. But is it ethical to decoy deer, especially when you add little motors and batteries to bring decoys to life?

Murray: Some people say it is an apparent violation of fair chase. But then you would have to say, well a lot of those people who claim that are also die-hard duck hunters. So, why is it okay to decoy ducks but not deer? For example, I could say, "Gee, I only hunt with a bow. So you guys that are using rifles, man that's easy. I think that's violation of fair chase." So, where do you draw the line?

Duluth's Mike Furtman is an avid deer hunter. Furtman's not opposed to decoys, although he doesn't use them. He says a decoy is ethical as long is doesn't force the deer's behavior, like the way baiting draws a hungry deer to food.

Furtman: A decoy is merely an attraction. The animal still has the ability to say "that looks phony - that's in the wrong place." There's plenty of opportunity for the animal to ignore it.

Decoys are legal in most of the 45-states with white-tailed deer populations. Where they are restricted, as they are in Iowa, it's usually for the safety of hunters. Murray says the Tail Wagger is ideal for hunting with bow, but warns there's potential danger using decoys during the firearms deer season. Overeager hunters might confuse the Tail Wagger with the real thing.

Murray: I don't recommend it unless you have private property, or it's a very controlled, safe, familiar situation, because bullets have a longer carrying capacity than arrows.

In fact, Tail Wagger inventor Eric Lenz says it's not as useful for firearms hunts, when deer can be taken at greater distance. But he says it's a charm for bow hunters who need to bring deer in close for an accurate shot.

Even the Tail Wagger won't guarantee a successful hunt. It won't draw in every deer, and there's no guarantee a deer will pass along and spot it. And of course, the batteries might go dead.

	Sign up to receive e-mail newsletters

	Audio help

	Text: Sm : Md : Lg