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Author
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Topic: Coyote decoy for Bud
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Bud/OR
Knows what it's all about
Member # 450
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posted October 21, 2005 05:21 PM
Hey Guys and Gal,
I've been having fits trying to buy, find, rig-up, steal...a coyote decoy. I thought about the 'Renzo's' set. I'm not a big fan of flat-panel decoys,no matter what the species. I bought a, full body, 'coyote' archery target from Cabella's, called in a couple coyotes in over it then concluded I may as well carry a real coyote...then I priced a full-mount coyote. Was that ever a waker-upper.
So...as I sat reflecting I gave my Feather-Flex fawn a good look, I had an inspiration, then drove down to my neighborhood sporting goods store and bought another fawn....Stop laughing. I get enough of that from my wife.
Got home with the new fawn, dug out a pack of multi-colored magic markers and went to work. The thing comes out of the box, tan with white spots. It wasn't any big deal to cover the spots, then I dug out a half dozen pictures of coyotes and got down to the real art-work. An hour later I was looking at a long legged, tailless, coyote with a deer's face...Plan B
I dug out(getting good at digging, huh?)some coyote tails that I'd chopped off and tanned (bring 'em home to prove to mama that I kill things). They were waaaay too big.... Enter the coon tails. Right size-wrong color. So...I scoot into the bathroom and check out the wife's Miss Clairol. Cool..a pair of rubber gloves and a full bottle of 'light-auburn'. A couple hours later and I had, pretty much, the right shade. You can barely see the rings. The tail was soaking wet.
Into the laundry room I go, opened the drier and tossed that puppy in and started turning the knobs. Then God spoke...or..I thought it was God. 'What do you think you are doing?' ...It was her...She had seen me throw a wet wad of hair (light-auburn) into her drier. She sounds a lot like God when she is about to reprimand me. I removed the hair-ball and explained.
She replied..."NO!", and dug her hair drier out of a drawer and handed it to me (She learned to dig by watching me).
So...after about an hour, in the garage, my new 'coyote' tail was dry so I glued it on Bambi's ass (IMPORTANT INFO;coon hair really stinks when it gets hot). So now I had a pretty good looking, long-legged coyote...with a deer's face.
I trimmed the ears to more of a canine shape, shortened the legs about three inches and sat looking at it for a while....then, another inspiration. I headed for a taxidermist shop.
The boy didn't have what I was after, but he gave me a phone number and e-mail address for 'Research Mannikins', a taxidermist supply house. Lo and behold, there thy were, coyote jaws and teeth with snarling tongue, $22.50 a set. I ordered two(never can tell, might make another).
You guys need to cut me a little slack here. When I get these teeth and glue them in, this thing is going to be the real deal. I've been using the fawn decoy with the Western Rivers decoy stake and it works great. I'll have another WR stake inside my 'coyote' before long.
Bud
[ October 21, 2005, 05:30 PM: Message edited by: Bud/OR ]
Posts: 51 | From: Oregon | Registered: Nov 2004
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Leonard
HMFIC
Member # 2
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posted October 21, 2005 07:18 PM
Hope it works for you, Bud. As for me, I have had limited success with a coyote decoy. Of the specific occasions when I know aq coyote saw my decoy, better than half didn't come any closer, peering over a bush from100/150 yards. A few times, I got the alpha pair, or one of them, I forget which one? They came in close and exposed themselves for an easy shot. But, I always wondered about the ones that I didn't see from my vantage point, or those that approached from behind me. I also used it with a realistic hunk of fur in it's mouth, to bolster the fact that I used a howl and a distress at some point in the stand. It became a worthwhile experiment. What it told me was it was not the ultimate charm to increase my ratios. It also made clear that there are inconveniences associated in packing it in the truck, keeping it from damage, and it's an armfull walking to and from the stand. So, the reason it was a worthwhile experiment is because I decided that it was not worthwhile, for the trouble, but it produced some interesting results, every so often.
Let us know how it works for you.
Good hunting. LB
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EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All.
Don't piss me off!
Posts: 32361 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003
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Cdog911
"There are some ideas so absurd only an intellectual could believe them."--George Orwell.
Member # 7
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posted October 21, 2005 07:59 PM
Not to further deflate your otherwise noble idea like Leonard tried to do ![[Wink]](wink.gif) , I can only say that there are several other taxidermy suppliers that sell their own home brew jawsets for less than RM. RM is one of the most expensive and I really don't like their stuff. But, for your purposes, they'll do great.
Probably my best decoy that is easiest to carry is a simple old tanned coyote hide. I made a tripod from 1/2-inch OD pipes and a four-holed corner piece, & zip tied it so it stays in place on the frame. If you have the Fall issue of Predator Hunting, you'll see his picture in my decoy article. I named him Leroy. I just pull the "legs" from the corner piece, and roll them up inside the hide.
Getting that corner piece was a trip, though. I actually looked at Lowes and Home Depot for something that would work and was completely unsuccessful. Then, one day, I was sitting on my throne in the "reading" room when I noticed that the corners of the three-section laundry hamper were just what I needed. I finished what I was doing and headed for China MArt. TYhe wife asked me where I was going.,
"To get you a new clothes hamper," I said.
"There's nothing wrong with the old one", she said.
"I know," I replied. That's why I'm buying a new one."
![[Confused]](confused.gif) <<<wife
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I am only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something; and, because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.
Posts: 5440 | From: The gun-lovin', gun-friendly wild, wild west | Registered: Jan 2003
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Rich Higgins
unknown comic
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posted October 22, 2005 09:05 AM
That was an entertaining story Bud. Glad to see you posting again.
Keep us up to date on your successes, or lack of, with the decoy. I use several different types of decoys and find that they are worthwhile in close cover but unneccessary on good visibilty stands. Great aid for photography.
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Bud/OR
Knows what it's all about
Member # 450
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posted October 22, 2005 10:31 AM
Hey Guys,
I plan to use this thing in clear-cuts in the Coast Range, West of my house and...the full length of the Willamette Valley. We have sheep fellas, mile after mile of sheep in huge fields, most with clumps of alders, maples, oaks, firs and the ever-present blackberry. I've been checking with my buddies at O.D.O.T. and find that squashed coyotes are being picked up the length of the I-5 corridor, adjacent to these fields.
I'm in the proccess now of finding which areas are being hit during lambing. I think this is going to be the easiest, hunting permission, begging I've encountered. Also, I have a sheep-skin that I'll lay next to the decoy.... I have all the coyote and sheep sounds on my FX3.
I think I'm going to fry my 'Bandit' motor but...oh well. I found an aluminum rod that fits into the decoy-wire receptacle and made a top that inserts into the foam block at the other end. The block fits perfectly in the bottom of my homemade coyote. I made flat legs that turn out from the bottom of the motor-box to stabilize it. Bam-flop (couldn't keep calling it Bambi) spins and moves as if it were alive. The thing is heavier than Foxpro's critter so I'm going to try for intermittent use to keep from cooking the motor....We'll see.
Bud
P.S. I will listen to no cracks concerning 'picking the wool out of my zipper'.
P.P.S. Hey, some of you people are in business, selling to hunters. We have your 'Mossy Oak', 'Woodland', 'Timber' and...whatever camouflage. How about someone coming up with a, photographic quality, open-leaf 'Blackberry' pattern??? Every hunter in the Pacific North-West could be invisible.
[ October 22, 2005, 11:44 AM: Message edited by: Bud/OR ]
Posts: 51 | From: Oregon | Registered: Nov 2004
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Baldknobber
Knows what it's all about
Member # 514
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posted October 23, 2005 08:08 AM
Bud, that's the funniest post I've seen in awhile. I laughed my ass off. God, however, CANNOT live at your house because she lives at my house. She has flaming red hair, piercing blue eyes, stands 5'8" ......sometimes looks to be 6'8" and speaks with a deep booming voice when aggravated at me....which is quite alot during hunting season. Good luck my friend!
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JTBMO
Posts: 202 | From: Missouri | Registered: Jan 2005
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Rich Higgins
unknown comic
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posted October 23, 2005 08:40 AM
Bud, when you finish "Bam-flop" you have to post a pic of it with the fangs and snarling tongue.
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Bud/OR
Knows what it's all about
Member # 450
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posted October 28, 2005 08:19 AM
Hey Baldknobber,
Talk about getting a chill...My...God... is 5'3", flaming (even after being married to me for 41 years she still doesn't need a whole lot of Clairol) red hair and green eyes...Same voice as yours... A red-headed, green-eyed German from Missouri. I sometimes wonder about the genetics involved. She really gets pissed if I use the term 'Uncle-daddy' when talking about any of her male relatives.
Rich,
I got the teeth in the mail. Gonna try to finish him up today or tomorrow.
[ October 28, 2005, 08:22 AM: Message edited by: Bud/OR ]
Posts: 51 | From: Oregon | Registered: Nov 2004
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Cdog911
"There are some ideas so absurd only an intellectual could believe them."--George Orwell.
Member # 7
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posted October 28, 2005 12:50 PM
Bud, carve out the jaws to accept the jaw set using a dremel, then "glue" the jaw set in using bondo.
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I am only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something; and, because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.
Posts: 5440 | From: The gun-lovin', gun-friendly wild, wild west | Registered: Jan 2003
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Bud/OR
Knows what it's all about
Member # 450
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posted November 01, 2005 06:44 PM
Hey CDOG,
Any certain type or brand of bondo? I'm having fits here. Three different types of glue and either the plastic jaws peel loose or the foam on the mouth does.
I gave up on my artistic ability and went (wife sent me) to the neighborhood fabric store and bought a big piece of faux-fur. the old-lady helped me shape and attach it. Damn, but it looks great.... Except for the loose teeth.
Thanks,
Bud
Posts: 51 | From: Oregon | Registered: Nov 2004
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Cdog911
"There are some ideas so absurd only an intellectual could believe them."--George Orwell.
Member # 7
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posted November 01, 2005 07:08 PM
Bud,
I'm not familar with the type of material used to make those decoys, and was assuming that it's the same stuff McKenzie uses on their forms and targets. If so, it should be a pastel yellow to light tan in color under the "paint" To do what you want, I would make one cut from the corners of the mouth straight back an inch or so. Then, make a secopnd cut from the bottom of the jaw up to intersect the end of the first cut. Here's a picture of what I mean...
Then, using a dremel tool, I take out enough in the lower jaw and in the head to properly accept the jaw set.
Then, just mix up Bondo (I use actual Bondo rather than any off brand) and put some in each jaw, push jaw set in and let it kick. Use a popsicle stick or your finger to scoop up any extra the pooches out around the teeth. You're not doing a mount, so perfection won't be necessary. After it kicks, realign the jaw in place, put a dollup of fresh bondop where the two faces articulatre, push them together and drive a grabber screw on each side to hol it in place until it kicks. At that point the bondo should be stronger than the actual foam in the deek.
If this doesn't cover the problem youi're encountering, then I'm unclear on what you're up against. Pics would help a lot if you have a camera.
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I am only one. But still, I am one. I cannot do everything, but still, I can do something; and, because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.
Posts: 5440 | From: The gun-lovin', gun-friendly wild, wild west | Registered: Jan 2003
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