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Lofting decoys in trees


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Just watched a vid on youtube of a guy lofting decoys in trees with a lofting pole.

 

 

Never really heard much about this being done before and was just interested in how its done, can anyone tell me?

 

Do you need special decoys to do it? How much is a lofting pole? How hard is it to do? Is it easy to get results if done correctly? etc

 

Any info would be appreciated.

 

Cheers!

 

John

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A mate of mine does it this way when he's shooting miles away from the car and doesn't want to have to carry a lofting pole as well as everything else :

 

First, you ideally need full body decoys.

Next, a stout short wooden pole with a fishing reel attached, and a catapult.

Attach a weight to the end of the fishing line, ram the pole and reel into the ground aiming roughly at the tree the decoy is going into, open the bail arm on the reel and fire the weight over a high branch with the catapult. Takes a bit of practise!

 

Retrieve the weight, untie it, attach the decoy to the line, now reel the line back in so the decoy is hoisted up - stop when it's reached a suitable spot and secure the reel.

 

B)

 

Only down side is if the decoy get's snagged on the way back down - but a few well aimed air rifle shots usually dislodge it ;)

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Lofting poles are usually around £40 and they come In sections that lock Into one another to make one long pole.

 

You will need lofting hooks as well, these are what the full bodied decoy sits on In the tree.

You put the decoy on the hook and then the hook on the end of the pole and loft It Into the branches In the tree.

 

The hooks have a counter weight on them so that the decoy sits upright and doesn't fall off..

when you are finished you just use the pole to reach up and retrieve your hook and decoy.

 

Alternatively you could just get a full bodied decoy and and attach a length of twine to It along with a small weight or metal nut and throw It up Into the branches :whistling:

 

A full lofting kit Including poles,hooks and decoys may cost you In excess of £60-£70 :icon_eek:

 

jase.

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Try the following method which works fine and costs no extra once you have the decoys.(full body).

All you need is a bundle of bamboo canes which are easily cut with a saw and grow back quickly.

Most gardeners who have them are glad to have them controlled now and then.

Trim the ends so that a small section of copper pipe (scrap pieces 6-8" long) can be forced over the end tightly.

The wood is very hard so you need a sharp knife.

All you do then is repeat this to make as many sections as you need.

Take a section of coat hanger and fix to the top pole with tape or string so that it can be used to hook over a branch.

Cut the bottom off the decoy and a slit in the top and slide the top section of bamboo through so the clothes hanger hook is in position about 1-2 ft above the decoys back.

You sometimes need a stopper of some sort inside (tape or string etc) to stop the decoy sliding down the pole.

(or make the bamboo a tight fit through the back.)

All you do then is hoist up and hook on a branch section by section just like a fishing pole.*

The beauty of this is that you can just leave the poles hidden in undergrowth until next time if you want, the bamboo is resistant to the weather as is the copper and should someone find and nick them it's cheap to replace.

I've kept a set of these in two of my favourite woods and used them for 3-4 years effectively.

Good luck and watch out for overhead cables!

 

*leave the poles in place attached to the decoy which acts as a weight and doesn't scare the woodies as long as the copper pipe is dull not highly polished.*

Edited by mooster
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