Fishing – trapping – and vermin destroying – Decoys
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-06
2001-09-18
Ark, Darren W. (Department: 3643)
Fishing, trapping, and vermin destroying
Decoys
C043S001000, C446S397000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06289626
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a remotely activatable attractant for deer, for hunting, photographic or general human observation purposes.
(2) Brief Description of the Prior Art
As hunters have known for years and centuries, deer can be lured in several ways. Food, sex, and curiosity are common ways of luring deer into an area. Deer hunting generally takes place during the fall of the year and often times the deer hunting season is timed to coincide with the mating season of deer. During the mating season, male deer often compete with one another for territory and females with which to mate. In the process of competing for mates, male deer frequently will fight by locking antlers with one another and pushing and thrusting in order to demonstrate dominance. During the mating season, or “rut” as it is more commonly called, male deer in any given territory are very sensitive to intrusion by other males and are disposed toward investigating any competition among other males which takes place in their territory.
An understanding of “scrapes” is important to an understanding of deer hunting. A “scrape” is the resultant geographical area provided by a buck which has pawed out a small circular area in the dirt upon which he urinates. The buck may leave several scrapes in his territory for the purpose of luring receptive does to the area. A doe will find the scrapes and if she is in a receptive state, she will also urinate in the scrapes. The buck will scent check the scrapes on a regular basis. Upon finding that the scrape has been anointed by a doe, the buck will trail the receptive doe with the intentions of breeding her. However, deer in general, and particularly white tailed deer, are very wary by nature. This is particularly true of the more mature male deer who have survived several seasons of hunting pressure and competition for food and mates by virtue of their wits and instincts.
In surviving in the wild, deer rely on sight, sound and smell. It is an observable basic instinct of deer to maneuver themselves into a position so as to be able to scent or hear any activities which they wish to investigate. Accordingly, when male deer are investigating what they believe to be a contest among other males for territory and mates who have accidentally or intentionally entered within one of the scrapes, their first instinct is to approach such a conflict from a position to learn more about the situation before approaching the contestant or contestants who are challenging the dominance of the particular buck in his hunt for a mate in order to drive out of the boundary of the scrapes the intruding buck or bucks.
One time-honored means of attracting deer to a hunter is to initiate the sound of a deer contest by clashing or “rattling” antlers together. This may be accomplished with the use of real antlers or synthetic or imitation antlers. Most often such rattling is accomplished by a hunter holding an antler in each hand and striking the same together in a measured pattern to simulate the rattling sound of the inter-engagement of deer antlers of the protruding buck or bucks either in a contest between one another or by the buck rubbing his antlers against a tree, bush, rock, fence post, or other such “reference.” Unfortunately, when such a rattling takes place, most deer investigating the same will approach from a downwind position and will actually smell the hunter creating the rattling noises, perhaps even before the hunter has a chance to see the investigating deer. This is particularly true of the larger, more wary and generally more desirable male deer.
The present invention addresses many of the problems identified in prior art methods and apparatuses as generally above-described.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is directed to a remotely activatable attractant for the hunting, photographing, or general observation of deer. The attractant provides means for positioning the attractant in a stabilized mode relative to a reference, such as a tree, a fence post, a bush, a rock, or a structure such as the leg of a portable hunting tower, or the like. The attractant further includes two or more armatures which are moveable in at least one direction to a first position, such as expanded position, and which also is biased toward another position, such as the contracted position. The attractant further includes biasing means, such as a compressed metallic spring, operatively joining the armatures through simulation mean. Means are provided which extend from each of the armatures and include outboard ends and which are repeatably moveable into audible contacting relationship as the armatures are moved in at least one direction to simulate the rattling sound of the inter-engagement of deer antlers.
The remotely activatable attractant further includes an exciter for selectively manipulating the armatures in at least one direction. The exciter may be a pneumatic, hydraulic, electric or similar motor, pump or, preferably, simply ropes, cords, or similar means secured to each of the outboard ends or other location relative to the armatures for flexing the armatures to operative conditions.
Finally, the attractant includes a control mechanism operable from a remote location for activating the exciter. The control mechanism may be a battery or other electrically activated radio signaling device, pneumatic or hydraulic valving, or a conduit, such as a control line or cord extending any number of feet, for example, 30 to 50 feet to the remote location, such as within a tripod-positioned hunting tower and activated by application of a pulling force through the conduit by the hunter.
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Ark Darren W.
Beirne Maynard & Parson, LLP
LandOfFree
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