This spring I'm thinking about going for geese. I've gone out for grouse and deer but want to fill out the rest of the year with waterfowl. I've been internet researching like mad. One question: do you all fill your garages with decoys of every species? Should I start with geese or wait for ducks again? As a newb I obviously crave every bit of success starting out. I'm in the Lower Mainland of BC and am just researching kit. I know about the licenses and I have a decent shotty for it but want to learn more of the lore of it now. I have a couple guys with me who are in the same boat so to speak.
Newb: geese question: decoys
- Thread starter Silveragent
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Id start with geese in the spring, do the leg work and scout. find where the birds are roosting and where they are feeding. if you can get to/get permission for where they are feeding all you have to do is be well hidden when they come to eat and you'll be able to kill birds with out calling or dekes. However having some decoys out and knowing how and when to call will greatly improve your chances.
Id recommend picking up a cheap goose call to start practicing right away, so you feel confident on your abilities by your opener. Something like the Zinc power clucker is a great sounding call for under $40. Also look into an instructional dvd to get some pointers, this will greatly speed up your learning time and reduce any bad habits one might develop.
Id start with goose decoys, as ive killed many ducks over an all goose spread. However goose dekes are EXPENCIVE so what style, brand, and quantity are really dictated by your budget. I started with goose shells, they have the best price per bird ratio plus you can add foam inserts inside them and use them as floaters. Also silhouette decoys are a good choice as they are a cost effective way to add numbers and a little motion to your spread, plus they are light to carry and you can make them yourself out of corplast and paint. I would recommend using full bodies if you can afford them, the realizim and motion cant be beat. However they are bulky and heavy. But please do yourself a favour if you decide to go this route and buy some good quality decoys like Avian X because they will get beat to ####... the cheaper they are the faster this happens.
Id recommend picking up a cheap goose call to start practicing right away, so you feel confident on your abilities by your opener. Something like the Zinc power clucker is a great sounding call for under $40. Also look into an instructional dvd to get some pointers, this will greatly speed up your learning time and reduce any bad habits one might develop.
Id start with goose decoys, as ive killed many ducks over an all goose spread. However goose dekes are EXPENCIVE so what style, brand, and quantity are really dictated by your budget. I started with goose shells, they have the best price per bird ratio plus you can add foam inserts inside them and use them as floaters. Also silhouette decoys are a good choice as they are a cost effective way to add numbers and a little motion to your spread, plus they are light to carry and you can make them yourself out of corplast and paint. I would recommend using full bodies if you can afford them, the realizim and motion cant be beat. However they are bulky and heavy. But please do yourself a favour if you decide to go this route and buy some good quality decoys like Avian X because they will get beat to ####... the cheaper they are the faster this happens.
I'm new to Waterfowl as well, and so are my 2 hunting buddies, we all got serious this year and loosely hunted last year. Best advice I can give you is LEARN how to call, bad calling will send them in the other direction, and more importantly, get another job until you have all your supplies purchased LOL. This is an expensive hobby but most decoys hold a decent resale value if you take good care of them.
If you're referring to spring snows anything less than a pretty good and therefore pretty big spread will make it very difficult to accomplish many up close encounters. For fall hunting, a dozen full body Canada's (probably 250-300) and a dozen or two field mallard shells (or even just floaters tucked into swath) with a robo duck and you will get birds. No matter what, go to where the birds are so make sure you have the means to scout effectively and build some relationships with landowners. Ducks are much easier to kill over goose decoys than geese to ducks. Canada's don't seem to like motion decoys at all however snows are much more willing to come for a visit. Find a decent blind and remember that concealment is paramount for any form of waterfowl. Most of all, try it, have fun with some buddies and make some memories.
the spank
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You're in lower mainland country so you guys get lots of cacklers, the smallest species of Canada. If I were you I'd invest in some Dakota Full Body Lessers unless you are hunting sloppy wet fields as the lower mainland can be famous for. Then full bodies are a PITA to carry out, much better if you're able to drive out with full bodies. If you hav to walk out get some Real Geese Silo's. You can carry four dozen in a purpose made silo bag with ease. Buy what you can afford and as you can afford more throw a few more on the pile until you have what you consider is plenty. You guys see a lot of Mallard, Widgeon and Pintails too so a few mixed duck species wont hurt. Snows generally do not come in well to Canada decoys, they seem to prefer their own kind and vice-versa. If you watch them close on a field you'll see they are usually not mixed together all that much, yes they do at times but as a general rule they seem to sit apart from each other, especially Greater Snows, they are not as friendly about sitting with Canada' as the Lesser Snows are??
roboduck...? oh geez what have I got myself into
it looks like I'm going to have to scout to see if I need to get floating ones vs standing ones. Probably floating ones since we won't have time to find/ask permission for fields.
it looks like I'm going to have to scout to see if I need to get floating ones vs standing ones. Probably floating ones since we won't have time to find/ask permission for fields.
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Mojo Mallard would be the proper term for what I use but the idea is to impart the right motion. You (and therefore birds even more) can see the flashing white wings from a tremendous distance and it resembles a landing or settling bird. They revolutionized duck hunting when they came out 17 or so years ago. Cabelas sells them for 125 bucks or so and they are worth their weight in gold.
the spank
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Don't waste your money on spinning wing goose decoys though. geese hate them. And if you're running spinning wing duck decoys in your spread make sure you get one with a remote so you can turn it off as geese approach without having to continually run out of the blind to shut it down and then back out to turn it on again for the ducks. They are highly effective in low light conditions and early season on ducks. Geese hate them ALL season. If you have good day roosting areas to hunt geese over water you should be able to get away with just a few good quality floater goose decoys(make sure they have flocked heads) and some calling provided you can at least make a decent honk and cluck. Geese are not hard to pull in over water from what I have experienced if you can talk goose?!
arrange your decoys in the shape of an arrow and point the arrow in the direction you'd like the birds to fly in, this way you can have them come straight in to your blind or from side to side. Find out which is your strong point in shotgunning, straight birds or hard left to rights and point the arrow of decoys in this manner, it will make for less misses and more meat in the freezer, and if your hunting in ladner be sure to yell hey Dennis everytime you shoot into the sky so he can see how many birds he won't get the opportunity to shoot at, this drives him crazy
Yes it could mean that and on reflection that looks like what I was saying. To clarify: I was always taught that as geese bed on water it is a bad idea to shoot them on it unless you want them to change regions. Therefore, find their bedding area, scout the fields they are feeding in and set up your spread there. This might not be possible where you hunt, or even matter if you are shooting in a big estuary like ladner.
If you are able to get waterfowl to land on water, by all means sluice them if you feel like it. Your decoys may suffer. At first you may get a lot of birds coming in for a look at your spread but not committing to your landing, better to just pop them when they are in range than wait for a landing/flush that is never going to happen.
As for "harvesting" vs "killing" I hate to break it to everyone but you are in fact killing the animals...
If you are able to get waterfowl to land on water, by all means sluice them if you feel like it. Your decoys may suffer. At first you may get a lot of birds coming in for a look at your spread but not committing to your landing, better to just pop them when they are in range than wait for a landing/flush that is never going to happen.
As for "harvesting" vs "killing" I hate to break it to everyone but you are in fact killing the animals...
swinginberrys
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I'd have no issue listening to the Spank, he should have pretty sound advice.
My general outlook is. Don't shoot the roost. You can hunt water but I'd recommend loafing areas or other hang outs. The preferred spot to set up shop is in the feeding area. Here's the thoughts behind it. If I burn down the grocery store you go to every day your going to probably just find another grocery store to shop at. If I burn down your house chances are your going to move out of the area. Same idea with geese. Leave their home alone and they stick in the area. Hunt a field and then follow them to the next field they start feeding in.
My general outlook is. Don't shoot the roost. You can hunt water but I'd recommend loafing areas or other hang outs. The preferred spot to set up shop is in the feeding area. Here's the thoughts behind it. If I burn down the grocery store you go to every day your going to probably just find another grocery store to shop at. If I burn down your house chances are your going to move out of the area. Same idea with geese. Leave their home alone and they stick in the area. Hunt a field and then follow them to the next field they start feeding in.
the spank
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
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SB is giving you the best advice you'll ever get in waterfowling right here with this statement.I can't tell you how many times I have expressed this same sentiment in the same way!!
I met SB on a hunt in 06 and we burned the grocery store down that morning. Rain, sleet, snow, mud galore hunting in a half harvested corn field standing in the uncut corn with 11 dozen silo's bunched up tight to look like birds do when it turns cold and miserable, huddling together for warmth. Heck there wasn't even room between some of the silos for barely another silo and they were trying to land in them and getting fouled up trying to squeeze in. Was a killer hunt and when it comes to calling ole SB will raise the hackles on the back of your neck!! That SUMB..CH can call!!!!
