Cheap home made decoys
- Thread starter blazerman
- Start date
It's funny you asked, I was just thinking about making a post with what's worked for me.
I made about 50 windsock snow decoys for about 20 bucks a couple of years ago. I bought 24" wooden stakes from a hardware store, then cut off the top about 3" down at a sharp angle. I glued that horizontally to the top of the stake with carpenter's glue, then painted the stakes white.
Then, take some small, white kitchen garbage bags. Lay one flat on a table, and fold the closed corners in to the middle of the bag so that it tapers. Stick a piece of black duct tape along each fold.
Then take the bags and open them. Staple the top edge about 2/3 of the way up the stake, the bottom edge maybe 4" below that. This works best if you run the staple through a little bit of duct tape.
That's all there is to it. Set them up facing the wind, and when it blows, the bags will inflate and spill air from the sides. This creates an effect that make the bags appear to waddle - it works incredibly well. I had some snows land in the bag decoys on Saturday (we were hidden in a bunch of canada decoys about 50 yards away, so they were out of range) and they fed among the decoys for 10 minutes without twigging to the scam.
The same thing would probably work for canadas, though it might be tricky to match the colour. It's also probably a good idea to set a few silhouettes or shells around the downwind side of the bag decoys so that the birds get a better look at more realistic decoys.
I made about 50 windsock snow decoys for about 20 bucks a couple of years ago. I bought 24" wooden stakes from a hardware store, then cut off the top about 3" down at a sharp angle. I glued that horizontally to the top of the stake with carpenter's glue, then painted the stakes white.
Then, take some small, white kitchen garbage bags. Lay one flat on a table, and fold the closed corners in to the middle of the bag so that it tapers. Stick a piece of black duct tape along each fold.
Then take the bags and open them. Staple the top edge about 2/3 of the way up the stake, the bottom edge maybe 4" below that. This works best if you run the staple through a little bit of duct tape.
That's all there is to it. Set them up facing the wind, and when it blows, the bags will inflate and spill air from the sides. This creates an effect that make the bags appear to waddle - it works incredibly well. I had some snows land in the bag decoys on Saturday (we were hidden in a bunch of canada decoys about 50 yards away, so they were out of range) and they fed among the decoys for 10 minutes without twigging to the scam.
The same thing would probably work for canadas, though it might be tricky to match the colour. It's also probably a good idea to set a few silhouettes or shells around the downwind side of the bag decoys so that the birds get a better look at more realistic decoys.
beretta boy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Orillia, Ontario
Somewhat like Grouseman's, but used "discarded" aluminum press plates, painted in flat primer grey, black & white. A nesting stack of 100 "plate
bodies" weighs about 20 pounds. The 3/8" plywood cut-out heads weigh a litt;e more. Used to be able to buy ( a few years back now) a variation made from newspaper/paper mache from ARC Industries ( handicapped community services) in Saskatoon. They worked great. Heavy gauge polyethelen sheet also works ( you roll it into a rough funnel - the neck / head goes into the little end - the big end gets cut at an offset to resemble body shape & a tail.
Primer paints stick not bad if you use the automotive type designed to go over plastic bumpers, air dams, spoilers. valances, etc.
bodies" weighs about 20 pounds. The 3/8" plywood cut-out heads weigh a litt;e more. Used to be able to buy ( a few years back now) a variation made from newspaper/paper mache from ARC Industries ( handicapped community services) in Saskatoon. They worked great. Heavy gauge polyethelen sheet also works ( you roll it into a rough funnel - the neck / head goes into the little end - the big end gets cut at an offset to resemble body shape & a tail.
Primer paints stick not bad if you use the automotive type designed to go over plastic bumpers, air dams, spoilers. valances, etc.
