Goose Decoy Spreads

[Whitetail77]

Hey guys,
I'm thinking about an upgrade/ adjustment to my decoy spreads. I am currently using a variety of Canada shells, and mix in some snows/ specs if they are also using the fields we are hunting. I've been thinking about full body decoys, but they are not cheap. I've also been hearing about alot of people using silhouettes. What's the best options for upgrades in your opinions?

[pointer]

sillosocks if you want to save cash and run a big snow goose spred but for canadas the full body decoys are the way to go

[super7mag]

Full body's are great but still a PIA to transport, you pretty much need an enclosed trailer or something similar if you have any number of them. I still like the stack able 2-piece deke's, I have a few dozen F.A. last pass with flocked heads seem to work well, I also have a dozen full bodies, on the motion stands that add some realism to the spread.

[Redline 12]

How many decoys do you have? maybe you don't need any more, I have had good shoots where I didn't set out all my decoys, only setting out 4 to 5 dozen magnum decoys. Many times how you set them out is just as important as how many. Like foe example don't mix your Canada's with the snows, put the snows out but away from the Canada's, Canada's don't like to mix with the whites. Don't put your decoys to close to each other , spread them out, when geese get into a field they spread out, when geese get nervous they will bunch up, so if they are to close to each other it will not look natural when they are coming in and they will flair at 60 to 100 yards. Also have as many feeders as possible, to many decoys with their heeds up, ie sentry position the decoy companies call them, will also make them nervous and flair, if you watch geese in the field when another bunch is coming in most of those feeding will keep their heads down and continue feeding. Thus proper positioning of your decoys can sometimes be more important than more decoys, unless of course you have the money and the extra time to set them all out. Good luck this year.

[Whitetail77]

Thanks for the tips Redline. I run a spread of about 8 to 10 dozen Canada shells and then 2 dozen snows if there are snows coming to the field the night before. We do setup the snows by themselves off to one side of our spreads. Just wondering if adding/substituting some full bodies might help. I always tell myslef to spread the dekes out, but sometimes find myslef crowding them together. Maybe upgrading to some of the shells to flocked heads might be the way to go. How far apart do you set up your dekes? I try to keep them about 4-6 feet apart.