[gooseblaster]

i am going to start goose hunting and i was just wondering how many decoys to get and what kind to get to have a productive spread.

 

[nr_gooseslayer]

I would say if you have the money start out with a dozen fullbodies and a couple dozen shells or silos. I would say to go with Bigfoots for fullbodies, G&H for shells, and RealGeese or Outlaws for silos. Remember you get what you pay for. Yeah they may be a little more expensive, but trust me, you'll be happier you spent the extra bucks because nothing will piss you off more than the paint coming off your decoys.

 

[bgoldhunter]

I believe gooseslayer has you pointed in the right direction. One thing to remember is that GHG shells don't seem to have the paint problems it seems their other stuff has. Adding motion stakes to shells is also a good way to get movement and looks close to a fullbody. If you have been here long, you will probably see that I am a big fan of silos, and also agree on Real geese or Outlaws. They look great and I believe give the illusion of motion to geese. Bigfoots are great, and are super durable. Tons of geese have been killed over them. GHG may look great, but in my experience need a bit of TLC to keep looking good. You may look at them both and decide if the extra care is worth it for the GHG. Of course if money is no object, you may look at DropZones or Dave Smith, but you may have to consult a divorce attorney if your wife sees that bill! If cash is tight, I would spend money on shells and silos before fullbodies. Numbers can be important and you can get a lot more of those than fullbodies.

For a nice late season spread, I would consider at least 3 doz dekes per hunter. We use a bit more than that, but it is a good base. For me and my usual hunting buddy, we usually put out 6-8 doz silos and 2-3 doz shells with at least one doz. on motion stakes. Fullbodies are great, but suck if you need to be mobile. We can't drive onto fields unless they are dry or frozen. Just my .02

 

[goosehunter2118]

The GHG (not the same as G&H) shell are really nice. They also come flocked so that saves me some time. I also bought motion stakes for them. Real geese silo's are great. I flocked mine and they look very real and I agree that it does give illusion of motion. Don't get fullbodies if you have to walk far to the field because they are very hard to carry a couple hundred yards. Shells stack up and take up much less room and if they are on a motion stake, they look just like a fullbody from above. Good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

[okieshooter]

I tell you what ,that walking in thing is where I'm hit . Guess I'm going to have to go to a spread of all silo's. Not about to lug in 6 doz. shells,don't care how stackable they are.

 

[bgoldhunter]

Okie, we have to walk in a lot. When we do, we usually try to take at least a few doz. shells also. One thing that we have been using is a cart to haul our stuff. It is a bit like a deer cart, just 2 wheelchair wheels on a simple axle and a steel frame welded up. They were built to haul layout boats also. We can sack our layout blinds and decoys all on the cart. At worst, the guy not hauling the cart carries some in a decoy bag. That cart has made life much easier. Steel has gone up since they were made, but still couldn't cost too much to do.
I have used just silos a lot, but like shells also especially in the late season. A dozen on motion stakes and a dozen on the ground seem to help the spread a little.
I did use the cart a few weeks ago to haul 3 layout blinds and 3 dozen fullbodies. It was a pain (mostly because of how wet it was-standing water 2-3" deep), but we did it, so if you have your heart set on fullbodies, it could also help you there. The fullbodies were in a very large grain sack (your local feed store will probably have some they would sell you). I stapped them down with ratchet straps (we have metal loops welded on to some crossbars). Heavy load, but it got us there.

 

[gooseblaster]

i just want to thank you guys for all the helpyou have given me.

 

[goose_slayer1]

I have 3 dozen g&H standard sized shells with all the heads and stakes and they are yet lighter than my friends two dozen silos