early goose setup

[greatwhitehunter3]

heres what im going to be using for early goose...hopefully it will work out good for me...about 5 dozen silos and about a dozen shells and haybale blind....think this will kill me a couple birds?

decoys
[img][img]http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k293/3vollmer3/augustmisc016.jpg[/img]

haybale blind...only wont be using the mallards
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[diver_sniper]

In September yes. In November... Well... You better have a good spot. Leave those twirly birds at home though.

[greatwhitehunter3]

yeah i just had them out there at the time i took the pic

[greatwhitehunter3]

i want to get rid of my silos and get a couple dozen shells if anyone would want to trade?

[universitywaterfowler]

Full bodies??? you can really tell those are silos, get some full bodies seriously. Let us know how the hay bale blind works out though, would be nice to have all the room.

[greatwhitehunter3]

money?? get me some money...seriously

[T Shot]

Unless there are bales in the field, leave the haybale blind at home, put some decoys around you to break up the outline. and lay REAL still. Many of us hunted this way for years with success before layout blinds were popular. Five dozen sillys and a dozen shells will kill birds for you in many situations. Don't let these guys tell you that it can't be done without fullbodies, I would venture to guess that more than a few with this mindset have never hunted without fullbodies. It can be done.

[greatwhitehunter3]

so should i do it like picture one or picture two

PIC #1


PIC#2
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[shootnmiss09]

I like the first one better!!

[SDwaterfowler]

NOTHING wrong with sillies and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Sillies have their niche in this sport and fullbodies do also. But both will work just fine under different conditions.

[justund223]

IMO i would just get rid of the bale blind. just get a piece of burlap and lay under it with natural cover over the top. In the first picture you have geese right next to the blind. In real life geese would never get that close to a bale in an open field. It just leaves them open to ambushers.

[hoosier dhr]

which way is the wind blowing???

[NDMALLARD]

Sillos work fine under certain conditions. Like when you have to walk out on to the field! ed-u-mi-cated birds are a different story...

[universitywaterfowler]

I find that silos work fantastic when its dark out and overcast. So dark you can't see your hand in front of your face.
I mean hey we're all black with the lights out right...

[mshutt]

Straight out of the B.P.D.S book, here is a setup that i know works(pit blinds were used though)
The birds will try land BEHIND you, therefore, they are going to fly right over your head.

ABSOLUTLY DO NOT put decoys infront of, or behind you this will F up the landing zone for the birds so you can get good shots.

Dont worry about being the only haybale in the field. Birds are not counting bales, instead they are looking for danger.

Early season decoys should be 20-50 yds from your blind.
Late season decoys should be 50-100 yds from your blind.



Here is a picture of our setup-(We only used shells, we have limited out every morning with 4+ guys NO BLINDS only PITS)



The black dots are our GHG full bodies all brand spankin new, the blew dots are our GHG motion shells 1 year old all flocked heads.

*Note* this setup has NEVER failed! and is very easy to set up.

If anybody has any setups that work wonders
post a picture of your setup if you would.

[greatwhitehunter3]

mshutt..thanks for the drawing...i have a couple questions...im going to be using a haybale blind about 50 silos and about a dozen shells and maybe a reel wings...i was wonderin if you could draw up a quick picture of how you think i should set it up?

[headshot]

Any variation of the second pic from Mshutt will work. Just keep the wind in your face and use your more realistic dekes closer to the blinds. Anytime I am setting up the dekes I position myself faced into the wind where the birds will be coming in. You need to do some scouting to locate the roost ponds cause thats where they will be coming from. You dont need to always use a U or J shaped spread. As long as you leave a kill hole in front of the blinds damn near any set-up will work. I like to use the dekes to funnel the birds right to me. Shooting honkers at 10- yards is a blast.

[Blue Plate]

I always find it funny when guys post up how silos will not work, especially on late season geese. I hunt Rochester a fair amount. Those geese are the hardest hunted birds in the upper mid-west no question. Most guides will hunt over bigfoots plus black and white silos that are hand painted. They don't look great but day-in/day-out they kill geese. These ultra-real modern decoys are nothing more than a marketing ploy for the consumer not the goose.

[T Shot]

I always find it funny when guys post up how silos will not work, especially on late season geese.

Me too.

[SDwaterfowler]

Agreed, I think the guys that say silos don't work have not hunted over them very many times, if at all. Silos can be just as effective as fullbodies in the right situation. For example, they contrast the field better and show up at longer distances for pulling flocks from long distances or running traffic. Snow will not build up on them like full bodies. Silos create an illusion of motion that you cannot acheive with fullbodies (and I'm not talking about motion stakes). You may not be able to finish birds quite as close with them but you will still get them in gun range. I know there are hunters and guides in some of the most pressured parts of the country that take limits day in and day out with 100% silo spreads. I personally use my fullbodies most of the time (more silos are on the to-buy list) but I am not going to tell somebody that their silos won't work.

[greatwhitehunter3]

thanks guys for letting me know my silos will work..im sick of people telling me they wont...i cant help that im still in high school and cannot spends hundreds of dollars on full bodies...thanks for the support! im going to be hunting on a wheat field and there is a roost pond right to the north of the field...theres about 300 geese there every morning and night..

[Phil The Thrill]

I shot my limit of educated honkers the last day of the season over 13 silos. They will work, but I still think FBs are better most days.

[Goosepride]

You don't need a hundred dekes to kill geese no matter what time of year it is. I wouldn't even worry about the haybale blind. I've hunted with guys in Canada and ND that use willow type blinds. They basically stand straight up. They still kill their limit. As long as your on the "x", it doesn't matter. Just make sure you have the wind at your back, give them a landing zone, and make sure you're ready to shoot. Some of the guys on these forums get way too caught up in how many dekes you have, how you call, time of year, etc. At times, those things can matter. But, find the X and stay concealed or still, and you'll shoot geese.

[diver_sniper]

I'll agree with goosepride, being on the spot always has been and always will be the most important factor. BUT, that's pre-hunt. You take care of that before you ever venture into the field. Once you're there, it doesn't matter anymore, you still have to give it the best you got. It could be 8 home made sillos, or it could be umpteen dozen DSD's. You still have take it as seriously as you can. Making the right descisions will decide if you go home with a prideful grin or an empty bag, no matter what gear you take the field with. Anyways, here's how I typically do it. Very standard, but very effective.





The two hangin out on the bottom left would actually be farther away than pictured. Goosebusters knows what I'm talkin about. It kills.

[greatwhitehunter3]

diver_sniper..will this work in early season too? j/w cuz everyone is talkin about makin family groups...and if the wind is comin from the top do you just completely flip it around? cuz if i used that pic, there would be a slough to the top where the geese would come from, and so would i still set up like that even though the wind if facin right towards the slough?

[Neck Collar]

I agree with diver sniper, our crew uses basically the same spread throughout the fall, it works wonders

However during the first couple weekends i'd suggest spreading em out and breaking em up into groups just a little bit

[SDwaterfowler]

Yup, the "U" shaped spread is the most common one I use all season. Really helps direct the birds to the kill zone. But I would spread the family groups out a bit more than in the picture during the early season so it clearly looks like separate families feeding to the geese.

[huntingtim08]

can somebody tel me how to put a pic on here from paint.

thank you

[mshutt]

Huntingtim08- From using paint, I upload my pictures to a website called http://photobucket.com/ you will have to make an account, and from then on its "so easy a caveman could do it"-but after you upload the pictures into your album, you have to copy the IMG code to post PICTURES, not the link, but the actual photo!

GWH3- Diver is to high class for using the PAINT method

I use my picture(same damn thing as diver's but less neat)from sept 1. to the opening day of deer season in mainly wheat and beet fields and it has been 100% succesful everymorning we went out. (12 mornings missed of school do to hunting and of course every single weekend)

*IMPORTANT* The wind to me is the second most important factor, of course after setting up on the X. If you use the U method (my 2nd pic) MAKE damn sure that your BACKS are to the wind, no matter where the pond is, the geese are still going to land into the wind even if they have to circle 3 times they WILL commit into the set kill zone!

I'm in the exact same shoes as you, but i have 3 freinds that are just as committed if not more then me to goose hunting, and the past 2 years we have decided to upgrade EVERYTHING(Blinds, Full body decoys, a trailor) You definetly have a huge hole in your pocket after this, but trust me, its worth it. I have a job working for the town i live in, its a great job if you dont mind mowing

shutt_20@hotmail.com add me if you have MSN-

[greatwhitehunter3]

haha, im gonna wait a couple years to upgrade my stuff! but thank you very much for the wind info...that will help alot knowin to have my back against wind no matter what! great help!!

[Duckslayer100]

While using the wind is an important factor, I can't tell you how many times we had geese land WITH the wind last year. It got to the point that we started facing our blinds in different directions just because the geese never cupped in from the same direction twice. Of course, this wasn't always the case...but it happened enough to agravate a man...

Oh well...having a flock of birds sneak in from behind without anyone knowing is just as fun

[bandman]

Oh well...having a flock of birds sneak in from behind without anyone knowing is just as fun

Yes it is indeed. (That surprising "honk" outta nowhere is where it's at.)

[diver_sniper]

Yeah, my picture is just a rough example. Like everyone said, when it's still early go ahead and break those family groups up and spread them out more. I just didn't have enough room to show that in my picture.

That set up should work for you GWH3, just point it whatever direction you need to. One thing to remember, always try to give the birds a long stretch of bare field to glide in over. They wont be comfortable if there are trees, fence lines, sloughs, ect. in their approach. I've had that screw me up more than a few times.

[goosebusters]

The two hangin out on the bottom left would actually be farther away than pictured. Goosebusters knows what I'm talkin about. It kills.

Spread pic, this is a J more than a U. The night before these early geese were sitting in more of a tall and skinny blob, So we basically made the same shape, but left a big whole for the large groups of birds

This is that same day showing off the pair of Canadas we so love to throw out.

I couldn't help but put this pic in here too, I know you guys have probably all seen it but that day was still the best hunt of my life.

[mshutt]

The purpose of those 2 feeders way off to the side does what?
I'm guessing its just meaning that there is better food over there, but then wouldnt that make the incomming birds want to land over there?

[greatwhitehunter3]

well i dont know either, but he sure makes it sound like it works, so im gonna try it!

[ndgooseslayer]

The purpose of those 2 feeders way off to the side does what?
I'm guessing its just meaning that there is better food over there, but then wouldnt that make the incomming birds want to land over there?

IMO those two geese are huge confidence builders and seal the deal. I do the same thing and throw 2 or 3 geese beyond the spread and it flat out works for me. When live geese are in a field they don't make a perfectly rounded U or J or whatever shape. Geese wander with their heads down when they are feeding.

When setting up I don't focus on getting a U or J as I try not to follow a particular pattern. My main concern is ending up with kill hole when I'm finished. Also, when setting up I tend to set up at an angle with the wind, and give the up wind side of my spread a longer tail to help funnel the birds in. It's seemed to work for me. I will try to attach a pic of an example of how i would do it.

[diver_sniper]

I leave the two off to the side because in the early season everyone preaches family groups. Well, not every goose has a successful nest attempt. So I just imagine that those two birds are a non-nesting pair that has gotten chased off by the family groups that are feeding. I usually have one with a high looker head and one with a standard resting or "walking" head. And I always have them looking towards the group as if they want to get back into the feed.

Is this necessary? Not in the least. But it's fun to think up things like that, and that's what it's about right?

[ndgooseslayer]

Here's an example of what I was saying. I think the two or three birds upwind/outside of the spread represents a few birds who have wandered or been outcast from the flock. Also, I like to put a pair of birds right in the kill hole where I want the birds to land. I think it gives the impression that a pair of birds has just come up in and landed, maybe giving the birds in the air a little more confidence.

This has nothing to do with spreads, but take a look at how I have my blind positioned. I usually try to set it alittle pointed to the right of the wind direction. I'm a right handed shooter, so it's alot easier for my body to twist and shoot to my left. By pointing your self to the right, you can cover your right side in a more natural shooting position.

Edit: After seeing the pic on here, it doesn't look as good as I wanted. The background is alot bigger than it was on paint. The "outcast' geese aren't quite as far out as I thought I had them. The pic looks like I have the geese in a long, thin flock in an L shape. I usually try to with less lenght. more width but still stick with family groups.



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[mshutt]

Thanks ND goose slayer, my hunting party also puts 2-4 geese in the middle of the kill zone, trying to represent geese have just landed,t here for they are all actives/lookers.