# How many dekes are needed



## Sd snow goose killer (Jan 20, 2007)

Just starting to get a pretty good amunt of decoys and was wondering how many decoys are needed to kill 75+ snow geese a day because i now have 150 decoys and was thinking that might be enough for this spring. 
and i am most likely going to hunt sheet water.


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## dblkluk (Oct 3, 2002)

If anyone can tell you exactly how many decoys it takes to shoot 75+ birds a day I want to hunt with them and their "magic # of decoys"..

Alot depends on if you're hunting staging birds or migrators..

Decoying migrators. often means more decoys (500+) but it an be done with less..

My advice, take what decoys you have, go out enjoy the migration and don't get hung up on kill numbers..


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## fungalsnowgoose (Sep 11, 2004)

Amen....
Don't get me wrong I like shooting birds, but it's all about being there!


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## h2ofwlr (Feb 6, 2004)

Dream on SD SGK....

If you average double digits a day per person over decoys, that is damned good.

1/3 of the days you'll get blanked. 1/3 you'll get single digits. and 1/3 you'll get double digits. And every once in a while you will get a pile of them. Frankly if a guy got 75 in 1 day once a season that is doing very well IMO. Also remember most states are 20 per day and the vast majority never get that many. So you had better adjust your standards or you will be very disappointed.

I have shot over 100 before using less than 100 decoys. *BUT* I did my homework, know how to set smaller spreads, was where the birds wanted to be, and had tons of unpressured birds to shoot at. This is the great exception though, as most guys have not shot triple digits even with 600 decoys, and most have never even done is 1 time.

As mentioned, migrators take a LOT more decoys. Geese that are in the area for a few days and feeding you can get away with using less.

And have FUN. I think some guys miss that part, and hunting becomes damned hard work. Enjoy what nature has to offer us all. :beer:


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## hunt4P&amp;Y (Sep 23, 2004)

I bite my tounge.


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## goosehunter21 (May 18, 2004)

WOW im gonna pretend that question wasn't asked :roll:


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## dfisher (Oct 12, 2007)

Well that's an odd question. Who knows?

We set around 1500 a morning in Texas some years ago and put about 15 birds down on our best morning.

Up at Hudson Bay I used four and had all the shooting you could ever want.

So, who's to say.

Curious, why did you choose 75+ snows a day as a number for birds that you'd like to bag?

Good luck,
Dan


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

For consistent success I say 400-600 decoys is a good minimum number. I said CONSISTENT success. Like was said, some days youll get few, some days alot, and than theres the dreaded blank days.
But to go out and consistently get some birds, I think 400 is a good minimum.


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## Gillbilly (Mar 21, 2007)

I think this is a case of too many video hunts.Ive talked to guys who put out up to 5000 decoys,and still dont do as good as guys with 250. Its been said on here many many times location is as if not more important than decoy nummbers.Buy as many decoys as you can afford and do alot of scouting.Just my 2cents. :beer: :beer:


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## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

I think snow goose hunting takes the five steps for a successful goose hunt to the extreme. Also you are less likely to make up your deficiencies with snows like you are with Canadas. Don't get too concerned with one step you have to be good at all five to be successful consistently.



> 1. Scouting- Not just birds in a field, we're talking flight times, flock sizes, feeding habits, goose pattern on the ground (densely packed or spread out), what kinds of sounds are the making? are they content? Is there a good place to hide? Also you need to scout a place to park the truck, where to enter the field, and how to find exactly where the geese were the night before. The "X" is not a field, it is a place inside of a field.
> 
> 2. Decoys- Not just quanity and quality, more importantly they have to be set correctly in a way that makes geese feel comfortable to land. Of course there are times when you need quality dekes or 1000 canadas, but most of the time you just need to make them feel comfortable.
> 
> ...


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

> Too many people are only concerned with one or two of these things. Although strength in a subject can make up for shortfalls in the others. For example, the reason why Foiles still shoots birds is that he can consistently kill birds as they flare at 50 yards.


Are you honestly going to say Foiles can't kill birds closer than 50 yards?


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## shooteminthelips (Jun 13, 2007)

Yeah Mertz that is probably the dumbest thing you have ever said. Might want to rethink that one.


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## Slowmo (Dec 19, 2004)

I have a good example of all the above. I've been doing very well with the snows lately in a particular spot, and a guy I know says they have tons of geese on his property. So, without scouting b/c of time, I go out there with a spread, and pick a likely spot to set up 1100 socks. Then I proceed to watch thousands of geese leave a roost 2 miles away fly over us at 1000 feet to feed all day long. We got zeroed w/ a great looking spread, great cover, good setup etc. This guy thought we were going to pull them out of the sky. I failed to ask if they've been feeding or resting, or even present on his property. You only have to drop a small part of the ball to drop it all.

500 to 600 socks is a good spread IMO.


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## dfisher (Oct 12, 2007)

I don't know. Most of the experience that I've had with snow geese, after scouting and being in the field that they are feeding in, is:

If you get in a field where they've been feeding and have the weather on your side, you can set a hundred decoys and you're going to kill a limit of birds. If the weather is against you, you can set 500 decoys and after you shoot the first flock or two that comes out you're pretty much going to be done unless you pull some singles or young birds in.

Rain, wind, and fog...you can stand in your decoys and shoot them like clay targets.
Sunny, bluebird days...you're up against it.

Just my opinion,
Dan


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

Of course location and weather are the most important aspects of decoying snows.

Ive heard alot of stories from guys who go out and with 50-100 decoys, and blast the crap out of em. But, my definition of success, is the consistancy with which you can do something. Everybody gets lucky once in a while, but the truly successfull guys are the ones that go out and kill birds consistantly. And these guys are running more decoys, and higher quality decoys.

Lets face it, ma nature isnt always going to be on your side, sunny days, low winds days, pressured birds, these are TOUGH days, days when more white on the ground will tip the odds ever to slightly in your favor.
You arent always going to be on the X, you may have to try to pull some birds from a half mile off a flight path, more white will help, a little.
You arent always going to get to hunt staged birds, you may be working with migrators, more white will help.

Thats why I think 400-600 QUALITY (remember the good old days when it was just quantity?....  ) decoys is a good minimum number for somebody that is a serious snow chaser, and who will be hunting in many conditions. Alot of guys wont go unless the weather is perfect for it, im not one, sunny, calm, im still out there, hey, im a snow hunter, nobody said I was sane.

If your not a serious snow hunter, lol, save your money and chase honkers. But for the guy who may only hunt several weekends a year, 200 quality decoys will get you some birds.


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## dblkluk (Oct 3, 2002)

> If you get in a field where they've been feeding and have the weather on your side, you can set a hundred decoys and you're going to kill a limit of birds.


Oh I wish snows were that easy...not always the case.
I've had the exact situation happen before and we've shot limits and other times we've shot zero.. and then theres the opposite end of the spectrum. Two of my best hunts have been in 70+ degree bluebird weather in traffic fields..

In the words of Forrest gump...
Snows are like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're going to get..


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## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

dblkluk said:


> In the words of Forrest gump...
> Snows are like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're going to get..


I LOVE IT! :beer:


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## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

shooteminthelips said:


> Yeah Mertz that is probably the dumbest thing you have ever said. Might want to rethink that one.


  haha, not even close I've said a lot more stupid things in my life, I know Foiles shoots birds within 50 yards sometimes I was trying to make a point. Sure it was an exaggeration, just poking fun I should have known that you would reply Leo.

The other thing that is interesting though is that even though a lot of us own let's say 800 deekoys we may only set up 450 on a given day. Or heading out to a certain area because you got a feeling there may be a couple thousand juvies that decided to stick it out into late April. It seems that snow goose hunters rely a lot on gut feelings, hunches and predictions. It's amazing how you can just get that feeling when you know somethings about to go down. Other days you can't wake up, wish you would have stayed in bed and you usually turns out that you should have. So after you obtain a large amount of decoys trust your snow goose hunting instincts. It just reminds me of the super grind.

"You have any predictions for today?"
"Hope to shoot a lot of shells"

At this point I think I may just be rambling. :lol:


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## dfisher (Oct 12, 2007)

dblkluk said:


> > If you get in a field where they've been feeding and have the weather on your side, you can set a hundred decoys and you're going to kill a limit of birds.
> 
> 
> Oh I wish snows were that easy...not always the case.
> ...


Well, as I said, that's been my experience with them.

On days that have been rainy and windy and rotten, they work very well.

On days that have been clear, they are more inclined to follow the pack. The first couple of bunches out might work but after that...it's anyone's guess.

Sincerely, 
Dan


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## B.D.B. (Jan 9, 2008)

In Sask this fall we shot several 6 man limits on sunny days.
Of course we also shot limits on cloudy days. :sniper:



















Wish I could figure out how to make the pics bigger. I apologize for being computer illiterate. 

All geese taken over about 600 quality decoys as stated earlier.


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