# Rank



## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

Assuming that everyone thinks location is the most important aspect of goose and/or duck hunting in a field........Would you please rank the following items for me as to your thoughts on importance.
1.) bigfoots vs other decoy brands
2.) calling prowess
3.) flagging
I guess what I am wondering is.... Is it more important for me to have flags... or a few more decoys.......alot of decoys or just a few bigfoots.... areally good short reed I know how to use or a flute I am ok with and is much cheaper therfore being able to afford a few more decoys. Please give me your thoughts!!!


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

I was just thinking about doing a post like this and I would say you got the order right.

1. location
2. decoys
3. calling
4. flagging for good measure.

I think most have experianced if your where the birds definetly want to be well you can be walking around the decoys, have trucks out in the field and the birds will still come in.


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## gandergrinder (Mar 10, 2002)

My list is as follows:
1) location. This is relative however. Being in the flight path even if you can't be on the X does not mean you can't shoot birds.
2)Good Decoys + numbers equals drawing power. Bigfoots have a huge advantage over other decoys IMO If your not on the X you need more decoys.
3)Its a toss up for me between a call and a flag. If your on the X I'd take a call first. But if your not a flag is pretty important.

If I was going to start over again this is what I would do.
1) two dozen bigfoots
2) flag
3)blind
4)short reed
Total investment $1000
Ask for decoys for Christmas and birthdays and whatever other thing. After you have these things spend money on gas. Scout birds and hook up with new people and invite them along. The group of guys I hunt with each have the above stuff. When I hunt with the main group we have between 75 and 90 bigfoots and everyones odds go way up with the big spread.

The group of guys that I hunt with: Hustad, Decoyer, Maverick, Duxnbux, BenelliBlaster, Goosebuster3, Booster, Cbass, mallard and others all do scouting when they can and everyone organizes on Friday and we compare notes. Usually there is about 4 to 5 fields to choose from and we split up into two or three groups and go hunt. This is the best way to do it. You pressure way fewer birds and you have a great time. Then everyone knows where the birds are hanging out and if they get a chance can go scout for next weekend. There have been many times that I have not found a field but someone else has and they let me tag along or vice versa. We all realize that we will pay eachother back sometime and no one worries about it. Hunting doesn't have to be competitive between groups.

Last weekend we met a guy watching the same field as us and he was going by himself so we brought another blind and he hunted with us. Met a nice guy and had a good time hunting.


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## zettler (Sep 7, 2002)

GanderGrinder said, "Last weekend we met a guy watching the same field as us and he was going by himself so we brought another blind and he hunted with us. Met a nice guy and had a good time hunting."

And that is they way it should be when there are people who are considerate and love to hunt!

GG, were you with Hustad when he kept calling that Friday night trying to get me to make it to Fargo by 5 AM two years ago? That was some drive from Springfield, IL and one GREAT hunt that morning. A lot of great memories established with people I had never met in person and who invited me into their world!

Hope to be back on the 25th morning but Hustad is supposed to be up in the Great White....


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

I would say:

1. Bigfoots

2. Concealment

3. Flags

4. Call


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## muskat (Mar 5, 2002)

From my observations, since I hunt over shells and silos, decoys make the most difference. Bigfoots are the way to go. If you cant afford bigfoots, then you have to be in the right location. I have had great hunts over my decoys because of putting on miles and miles scouting.

After that, concealment is a must. Field blinds are the sure ticket, but if you dont have money to drop on that either, take some time to cover yourself up in the decoys.

Calling is the next most important. I just purchased a short reed this last year, bought a couple of videos, and have been spending hours practicing. This is a huge time investement for me, and I still am not very good.

Thanks again for the great hunt GG, GB3, Decoyer, Benelliblaster, and Dan. Great time :beer:


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

zettler, it was only close family and some family friends along on that outing...Most of them were in the Greenskins classic and "Maverick" was along too.

That field we hunted Bob is now closed to hunting by the City of Fargo.  I drove by there last night and it was crawling with Canadas... You remember taking this picture?










Pretty much the same for my top 5:

1) Location - gotta be where the birds want to be.

2) Concealment - No point is setting out the worlds greatest spread, nicest calls, etc. if they can see you. And even if you have a field blind, doesn't mean it'll work out of the box. Put some time into stuffing the straps and make sure you're confident with it's concealment.

2) Decoys - this "level of importance" varies during the year. Early in the season I think tires in the field would work, but as they get smarter you'll need better decoys, more of them, and some bonus decoys to help weary birds (motion heads, flappers, flocked heads, etc.).

3) Flag - I use my flag religiously to mimic birds stretching their wings, or in the case of lessors, to mimic them hoping around the spread (rarely if ever see big boys doing it).

4)Calling - At this point in time, it's going to take a lot of calling to get the job done. Especially with the migrants coming in...they are very vocal and need the assurance. It really helps to have multiple guys in the spread with different calling styles, imitates a variety of goose sounds and works well for us.

5)Goose Dance - When things are going well, somebody has to pull out a jig for good measures and luck. The bull dance, the running man, the funky chicken, hey, it's all good. :biggrin:


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## Matt Jones (Mar 6, 2002)

I can't believe no one listed the goose suit somewhere in their top five!?!?!?

Jeez, and I thought you guys knew what you were doing. :roll:


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