# Getting into snow goose hunting



## titleist_03 (Jan 4, 2009)

I know it's kind of late to decide to give it a try this spring, but better late than never. I don't have the funds to go out and get 500+ decoys to hunt over. I figure I can come up with a 100 or so mix of full bodies/silos to hunt over. Will it even be worth my time hunting over such a small set? I will be in central Illinois.


----------



## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

Yes and you have PLENTY of time. Also for the $$$ you would dump on the FB and sillos you could get more sillosocks, regular windsocks or even Deadly Decoys.


----------



## calisnowhunter (Jun 7, 2006)

its allways worth it and better than sitting on the couch. you can pick up windsock bodies for cheap and use wood stakes.

i built my snow spread up to 750 socks just buying used windsocks for about a $1 a piece.

good luck and have fun thats what it is about


----------



## titleist_03 (Jan 4, 2009)

You're right calis! Come February duck and deer are over so why not give something else a try!

What about ditching the FB's and trying some shells? Cheaper, easier to transport, and might bring them a bit closer. For $20 more than another dozen silos, it would give a little variety to my spread.


----------



## calisnowhunter (Jun 7, 2006)

alot of people will go with sillosocks over everything else. they are way easier to set up and break down and dont take up much room.

we drive from cali to nebraska without a trailer and are crunched for room so socks are great for us. we can get about 1200 in a suburban with all our gear. we also use rags with them they are cheap and help with numbers.

last spring we killed over 250 in seven days with socks and rags and one of our best days with was with about 200 rags and socks (60) we were tired and had to leave the next morning (22) hour drive and didnt want to set out all our decoys


----------



## titleist_03 (Jan 4, 2009)

Should I mix in blue's as well?


----------



## calisnowhunter (Jun 7, 2006)

we dont shoot blues out here but we baught 2 dzn blue socks or you can spray paint white ones into blues or grey and it works too. we sprayed about 75 grey and mixed them in with the snows


----------



## shooteminthelips (Jun 13, 2007)

The two biggest keys are getting a good hide and then having a good ecaller. You could get it done with a lot less decoys if you had or did those two things!


----------



## titleist_03 (Jan 4, 2009)

$200 more for an ecaller puts me way over budget. This is more expensive than getting into deer hunting.


----------



## shooteminthelips (Jun 13, 2007)

I can tell you how many you are going to kill with out an ecaller if you wanna know?


----------



## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

I've killed big numbers without an ecaller before. And my best hunts all occurred without the huge ear-bleeding ecallers we normally hunt with. You can get by with a ecaller made for 50 bucks. I have a buddy in the exact same situation as this right now. The ecaller is critical don't get me wrong. If you are in a good enough location it will only help.


----------



## titleist_03 (Jan 4, 2009)

shooteminthelips said:


> I can tell you how many you are going to kill with out an ecaller if you wanna know?


I would probably be better off on the couch?


----------



## Commando (Jan 13, 2006)

You can build an ecaller that will consistently kill birds for under $50. Cheap mp3 player off ebay for $5, Radio Shack mini-amp for $15, patch cable to connect mp3 to amp for $5, 2 pa horn speakers for $15 and some wire. This will get you through the first season. Add another 1 or two of these to place throughout the spread the next two seasons and you've got a pretty versatile system plus it won't break the bank this year allowing for more decoys to get started.

I would also ditch the fb's. Too expensive to get a good amount of numbers going. Start with sillosocks and add fb's as your spread grows and buy them in the offseason when people are unloading their spreads.

Regardless of the size of spread you get together it's always worth setting up and trying. You'll learn something every time out with spring snows. :beer:


----------



## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

Commando said:


> You can build an ecaller that will consistently kill birds for under $50. Cheap mp3 player off ebay for $5, Radio Shack mini-amp for $15, patch cable to connect mp3 to amp for $5, 2 pa horn speakers for $15 and some wire. This will get you through the first season. Add another 1 or two of these to place throughout the spread the next two seasons and you've got a pretty versatile system plus it won't break the bank this year allowing for more decoys to get started.


Exact ecaller I would recommend to a newbie.


----------



## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

Biggest thing about starting out snow goose hunting is to be happy just being out there. Consider every bird you do get a bonus. And a closely decoying flock a huge success.


----------



## titleist_03 (Jan 4, 2009)

Commando said:


> You can build an ecaller that will consistently kill birds for under $50. Cheap mp3 player off ebay for $5, Radio Shack mini-amp for $15, patch cable to connect mp3 to amp for $5, 2 pa horn speakers for $15 and some wire. This will get you through the first season. Add another 1 or two of these to place throughout the spread the next two seasons and you've got a pretty versatile system plus it won't break the bank this year allowing for more decoys to get started.
> quote]
> 
> I have an ipod. Anyone have a link to setting it up?


----------



## calisnowhunter (Jun 7, 2006)

commando is right i made 4 of these last year before spring and it is easy as it gets. just get a mp3 player or ipod you can change batteries or will last a good 8 hrs before you have to recharge


----------



## shooteminthelips (Jun 13, 2007)

Didnt say you need a ear bleeder, although it helps. You need some sort of caller. I started out with 3 tape player johnny stwert calls. All I know is with out some kind of sound your going to just frustrate yourself. Snow goose hunting and killing them consitantly isnt for the faint of heart.

I have put out a 1,000 decoys, had huge electronic systems, and been in the same field 25,000 geese were in the night before and ended up shooting one goose. Just goes to show you that even when you have every advantage it doesn't always happen. But the more I have the better I feel at the end of the day, knowing I gave them all I have!


----------



## kruger08k (Feb 9, 2008)

http://www.predatormastersforums.com/ho ... ller.shtml


----------



## jonesy12 (Apr 1, 2008)

Thanks for that link!!!!!! :beer:


----------



## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

See these links as well for the Ecaller:

http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/forums/vie ... hp?t=20626
http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/ecaller.php

And an article for your original question:

http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/snowgoosedecoys.php


----------



## Commando (Jan 13, 2006)

titleist_03 said:


> I have an ipod. Anyone have a link to setting it up?


I used Chris's link to build my first and do like the on/off switch but on a tight budget it's really not worth the extra $$ to do all of that work. Just leave the mini-amp in it's original case, plug the patch cable into the jack in your mp3 and the other end into the amp. I usually use a splitter and run two speakers off of each amp with about 25 or 50 feet of wire running to each speaker to distribute the noise.


----------



## shooteminthelips (Jun 13, 2007)

If there is one feature I would want it would be the on/off switch. It really isnt the much extra work when you consider what it does. If you are going to hunt multiple all day hunts it will save recharging time.

In between flocks or when it is slow right in the middle of the day you can just hit the toggle switch and save your battery. It works really well. With one deep cycle marine batttery I can get 3 straight days of use, if I use the toggle switch on my ecallers. I love this feature and would highly recomened it to anyone building a ecaller.

The switch it self will cost your $4 at Walmart. Then you just drill a hole, screw it in, and attach 3 wires! Not much work at all! Better to spend a extra 15 minutes on that, then no have it in my opinion!!


----------



## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

Quit while you're ahead! :lol:


----------



## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

shooteminthelips said:


> I can tell you how many you are going to kill with out an ecaller if you wanna know?


Ok, I'll bite. How many?

Tons of snows are killed every fall without e callers.


----------



## shooteminthelips (Jun 13, 2007)

Ok I will bite back 2! 

And tons is kind of a over statement. I think you can get lucky and kill a few, but if you wanna kill them consistenly. A ecaller would be someones best bet. If I for some reason forgot my callers at home and pulled into the field, I would reather not go or drive back and get them. Thing about setting 100's of decoys is you need to sound like 100's of geese! But yes there are days when you can get into a great spot or a bunch of juvies and smack them..


----------



## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

Maybe 100+ birds days aren't common in the fall but 30 or 40 bird days, especially with this years hatch, really wasn't out of the ordinary this fall.


----------



## shooteminthelips (Jun 13, 2007)

Well then you would agree that hitting them when they first come off the tundra through Canada might be a little diffrent then on the return trip back in the spring? They will be a lot smarter on the way back. Just saying it would be better to have some kind of sound of bigger sound in a guys spread!


----------



## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

shooteminthelips said:


> Well then you would agree that hitting them when they first come off the tundra through Canada might be a little diffrent then on the return trip back in the spring? They will be a lot smarter on the way back. Just saying it would be better to have some kind of sound of bigger sound in a guys spread!


Agreed.


----------



## Feather Freeks (Jan 21, 2008)

Posted: 21/1/08 Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.predatormastersforums.com/ho ... ller.shtml

don't u need some kind of battery with this?


----------



## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

shooteminthelips said:


> If I for some reason forgot my callers at home and pulled into the field, I would reather not go or drive back and get them.


I agree that an e-caller is a very valuable tool, but I wouldn't quite go this far. If you are out there you might as well still hunt! That seems a little extreme.


----------



## shooteminthelips (Jun 13, 2007)

Well Jim I would let you guys stay and hunt. I would be back after a couple hours with the ecaller. And yes I would drive back and get them! Cause the more flocks that would spin over the decoys and then flair at 80 yards would just upset me. But I dont think you would have to worry about it, I have three ecallers, and they are always in the trailer! Check, Check, and Triple Check!


----------

