# Small Realistic Spread????



## Dave Owens (Nov 11, 2002)

Our crew has had a very difficult time decoying the whites this year over the sock spread. The weather rarely cooperated and was a big factor. One day though we did have almost a perfect set, overcast skys, enough wind to get the socks to move and we were on a very large feed X. Those darn geese just hung up there at 60 - 80 yards.

Over the years I have slowly moved from 500 sock spreads to about 150 detailed / headed socks and the average harvest went up each year till now.

We have shot more snows ( this year ) over several dozen canada Bigfoot's with no snows set out than over the snow spread.

Anyone try a small very realistic spread? Something like 60 snow/ blue big foots + the canada foots and maybe a few full body ducks?

I always though motion was the key as the harder the wind blew and the more the socks moved the more geese we killed. Just tough to get out of my mind the sight of those adults decoying right in over those still / motionless canada bigfoots. On several hunts they just came right on in, over and over.


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## shooteminthelips (Jun 13, 2007)

Sounds to me like they are picking out your blinds. Or your not getting enough sound in your spread. I am assuming that you werent using a ecaller. A 500 sock spread should dominate. Take it from someone who has tried the full body thing, do they work yes, but you can kill just as many over socks. Fine tune your hide, try adding motion. Like flyers, rotaries, and hovering decoys. If they are hanging up I promise it is not because of the decoys. It is 1. because they are snow geese and that is what they do or 2. your not getting hide well enough. Snow good hunting is a numbers and hiding game. And you may get schooled 3 days in a row, then all of sudden on the 4th day they will just dive bomb you. That is just the nature of hunting snow geese.

So buy more decoys. I have never had a day laying in a snow goose spread and thought to myself. Gesh wish I had less decoys. I think, man my blinds arent hidden or I wish I had double the spread!


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## Dave Owens (Nov 11, 2002)

Don't think they could see blinds. On of these days I am going to leave the decoys in the trailer and just sit on the X in the blind.


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## beard (Mar 27, 2008)

Dave Owens said:


> Don't think they could see blinds. On of these days I am going to leave the decoys in the trailer and just sit on the X in the blind.


 oke:


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## mikehaines70 (Jan 11, 2010)

some day im gunna lay over the x naked and maybe they will come pick the corn off my cob or if i ever buy enough land im gunna make tunnels under all the fields and then i will be undernieth them waiting to attack uke:


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## goosegrinder (Mar 4, 2005)

> We have shot more snows ( this year ) over several dozen canada Bigfoot's with no snows set out than over the snow spread.


Call me stupid but if the canada dekes are working for ya,why bother with 500 snow dekes?? IMO,never hunting snows up north in the fall,they must be picking out something....blinds,sounds,dogs,etc. to hang up there like that. If ya plan on going with a more realistic spread using fullbodies(even though I think the socks are fine),I'd go with Avery/GHG decoys over the Bigfoot snows. The Bigfoots will take up alot more space(unless space isn't an issue) with their feet more than the GHG with their bases/stakes. And the GHG shells will take up even less space but give the same look IMO.

Alex


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## Andy Weber (Nov 18, 2009)

I have been thinking about the same thing lately. From our 500 FBs, I was thinking about just using 50, or less. Setting an ultra Realistic spread. So there is nothing to hang up on. Just thinking, but if my blinds are invisible, and i have plenty of sound, wouldnt it make sense to try something else, like downsizing big time? I might have to give it a try.


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## WingedShooter7 (Oct 28, 2005)

Always wondered if you ran 1500 Canada full bodies in the springtime with say 200 snows salted in, how would that work out? Obviously no one has 1500 honkers but itd be worth trying...maybe.


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## wingaddict (Sep 16, 2009)

Over the last couple years I've experimented with this a lot and I've consistently killed more snows over a FB canada spread with no more tan 4 Doz FB snows mixed in, than I have over my big sillosock spread (in the states) I think it has something to do with sound.
Put out a huge sock spread but if you cant make the noise to match, like you can with ecallers in the spring/ fall in canada and they figure out something.

Also I've noticed I can get birds to actually land in the spread consistently (not hover over at 5-10 yards like they commonly in the socks). As not to start an argument..yes they will land in sillosocks too, but Ive noticed a much higher number of feet on the ground in the FB's

I chalk it up to doing something different than what every spread they've seen all fall. It helps I hunt in areas where we get alot of Cacklers too.


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