# a question for the experienced snow goose hunter



## jawn (Jan 3, 2007)

m thinking about taking up snow goose hunting next year. i think i have everything i would need for a hunt minus the decoys. what size spread do you guys consistantly run to kill birds in the fall? i'm going to go the sillosock route and probably take a trip to canada every year just to chase them as well. thanks for the input and i appreciate your help


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## cgreeny (Apr 21, 2004)

If you go with silosocks, I think if a guy starts I would buy econo silosocks. and a few dozen snows and blues. I have been running 50 to 60 dozen this spring and fall and I have another 15 dozen to assemble still.


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## cgreeny (Apr 21, 2004)

I forgot to add, Silosocks can be setup in a hurry. I've done the whole avery FB thing with 15 dozen and after a half dozen tries I was over that plan.


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## jawn (Jan 3, 2007)

thank you very much. i'd like to tag along with someone for a hunt to see if i really would like to get into hunting the elusive snow goose. but from the numbers i've been seeing it definetly makes me wanna get into it


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## cgreeny (Apr 21, 2004)

jawn said:


> thank you very much. i'd like to tag along with someone for a hunt to see if i really would like to get into hunting the elusive snow goose. but from the numbers i've been seeing it definetly makes me wanna get into it


Stick around long enough and you get the tag along unless LEO doesnt like you. Then you are screwed officially. I think they will aloow you to go, hell they let me and I wouldnt have done that.


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## jawn (Jan 3, 2007)

i plan on spending the rest of my military career here (14 more years). i just couldnt believe how many of them there were last night. i've never seen anything like it before


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

cgreeny said:


> jawn said:
> 
> 
> > thank you very much. i'd like to tag along with someone for a hunt to see if i really would like to get into hunting the elusive snow goose. but from the numbers i've been seeing it definetly makes me wanna get into it
> ...


Funny I thought it was that no one liked me. :roll:


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

jawn said:


> i plan on spending the rest of my military career here (14 more years). i just couldnt believe how many of them there were last night. i've never seen anything like it before


PM sent.


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

jawn come over and grab some snow decoys tonight if you want. I have plenty.


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## Pink_Feet (Oct 22, 2008)

You guys and all your talk about avery FBs they are the best snow goose decoy out there I believe in quality. Not saying other stuff don't work. There is nothing out that looks or works better than the Avery's with the motion bases. You guys can have your silo socks !


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## lynxx69 (Mar 21, 2004)

....And you can have your Large, Heavy, Expensive Full Bodies...


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## jawn (Jan 3, 2007)

mr. leo i might have to come over on saturday and get some. i will call you and you can give me the crash course in snow goose hunting


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## Pink_Feet (Oct 22, 2008)

I will take them any day As I said earlier Quality and looks are still better to me.



lynxx69 said:


> ....And you can have your Large, Heavy, Expensive Full Bodies...


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## snowbus (Mar 7, 2007)

I still do the math in my head when seeing 100+ fullbodies out in the field or in a posted picture. Incredible! I absolutely love the looks of fullbodies, but mobility and opportunity rings loud with socks.


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## dlubbers (Nov 4, 2008)

I like the full bodies too but why would anyone who is just starting in the snow chasin frenzy want to invest a couple grand in just the decoys before they even know if they like the headaches that come along with chasin the white devils. We all need to start somewhere.


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## SDwaterfowler (Mar 2, 2006)

dlubbers said:


> I like the full bodies too but why would anyone who is just starting in the snow chasin frenzy want to invest a couple grand in just the decoys before they even know if they like the headaches that come along with chasin the white devils. We all need to start somewhere.


A couple grand is an understatement. That will only get you about 10 doz. averys. Not near enough to get an accurate idea of what snow goose hunting is like.


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## dlubbers (Nov 4, 2008)

I have hunted over anything from 2000 down to 50 decoys for snows. Must just be lazy, but from what I have seen and heard, 150 full bodies is plenty to consistently put big numbers up on the board.


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## SDwaterfowler (Mar 2, 2006)

You can have big days over 150 but I would not say consistently. Depends on what part of the migration you are hunting.


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## jawn (Jan 3, 2007)

thanks guys for the replies. i think i'm gonna go with socks just for space saving mainly because i dont make enough money to have 2 trailers and storage is somewhat of an issue. i can justify my 8 dozen bigfoots with my wife. i dont know how she would take it if i ran the idea of getting another trailer for snows. i'm going to go with the sillo socks brand it appears that they do kill some birds and they take up next to nothing for space.


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## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

We got suckered in to the whole fullbody craze 2 years ago. I'm not going to lie, we saw the first Zink snow goose hunting part and went out and dropped over 3000 on fullbodies. We have just under 200 and the birds do decoy into them like you wouldn't believe, but when you are dealing with muddy conditions or large groups you might as well stay home. We bought 700 or so sillosocks now and in the spring we only set our fullbodies up once or twice out of 16 days or so a spring. The way it has come down, when hunting in the fall, fullbodies. In the spring, sillosocks.

I have had my best days, number-wise all over sillosocks. Because I can get out in those sticky situations where it is snowy, muddy, and windy.

hunt by myself over sillosocks









I have had my best, closest decoying birds consistenly over fullbodies. Just last weekend we had a group of 2000 snows at about 5 feet-50 yards, with groups landing in the fbs. We shot 16 out of that one group between 4 guys, but couldn't pull in migrators with only 240 decoys out.
Hunt on Halloween over Fullbodies.









My unbiased opinion.


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

How you like to hunt has a difference. I like numbers and the ability to setup/pickup quick, just how I like to hunt.

To each his own.

Article on same topic:

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


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## matthew.manuel (Oct 22, 2006)

Have fun with those fullbodies this spring, Its going to be wet!


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## Pink_Feet (Oct 22, 2008)

> Have fun setting any decoys out in the spring it sucks because it is always muddy and I don't care what kind of decoys you set up it is alot of work I still would use fullbodies over anything.


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## gamberc (Mar 10, 2008)

yea you guys are right fullbodys are nice, you also pay a nice price for them. but it just goes show that you dont need an expensive spread like fullbodys to kill snows i run bout 300 texas rags and have and some amazing hunts over though's but will upgrading my spread to sillosock. I personally think socks is the way to go you can keep your Snow FB.


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## kberggren (Mar 27, 2006)

I've hunted over 150-200 fullbodies the last 3-4 years in the spring in NE running traffic and it was a struggle. This year we added 600 sillosocks and we started getting the big groups to start working down towards the spead but never got the whole group to finish. I did think we had the decoys to close (like a bloob shap) and should have spread them more out but the sillosocks did work. Plus all the birds that came in went straight into the sillosocks. After we were done 3 guys picked up the spread; We picked up 600+ sillosocks way faster than 150 fullbodies. I do agree though when using a small spread 10 dozen or less fullbodies are the way to go!


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## bluebill25 (Mar 29, 2006)

if your just starting u might start with the best fb's. my advice get a hundred fb's 80 snows 20 blue u will kill birds with that. put about sixty of them in a blob three feet a part and put the rest down wind in little bunches ten yards a part. hide blinds in blob and hammer away. as you increase your spread get more blues till you have about forty percent blues. three hundred decoys perfect. you start with more snows cuz they show up better looks like more from a far. deadly have fun


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## cgreeny (Apr 21, 2004)

black_bill said:


> socks suck. uke:


Yeah yeah FB are nice I have 10 dozen, but rarely besides in the fall will I set them up unless I have time in the spring. Weigh your options, 600+ silosocks or 10 dozen FB. I take the 600+ into the field in one shot, try that with an enclosed trailer in ND next spring, you will sink up to your pimply old A-hole. But to each his own, you like FB's and others like Silosocks. Easy as that.


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## jawn (Jan 3, 2007)

cgreeny said:


> you will sink up to your pimply old A-hole.


what if i dont have a pimply a-hole?


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## cgreeny (Apr 21, 2004)

jawn said:


> cgreeny said:
> 
> 
> > you will sink up to your pimply old A-hole.
> ...


Just A-hole then!!!!!


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