# What to do to get them to finish?



## Uncle Fuzzy (Dec 27, 2005)

We are four poor boy from Michigan who have been trying to hunt snow in Missouri for three years now and we are getting a little better. Foirst year we wrapped our Canadas in white table cloths, added a couple hundred Texas Rag windsocks and were able to find two retarded geese.

Last year decoyed birds was zero, but we ambushed some from a ditch.

This year we got the Carry-lite special 10 dozen and painted them with UV and were able to decoy and kill some geese. The feeders seem to be alright, but the uprights just don't look right when the wind starts blowing. We were hunting around Grand Pass where there were quite a few and we could draw fifty bird flocks to take a look and got six or seven small flocks feet down.

We are looking to expand the rig and want to get all those birds that were hovering over us at 60 - 70 yards to come-on-down, we've got a really good bunch of patient guys. Yes we could shoot at them, but there is nothing like when they do commit.

Thoughts we are having: adding some full bodies to spread, maybe a kites, something to attract their attention so they don't look at the blinds quite so hard. One of our totally off the wall ideas was to get some of those "Corn Heads" the Nebraska fans wear and put them out.

Does anybody know the secret ingredient?


----------



## dblkluk (Oct 3, 2002)

> Does anybody know the secret ingredient?


If I had the secret I'd be rich.. :lol:

Sounds like you might want to look into some Sillosocks or Deadlies to get some realistic motion in your spread.

The "cornheads" are a great option..just make sure you take pictures and post them up though...


----------



## jgat (Oct 27, 2006)

Uncle Fuzzy said:


> We are four poor boy from Michigan who have been trying to hunt snow in Missouri for three years now and we are getting a little better. Foirst year we wrapped our Canadas in white table cloths, added a couple hundred Texas Rag windsocks and were able to find two retarded geese.


You almost killed me with this one. I literally choked on my granola bar when I read this, I was laughing so hard about the retarded geese! :lol:

Hey man, at least you are out there trying new things! I don't know if there is a magic solution to stop birds from hanging up at 60-70 yards out. I think it happens to every type of spread at times. It's just a matter of limiting it as much as possible. A big part is concealment. How well do you guys stubble up your blinds? Do you have any decoys in your spread that are showing much movement? Those are two pretty big keys to finishing birds. Are you using just the 10 dz carry lites or are you still using the rags as well?

As far as the kites go, I would stay away from them. It is a big hassle trying to keep them in the air. I have heard good things about the Sillosock fliers. Those are mounted on a stake, so they are not falling out of the sky constantly.


----------



## barebackjack (Sep 5, 2006)

Kudo's guys in sticking with it. Most guys would have said F-it after the first year with tablecloths and two retarded geese.

Concealment is a HUGE issue with these birds, its important in all waterfowl hunting, but theres not to many other waterfowling scenarios thats gonna put tens of thousands sets of eyes on you.
We use whitesuits alot for snows. If we dont think we can hide the blinds, well use whitesuits. Basicaly the only time we use blinds anymore for snows is in corn stubble.
You may want to start adding more decoys as money permits. Most guys on here (including me) swear by sillosocks and deadly decoys. Relatively inexpensive when compared to FB's and others, and they just plain work great. When it comes to decoying snows, it really is a numbers game. Even the guys running fullbodies are running 400+.

Just stick with it. Theres gonna be days, no matter what kind of decoy, or how many of them you have, that are gonna leave you scratching your head and most likely cursing, but those are the days you learn something.


----------



## commander019 (Apr 12, 2007)

How about a quality e-caller. The birds will finish to the sound. Then I would go sillosocks and deadlys.


----------



## dfisher (Oct 12, 2007)

I by no means know much about it, but get super concealed from them. They like to hang up there and look things over pretty good.

I got some Carry Lite shells and really like the way they look when the wind is blowing a bit. They actually move pretty good for a solid shell. I think some type of bag decoys like Northwinds or the much beloved Silosock would add to the appeal though. I've been toying with the idea of adding several flying decoys or kites too. Couldn't hurt.

I think the E-caller reply is good. With the quality and clarity of the recordings available, it couldn't hurt in sealing the deal.

From personel experience, I've had very few finish. I usually take them when they get in range - 30 or so yards high over the decoys. If you can get them coming against a hard wind and be on their X, it's sorta like shooting balloons hanging up there...at least until they catch the wind and fall away :lol:

Hope this might help some.

Good luck and hang in there,
Dan


----------



## Uncle Fuzzy (Dec 27, 2005)

Hey guys thanks for the comebacks. Did I mention that we have a limited budget, my wife wants a new washer and dryer.
We were definately in a flyway and at least 8 miles from the roost. The birds were coming in "small flocks" 100 - 200, not 1000's and most would at least take a look.
We have an e-caller with 4 - 50 watt speakers, could be we need a different CD, this one brings the Specs and short necks right on in. 
What are the better CDs? 
As far as hiding goes, we're hunting the stalk fields and staying away from the chisel plowed ones using the final approach blinds. Maybe need to brush up a little more. There are also these two black dogs that are steady, but do the birds see them?
I'll do some research into the decoys and flyers. What we are setting out now is just about all the work we want to do, but if a little extra would pay dividends that's the way to go.


----------



## BeekBuster (Jul 22, 2007)

i thought you needed a shopping cart... :lol:


----------

