# DECOY TO BLIND RATIO



## andrewskywaterfowl (Feb 2, 2006)

HOW MANY DECOYS PER BLIND DO I NEED. I HAVE FOUR AVERY FINISHER BLINDS AND 3 ELECTRONIC CALLS AND AM IN THE WORKS OF MAKING SOME DECOYS AND CURIOUS ON HOW MANY I NEED. OBVIOULSY THE MORE THE BETTER BUT WHATS THE MINIMUM?


----------



## Alonzo (Feb 7, 2006)

I just killed 13 in two hunts with one e-caller, 100 Texas rags, and one blind location.

However, it depends on the conditions and timing of your hunts. I am typically hunting the spring migration in a traditional flight path on a high upland corn field and I am targeting small flocks of less than 100 birds each.

Obviously, the more sophisticated you can afford to get the better your results will be.


----------



## snowsforlife (Mar 27, 2005)

I have heard quite a few people that when they get asked this question the say 250 decoys per person.


----------



## fowlhunter7 (Mar 1, 2005)

I also say 250 per hunter.


----------



## jkern (Aug 10, 2005)

As hard as it is to believe, Snows are NOT blind shy, they may be decoy shy as hell but they couldnt care less about a blind just as long as its brushed.

I have been hunting them out of a 24 foot above ground blind over sheet water. There isnt a clump of grass over a foot tall in the whole dang place. I will admit, I felt alittle stupid at first. But after seeing it and watching how the birds pay no attention to it, I will never make fun of another above ground blind again. I just wish I could have all that time back that I tried to make the layouts dissappear.


----------



## kaiserduckhelm (May 26, 2005)

I will never use a layout while hunting snows ever again. :wink:


----------



## jkern (Aug 10, 2005)

kaiserduckhelm said:


> I will never use a layout while hunting snows ever again. :wink:


Dont get me wrong....Im just saying how Im seein it.

Im sure once I start hunting up closer to home later in the season I will be back to tryin to hide the "fat guy shadows". LMAO!! :lol:


----------



## kaiserduckhelm (May 26, 2005)

After wearing whites the last couple times out, the layouts are staying in the trailer. Its nice pulling a bead on the birds without them flaring because all the doors on the blinds pop open at once.


----------



## tom sawyer (Feb 1, 2006)

We hunted out of a large blind in a cornfield last year, it was a boat blind. So sticking up doesn't always spook the birds.

I did hunt in white last night, and enjoyed being able to see all around easily. Even my Power Hunter layout limits my vision a little. But man it turned cold and windy, I was kind of wishing for that blind by the end of the evening.

I wouldn't think its a matter of number of decoys per hunter, except there is a limit to what a person can deploy and pick up and 250 is probably a good number. That makes for the better part of an hour of vigorous work on either end of the hunt.

When you have lots of hunters, you want to be able to decoy in the larger flocks so having more decoys does help in this respect. Having that 1000 spread, will probably make the big flocks feel safer in certain situations.


----------



## Alonzo (Feb 7, 2006)

Like what I said in my earlier post, I only had about 100 Texas rags out and killed decoying birds at 20 to 30 yards or less!

I also do not use any type of blind...I dress with a white ball cap and a white hooded sweatshirt and cover my lower half with a camo burlap. I lay on a camping pad with something as a head rest. This creates a really low profile and the white blends in with all of the decoys.

It is awesome to lay out like that and watch birds work!!!!! 

I have had birds that look like pepper specs in the sky drop all of the way in.


----------



## tom sawyer (Feb 1, 2006)

Alonzo did you have alrge groups come in for a look? Or were you pulling small numbers from the bigger flocks? We ran about 500 decoys last year and mostly pulled singles and small groups from the big bunches.


----------



## Alonzo (Feb 7, 2006)

I was hunting a flock of about 2,000 that have been hanging around for a couple of weeks. The first day the whole flock came out around 5:00 p.m. in groups of 200 - 500. I was able to have the large bunches working, but like always it was a goup of 20 or 30 that broke and came on in... and then I had a single eagleheaded blue come barrelling in.

Most of the time I am trying to work migrating birds and a large flock is 100 birds. I prefer to get the small groups of 20 or so to work...it is amazing to watch a small group to start to work and before you know it 2 or 3 more groups have joined them in circling in layers. Again, I take whatever drops in close, a lot of times that is a single or a pair or sometimes a small group. Then it is over until the next migrating flock shows up.


----------



## h2ofwlr (Feb 6, 2004)

For guys hunting the 50k flocks, I generally hear the "You need 1k decoys" line from them.

And then the newer guys are going, "I don't have that kind of $ to buy decoys" and they end up being run and gunners (sneakers) screwing up the hunts of the decoy hunters.

But frankly it is a pure fallicy that you need 1k spread or 250 decoys per hunter. The ones that are spouting this off are just plain ignorant as they do not fully understand Snow hunting.

That being said, you can use 50 decoys per person and shoot birds. It costs one heck of a lot less, a lot less work too, and the newer guys can then become decoy hunters are really get to experience the thrill of a flock of snows right in your face. :thumb:


----------



## Alonzo (Feb 7, 2006)

I agree 100%, I can't afford the $$$$$ some of these guys a throwing at snow goose hunting...and I have a blast shooting them in my face over a spread of 100 - 200 decoys!!!!!

It is absolutely awesome!!!!


----------

