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How to get into Goose Hunting

Turkeyslayer

By Turkeyslayer
in Waterfowl Hunting

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Bubblehead 5 pointer

Bubblehead

Posted
Posted

You’ll get a lot of differing opinions here on this subject but here is mine. Goose hunting can be very affordable to get in to especially with the dramatic decrease in price in decoys. 
 

Full body decoys are the best in my opinion but not needed and sometimes and added hassle. You can go buy yourself 5 dozen silhouettes for a few hundred bucks and they come in a bag you can carry over your shoulder. 
 

Also you do not need a blind to start, hiding a layout or and a frame is harder than you would think. You can just hide in a hedgerow or wood line or even a fence row with some cover by just covering your face and sitting real still with some decent camo. Especially if it’s just you or you and one other person. 
 

My next piece of advice would be to stay off YouTube and just put that time into scouting. Oklahoma and North Dakota are not nj and they don’t necessarily translate to what are birds are like. Set your decoys out in two or three groups with a good opening in between and you’ll kill some. Don’t be afraid to experiment and change things up and see what works best in different conditions. 
 

The most important part of goose hunting is being where they want to be. Find a good feed and set up with the wind at your back then get yourself hid well and stay still. If you feel the need to call make sure you sound decent and shut up when they are locked up and gliding in

mazzgolf 9 pointer

mazzgolf

Posted
Posted

If you are not looking to go all out then IMO you will get more bang-for-your-buck if you buy silhouette decoys...Dive Bomb is having a big sale right now. https://www.divebombindustries.com/collections/holiday-sale-2024 --  for $47 you can get a dozen, for $228 you can get 5 dozen (for comparison, that's just about the same price for just a single dozen of full bodies at Rogers). 5 dozen silos will easily be enough for most field hunts - and you can carry all five dozen on your shoulder in a big tote (they are that light) and the tote will fit on the back seat of your sedan. :) You can set up 5 dozen silos by yourself in 10 minutes. When you get home, you can put the tote with your 5 dozen silos in the corner of a room somewhere. If you go with full bodies (or even shells) the size of your storage area needs to be larger.

Silos is basically all I use anymore - this morning I used 5 dozen of those Dive Bomb silos when me and dad almost limited out (well, if we shot half-decent, we would have limited a half hour earlier :rofl:)

If you set up on the edge of a field, you don't need a blind. Just hide inside a hedgerow. If you want a layout blind, you can get some on sale now for $100 on up. I wouldn't spend more than $150 on a layout blind, but I'm cheap.

One con with silos - if the ground is frozen, they are useless because you can't stick them in the ground. You'll want shells or full bodies for that. I do own a couple dozen shells that I'll use to fill in the silo spread, but I rarely do that now (I bought the shells before I owned silos).

 

Bubblehead 5 pointer

Bubblehead

Posted
Posted
41 minutes ago, clamdigger said:

No such thing as the cheaper side when it comes to goose hunting,buy what you need for the property you have.It's all about being on the "x" and having good hide. 

Disagree about the “no such thing as the cheaper side”.  You can buy all the decoys you need for less than $300 and that’s really all you need to get into it. You don’t need a blind, and honestly a blind can end up hurting you if you aren’t proficient at hiding it. Sitting up against a tree in a hedgerow with a little cover infront of you is more than enough if you wear a face mask and can sit still. Most guys over think goose hunting, they put out a big a frame and over call and everyone is sticking their face out of the blind then blaming the birds flaring on not having enough fully flocked full body decoys. 

clamdigger 3 pointer

clamdigger

Posted
Posted

Like I said,it's all about the hide.He may not have a hedgerow or fenceline to hunt.Thats when layout blinds work BTW don't buy camo  layouts ,field brown w some thatch from the field your in always works.Cheap silos work sometimes but add sun and wind and you have a bunch of junk shaking in the wind.You can buy realgeese blems for half price  and are alot better than corrugated plastic decoys.

mazzgolf 9 pointer

mazzgolf

Posted
Posted
17 minutes ago, clamdigger said:

Like I said,it's all about the hide.He may not have a hedgerow or fenceline to hunt.Thats when layout blinds work BTW don't buy camo  layouts ,field brown w some thatch from the field your in always works.Cheap silos work sometimes but add sun and wind and you have a bunch of junk shaking in the wind.You can buy realgeese blems for half price  and are alot better than corrugated plastic decoys.

 Give the OP some links for those. I haven't heard of "realgeese blems" - I'm curious what they have for half-price.. I'm all about cheap ;) 

clamdigger 3 pointer

clamdigger

Posted
Posted

Call Realgeese you can find number,tell them your interesed in blems ,they will tell you whats available.Blemishs are hardley noticeable if at all.I have at least 10 doz..If stock is low they may only sell a few doz. at a time 419 800 8100 Webfoot industry

Bigmac 6 pointer

Bigmac

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, mazzgolf said:

If you are not looking to go all out then IMO you will get more bang-for-your-buck if you buy silhouette decoys...Dive Bomb is having a big sale right now. https://www.divebombindustries.com/collections/holiday-sale-2024 --  for $47 you can get a dozen, for $228 you can get 5 dozen (for comparison, that's just about the same price for just a single dozen of full bodies at Rogers). 5 dozen silos will easily be enough for most field hunts - and you can carry all five dozen on your shoulder in a big tote (they are that light) and the tote will fit on the back seat of your sedan. :) You can set up 5 dozen silos by yourself in 10 minutes. When you get home, you can put the tote with your 5 dozen silos in the corner of a room somewhere. If you go with full bodies (or even shells) the size of your storage area needs to be larger.

Silos is basically all I use anymore - this morning I used 5 dozen of those Dive Bomb silos when me and dad almost limited out (well, if we shot half-decent, we would have limited a half hour earlier :rofl:)

If you set up on the edge of a field, you don't need a blind. Just hide inside a hedgerow. If you want a layout blind, you can get some on sale now for $100 on up. I wouldn't spend more than $150 on a layout blind, but I'm cheap.

One con with silos - if the ground is frozen, they are useless because you can't stick them in the ground. You'll want shells or full bodies for that. I do own a couple dozen shells that I'll use to fill in the silo spread, but I rarely do that now (I bought the shells before I owned silos).

 

Battery powered  drill for frozen ground and you can easily drill hole and use silhouettes 

Bigmac 6 pointer

Bigmac

Posted
Posted

Look on Facebook marketplace, Craigslist and other hunting forum classifieds for decoys, full body, shells,  silhouettes and blinds can be found,  seasons have lower bag limits and harder to find fields to hunt so  many goose hunters selling decoys and blinds, you might have to travel a little to find them.  I purchased  4 or 5 dozen original Bigfoot's which are my preferred decoy  when limits went to 1 bird a few years ago.

Hitemnasty 6 pointer

Hitemnasty

Posted
Posted (edited)

Where are you located? I have some floaters and shells that can get you started I’m looking to sell. Also if you’re new to waterfowl I have countless other decoys and couple cases of steel shot from 6-BB up for grabs.  Northern ocean county 

Edited by Hitemnasty
bucky 8 pointer

bucky

Posted
Posted (edited)
4 hours ago, Turkeyslayer said:

I’m new to the waterfowl side of things what would you recommend I buy for decoys and blinds not looking to go all out so I am looking towards the cheaper side of things

Hopefully you have some good property before you invest

Edited by bucky

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