GOOSE HUNTING. LEARNING ABOUT DECOYS. PART 2 By DENNIS HUNT There is so much to know and to learn about decoys. The beginner goose hunter will make a lot of mistakes in his selections and purchases. It is hard to get good advice because there are not many experienced goose hunters out there that know. The store clerk in a sporting goods store will sell a decoy that he makes the most profit on without worrying about the frustrations this goose hunter will go thru until he finds out what works and doesn’t work. That was the way it was with me. I had to learn the hard way. What does work and doesn’t work? I will tell you what I use because I have tried them all. NON-MOVEMENT DECOYS: Big Foots. These are goose size decoys with large feet. There are 3 parts, body, head and feet. If you get these, get inter-changeable heads in Canada and white if you hunt both species of geese. This is my favorite decoy! Silhouette. This is an image of a goose with a stake. It is a good decoy especially if you have to be mobile. Shell decoys. These are ok but, they are made from plastic and have to be maintained annually or they will shine. When you stack the plastic bodies then, the plastic will rub and leave a shiny mark. The shiny spot will get the attention of the geese on a bright day and the geese will flare off. MOVEMENT DECOYS: North Wind windsocks. This is a great decoy! If the decoy is maintained annually then, it will last forever. It has a 18" stake, tyvek skirt and plastic head. Skirts and heads come in Canada and snow and you can mix Canada skirts to make a Canada with Canada head and a blue with Canada skirt and white head. You can put the heads in feeder and sentry positions. North Wind hovering. Similar to the windsock except it has the skirt sewed with wings on. This creates life like movement. Texas Rags. I have had terrible hunts using this plastic windsock. It is very fragile and will shine after 1 year’s of use. It sells for 25 cents and you cannot buy anything worthwhile for 25 cents. SPECIALTY DECOYS. Goose kites. These are made from tyvek and are tough! You fly them on a telescopic pole and a pole holder. Most of the time, they will attract geese to get closer to your hiding spot. Goose magnets. This is a flyer decoy. However, most goose hunters install them on 10’ poles. If the wind comes up, the magnet will "flap out of control" and will chase the geese away. Beware of the head on this decoy. It is very shiny and has to be repainted. Flags. They could be effective if you know how to use them. I don’t use them because I lay concealed within a low profile blind that is 40 to 200 yards from the decoy spread. I don’t want to give away my hiding spot to the geese by waving a flag. If I was starting out, how many decoys would I purchase and what kind? The answers – CANADA GEESE. I would purchase 24 big foot decoys. Make sure you purchase no more than 4 sentry decoys and 20 feeders. I would get 4 North Wind hovering to place on the edges of my decoy spread to add movement. SNOW GEESE. I would purchase 48 big foot decoys and get 42 feeders with 6 sentry decoys. Purchase 72 each of North Wind Canada and snow skirts with 144 white heads. You will have 72 blue and 72 snow windsocks. Heads can be installed in feeder or sentry position. I put all my heads in feeder position. If you plan to hunt Canada geese as well as snows then, purchase 24 Canada heads for the Canada skirts you just purchased.