home made goose silhouettes

[Guest hunter101]

There was a time when I was not a big fan of goose silhouettes. I just couldn't believe that a bird as majestic and wary as a Canada goose could be suckered in by such simple two-dimensional reproductions. Fortunately, a hunting trip to Quebec - and a guide - taught me how wrong I was.

I will never forget my skepticism when, on the first goose hunt of that trip, our guide set up a flock of silhouettes in small family groups across from our blind. There was not one full-bodied decoy in the rig, simply 20 or so well-rendered profiles.

I remained unconvinced, even as the sun rose over the black furrows and golden stubble of the fields near Lake Champlain and geese began trading back and forth along the horizon. My confidence wasn't helped when, after a short but unproductive calling session, our guide second-guessed himself into thinking he'd chosen the wrong field for the morning. He apologized and left us with instructions to hunt over the decoys, while he drove off to set up more decoys in another field where he was certain the action would be better. His plan was to pick us up as soon as this was done, so no hunting time would be wasted.

He shouldn't have gone to all that trouble. Less than 10 minutes later, my hunting partner and I had collected our limits of giant Canadas - every one lured to its demise by our mediocre calling and those convincing profiles.

Since that morning, I've made sure silhouettes are a major part of my field goose-hunting rig. This makes a larger spread more practical and carrying it out into fields easier.

There are many excellent commercial goose silhouettes on the market, including some with photographic images for ultra-realism or felt flocking to reduce shine and provide richer textures. Making goose silhouettes, however, is also an enjoyable and relatively easy off-season project for the hunter who doesn't mind do-it-yourself projects. Homemade goose silhouettes were once the norm. They were generally cut with a sabre saw from plywood. These still work, but new materials allow for even lighter silhouettes that are easier to construct and carry. Inexpensive decoy bags for goose silhouettes, available at many hunting-supply outlets, make carrying four or more dozen of them a snap. Here's how to fill the bag with some great-looking decoys.

instructions start to finish how to paint

i got this information from the www.huntontario.com website

[double_drop]

Re: home made goose silhouettes

looks like a good idea I just have to find the coorugated plastic to make them.

[Ravin R10 man]

Re: home made goose silhouettes

I have some me and my buddy did about 35 years ago...Canadas and snows..wow...that was a bit ago...LOL

[gitcha_some]

Re: home made goose silhouettes

you also have to remmber that you are huntin in canada, where the birds are getting their first shooting of the season, sillhouettes work great in early season but around here we take more and more out of the spread, the later we are into the season.....im convinced that in the late season around here your better off settin a dozen or less really nice fullbodies, than setting a giant spread

[huntinguide]

Re: home made goose silhouettes

for snows we just use a dowel and a white sack with a piece of styrofoam for the head, real cheap and have great movement, pretty much the same as a sock decoy.