Is there an actual number of decoys when your getting to the point that it's just to many? I don't mean a number like 3000 but what do you all think is to many in a feeding spread?
I am not an expert like bob but i have and use usually around 60. The way i look at it more is just to many to handle but with about 50 -60 My spread looks very random, i try to remove all patterns to the placement. has worked very well so far
Why don't you save some dead crows and just throw them in a gunny sack and keep them outside during the winter. Then when you go hunting you already have decoys. At the end of the hunt pitch the older dead crows and replace them with freshly killed crows. Just keep them on the north side of the house, that way they stay in the shade and will not stink.
I kept upping the number of decoys to give the impression it wasn't the same spread from last week end...I stopped at about 48 the sum total I had...I learned you don't need that many but here again..what are the conditions? If you got a large Kansas field or south dakota or Pennsylvania(?)let us say your style is a lot of decoys on the ground 60 is more than enough..but here again..keep that in mind...I generally never use more than 20-30 myself but always keep one or two in a high location..the secret I've learned is a tree crow will always be the one the newbies will come to..also takes attention away from you!
I want to emphasize that is how i did it in the 70s....I don't do it that way anymore but the more the merrier I say! Currently i only use a half dozen but it's a very unique set up too!
I always set out a number of decoys according to what has been flying the previous day.
If there's just the odd 2-3 a time, then I put out maybe 8-9 decoys, two sentries, and a whirly/magnet with two on that.
If large flocks of 50-100 have been flying, I will use 20-30 decoys, two sentries, and a whirly/magnet with 2 on that.
Anything above 100 in a flock, and I will bang out 40-50 and the same 2 sentries plus 2 on a magnet/whirly.
Then if pigeon are about, I will probably put 15-30 pigeon out, no pigeon sentries (they rely on the crow sentries), and one or two magnet/whirly with two birds on each
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If it moves and is legal but also moral, SHOOT IT !!
I have seen groups out in some fields that might be as high as 50 but it's not really common around here. I do see in the winter time higher grouping numbers but it's still around 20-25. That's the larger of the groups but I see it much more often. So 2 dozen seems to be a good number for around here. That should give me plenty to play with. Just tore another decoy bag yesterday so I am goin to try and get a better bag this weekend that will hold those anf has no mesh. I go through the mesh ones pretty quickly.
Just tore another decoy bag yesterday so I am going to try and get a better bag this weekend that will hold those and has no mesh. I go through the mesh ones pretty quickly.
Get an ex army or navy tote bag, the old kit bag that does up at the top and is like a big cylinder.
They shoulf fit 30-40 decoys easily
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If it moves and is legal but also moral, SHOOT IT !!
I still have my sea bag from when I was in the Navy but it's not big enough. My decoys are to big. It will hold what I have now (without my motion decoys) but won't hold anymore. I found one bag that was almost perfect except it has a mesh bottom for draining. I don't know how hard it would be to have the mesh replaced with canvas.
I still have my sea bag from when I was in the Navy but it's not big enough. My decoys are to big. It will hold what I have now (without my motion decoys) but won't hold anymore. I found one bag that was almost perfect except it has a mesh bottom for draining. I don't know how hard it would be to have the mesh replaced with canvas.
My six-compartment "Snow Goose decoy" bag from Cabala's holds 20 3-D decoys in four compartments, 15 silhouettes in #5, and an owl or hawk decoy in the last one, plus my blind's stakes in a PVC container. another 3-D Flambeau (or 3) fit on top, inside the drawstring top. Yes, it has a mesh bottom, but that is useful for ventilation and drainage. Seems to work out fine.
I tried something like that last year. It was made by "Rig'em Right" I ended up taking it back since it was to awkward to carry into a wma but now that I am hunting a lot more private land I might need to take another look at it.
I have never used more than 6 deeks. I feel that 2 or 3 well place natural looking decoys to be be light years ahead 20 poorly placed decoys. Get them high enough to be clearly visible. Study live crow and try to duplicate their actions when roosting atop trees and dead stubs. You'll know your spread is effective when odd crows saunter in for company unannounced when you take a break from calling! ...and yes, dead crows do make the beat decoys!
Ted cuts a young tree perhaps 2 inches in dia. and is close to 15 to 20 feet tall. He puts his decoys at the top of the tree then gingerly eases the tree back up to an up right position and ties it to a larger more sturdy tree.
Years ago (perhaps 30 years or more) I was hunting with Boyd Robeson and we had a good location but no trees to put our deks in. Boys said "you stay here and fix up the blind, I'll be back very soon" About a half hour later here comes Boyd with a tree hanging out the back end of the bed on his pickup. He just tied the tree to a good sturdy fence post and we were in business! He used 4 decoys in that small tree like Ted used in his photo. We had a hell of a shoot even if we did get a late start that morning.
Ted cuts a young tree perhaps 2 inches in dia. and is close to 15 to 20 feet tall. He puts his decoys at the top of the tree then gingerly eases the tree back up to an up right position and ties it to a larger more sturdy tree.
Years ago (perhaps 30 years or more) I was hunting with Boyd Robeson and we had a good location but no trees to put our deks in. Boys said "you stay here and fix up the blind, I'll be back very soon" About a half hour later here comes Boyd with a tree hanging out the back end of the bed on his pickup. He just tied the tree to a good sturdy fence post and we were in business! He used 4 decoys in that small tree like Ted used in his photo. We had a hell of a shoot even if we did get a late start that morning.
Yeah after seeing that picture I went to lowes and bought a 2 foot piece of pic pipe and set it in the ground on our farm. Can't wait to try it out.
Same here. Also, I have to walk far to hunt. I like to put 1-2 in a tree visable and 4-5 on the ground. I also use the natural resourses to make it look like they are eating something.
Basically if you got thousands of crows coming in every day then you want a goodly amount to make it interesting...I've seen one crow attract whatever flew into the field ..!
In my area at the time it would be about a hundred. The only draw back was they all got up and left as one and didn't return that day! Of course this was later on in the season here too at that....now? well stragglers would come back or individual migrants straggling down which are easy to attract. If it wasn't so tiring and the only way to do it-yes-I'd put out a hundred decoys. If that was the only way they'd come in-sure-do it. The goose hunters lay out big spreads to get the geese in...I always say-whatever works!
Mr.A? I think I am going to get some of those plastic thick wraps whatever and find a fallen 2 inch diameter tree give or take and try that idea...I like it! If I had a pick 'em up truck I'd just get a long pole and paint it ! But natural vegetation ought to do the same trick!
Tom, those "whatever's" are called bungee cords, you can buy them in different lengths at Walmart. You don't need the wide rubber tie downs that the truckers use to keep the tarp on the load they are hauling.
As long as we are on the subject of trees here is what I do. If I am in a good spot and there are a few trees giving me a problem I simply shoot them down and get them out of my field of fire. For a small tree say 2 to 3 inches in diameter it may take 3 to 4 trap loads to bring it down.
Dick & I found a great grove of trees to get hidden in last season but it had to be cleared so we could shoot from that location. Dick & I shot down half a dozen trees to make a good shooting hole and when completed it made a dandy spot. The land owners don't care because most areas like that are like a jungle any way.
i haven't heard the term "jungle' used to describe this region of the country in a long time but that's it however! It may not have the exotic wildlife of Africa but it is still a jungle!
I used 6 this past weekend on my hunt. Two in the trees and 4 on the ground. Had intended to put all 6 in the trees. But, I couldn't find my string. It had been borrowed by my 4 year old angel of a granddaughter the day before as I find out later. She got a pass! LOL
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