Without proper decoy placement ducks and geese just won’t land because things don’t look natural or they will land where you don’t want them too.
Now allot will depend on what you’re hunting for, where your hunting and when your hunting but here are some basic tips to get you started.
Geese and Ducks Decoy Placement· Place decoys every 3-4 feet apart in the shape of a V, U or J works well. · Always make sure you do not face all your decoys into the wind. · Place decoys in front around · Make you always hunt with the wind On the ground pointers, Watch the birds in the fields, see how they are and watch how and were incoming birds land, try and duplicate that.
Always try and funnel the birds into a landing area where you can shoot. That is usually accomplished by one of the spreads mentioned, don’t be afraid of keeping decoys close together, geese like to see that too. The point of the v or high point of the u into the wind, do not place every decoy facing into the wind, that signals that the birds on the ground (your decoys) are nervous and could jump up at any second.
Always remember that the birds will land into the wind. When a flock lands with the wind, a strong one at that, it takes them (Geese/ducks) so long to get turned around and get out you will have time to shoot, reload and kill your limits On the water pointers, Take note of actual patterns of live decoys and pattern your decoys like actual waterfowl. If you see a lot of birds in certain areas – hunt there. Stick to points and fingers of land since the birds typically will at least look at the decoys there.
Placing decoys in “open” water with at least 15 yards of water between the decoys and shore. I never set decoys more than 25 yards out. If you’re in the right spot, they’ll drop right in. As for species – you need goose & wood duck decoys. Learn how to use a wood duck call – it will help some. With the geese – the more head positions you have , the more real they look. If you hunt mallards you need mallard decoys – 12 to 24 will set you up nice. If you only see 4 or 10 a trip, don’t get more than 12 decoys – try to mimic the natural birds.
Guide Lines for the Amount of Decoys to have:
· Geese – between 8-18· Mallards 12 · Wood ducks 4 or 8 · Canvasbacks 8-12 .
Most ducks will come in to mallard hen decoys – use the hens of one species to fill in the decoy spread for another specie.
Turkey Decoy Placement: Hunting Wild Turkey is an art, the turkey are notorious for spotting hunters with their keen eyesight and tend to hang just out of reach. By using turkey decoys on your next hunt you can help bring that big tom into range. Just remember you are not duck hunting, you don’t need 50+ decoys, a simple spread of 2 hens and a tom are all that is needed. When positioning your decoys ensure they are quartering away from you either right or left. Make sure your decoys are approximately 15-20 yards away from your calling spot. This position will allow the gobbler to approach the decoy from the rear providing the perfect shot opportunity.
Make sure there is a strutting path open around your decoy; this will give the gobbler plenty of room to strut around her and put on his show. Stick the leg rods firmly in the ground until the bottom of the leg is touching the ground. Typically when a gobbler comes in to a Turkey Decoy he will strut as he approaches, strut around and bump her, sometimes you can tell he is trying to get her to lay for him. This is a good sign that he is about to try and jump on her back.
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Tags: decoy placement, decoy spread
