Are geese fussy about decoy species?

[kitchrat]

As I know nothing about this, I just wondered if geese are not so happy to come to decoys of a different species, ie will Canadas come to whitefront decoys etc? I expect that anything will do if they are hungry enough but what if they are not anyway near starving?

Cheers, JK

[oowee]

Maybe some our but the ones i shoot, spur wing, egyptian, are definitely not fussy. The problem for me is always getting them to land where the decoys are rather than 100m away. 🤣

[islandgun]

I doubt they care but i dont use decoys. I have found that the strangled croak/screech I manage to get from a goose call will scare any goose in ear shot to avoid my bit of ground.......... sometimes for days

[oowee]

24 minutes ago, islandgun said:

I doubt they care but i dont use decoys. I have found that the strangled croak/screech I manage to get from a goose call will scare any goose in ear shot to avoid my bit of ground.......... sometimes for days

🤣 Brilliant.

[marsh man]

I don't use decoys either , but I would had thought by using Greylag decoys they should draw both Pinks and Whitefronts and of course Greylags .

Not sure if Canada's would draw the three Grey geese above in broad daylight , others on the forum will soon put me right if they have found one decoy will work on all species , but I still have my doubts .   MM

[scolopax]

Saw little trick on a YouTube video for a quick conversion from grey goose to Canada goose decoys. Cheap black socks! Run over the head and neck of the decoys, splash of white paint on each cheek ( I guess white tape would work), and hey presto, a Canada Goose decoy. They certainly looked convins from a moderate distance.

Edited yesterday at 04:33 by scolopax

[marsh man]

4 hours ago, scolopax said:

Saw little trick on a YouTube video for a quick conversion from grey goose to Canada goose decoys. Cheap black socks! Run over the head and neck of the decoys, splash of white paint on each cheek ( I guess white tape would work), and hey presto, a Canada Goose decoy. They certainly looked convins from a moderate distance.

You could also do the reverse by covering a Canada goose decoy with a Brown/ Grey sock , with the size of them they should stand out well .

[kitchrat]

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Posted 4 hours ago (edited)

So it COULD matter then? The reason I ask is that I've just got back from a commercial goose shoot in Jockland. The weather was very warm and there was loads of food around for the geese so they weren't that hungry. Well, the guide had two groups of decoys, on one side were a load of Greylag silhouettes, on the other side were a couple of hundred Silosock Whitefront decoys. The Pinkfoots were supposed to want to land in the gap between. It seemed to me that nearly all the skeins that approached with an intent to land went for the Whitefront side but often they pulled back just in time (for them) I saw that the decoys had a white stripe down the side, which the geese didn't have. Also, the wind made them look a little "regimented". Just wondered if that or the stripe might have warned them off? All the Guns were very well hidden and not looking over the top of the hide! Incidentally, enough geese decoyed well enough for a decent amount of shooting, so this isn't a complaint, just me overthinking again!

Edited 3 hours ago by kitchrat

Edited yesterday at 14:27 by kitchrat

[dogger]

17 hours ago, kitchrat said:

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Posted 4 hours ago (edited)

So it COULD matter then? The reason I ask is that I've just got back from a commercial goose shoot in Jockland. The weather was very warm and there was loads of food around for the geese so they weren't that hungry. Well, the guide had two groups of decoys, on one side were a load of Greylag silhouettes, on the other side were a couple of hundred Silosock Whitefront decoys. The Pinkfoots were supposed to want to land in the gap between. It seemed to me that nearly all the skeins that approached with an intent to land went for the Whitefront side but often they pulled back just in time (for them) I saw that the decoys had a white stripe down the side, which the geese didn't have. Also, the wind made them look a little "regimented". Just wondered if that or the stripe might have warned them off? All the Guns were very well hidden and not looking over the top of the hide! Incidentally, enough geese decoyed well enough for a decent amount of shooting, so this isn't a complaint, just me overthinking again!

Edited 3 hours ago by kitchrat

where in scotland is that?Fife area?

[wymberley]

19 hours ago, kitchrat said:

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Posted 4 hours ago (edited)

So it COULD matter then? The reason I ask is that I've just got back from a commercial goose shoot in Jockland. The weather was very warm and there was loads of food around for the geese so they weren't that hungry. Well, the guide had two groups of decoys, on one side were a load of Greylag silhouettes, on the other side were a couple of hundred Silosock Whitefront decoys. The Pinkfoots were supposed to want to land in the gap between. It seemed to me that nearly all the skeins that approached with an intent to land went for the Whitefront side but often they pulled back just in time (for them) I saw that the decoys had a white stripe down the side, which the geese didn't have. Also, the wind made them look a little "regimented". Just wondered if that or the stripe might have warned them off? All the Guns were very well hidden and not looking over the top of the hide! Incidentally, enough geese decoyed well enough for a decent amount of shooting, so this isn't a complaint, just me overthinking again!

Edited 3 hours ago by kitchrat

The last time I saw anything like that it was on a parade square. 

[kitchrat]

2 hours ago, dogger said:

where in scotland is that?Fife area?

Just about 30 miles N  (and a little bit West) of Aberdeen

[Penelope]

They can get spooky of decoys towards the end of the season where decoys are used a lot.