And now we worry about a speck of mud on our full body dekes flaring the flock off!!! How neat would it be to try a "throw back hunt", decoys from the thirties, an old shotgun and vintage shells.
Back in the day
I noticed on a post below someone mentioning using tires as decoys, and it brought to mind a conversation I had recently with a youngster about how good he had it compared to his dad during hunting season.
I remember using sheets of newspaper, bleach bottles and milk jugs as snow goose decoys. A spray can of Rustoleum and the same stuff would make Canada dekes in a pinch as well. Add to those tire sections, naturally dark cans/bottles/jugs and so on and so forth, also I seem to remember a short article in "Outdoor Life" magazine about making tire decoys. The point being, I remember very well when a hunter would take a goose incidentally and take it immediately to the local small town cafe to show it off like it were a trophy buck. At least here in South Dakota local geese were unheard of and anyone who had as many as a dozen goose decoys was a hunter to be admired and envied. Popular opinion would also have it that person would have money burning a hole in his pocket and would throw his money on any wild arsed idea.
Any of you other mid-westerners remember the lean years and what you used for decoys?
I remember using sheets of newspaper, bleach bottles and milk jugs as snow goose decoys. A spray can of Rustoleum and the same stuff would make Canada dekes in a pinch as well. Add to those tire sections, naturally dark cans/bottles/jugs and so on and so forth, also I seem to remember a short article in "Outdoor Life" magazine about making tire decoys. The point being, I remember very well when a hunter would take a goose incidentally and take it immediately to the local small town cafe to show it off like it were a trophy buck. At least here in South Dakota local geese were unheard of and anyone who had as many as a dozen goose decoys was a hunter to be admired and envied. Popular opinion would also have it that person would have money burning a hole in his pocket and would throw his money on any wild arsed idea.
Any of you other mid-westerners remember the lean years and what you used for decoys?
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I would love to have hunted back in the day. With the old paper stlyle shells. BB lead... cheap and effective!
I started hunting over my Dads Herters Balsa wood decoys.
My Dad hand carved his first decoys in the winter of '36 out of a used cedar telephone pole. His Dad asks-Why do you need decoys for? He was serious. He would just sit on a point and pass shoot the ducks or push pole and 1/2 hr later have his 8.
The first decoys that I bought were real expensive, like $48 a dz. I bought 2 dz Plasti-duk blow up bluebills. That is like $200 dz in todays money.
Oh to shoot a sweet 16 ga in the Winchester model 12 again for ducks. Last time for me was over 25 years ago with lead shot.
My Dad hand carved his first decoys in the winter of '36 out of a used cedar telephone pole. His Dad asks-Why do you need decoys for? He was serious. He would just sit on a point and pass shoot the ducks or push pole and 1/2 hr later have his 8.
The first decoys that I bought were real expensive, like $48 a dz. I bought 2 dz Plasti-duk blow up bluebills. That is like $200 dz in todays money.
Oh to shoot a sweet 16 ga in the Winchester model 12 again for ducks. Last time for me was over 25 years ago with lead shot.
Perhaps, amidst all of the gimmicks & fuss, we've lost sight of what the older folks knew so well but never put into words - keep it simple. We've tried spinning wings, flapping wings, bigger dekes, full - body dekes, bigger shotshells, designer camo. Imagine a 2 3/4" 12 ga., solid color tan or "oatmeal" :laughing: colored canvas clothing, the homemade decoys, cheap wooden calls. Only mod thing we'd have to use is steel shot. Drive to where you hunt in an old Power Wagon - old fashioned enough? I may some day try this.
This week I plan to hunt ducks with a half dozen dekes, carhart tan jacket and a good old Olt duck call. I will use a 12 gauge Rem Model 31 and 2.75" bismuth shells. (closest thing to lead) While I don't have, nor do I know how to make wooden or cork dekes, I will limit myself to a half dozen in the spirit of the day. A half dozen "back in the day" would have been a luxoury I figure. Will post tomorrow on how well it all went.
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