Picking Decoys
 

Ok...so I will say right off the bat that this is my first hunting season ever. I am wondering what type of teal decoys to get if I could only choose one. Dont have the money to get two dozen or i would get green and blue. My brother has a couple dozen mallard decoys and we were wanting something to mix it up with. For the early teal season....should I go with a dozen blue or green teal decoys?

RE: Picking Decoys
 

Dozen Green Wing.

Welcome to the forum and to the sport. You're gonna have a hard time finding something you enjoy more than waterfowling and talking about it.

RE: Picking Decoys
 

That is what my brother keeps telling me...I plan on getting into dove too. But planning my first teal outing this saturday in Missouri. Thanks for the advice! I greatly appreciate it.

RE: Picking Decoys
 

i say green wing as well... good luck and welcome

RE: Picking Decoys
 

Thanks again for the advice.....any other advice would be helpful too....like i said,I am really new to hunting period. Does anyone know anything about the hunting conditions in Missouri this year so far?

RE: Picking Decoys
 

Oh and one more question....I have noticed that some places sell different green teal decoys. Some I guess have them i later season color with the yellow on the chest. Will that make a difference? Is one better than the other? Or are they both more effective early or late in the season?

RE: Picking Decoys
 

just get greenhead gear teal dekes they are $20 for 6 and thats all you should need.

RE: Picking Decoys
 

Greenhead Gear makes some nice looking ones. They most closely resemble a real teal in my opinion. You can check them out at Mack's Prairie Wings. http://www.mackspw.com/ItemList--Gre...d-Teals--m-776 You don't need a full dozen, but it won't hurt either.

Teal come in wads of several birds at a time. Their call is a very distinct "peep." I have had good luck with teal in the early and late season hunting them in timber or along the banks and eddy holes of rivers. If you can find an patch of water or an oxbow in some flooded timber or in a river bottom, you'll be into some ducks. They'll generally fly out over your hole seemingly at the speed of light (they actually make a "whoosh" sound as they pass), turn on a dime, and light somewhere within 15-30 yards of the bank/shore. They'll cluster up and hang out for a while. Therefore, I like to set up teal spreads in loose clusters. I'll put 3-5 together in one spot and put another 3-5 spot. Just hang out and let the decoys do the work. I generally let them decoy before I get to shooting. If they light into the decoys, either take a crack at one on the water (someone's gonna grill me for telling you to shoot a duck on the water :eek:) and the rest will get up like a bunch of Titan missiles and hopefully you can connect with your second and third shots. An alternative to actually shooting one on the water is to say, "Hey!" or grunt like you're trying to stop a moving deer. Their heads will all pop up and come to attention, they'll either cluster up or sit still as statues. A second, "Hey!" and they'll get up and you better have the gun ready.

Sorry for the novel, your question just got me thinking about it. Good luck to you buddy.

Oh, almost forgot the doves.

Chapter 2, Best way to get after some doves is to buddy up with someone with a "dove field," which usually entails sunflowers or some grain cut into loosely organized rows. Take a couple boxes of shells (three boxes if you're a bad shot), get a stool, pick a spot where you can see the horizon, and just sit still. Shoot them when they come along. Doves are fast-fliers, but skeet shooting can improve your success and train you on leading birds.

RE: Picking Decoys
 

thanks a lot! That will help me out loads. I really appreciate the help.

RE: Picking Decoys
 

Just got back from the first hunt of my career.....it was moderately dissapointing. Didn't see a single duck...we gave that up about 9 and tried for some dove. We only saw one and we both missed it. But on the way home we saw 60 of them on the power lines...so my new plan is to shoot them off the power lines. Any advice? We were at a place in St. Louis for the duck and Bush wildlife for the doves. If you are from around Missouri and know of anything better, I would appreciate the tips. Thanks guys. I didnt get to test the grunting strategy, but I will give it a try as soon as i get the chance. Thanks!

RE: Picking Decoys
 

Shooting doves off the light line is not only unsportsmanlike conduct and a bad idea in general, but I think it is actually illegal in some places... I know that if by some odd chance you disrupt service to customers then you can be fined, pretty heavily too. No different than cutting an undergroundline with a trencher without calling Miss Utility. It is generally looked down upon to shoot birds out of trees, on the water, or on the ground. Wingshooting should involve wings so to speak.... its a social faux pas... and you'll catch hell for it around here and in most places for that matter.

Here is the way to do it without running around a field all day... get you a right stiff fishing rod with some 20# Monofiliament line. Take a few hard body dove decoys that have the loop ring on their back. Tie the dove onto the line the throw it over the top wire, then pull it snug to the bottom of the top wire (doves cannot tell the difference between a dove on the wire and one just under it). But it must be snug... it cannot be spinning in the breeze, and consequently just like ducks and geese, doves have to land into the wind... but they will come from downwind like lightning and cut back at the last second and light.. so be ready.

I like to hang up two or three. After you have the first one up and tight... pay out a little line and cut the line... I tie it off to a mushroom decoy anchor, and that will hold it in place. Tie on another decoy andrepeat. At the end of the hunt, just cut the line at the mushroom anchor and your decoy will fall to the ground. Mono is not a conductor... so don't worry about getting killed... its 100% safe.... I've been doing it my entire life. Back up againest a phone pole about 25-30 yards from thedecoys and put in the Improved Cylinder choke.... shoot them before they land... you can shoot them as they back peddle if you prefer... I treat it just like duck hunting sometimes... I'll only shoot them if they are decoying... great way to work a young dog because the birds tend to fall in the same general area each time.

Its really the best method for killing doves consistantly if you don't have a lot of people to cover a field.

RE: Picking Decoys
 

Just got back from the first hunt of my career.....it was moderately dissapointing. Didn't see a single duck...we gave that up about 9 and tried for some dove. We only saw one and we both missed it. But on the way home we saw 60 of them on the power lines...so my new plan is to shoot them off the power lines. Any advice? We were at a place in St. Louis for the duck and Bush wildlife for the doves. If you are from around Missouri and know of anything better, I would appreciate the tips. Thanks guys. I didnt get to test the grunting strategy, but I will give it a try as soon as i get the chance. Thanks!

RE: Picking Decoys
 

I would stick with the mallard decoys. I like the hen decoys for this time of year when they don't have winter plumage yet. Teal will decoy to mallards better than teal decoys, or at the very least just as good.

RE: Picking Decoys
 

if you're like the rest of the state the unseasonably low temps have pushed most our teal out of here. we managed to scratch a few but nothing like we seen the few weeks leading to the trigger day. heard most the east side got hit the hardest with the flood and just not a lot of food to hold birds this year.

i know it's late but we just use hen mallards for teal season, they don't seem to mind and just can't bring myself to spend the cash for a decoy on a bird like teal that will buzz a twig in the water. keep after them, big ducks are right around the corner.