making decoys

[blackbear]

I am wondering how you could go about making goose decoys out of a goose skin.do you think it would be practible? Should i use borax?

[skeet]

Hi BB,
We have used stuffed geese for decoys for over 25 yrs. We only have about 25 left now out of almost a hundred. There are some up sides to stuffers....They work extremely well most of the time..until a lot of pressure is put on the geese....The downsides...the expense of making them....the fact you can't use them in the rain(cold dry snow is ok...wet snow not...and the fact that they are fragile..not extremely but still fragile and worst of all is that the little critters like to get into them. Mice just tear them up badly. You have to keep them out of the rodents way. BTW if you do it...mount them on boards so they are easier to transport and deploy in the field. OH!! one other thing...You cannot sell them. Against Federal law. You can sell the board they are on but the goose has to be free....Hehehehe!

[fabsroman]

Skeet,

That doesn't really work. Kind of like selling little ziploc baggies for $10 a pop, but that pop inside is free. Try telling that to the judge. Your honor, my client wasn't selling drugs, he was only selling ziploc bags. Hence, he is only guilty of possession, not distribution. Yeah right.

[fabsroman]

Skeet,

Just wondering why it is against federal law to sell stuffers. I think I remember reading that somewhere, but I am just wondering about the reasoning behind it. How does Bass Pro get the ducks they use to hang in their displays. Is it illegal to sell all taxidermy? I would guess that it isn't.

[grayghost]

It is against Federal Law to sell any Migratory bird; mount, feathers or parts. Only commercially raised and tagged birds may be bought and sold, and you best keep the transaction records. Bass Pro gets a lot of donations. Not to say someone within BPS hasn't purchased a few duck or goose mounts, but wild waterfowl, Doves, Snipe etc., are not allowed to be sold. Wouldn't be a good thing to get caught. Fines are stiff. It is also illegal for a Taxidermist to sell any Migratory bird mount that isn't picked up. That's why your pro's ask for the full payment as the deposit. Good hunting, grayghost