Okay, not exactly pennies, but these dirt-cheap DIY dekes look good enough to fool even wary honkers while saving you money for your ammo budget

By M.D. Johnson | Updated Dec 2, 2021 1:35 PM

A few years ago, I traveled to Ohio to visit family—and to hunt rabbits. On the first day, though, I shifted my focus to geese, thanks to cold weather, snow, and a steady stream of honkers overhead. The only problem? No decoys. However, with some quick thinking and an hour or so of arts-and-crafts time, I was able to assemble a dozen silhouette decoys that looked good enough to kill a limit of Canadas. Here’s how to make your own Canada goose silo decoys.

Step 1: Ask for some empty cardboard boxes at your local market or grocery store. Look for bigger boxes. (You’re going to need sheets of cardboard that measure about 36×36 inches.) Carefully break down the boxes with a utility knife. If you’re willing to spend a few bucks more and want your decoys to last, go to the craft or hardware story and buy white corrugated plastic sign board, which are waterproof a little sturdier.

Step 2: On three of the cardboard or plastic sheets, draw—to the best of your artistic abilities—the outlines of Canada geese in various body postures, such as sentry, feeder, feeder with an outstretched neck. Then carefully cut along the lines.

Step 3: Use the silhouettes you cut out in Step 2 to trace more geese on the other sheets, and cut along the lines. Next, staple a stir stick to each decoy and cut each bottom to a point so you can stake the deke into the ground.

Step 4: Shake the cans and start painting. Heads and necks are black. Chests are gray, blending into white from belly to tail. Backs are black with a mist of brown. It’s not a bad idea to paint the legs (in this case, the stir stick) black, too.

Now, go out and fool some honkers, and feel free to savor the extra bit of pride that comes with doing so over your own homemade dekes.

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