Goose chair or layout blind.

[spock]

Haven't hunted geese seriously for a few years is anyone still using goose chairs or has it mostly shifted to layout blinds.

[mattchu_19]

layouts, goose chairs just look too out of place.

[Crazy_Farmer]

It can be done with goose chairs though, guys still use them, its just laydowns give you more options in the field, a goose chair you normally have to be in your spread to blend in with the other decoys, where as a laydown blinds you can be in with the dekes or off to the side where there might be a bit more foliage. Also if the geese arent working your spread the right way you can move the laydowns to a spot where you could have a closer shot at them when they come over you.

[jethro]

Just used a layout blind for the first time this weekend. Very functional and very comfortable. I probably spent 8 hrs in the blind over two days and I was dry, warm, and very happy.

[Qwa-honn]

Layouts definately. I took the geese off of the two that I have and now use them as shells. I am going to use the chair part for the beach.

[Dano]

A guy that used to work at my mill shot 2 1/2 toes off his foot using a goose chair. It can happen with layouts too so be carefull no matter what!
Dan

[jethro]

The key to keeping your toes and your dog alive in a layout is to ensure the muzzle is always outside the blind. keep your gun's barrel on the gun rest with the tip of the barrel pointing outside the doors. It seems like common sense but I guess some people can't figure it out.

[longshot]

I would use a layout blind. They usually go with the natural camo well and are low to the ground. Goose chairs to me stand out to much.

Longshot

[todbartell]

I have three goose chairs. They can be very effective. We use some camo stubble field burlap to cover our legs and boots. Only downfall is they're hard to see out of and hard to shoot out of sitting down, but that is probably the case for the layout blinds too, although I have never been in one.

I much prefer to build a blind and be able to sit and BS with my buddies waiting for a flock to come by. Might not be as effective as a layout or chair but it is more enjoyable :) I dont need to eat a duck or goose bad enough to lay in the mud for one if I dont have to :mrgreen:

[mattchu_19]

when you've had geese 5 feet infront of your layout with their feet down and backflapping you will never want to hunt any other way.

[branthunter]

The key to keeping your toes and your dog alive in a layout is to ensure the muzzle is always outside the blind. keep your gun's barrel on the gun rest with the tip of the barrel pointing outside the doors. It seems like common sense but I guess some people can't figure it out.

The best gun position for layout blind or boat is laying across your chest with the barrel sticking out over your left shoulder (for righties) with left hand around the forearm and right hand on the pistol grip---gives you the best control of the muzzle and where its pointing and lets you get on the bird as you sit up much more quickly and instinctively

[HuntNHookSports]

The best gun position for layout blind or boat is laying across your chest with the barrel sticking out over your left shoulder (for righties) with left hand around the forearm and right hand on the pistol grip---gives you the best control of the muzzle and where its pointing and lets you get on the bird as you sit up much more quickly and instinctively

I think I would rather have the gun pointed at my toes than my head.
You would have to sit pretty still to have a gun laying across your chest.
In a layout blind the target will be in front of you, not behind you.
I think that is why it is called a gun rest.

[branthunter]

I think I would rather have the gun pointed at my toes than my head.
You would have to sit pretty still to have a gun laying across your chest.
In a layout blind the target will be in front of you, not behind you.
I think that is why it is called a gun rest.

1)You obviously haven't been hunting out of a layout setup for 40 yrs.
2)What kind of a fool would point his gun at his toes?

[Crazy_Farmer]

I've never thought about pointing it backwards, maybe becuase you know whats it front of you and if somebody walked in from behind the barrell not pointing right at them. Its not like the end of the barrell is resting on your foot where if it went off it would blow a couple toes off. The barrel is past my foot by a couple inches and will sit there all day and I dont have to worry about it.

Another thing about having it across your chest is when you're calling, you normally use two hands and that wouldnt be a pretty sight holding a call and you're pretty much hugging the barrel, where as with it pointing after your toes the stock is always right there on my hip and easy to pick up.

[branthunter]

I've never thought about pointing it backwards, maybe becuase you know whats it front of you and if somebody walked in from behind the barrell not pointing right at them. Its not like the end of the barrell is resting on your foot where if it went off it would blow a couple toes off. The barrel is past my foot by a couple inches and will sit there all day and I dont have to worry about it.

Another thing about having it across your chest is when you're calling, you normally use two hands and that wouldnt be a pretty sight holding a call and you're pretty much hugging the barrel, where as with it pointing after your toes the stock is always right there on my hip and easy to pick up.

You are right of course in pointing out that no one is going to actually rest the barrel on their foot and it's equally obvious that with the gun laying across the chest it isn't pointed at the shooter's head, but rather rests with the stock at about ear level and the end of the barrel extending well out beyond ones head. With regard to the safety issue of where the gun is pointed relative to others it seems to me that if it "sits there all day" (ie. pointed straight out over the decoys, assuming that's how you orient your blind relative to the decoys) then its going to be constantly pointed at you or your partners or your dog as they come and go adjusting the set or picking up birds. There are of course many different variables ( not the least of which is how many layouts and hunters are using the set) that will affect how you orient your layout blind, be it a punt or a field set-up. Almost all of my experience has been in punts hunting alone or with one other punt and partner, although I have done field layout shoots a few times for prairie geese (but again, alone, not with 4 or 5 partners as photographed on another thread). I call snows around here by voice so a call is not an issue there and I don't use a call for ducks. I have used a call for prairie geese with the gun on my chest and found it not to be a problem.

For me,the big advantage of the gun-on-chest position is the ease and quickness, and even safety, it brings to sitting up to shoot. The gun is in a natural postion to be raised to the shoulder and end up pointing in the right direction (assuming your shot is somewhere in the quadrant over the decoys). Your hands are already on the gun in shooting position or very near to being in the right postion on the gun if you have to drop a call . I much prefer this to having to fumble around by my side to find the gun grip and pick it up one handed all while in the process of sitting up. If the layout, as do most, has doors, then from the gun-on-chest position your elbows will naturally flip the doors open as you raise the gun from chest to shoulder while simultaneously sitting up. I have used the gun-to-toes position when hunting brant with two guys in the punt, although of course when you're not using a call the pistol grip hand, although not the other , can be on the gun as the birds are coming in. I found it awkward.

A whole different but somewhat connected issue here is the postioning of the layout (punt or field type) relative to the wind direction and decoy set. Terrain, whether on land or over water, can also be a factor. This is going to be affected, mostly adversely, by the number of layouts shooting over the set. For this discussion I'll assume one layout. Figure out, given all these factors, the location of the quadrant (or hemisphere) where most of your shots are going to be. You then want to postion your layout so that when you sit up gun to shoulder the gun is pointing (assuming you're a righty) at the right hand portion of that area. It is much easier to swing to the left to shoot over the rest of the arc than it is to swing to the right. For example, if you are set up upwind of the decoys and you expect the birds to come into them flying straight upwind then it is a mistake to point your layout right at the decoys because you will find yourself in an unnatural position to shoot at any birds except those that flare to your left. Try this by sitting on the floor and pointing a pretend gun at something directly in front of you (even 15 degrees left of that) or anywhere to the right of that. The best positiuon for your layout in this situation is aligned 45 degrees or more to the right across the wind. Obviously there are too many variables to be dogmatic here or to cover all possible situations but the concept is one that can be crucial to a successful hunt.

Not trying to persuade or be pushy here, just to share 40 yrs. of experience with those readers who may be new to this game. Trying to persuade someone who has been doing it another way for years would probably be like trying to get a pump gunner to switch to a double, or vicey versey. (but maybe not---I started using a double a few years ago and love it, although I still use both---sometimes it's a good idea to try, or at least consider, new ways of doing things).
Interestingly, when I joined this site a couple of weeks ago I thought I'd just be a lurker but find myself enjoying the opportunity to write and share experience/s and opinions.

[f350ps]

well said there BrantHunter. I'm with you on the gun on the chest when punt hunting but it's beside me when in a chair ( obviously. We still use four Goose chairs but we dig them down about 8" and they are way more effective than having them just on top of the ground. We set the chairs in amongst a dozen and a half 42" shells and you'd be hard pressed to pick out the chairs. By the time the geese do, it's over. K