Mallard Decoys

[Farley]

In your opinion, who is the best maker of decoys and why? I am looking to get a few dozen more this year and have had some bad luck with dekes bought in the past. I had a dozen dekes (I think they were Knight and Hale brand) that had such thin plastic that a bunch of them broke on me one cold day while tossing the bag in the boat. And I bought some last year at Gander for $17 a dozen, which won't be used this year at all. I have had good luck with Flambeau and have heard good things about G&H. I need some that will take some abuse.

[huntnfish]

G&H are the best duck decoys in my opinion and they hold up to a lot of abuse. I have about four dozen and they get thrown in and out of the boat quite a but and haven't started to show their wear at all. They are probably about four years old. I also have some Flambeau and Carrylites that sit in the garage because they didn't hold up after a couple of trips out. They are a little more spendy than the others, but they are worth it.

[Guest]

I agree, G&H are the best. As with anything else, you get what you pay for.

[Roosterslayer05]

I have some carrylights that take allot of abuse and they still havent broke, my dad has had them for 20 plus years and we still use them.

[WALLEYENUTZ]

Herters!!!!! enough said

[honker23]

G&H G&H G&H G&H
period!

[hanson]

G&H definitely makes a nice decoy!

We have a bunch of Flambeau Mallard water keels (I hate water keels, I don't know why I haven't replaced these yet) and a bunch of Carrylite Bluebills. I absolutely love those Bluebill decoys. My dad bought them years ago, they are probably 20 years old.

We also HAD a bunch of Carrylite Mallards which were made of paper-meiche(sp?) I believe. Those were some pretty good decoys, they rode real nice in the waves. We've since retired them from hunting and now sit on the shelf.

Otherwise, next dozen I'm buying is coming from Herter's. Solid foam, cork, or burlap wrapped foam. Pretty darn durable decoy. Shouldn't ever have a problem with those cracking

[lumbertick]

Greenhead gear makes some of the best looking plastic dekes...not sure how durable they are though. I use G&H, but I am thinking of adding some Greenhead gear widgeon to the spread.

lt

[Roosterslayer05]

If you hunt in a boat I would say get G&H, my friend has a dozen of those and they are real nice and durable but........ very heavey. If you walk and hunt on shore like me carrylights are the way too go cause they are durable and light, if you have to carry your decoys a mile dont get G&H.

[Seabass77]

I bought 2 doz G & H mallards last year and they have held up well. GHG dekes look pretty good too.

[full force five]

I picked up a dozen GHG mallards and they look really good! This is coming from a big time G&H guy, I have 3 dozen mallards, 4 dozen bills and 5 dozen honk shells . . .green head gear decoys look good. This season I will put them to the test as far as paint etc. I also ordered a dozen grays, they also looked good.

[CrankinEyes]

I have used Carry lite, Flambeau, G&H and Herters. They all have served there purpose.
If you are hard on Decoys then go with G&H or burlap wrapped Herters.
I prefer the Herters for the way they ride on the water in any weather. This year though I will make and burlap wrap custom decoys.

[jblabsnduck]

I have 5 doz. Flambeau. Just added 2 more doz(gander 14.99 a doz WK). I have had these decoys for about 9 years. I have never had a problem with them. Talk bad all you want but they due the trick. I hunt about 25-30 days of the season, out of a boat and also on land. They don't get treated to nice and they still look good.
Cheap enough to have a big spread with out spending a ton of cash.

[This message has been edited by jblabsnduck (edited 07-28-2004).]

[Farley]

I bought the some at Gander for $14/doz last year. I dont remember what brand they are but they are junk. The paint is already chipping, and they glare when it's sunny, and the keel is big and bulky. You can have mine.

[This message has been edited by Farley (edited 07-28-2004).]

[set the drag]

G/H are the best duck decoys you can buy for the $ but the herters decoys will stand up much longer. have 3 doz G/H and 1 doz Herters. and a cuople dozen cheapo's for early season. Bigfoots are the best honker coys out there water and for the field.

[jblabsnduck]

Farley, I can say the same thing about greehead gear. Trash IMO had some decoys that went to the field about five times and they look like they are 10 years old. JUNK
As for the shinning, I remember reading in DU last year or maybe the year before that people where putting armoral on there decoys to make the shine???? Not that I had ever tried it but I remember reading about it.
Personal choice here. Like I said I have had mine for nine plus years and no complaints.

[Farley]

Now that you say that, I remember that topic too. I wonder if you put armorall on them to make them look wet? The glare off these dekes is more like the sun reflecting off of one spot on the head.

[outdoor ran]

Greenhead gear had to change there paint because the paint was coming off right away. Gander was selling the bad batch for $20.00 a dozen. So my buddy and I picked up 5 dozen. The dekes are good, just need to do a little painting ourselves. Can't go wrong with that price.

[quacker attacker]

the G/H decoys are the best buy out there for the money,you can't go wrong. the heads turn, the paints durable and their keel is easy to work your cords around. the shape of the body works good for speed wrapping also,for the next days setup. the herter's foam decoy is awsome,but spendy. Last fall at the end of the season I picked up 6 dozen mag bluebill G/H for under 80 bucks a doz. at gander. I drove to every store in the metro to get them but what a buy. If they don't sell they have to ship them back out east. they were selling 15' dead grass sections for $5 a piece. no doubt the wife has to do your christmas shopping in nov. at gander

[This message has been edited by quacker attacker (edited 07-31-2004).]

[esoxguy2004]

The new Avery Greenhead dekes are improved and look awsome.

[duckbill]

I bought two dozen bluebill Greenhead gear last year and hunted them 5-7 times and they still look brand new. I just picked some greenhead gear dekes this week too. I have to agree they are the most realistic ones out there. I got mallards, pins,woodies, ring necks and bluebills. I think that they look great.

[This message has been edited by duckbill (edited 08-04-2004).]

[Ben1022]

Tough to say who the "best" is but there are a few that you can't go wrong with. G&H have been around for a long time for a reason...they stand the test of time and are well made across the board. Great detail and I've always aspired to use nothing but G&H's but cost was always the prohibitive factor. I wish I'd bought one dozen a year and kept building up and I'd have what I want by now.
I've used Flambeau, Carrylite and others over the years and haven't really seen much of a difference in how many ducks/geese I decoy. However, some chip easier and some just don't float very "well". However, I haven't been able to see a difference in the amount of birds I shoot so maybe there isn't a significant difference.
I recently bought some Greenhead Gear decoys w/the removable keel. Last year I used them in a field situation and really like that idea. The removal of the keel and string/weight is easy, but the time to put them all back for water use is a little cumbersome. I would say w/some keel improvements, they could possibly be one of the better decoys out there in their aesthetics as well as function.