Duck Decoys...a few questions

[GullGuide]

What does everyone look for in a decoy?

Is there anything that makes certain brands stick out from the others?

How much would you be willing to spend per dozen on custom made decoys?

What would you prefer as a material? Cork? Wood? Resin covered foam?

What would be the ideal size of a decoy?

If you had 4 species of ducks to choose from what would they be?

[J. Browne]

I like a CUSTOM spread. I carve cork and some wood, and my ultimate spread will be all cork and wood. Currently, we run a 100 or so decoy spread that consists of herters and plastics. With the herters, you can paint them any way you want, and get replacement heads, that are wood or foam. The only disadvantage with plastics are 1, they dont last a lifetime +, and 2, they are all one head pose,(excluding G&H) Its hard to repaint them with the paint able to stay on for a few seasons.

I like featherlite(not featherflex) decoys because they are LIGHT, compact, realistic and ride the 40 mph winds just as good as a herters. They are cheap($) and the only time it will be no longer huntable will be holes in it...paint wont come off, wont get brittle and crack over a few years etc..

Willing to pay for cork or wood decoys? I think you should judge the price with the kind of materials, how durable they are, the paint and poses. Carvers RARELY make a profit off their decoys, because they go and pay for the materials etc etc. My corks are high density cork binded with a polyurethane glue. This cork is obiously better then Dark cork. The carving isn't just a matter of cutting it out on the bandsaw and rounding it, believe me, MANY hours are put into each decoy.

[chasinredeyes]

A diver hunter's list:

#1 for me is decoy color. They must have a good amount of black on them for aerial visibility. I know personally that when I see birds on the water, its because of the black, pilots tell me the same thing. White is by far the next most important color, again to add visibility from long distances.

Secondly the decoys must ride the water like a duck, not a decoy. Doesn't matter how much $ you are willing to spend on big name decoys, if they don't ride they are worthless in my book.

Thirdly, they have to be able to self right themselves when tossed. This usually means weighted keels, but you can sand water keels to get the same effect. There is nothing worse than having to try to flip one decoy in the middle of a 120 decoy J-hook.

Last but not least they obviously have to look like a duck. This again doesn't mean you have to spend big $, carrylite and other "cheaper" brands make some very realistic looking decoys.

I tend to use "lifesize" sized decoys. I have never gotten hung up on materials. My top four ducks would be Scaup, Ringnecks, Canvasbacks, and Redheads.

[J. Browne]

those are some very good points. Heres a picture of a swing keel(99.9% of the time it will self right)

[Ray Esboldt]

If I'm big boat hunting, I prefer the burlap covered foam Herter's style decoys. Other than busting a head ocassionally, they last forever. You can repaint them easy enough, a dog can step on them and they don't shatter, and they're usually self righting. (Don't let any petroleum laced agent come in contact with them, they're history then). However, their weight is a killer. That's why I say big boat hunting is their place.

Small water hunting, I really like the G&H standard water keels. They're light, the paint holds well, and the body withstands your buddies ill-advised cripple shot. They are more expensive than the other brands, but I'm on my 12th season with my standard sized, water keel G&H. Other than loosing one or two here and there to fast moving bog, they're all in perfect condition.

The only other decoy I would buy if funding was not an issue (and they were readily available) would be Quack decoys. The paint doesn't hold up super well on them, but you literally cannot destroy them. They're rubber, so you could driver over them with a tank and not wreck them. You could unload a 21 gun salute on them and not sink them or even put enough holes in them to render them unusable. And, they are very light even in the magnum models.

If I had to choose four species of ducks to mix into my spread, I'll take mallards, bluebills, gadwalls, and green winged teal. A dozen Canadas off to one side doesn't hurt. Especially if there are widgeon around in big numbers.

[eyepatrol]

Ray

I like your comment about your buddies ill-advised kill shot. I get that way too much with my hunting partners! Especially on geese..I've got BigFoot floaters and those things are about $20 a piece from Cabelas!

As to this post, except for goose decoys which I use the BigFoot floaters, I haven't bought duck deeks in a LONG time. But, if I were to buy some (and I need to start to pretty darn soon), I'd get the G&H deeks. I really like the looks of them boys. One of my hunting partners has a dozen and I really like them.

As for numbers and types of duck decoys, in late fall when divers, puddlers and geese are around, we'll set out about 3 doz mallards, 6 doz. bluebill and 3 doz geese. Also have a few cans that we throw out on the outside edge of the 'bills to try and draw their attention. Numbers of deeks seems to play a big role on divers as they typically come down in big flocks. If we know it's going to be a mallard day, we'll keep the divers on shore and bring out a little better than 6 doz mallard deeks.

All the deeks we use are standard size with a mix of weighted keel and water keel. Any deeks I buy from here on out though will be weighted keel. Can't ever keep those water keels upright on a 25-40mph NW wind day.

I know one guy who uses about 2 doz mag. mallard deeks. He says he likes them because the ducks can see them from far off distances, but with the hunter competition on the lake we hunt, my opinion is that numbers are better than size. If you have a big number of deeks out, the ducks will see them.

[The_Duckslayer]

I have mostly G&H Magnum swivel heads. I have had them for over 7 years now and they still look darn good. I like to set each head just a little different as I have never seen a flock of ducks a all looking the same direction!?!? When my son worked at Cabelas he brought home some green head gear decoys. Be careful, they make good ones and they make cheap ones. The cheap ones are less than 20 bucks a dozen but the paint did not hold up well on them. We used the good ones for a year now and they seem to hold up pretty well. When they are floating on the water they actually look more like a duck than most decoys. Take care and N Joiy the Hunt././Jimbo

[Benny]

Well you asked some great questions,I have been hunting ducks since 1975.Hunted all over Minnesota and Eastern North and South Dakotas, in marshes,big lakes,pot holes and everything in between.

I started out with Carrylites in std size and the real big super mags.All Mallard with a few teal thrown in over time.

Now I still have the super mags, minus some paint but have started to switch to G&H.Reason is that they have held up the best over the last 10 years and most have convertable heads.All are wieghted keel so they will self right, the added wieght is a killer though.

I use the flexlite as well for when we wader into a marsh and do not use a boat, they are very packable and if you use the draw cord stopers and pull the wieght up to the head you can just tuff them into a small pack and carry them where ever you want.

I stay with Mallard,Pintail and teal for pot holes,marshes.Then switch to blue bill and red head when we hunt open water with a few mallard on the sides to get the leary puddlers in.

All my decoys are the hard plastic kind eccept the flexlite, they are a foam style.

Cost is relavent to how much you want to spend, all of the ones I use are relatively cheap to buy.

Size I chose now is standard as that way I can carry more in one bag.

Ducks and geese can not see three dimentional, so size is not a big factor but does help them see the deks farther away.

Benny

[Eric Wettschreck]

If I had 4 species to choose from, I'd still use mallards and teal. I pretty much only hunt small potholes and not much open water. I throw out a couple dozen mallards and 1 dozen teal. I'm tellin ya, the teal deks will bring in just about anything in the earlier stage of the season.

As far as price goes, I'm a cheap butt and pretty much always broke. So, if I'm going to buy more decoys I'll buy standard size cheap ones. I've hunted over high buck deks and my cheapos with pretty much the same results.

[simcox282]

There are certain things that I look for in decoys. What everybody has been talking about so far is great information. The only thing that I would add to that is that the width is at least one half the length of the decoy. Herters decoys are some of the best I think. I make a lot of decoys through the year and try to copy theirs. I am now trying my hand at carving new heads to make molds from for the different head postions. Kind of a daunting task for myself as I am about as creative as a rock.

[J. Browne]

are you planning on carving out of wood, or urethane?

Find yourself a head mold, and 2 part urethane ( www.uscomposites.com ) and just cut the bases at different angles when its dried. The 8 or 16 lb density would be a good choice.

[Crusty old Swede]

Shape and realistic paint jobs are what catch my eye.

The decoys I use all the time now are 16 quack mallards and 12 plasti-duc mallards. I've used the quacks since the fall of 1978 and they've held up well. They hold a coat of paint for about 10 years. They will turn #4 steel beyond 20 yards, #3 steel beyond about 30, they will sink if you manage to get pellet holes below the water line. The old style keels that I have won't self right, the newer style might. The heads swivel any direction and if you cut the bill off at the right angle you can make them into excellant sleepers. Quacks are really expensive. The plasti-ducs are foam filled polyethylene so they're like carrylites and avery greenhead gear decoys in that they start sheading paint after a couple of years. The foam filling keeps them from sinking but makes them "clunk" a bit when they bump together. I went for the shape and look when I bought the quacks, back then they were the only factory decoys that had a relaxed look. Every other decoy had the up right / up tight look, and I was single and had money to spend. The quacks are my confidence decoys that seal the deal. I bought the plasti's for the realistic paint job with an up right look for my attention getter decoys. The plasti's are expensive, not nearly as bad as quacks though, and of course a couple of years after I bought them, Avery came out with realistic paint jobs on inexpensive decoys. So if I were looking for decoys I would go with Avery's and just expect to paint them as they need it.

[Goosebuster]

I'm thinking of touching up my decoys what color do you think is most visable on some mallard decoys?

[Crusty old Swede]

When I repaint I always make the white parts a little bigger than on a real mallard. This would be the tail band on both hens & drakes, the neck ring and white edge just in front of the black butts on the drakes.

[magnumthunder]

Hi There! I'm New Here. What I find works well with water keels is to rough up the inside a little bit then wear a heavy leather glove and pour some melted lead in them. It doesnt take much and is a lot lighter than weighted keels. Drop them in a cooler upside down to see if they turn up. nothing worst than finding an upside down deke when its shooting time. Just my 2 cents worth!! ‹(•¿•)›

[J. Browne]

REPAINTING

plastics aren't the best decoys, obiously, but if you plan on repainting them, Do it properly so the job will last a few years. (remember paint doesnt last forever!)

Prep it with a wire brush, then acetone. Flash it with a torch LIGHTLY.

Paints. Remember, the plastic is flexible, it expands and contracts. You need a flexible paint. I have painted some with Herters(laytex) and they didnt stay. My suggestion is Acrylics. usually, any hobby store carries them. JoSonja, Goldens are good paints, BUT expensive. I use Americana Paints. They are $1 a tube. There are other cheap ones, but i have tried them and arent the greatest.

Choosing colors. Find a picture(from a magazine) and take it to the store. Match the colors and there you go.

I like the herters millinuem green for the heads.

Hens, Burnt umber base coat, A tan you like for the feathers. If you have plastics, drybrushing the tan works well, highlighting the feathers.

KRYLON 1311 MATTE FINISH comes in an aresol can and can be found by the spray paints. Flash this over the decoys for protection.

Just a tip. The speculum(blue and white part of the wing) shows when the duck is alert, usually. I dont paint them on my decoys because i want a relaxed look

[Duck-o-holic]

Magnumthunder-- Welcome to Fishing MN, and the Waterfowl Forum!

J.Browne-- Thanks for the great post, and GREAT pic!! That's a nice looking deke. I repaint decoys every summer, and appreciate learning about the paints that you mentioned. Do you ever use an airbrush for application? I agree with your statement about speculums not showing on resting birds. I think GHG dekes are VERY realistic, and now that they've improved their paint, am very happy with there dekes. The only thing I don't care for on them is the keels, which I'm iffy about regarding their longevity. I have gadwalls and wigeon that I mix in with my mallards, which has produced some "killer" results.

Duck-o-holic

[J. Browne]

Duck-O-Holic

I have never touched an airbrush in my life. YET. Will have one in a few weeks. I do some hand blending, so hopefully, airbrushing will come easy for me