Avery mallard decoys-good/bad?

[Ufatz]

Young nephew wants to know about Avery mallard decoys. He tells me they are supposed to be "the best" and that they move in the breeze?? What do you duck hunters think of them. They are expensive I guess.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

...move in the breeze...must be describing the avery/greenhead gear fullbody or 5/8 shell field decoys. i have i dozen of the shells and they are definetely worth the money for field hunting mallards.

[Superduty]

The avery full body mallards are great field decoys. If you have the $$ and space for 'em go for it. You won't be dissapointed. If you already have a bunch of field goose decoys, don't worry too much about adding a whole spread of mallards. The ducks decoy plenty good to a spread of geese dekes with a spinning wing decoy or two mixed in.

[Bushwacker]

Quote:

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The avery full body mallards are great field decoys. If you have the $$ and space for 'em go for it. You won't be dissapointed. If you already have a bunch of field goose decoys, don't worry too much about adding a whole spread of mallards. The ducks decoy plenty good to a spread of geese dekes with a spinning wing decoy or two mixed in.

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That is exactly my experience with both field hunting and water hunting. But as far as full body decoys go, the Avery GHG are the best I have used. I have some Hardcore malllards too that look ok, but are not even close the movement or the bright colors that I like to see in a mallard decoy. The Avery's have all the things I look for in a mallard decoy and are fairly durable too. The fullybodies are the best, but take a lot of space and are heavier and bulkier to carry in. I got some of the 5/8 shells at the end of last year when they became available and I think our group is going to convert all of the mallards to the shells because they are so much more stackable, a lot easier to carry in, and you can buy 12 for just a little more than 6 full bodys. Plus, you don't sacrifice much for realism. Basically only the bottom 3/8 of the decoy.

[Superduty]

I'm going with the avery shells as well. Two of my hunting buddies have decoy trailers that have the capacity to haul the full bodies. When I hunt alone or with my son, I don't have a trailer and space is more of a premium in the back of the pickup. A few websites sell the shells for less than $100/dozen when you buy 3 dozen or more. It's hard to beat the fullbodies, but the avery mallard shells are the next best thing. It may depend on what type of field you are hunting. In a picked bean field, I would want fullbodies. In wheat/barley stubble, I think the shells would be as good as the fullbodies.

[Bushwacker]

Even in the picked bean field there is only 3/8 of the body missing on the shells and when the mallards are that close its usually too late for them anyway!

[waterfowlerjm]

They look really nice. I bought the "hot buys" the first year they came out. On most of them the paint is coming off. They may have remedied this problem but I will never by that brand again

[hanson]

The GHG "Hot Buy" dekes are absolute junk. Stay clear of the "Hot Buy" dekes and pay the extra money for the regular GHG dekes and you'll be really happy.

[smg04]

anybody try the Hotbuy goose shells??? they look nice, come with flocked heads and motion stakes...price is right but r they worth it??? hotbuy mallards might chip easy but at $25 a doz. if you get a season or two out of them i think there worth it

[carpshooterdeluxe]

skip the hot buy series and jump up to the oversized series. on both the shell geese and water ducks, the paint is better, and the poses are more realistic. get motion stakes for at least the feeders for the goose shells and your all set.

[Farley]

Last fall a buddy bought a dozen of those full bodies that move in the wind, they just balance on a steak you stick in the ground. They look AMAZING. Dont know how well they work, we never really put them to the test, the only time I used them was later in the season when we were hunting in a field that we watched birds drop into for a week straight, about 200-300 birds roosting in a pond 1/4 mile away. I think they would have come in if we used turkey dekes they were so used to that field. Those full bodies really made the spread look like it was moving though. And like was said before, the colors are nice and bright.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

if you think the work great in the fields, you guys should try making longer stakes for them out of rebar or conduit and use them in your water spreads. fools the greenheads into thinking theres a nice sandbar just underneath that clump of cattails you are hiding in!

[Superduty]

I'm glad MN has decided to stop being the conscience for the rest of the waterfowling world. If the feds say 6 ducks than lets all shoot 6 ducks!