Decoys- Which are your favorite?
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Colorado Cowboy
Super Moderator
I only hunt geese and only Canadians. My decoys are:
1 doz G & H shells, 6 747's, and 6 Big Foots. I always put the decoys in 3 family groups that are separated with 8 decoys in each group.
1 doz G & H shells, 6 747's, and 6 Big Foots. I always put the decoys in 3 family groups that are separated with 8 decoys in each group.
Fink
Veteran member
I've gotten rid of all my older decoys, and am only running avian x's now for my floater duck decoys. I like GHG for my full body duck and goose decoys. A big spread of Avians looks amazing on the water.
I've been chasing ducks and geese for 35 seasons now and fondly remember the days when there weren't "100" decoy manufacturers. Flambeau held the paint better and carry Lite had a more realistic body form. Cork was for the purists.
Back in the day, I used to cut the heads off and re-install them in a low-head resting pose. It increased the number of birds that would come in.
Remember the 2-liter bottle duck decoy things? My dad bought 12 dozens of them. They never worked well BUT the heads were great. I made up 6 bufflehead decoys using Victor bodies and heads off those things. Set in a resting position. Put the 6 decoys on a single line with anchor front and aft. Had 1 full drake, 2 immature drakes and 3 hens set 3 feet apart. The buffies and goldeneyes loved those decoys, often landing between the decoys. Did that 20+ years ago and I think they are still pulling birds - on at least their 3rd or 4th owner now.
Fast forward a few years. We have over 300 decoys and have given away more than that.
My favorites these days are a dozen G&H widgeon with the pink, move-able heads. When we use those with a few teal and coots mixed in, we decoy more birds. I think it is the paint but who knows, they work.
As for goose hunting - I was never that good. field hunting was a bust for me, only had success once over 3 doz carry lite shells. We had 18 Carry Lite Suc geese - the oversized heads seemed to help some. Only had passing shots until I bought an original Big Foot with the rester/seeker head. Would put that on a log or clump or ice and we'd get a few geese when they were around.
If I had to do geese again, I would do a 3 or 4 pack of full body Big Foots and 8 of their floaters +++++ I would add a bilge pump duck or goose butt decoy to add some waves. Not gonna shoot limits for everyone but would pull enough small flocks, singles, and doubles to add some shooting to a nice day on the marsh.
Back in the day, I used to cut the heads off and re-install them in a low-head resting pose. It increased the number of birds that would come in.
Remember the 2-liter bottle duck decoy things? My dad bought 12 dozens of them. They never worked well BUT the heads were great. I made up 6 bufflehead decoys using Victor bodies and heads off those things. Set in a resting position. Put the 6 decoys on a single line with anchor front and aft. Had 1 full drake, 2 immature drakes and 3 hens set 3 feet apart. The buffies and goldeneyes loved those decoys, often landing between the decoys. Did that 20+ years ago and I think they are still pulling birds - on at least their 3rd or 4th owner now.
Fast forward a few years. We have over 300 decoys and have given away more than that.
My favorites these days are a dozen G&H widgeon with the pink, move-able heads. When we use those with a few teal and coots mixed in, we decoy more birds. I think it is the paint but who knows, they work.
As for goose hunting - I was never that good. field hunting was a bust for me, only had success once over 3 doz carry lite shells. We had 18 Carry Lite Suc geese - the oversized heads seemed to help some. Only had passing shots until I bought an original Big Foot with the rester/seeker head. Would put that on a log or clump or ice and we'd get a few geese when they were around.
If I had to do geese again, I would do a 3 or 4 pack of full body Big Foots and 8 of their floaters +++++ I would add a bilge pump duck or goose butt decoy to add some waves. Not gonna shoot limits for everyone but would pull enough small flocks, singles, and doubles to add some shooting to a nice day on the marsh.
I have used just about everything outside of Axian Xs because why in the $%#@ would you want to spend $400+ on a dozen plastic birds?
I used to run a mix of Hardcores lessers and GHG pro grades but have since sold them off. I bought 7 Dozen brand new Dakota Signatures last year for $2100. Out of pocket paid like $200 due to selling the old stuff. Can't believe I made money off of selling my old decoys that I bought used from someone else. I bought all of those Hardcores and GHGs for less than $150 a dozen and sold them for $200-220 a dozen.
It is UNREAL what decoys go for nowadays. I don't think I could do it over if I had to start from scratch. Now you have to spend at minimum what $300 a dozen? Absolute insanity. Granted waterfowl hunting has turned into a blood sport where you are only successful if you wear Tapout shirts, have full Sitka gear, stack birds 10 feet high and have a lanyard full of legbands.
I used to run a mix of Hardcores lessers and GHG pro grades but have since sold them off. I bought 7 Dozen brand new Dakota Signatures last year for $2100. Out of pocket paid like $200 due to selling the old stuff. Can't believe I made money off of selling my old decoys that I bought used from someone else. I bought all of those Hardcores and GHGs for less than $150 a dozen and sold them for $200-220 a dozen.
It is UNREAL what decoys go for nowadays. I don't think I could do it over if I had to start from scratch. Now you have to spend at minimum what $300 a dozen? Absolute insanity. Granted waterfowl hunting has turned into a blood sport where you are only successful if you wear Tapout shirts, have full Sitka gear, stack birds 10 feet high and have a lanyard full of legbands.
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Hilltop
Veteran member
Would love to see some reviews on floater goose and snow goose decoys. I plan to sell my field snow decoys this fall and switch to a floater spread. Hoping to buy on the cheaper end of the spectrum. I am considering trying these out due to cost... https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwi9zbOWq67UAhVl4IMKHbovCpYQFgglMAA&url=http://thedecoyfactory.com/&usg=AFQjCNFkxb_oFGu18H08kH98bfim2lJh4Q&sig2=pUEvRnoI2QtCHhtyK55N9g
Fink
Veteran member
It's nuts how much goose decoys cost. Thankfully I've got a bunch of friends that supply all of that. Hunting Canadas over a spread of 50 dozen full body's is pretty awesome.
As far as switching to Avians, I've run about every duck decoy there is, except Dakotas, cause they ugly.. No decoy out there holds up as well being drug through the mud, shot, falling out of the truck, or getting run over by the boat like the Avians. I've got probably 5 dozen that are 4-5 seasons old, and still look basically brand new. I've got GHG's that lost their paint coming out of the plastic wrappers.
Last summer, I sold off 25 dozen old flambeaus and bonds.. The decoys were at least 15 years old, and I sold them for more than I paid for them brand new. We then reminisced about the hundreds of ducks we shot over crappy decoys, lousy waders, old pump shotguns, and no boats.. lol.
Story of my life. My dad's old shitty hand painted decoys have probably killed more birds than what we use now. But we are forced to use the new ones because birds have adapted and have gotten smarter.
You think they are ugly!??! Why? I think the Signatures look great and they hold up great so far. Or are you thinking of their first models?
Colorado Cowboy
Super Moderator
I hunt Canadas on fields only located near home. I have permission to hunt a lot of ground which had virtually no other hunting pressure. Our geese here are non migratory and get very used to using certain fields all year long. They are pretty easy to decoy early in the season, but after they have been shot at some, they get pretty wary. By that time we usually get some migratory birds in and it gets easy again. I have a 2 acre pond on my home place that always has lots of Honkers on it, especially in the spring/early summer with goslings. I get to see behavior that most hunters never see. They are very protective, family group oriented and fight with other family groups a lot. This is why I generally need fewer decoys and place them in small, family group settings. I have taken as many as 100 in a season, but usually fewer because I have found it hard to eat or give away to friends that many birds.
I really like a mix of the really big 747 full bodied decoys interspersed with the Big Foot and normal sized shells. I only use one alert upright head in each group, most are resting or feeder heads. I believe the larger bodied decoys can be seen a lot further away that normal sized shells.
Great post guys...........
mallardsx2
Veteran member
- Jul 8, 2015
- 3,917
- 3,235
GEESE-
4 Dozen GHG FFD
4 Dozen GHG SLEEPER SHELLS FFD
2 DOZEN BIG FOOT FLOATERS - FLOCKED HEADS
DUCKS-
3 Dozen FULLY FLOCKED DAKOTA ON TROLLEY
1 Dozen Bubblers
Leave the calls at home half the time.
Sometimes I only use 6 of the decoys on trolleys with spreader bar and half dozen bubblers.
4 Dozen GHG FFD
4 Dozen GHG SLEEPER SHELLS FFD
2 DOZEN BIG FOOT FLOATERS - FLOCKED HEADS
DUCKS-
3 Dozen FULLY FLOCKED DAKOTA ON TROLLEY
1 Dozen Bubblers
Leave the calls at home half the time.
Sometimes I only use 6 of the decoys on trolleys with spreader bar and half dozen bubblers.
Hardcores were fantastic looking 5-6 years ago. Paint wasn't amazing tho, wore off pretty bad the last two years. Not a big fan of what the new ones look like. I like Tanglefrees better.
Fink
Veteran member
We've got a few fields that they just like to be in... But, for the most part, we run a lot of traffic, as the birds don't have any particular field that they have to be in, in most the areas we hunt. The big spreads are more for keeping eyes off of us, rather than competing with other goose hunters or other geese. Hiding 15+ guys can get a little tricky. And trying to kill a 15 man limit requires putting big bunches of birds right in the kill hole.
When it's just me or just 2 of us, I'll usually hunt over no more than 5-6 dozen.
Fink
Veteran member
These? http://www.dakotadecoy.com/mallards.htm
They ugly. Their goose decoys are solid though.
I like the price on the tanglefree goose decoys. None of the guys I hunt with have any, so I've got no hands on experience with them.
Ur nuts if you think their floaters are ugly! Expensive but I don't think they are ugly, what about them do you not like?
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Most of the major manufacturers are so similar now in term of price and position scheme it matters less IMO. The ugly poses and stuff turn off hunters more than geese. What I look for is what system is easy to put out and tear down 100-1200 of (full body and sleeper shell canadas), store well and is durable. Emphasis on the last. Basically impossible to do a write up in durability unless you run a whole rig of 200+ fullbodies through the same pacers over an entire season from dry early season dust to -20 degrees getting tossed in a trailer and vouches out of a frozen plowed field. What's essential to one guy might not be to another. Now days between avian, doa, GHG, Bigfoot, hardcore, tangle free, etc there is more personal preference than anything. I am partial to anything you can leave the bases on, holds paint and won't shatter in the cold.