good duck decoys!?

  • predator_2
    Posts: 152
    October 24, 2009 at 8:32 pm #213205

    What are you guys using? I got a bunch of Avery GHG mallards that look 20 years old cause the paint peels off just looking at them.
    Colors look great right out of the box. but paint is crap!!!!
    So what do ya think the best decoy for the money is?

    kris_brantner
    My river
    Posts: 1678
    October 25, 2009 at 1:44 am #64755

    up untill 6 or 7 years ago, g and h were the top dog as far as decoys. they arent the prettiest, but they do last. i run pretty much all avery now, and have only had minimal problems with the paint. no decoy is going to keep 100 percent of its paint, i dont care what kind it is, and the paint that i ahve lost on my ghg isnt enough to make me want to switch back to g&h. i still have a bunch that i like to use for walk in hunting because they are alot ligher than the ghg. thats about the only thing i dont like about ghg is how heavy they are. makes it pretty tough on a guy to lug a couple dozen to the spots i hunt. sometimes its a couple of miles

    predator_2
    Posts: 152
    October 25, 2009 at 2:26 am #64742

    I must of got a bad batch. I bought 6 dozen 4 years ago and the ones i am usin now have minnimal use compared to the amount of wear. I still have a dozen new in the box. The green on the green heads is the worst.

    Great White
    Vinton, Iowa
    Posts: 362
    October 25, 2009 at 2:45 am #64743

    I think there was a paint problem with Avery GHG when they first came out–but we run all GHG now and love them. Even use their goose and mallard full bodies

    –Whitey

    kris_brantner
    My river
    Posts: 1678
    October 25, 2009 at 4:41 am #64764

    i did get a bad batch now that i think about it. not with the paint, but with the bottom of the decoy cracking where the front of the keel slid up to. avery sent me a new batch and they are still good. the new ones with the fixed keels you can tell are way better quality.

    super_do
    St Michael, MN
    Posts: 1089
    October 26, 2009 at 2:54 pm #64858

    Using a 12 pouch decoy bag helps a lot too!

    Great White
    Vinton, Iowa
    Posts: 362
    October 26, 2009 at 4:06 pm #64863

    Honestly we use ours hard. They are kept in regular decoy bags, we toss, throw and kick them around working fast to get them set–they are holding up GREAT!

    –Whitey

    mossboss
    La Crescent, MN
    Posts: 2792
    October 26, 2009 at 4:20 pm #64868

    Quote:

    Honestly we use ours hard. They are kept in regular decoy bags, we toss, throw and kick them around working fast to get them set–they are holding up GREAT!

    Same here.
    –Whitey

    drakesdemise
    Residing in St. Paul, MN doing weekly travel throughout the five state Upper Midwest
    Posts: 976
    October 29, 2009 at 5:19 am #65346

    Avery/GHG did have problems with paint that was not compatible with plastic. oops
    For plastic dekes, my favorite are still G&H because of the depth/relief of the feathers in the mold. the high spots will always loose paint, but the recessed areas hold well and seem to look good for longer.
    I hunt from a 17′ V and all of my dekes get piled up front without bagging. For this reason, I’m slowly converting everything over to cork and armored foam blocks. I do not care about weight, just durability and appearance.
    Oh yeah, and due to the fact that we hunt a lot of divers, the decoys are frequently peppered with pellets.
    All plastic decoys suck after some abuse , especially Black cloud #2.
    Supposedly new dekes and repainted dekes can be preserved by spraying with upto 4 coats of matte finish Krylon clear coat. have not tried it yet.
    Good luck.
    cheers

    cdm
    Oronoco, SE. MN.
    Posts: 771
    October 30, 2009 at 1:20 pm #65564

    Guide series from Cabelas are great and have the removeable keels. My second choice are the Higdon foam filled Mags. Third choice are the Herter supreme burlaps heavy but very durable. Ive had some of these for 6-7 years now and they still look great.

    predator_2
    Posts: 152
    November 1, 2009 at 4:42 am #65776

    thanks for the tips. Im gonna nurse my mallards through this season. I have cherry picked the best 2 dozen for the final half of the season. i plan on doin a bunch of diver huntin the next 4 days with maybe one puddler hunt mixed in. all i been doin is mostly mallard huntin. Time to shoot some cans and bills. Later

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