Looking to buy duck decoys

[Sprite]

My diver spread is GHG and wish I had the same good fortune. In the past two seasons (keeping in mind I hunt divers almost exclusively come Mid-November), I have had about a third of my spread break or falling apart in one way or another. I'm not gentle, but I'm not purposely rough. When something goes wrong, I do a temp fix to try to make it through the next hunt. I was thinking of trying to blow them all full of foam just so they continue to float. I run everything on long lines and store in slotted bags.

1. I've had 4-5 (at least) bottoms crack on bluebills and buffies. There may be some seam cracking because there is water in the decoy, but can't find it.

2.The paint is flaking off a number of dekes. One buffy after just two hunts. Not a huge deal to me because I think divers are less selective, but my spread isn't as pretty as it once was.



The goldeneyes have survived alright.

I've noticed the same thing with my GHG divers. I've been phasing them out and incorporating the foamers that I have into my spread. I'm not near as hard on my puddlers for early season; they seem to be holding up fine after 3 seasons.

-Nick

[Dead Ringer]

I've got bluebill, ringers and wigeon with removable keels. I've had leaks develop at the keel on all three species. Also, I lost a few keels before I started gluing them all on.

Why anyone would make removable keels on divers is beyond me.

[Jay-Bird]

I've got bluebill, ringers and wigeon with removable keels. I've had leaks develop at the keel on all three species. Also, I lost a few keels before I started gluing them all on.

Why anyone would make removable keels on divers is beyond me.

GOSH Ringer,
It's so we can field hunt them. Lol.

[Dead Ringer]

GOSH Ringer,
It's so we can field hunt them. Lol.

Never thought of that! Guess I had better not put keels on this year's batch of squaw, whistlers and buffie foamers!

[Sprite]

Never thought of that! Guess I had better not put keels on this year's batch of squaw, whistlers and buffie foamers!

Next I'm buying some full body Surf Scoters for early season sod field hunting.

[Sinker]

I have busted keels on a lot of GHG decoys. They split where the keel attaches, and they're pretty much decorations. I've sealed some of them up with goop, but they still leak. The keels on them suck. I also have higdon geese that have keel problems.

A buddy of mine runs a full mixed spread of FA floaters, and they are a nice looking decoy, but same issues with the keels.

The tangle free divers I got last fall held up well so far. We'll see how many seasons I get out of them. The nice thing is they don't sink when/if they break. The paint is a little too white on the bills and redheads, but they work. I have no complaints with them yet, and we are hard on gear.

My collection of out of commision decoys are 80% GHG, 20% higdon. The bigfoots and tanglefree floaters are all still fine

All that said, foamers are the way to go. No screwing around with sinking decoys and keels. They don't have to look pretty either

S.

[boilerguy2412]

your always going to run into problems hunting in the cold with plastic decoys. I am sure i am just like everyone else here i don't really feel like babying my decoys but i started my goldeneye decoy collection 6 years ago and I hunt at least twice a week after Nov. 1 and there always in my spread. I have fixed the pellet holes with Shoegoo and they float great and the paint is still in fairly good shape.

Like most diver hunters here I wish i could afford to shoot over Cedar's or foam decoys but my budget's don't allow that.

I have about 40 old carrylite bluebills that I still shoot over today, wish I could find some newer one's of those because those are the best plastic floaters i have come across. I guess decoys are no different then most things now a days, they just don't make em like they used to

[Sinker]

Yep, those old carrylites are tough! They're not pretty, but I've killed more ducks over them than any other brand of decoys by far! I wish I never sold them all off to "upgrade"!!

S.

[Frosty]

Back from the dead - I know - but whats everyone gonna be running for goose, puddlers and diving decoys this year.

That old thread was such a good read I thought it would be interesting to see what everyone had to say a year later lol....

For me its Big Foot Field geese, Big Foot Field mallards, Dakota goose floaters, Tanglefree Migration divers and a mix of Dakota and Avian-x mallards.

Why - the Field Foots are indestructible, the Dakota goose floaters look incredible and the paint is second to none on a floater, Tanglefree divers are all I can afford and seem to be quite durable TBD..(would love to have a rig of foamers), Dakota Mallards - same reasons as the floater geese but I do think that they look a little unusually "aggressive, steroidal even, don't know how to explain it" so I'm softening the spread this year by adding a dozen Avian-X, 6 open water/ 6 back water, they look great, lets see if they are as durable as the Dakotas.

[TurkeyRookie]

Hoping to pick up a box of Dakota Decoy X-Treme Mallards when I head south from CWS.