Decoys?????

[tdaggett]

I have been away from hunting for a lot more years than I care to think about due to the nature of my work. Thankfully, I've been able to get back to it in the last couple years in time to introduce my 14 year old to it, and need to re-equip. We've got flooded rice and green timber in East central Ark to hunt. Anyone have suggestions or favorite brands of decoys? Just curious what everyone feels works best for them.

[Rice]

Green Head Gear are by far the best dekes IMO

[hntrpat1]

Or G&H can't go wrong with those two.

[SFDdelta1]

[Unkljohn]

[tdaggett]

Thanks for the input. I had been leaning toward the GHG and G&H already. Makes me feel smarter to have others validate my thoughts. I didn't realize how much I had missed the duck hunting until getting back to it the last couple years. It's going to take a lot of creative accounting to hide all the $$ for the goodies from the wife. Anyone know where I can hide a Rhino, a couple Benellis, and a couple hundred dekes?

[GulfCoast]

I have been very pleased with G&H, have some that I got when I got out of school, and they still have good paint. I think I have had 2 heads pop off in 20 years, and lost a couple "eyes." One of my partners has a couple dozen of the Cabela's decoys and I really like those, too.

The biggest issue with decoys, by far, is keeping your nutcase hunting buddies from shooting them full of holes. LET THE DOG GET IT!!!

[wsmith7t7]

tell u what.. give me ur phone # and i will give u directions to my house.. i will hold onto them for ya!

[cheeko]

Greenhead or herters

[jtdumallard]

i have the cabelas real image dekes and really like them. in a spread that has a variety of diff kinds of dekes they really stand out above the rest with the size and colors

[MemphisStockBroker]

That's a heck of a haul from Mobile, AL to Arkansas !

I don't like GreenHead / Avery as their decoys are way too heavy. And rumors have it that they have had paint problems.

I have some Flambeau's that my dad bought in the 70's that are still being used. G&H's are awesome... Would not be surprised to see some made by Drake coming out soon...

BTW, my dad is a neighbor of yours. He lives in Satsuma.

[Buckwabit]

[crow]

I just saw some great Herters mallard decoys. They looked great and weren't too bad on price, either.

[Anatidae]

I'm sorry....I can't pass-up this opportunity.....

If I were going to rig-up to hunt a rice field......I believe I'd go with Flambeau Magnums. I don't have any myself because I river hunt primarily, and G&H seems to work better for us.

I say Flambeau Magnums because of the action they get in the wind.......best I've ever seen (and I've seen rigs in shallow water that had 5-6 different types and brands of decoys.......the FlamMags just caught my eye, instantly. They tack side-to-side and won't lay over on their side when they change direction.

Now for the second part........to say GHG's are the best decoy made is too general a statement IMO and emphasizes blatant partiality based on the fact that that's what you use.......therefore it must the best.

I think it depends on your hunting style......how you rig'em......whether you walk-in, swim-in, boat-in.........whether you hunt in 6" of water or need something that has a keel and tie-offs that allows for ajustable depths to 20 feet.......whether you pick'em-up every day or leave'em out all season..........whether you have $200 or $20,000 discretionary income per season.........whether you put your decoys in individually triple-padded slotted bags (because you paid $50 apiece for them).....or dump 3 dozen in a French & Sons bag and never tie it shut for the haul in/out. There's just too many variables that would prevent one decoy from being the best there is.

But I remain of the opinion that GHG's are over-priced, over-weight, over-marketed, and over-rated when it comes to realism, durability, function, value, and portability........emphasis on 'over'. GHG has and will continue to make improvements in their products......but right now, they are only competitive in the decoy market primarily because of marketing and to some degree, appearence.......not function.

[hntrpat1]

French and son is no more