# Decoy Question. . . Expensive Dekes Worth It?



## Dogwood (Dec 15, 2004)

I hunt puddle ducks in the managed areas and have always used basic Flambeau water keel dekes with decent success. Are the higher end dekes, be they cork, plastic with more detailed "paint", UV paint, or any other style/brand really worth the extra expense? I'm willing to spend the extra dough if the consensus supports it. What say ye and thanks for your input!

Dogwood


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## bigfishcatcher3 (Nov 26, 2010)

I think there is a definite difference when hunting educated birds. Opening day of goose season you could probably do pretty good using the wood silhouettes. Later in the season when these birds have been pressured a lot I think better (more expensive) decoys can make a big difference. 
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If your comfortable spending that kind of money and hunt enough to get your money out of them. I would consider it.


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## DEDGOOSE (Jan 19, 2007)

With geese at least its pretty well established that a guy with only 2 or 3 DSD honkers can pull nearly every flock of geese off guys with 2-3 hundred other branded full bodies all day long even when the other guys are on the X.


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## field-n-feathers (Oct 20, 2008)

DEDGOOSE said:


> With geese at least its pretty well established that a guy with only 2 or 3 DSD honkers can pull nearly every flock of geese off guys with 2-3 hundred other branded full bodies all day long even when the other guys are on the X.


LOL! :lol: Even funnier.....some people out there believe that.


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## limige (Sep 2, 2005)

Not all but some.

For geese nice motion setups, flocking easy to assemble are great points. Same with materials and brittleness in cold weather. Big foots aren't the best looking but will look pretty much the same 20 yrs from now. 

Ducks on the other hand, foamers are great layout hunting but suck for having to walk in your decoys. Hot buys mallards have low heads and are tough to wrap a cord around them and the keels are tough to wind cord on. The magnums on the other hand are better.

Some old dekes will turn yellow over time.
Flocking can pay on sunny days but sucks in freezing weather.

I look for a decoy will different head positions and good coloring but I doubt the birds care. Much.

Educated birds suck no matter what. Proper calling and concealment matter just as much as a realistic spread.


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## rentalrider (Aug 8, 2011)

as far as ducks, I look for longevity. mine take abuse. the better finishes (not nec. the most expensive decoy, but often seems that way) last longer and are therefore more cost effective to me.


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## BFG (Mar 4, 2005)

Depends on how you hunt IMO. If you are carrying them on your back, they are going to get beat to hell, so why pay all that extra money? 

But........................

Just like anything else, there are those who appreciate the extra effort and investment it takes to own higher end items. Decoys are surely no different. 

If I could afford a trailer full of Dave Smith goose decoys, I would have them in a heartbeat. But I haul my decoys on my back, and I have to walk into my spots. Soo...I use Real Geese, and yep...we shoot a lot of geese over them every single year (last year be damned), but I would like to do a test and see if we could kill just as many with 1/4 of the number of DSD's. 

My best duck success at managed area success has come on days when I carried 6-9 super mag size quality decoys (i.e. restle goose bodies painted as blacks), had no spinner, and I hid myself insanely good, almost to the point it was uncomfortable. Lots of guys I see at SGA's walk out to their zone, toss out 2 dozen beat to hell plastic decoys, 5 roto ducks, and then back into the weeds directly up-wind of the kill hole. That'll work...on the opener, or on really, really ducky days..but it doesn't work so well on average.


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## FullBody (Nov 4, 2008)

"You get what you pay for" holds true with decoys in my opinion.


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## anon2192012 (Jul 27, 2008)

I think a depends too on how many dekes you are using. Less quantity- more quality. More quantity- less quality.

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## SBE II (Jan 13, 2009)

field-n-feathers said:


> LOL! :lol: Even funnier.....some people out there believe that.


X2.....


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## sthiede (Aug 31, 2004)

IMO size matters...go big or go home!


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## jonesy16 (Sep 19, 2011)

From experience, avery green head gear decoys fall apart. A few of mine out of two dozen leaked at the keel and a few others had paint chipping badly. Updated to dakota decoys and some higdon black duck mag foam filled.


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## sswhitelightning (Dec 14, 2004)

I think the decoy that looks the most realistic and the most durable. I love the realism of GHG duck decoys. I know some people have had paint issues with them but i am hard on my equipment and mine are still working great. No leaks cracks or any other defect. Paint does where off but so does every decoy i own. I have also bought a few dakota dekes and had good luck with them. Foam dekes are nice for diver hunting too if your buddies aim at the wrong bird. I do take the time to clean and properly store my more expensive dekes. I buy cheap decoys as fillers when i want to add more to a spread. I also paint the cheaper mallard dekes as different species.


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## [email protected] (Mar 13, 2012)

DEDGOOSE said:


> With geese at least its pretty well established that a guy with only 2 or 3 DSD honkers can pull nearly every flock of geese off guys with 2-3 hundred other branded full bodies all day long even when the other guys are on the X.


Really? Pm me, I'd like to talk to u more bout the DSD. Shrubby

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## SBE II (Jan 13, 2009)

sswhitelightning said:


> I think the decoy that looks the most realistic and the most durable. I love the realism of GHG duck decoys. I know some people have had paint issues with them but i am hard on my equipment and mine are still working great. No leaks cracks or any other defect. Paint does where off but so does every decoy i own. I have also bought a few dakota dekes and had good luck with them. Foam dekes are nice for diver hunting too if your buddies aim at the wrong bird. I do take the time to clean and properly store my more expensive dekes. I buy cheap decoys as fillers when i want to add more to a spread. I also paint the cheaper mallard dekes as different species.


I find this amusing and backwards...:gaga:


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## DEDGOOSE (Jan 19, 2007)

jonesy16 said:


> From experience, avery green head gear decoys fall apart. A few of mine out of two dozen leaked at the keel and a few others had paint chipping badly. Updated to dakota decoys and some higdon black duck mag foam filled.


Few????? One toss on shore and the keel separates :rant: I tried a dozen Higdon foam filled last year and have nothing but good say.. 





[email protected] said:


> Really? Pm me, I'd like to talk to u more bout the DSD. Shrubby
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


Nothing I cant say on the forum.. You ever have 5 or 6 geese come in look everything over, get confused than land in the next field over.. Every flock of geese after that see this small flock and land with them without even giving you a look.. Well its the same thing with DSD, they look at your spread and with their ultra realism they pull geese away from even live geese, its hard to believe but true but they look more realistic to a goose than a live goose.. Now with Avian X putting out decoys that are so realistic you differentiate males from females you can really key in on geese that have loss their mates after a few days of season by putting out a skewed percentage of females to males or vice a versa based on what you have shot for sexes in the proceeding days.. They may breed for life but at the loss of a mate they sure are in a hurry to find another and capitalizing on this will put more birds in your truck. 

Avian X has changed the game for early season as well.. Those days you struggle and wonder what happened as you have family groups set up with one or two full size honkers and than a handful of lesser dekes making up their brood.. Well what in the world happened? You had two male or female large geese with the brood and not a male and a female.. The geese realize this and want no part of that rainbow convention and get out of dodge.. Granted I am in N MI, but from what I hear from hunters in and around Saugatuck they prefer a male and a male or female and female.. 

Essentially DSD raised the game, but now Avian X with male and female decoys have taken it yet to a higher level.


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## Timber (Jan 1, 2009)

For puddle ducks 1 decoy GHG. For divers a quality foam decoy burlapped; or restle coated.

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## BFG (Mar 4, 2005)

> Nothing I cant say on the forum.. You ever have 5 or 6 geese come in look everything over, get confused than land in the next field over.. Every flock of geese after that see this small flock and land with them without even giving you a look.. Well its the same thing with DSD, they look at your spread and with their ultra realism they pull geese away from even live geese, its hard to believe but true but they look more realistic to a goose than a live goose.. Now with Avian X putting out decoys that are so realistic you differentiate males from females you can really key in on geese that have loss their mates after a few days of season by putting out a skewed percentage of females to males or vice a versa based on what you have shot for sexes in the proceeding days.. They may breed for life but at the loss of a mate they sure are in a hurry to find another and capitalizing on this will put more birds in your truck.
> 
> Avian X has changed the game for early season as well.. Those days you struggle and wonder what happened as you have family groups set up with one or two full size honkers and than a handful of lesser dekes making up their brood.. Well what in the world happened? You had two male or female large geese with the brood and not a male and a female.. The geese realize this and want no part of that rainbow convention and get out of dodge.. Granted I am in N MI, but from what I hear from hunters in and around Saugatuck they prefer a male and a male or female and female..
> 
> Essentially DSD raised the game, but now Avian X with male and female decoys have taken it yet to a higher level.


Man...I am balls deep in the sarcasm drippage here....thanks for the chuckle.


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## Critter (Mar 3, 2006)

DEDGOOSE said:


> Nothing I cant say on the forum.. You ever have 5 or 6 geese come in look everything over, get confused than land in the next field over.. Every flock of geese after that see this small flock and land with them without even giving you a look.. Well its the same thing with DSD, they look at your spread and with their ultra realism they pull geese away from even live geese, its hard to believe but true but they look more realistic to a goose than a live goose.. Now with Avian X putting out decoys that are so realistic you differentiate males from females you can really key in on geese that have loss their mates after a few days of season by putting out a skewed percentage of females to males or vice a versa based on what you have shot for sexes in the proceeding days.. They may breed for life but at the loss of a mate they sure are in a hurry to find another and capitalizing on this will put more birds in your truck.
> 
> Avian X has changed the game for early season as well.. Those days you struggle and wonder what happened as you have family groups set up with one or two full size honkers and than a handful of lesser dekes making up their brood.. Well what in the world happened? You had two male or female large geese with the brood and not a male and a female.. The geese realize this and want no part of that rainbow convention and get out of dodge.. Granted I am in N MI, but from what I hear from hunters in and around Saugatuck they prefer a male and a male or female and female..
> 
> Essentially DSD raised the game, but now Avian X with male and female decoys have taken it yet to a higher level.


This is good info Tom. Thanks a bunch. I will be selling my bigfoots and switching to the proper mix of Avian X sexed decoys.


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## anon2192012 (Jul 27, 2008)

DEDGOOSE said:


> Few????? One toss on shore and the keel separates :rant: I tried a dozen Higdon foam filled last year and have nothing but good say..
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I run all higdon foam filled and also have nothing but good things to say about them. Just ordered some higdon foam filled wood ducks too I'm excited to get my hands on.

Also had great luck with higdons customer service.

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