# goose decoy opinions



## hunting1 (Jan 29, 2010)

I have been floating on the site for awhile but have now found the new addicition of waterfowl. I was wondering if anyone out there has ever used Hard Core goose dekes. The price seems good at Cabelas but there are no reviews. Any help would be great. Thanks Andrew.


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## raisinrat (Feb 9, 2006)

Get a hold of DuckCommander on here, I think he runs them.


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## smoke (Jun 3, 2006)

Hardcores used to be GREAT decoys when Cory Hamrick and company made them, they had awesome detail, flocked heads, and poses that others did not yet have and the paint scheme was great as well. But they have gone through several ownership changes and since then I'm not sure about em. I did notice when I was in bass pro that the paint seemed to shine under the lights of the store bad! SO what they will do in the sun is anyones guess. I have 6 or 7 dozen from 2000 that I still use everytime I'm out. Plus I have several dozen full body ducks as well from 1999 or 2000. 

IMO you just can't beat a bigfoot decoy. They withstand all the harsh treatment I could ever give em and never let me down. They are decoys that you can hunt/guide over them all season long, mistreat em throw them in the trailer and they keep on taken the abuse. I also have several higdons that have held up great too. Taken blasts from 12 ga. BB from 15 yards and other than sounding like a maraca sp? they are fine. 

On another note: IF I was going to start over again and replace my spread, I would buy 2 - 3 dozen Dave Smith decoys. And that is all you would need.................... 

Smoke


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## hunting1 (Jan 29, 2010)

Where can I find these Dave Smith decoys? Local or online?


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## GoneFishin (Jan 11, 2001)

Floater or field decoys?

For floaters I really like my Big Foots. Durable and they look good on the water.

For field hunting, as said above ya can't beat BF's for durability and they require little care. We started with BF's and they are still part of our spread.

Most of our FB decoys are GHG FFD Honkers and Lessers, they require more care, bagging, etc., but look better in the field IMO. We've been steadily switching our new purchases to the Lesser type decoys as they take up less space and don't weigh as much if ya have to tote 'em.


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## lewy149 (Apr 19, 2007)

way cheaper from rogers and when they ran em on sale last year they were 89.99 a six pack. the paint hold up pretty good. I ran em in regular decoy bags last year no slotted bags. I have 6 doz, Hardcore replaced a doz cause the paint was flaking off so they stand behind their product. As far a shine, We've hunted over them in the sun and never seemed to have a problem.


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## waterfowlhunter83 (Aug 10, 2005)

hunting1 said:


> Where can I find these Dave Smith decoys? Local or online?


Best to check with the guys over at DSD directly...there is usually a waiting list on DSD goose decoys, not to mention a large price tag.


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## DEDGOOSE (Jan 19, 2007)

Lot of good info in this thread.. 

Smoke covered some of the time line of HC, some say in 2003 I believe it was their detail rivaled DSD.. 

Lewy is right Rogers 115 a half dozen right now.. 

As for shine on decoys.. Pretty much any decoy including FFDs are gonna shine when the dew settles or you set them out in the frost.. 

Their are a ton of decoys on the market right now that look very realistic.. Each decoy has its fans and its nay sayers.. As some said, bigfoot are ultra durable and the addition of the new B2 line of decoys, it provides a smaller decoy that is easier to carry.. Another decoy I would consider is tanglefree, 100 bucks a half dozen at Rogers and look as realistic as pretty much any other deke. 

Smoke is right, if I too were to start from scratch I would own 3 dozen of the DSD with ACE technology.. IMO the most realistic and now with ACE, as durable as anything one could purchase.. The only problem 990 a dozen without shipping.. Here is your link http://www.davesmithdecoys.com/


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## 1fish (Oct 2, 2006)

Echoing some of the others on here, the old Hardcores were fantastic decoys. Some of the best poses and paint ever made in goose decoys.

The new ones... Well I think Rogers has them priced accordingly for the quality.

You're really talking details with a lot of this. For me, there's nothing on the market that I would buy over FFD's right now. But then we have a large spread that we've been building for years, decades, and gradually phased out our other decoys to now all FFD's, along with some of the old Hardcores in the unique poses.

But depending on the type of hunting you're doing, honestly I think you'd be better off with less decoys/higher quality vs. more decoys/lower quality.

But if all you can afford to spend is $100-$130 bucks, I'd still take the Avery pro-grades over the new Hardcores. Get a harvester pack of 6, and you're in the game. You can and will kill geese over 6 full bodies more successfully than you think... 

Then as finances allow, start picking up a few more here and there as you find things on sale and you'll be in great shape before ya know it.


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## 1fish (Oct 2, 2006)

GoneFishin said:


> We've been steadily switching our new purchases to the Lesser type decoys as they take up less space and don't weigh as much if ya have to tote 'em.


 
Same here for the same reasons listed above. May not seem like much, but death marches over chisel plow and that little bit of difference can be a considerable factor. With the full size dekes, I can manage two bags of decoys at a time. With the lessers, I can do three with pretty much the same effort. When it comes to walking out into a field, even one less back and forth trip is HUGE. 

Another advantage is the movement of the lessers over the full size. The full size FFD's seem to require a pretty stiff breeze to get them to move at all. The lessers really move nice in just a slight breeze.

The motion system on the Avery's seem to work the best out of the bunch from what I can tell. The big thing is that the motion system allows for a "wobble" as well as side to side. Most of the others seem to be limited to a "flat" side to side range of motion. 

To me at least that little bit of "wobble" really adds to the overall appearance.


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## MCMANN (Jan 13, 2010)

we run all hardcores floater and full bodys

IMO they are as good as any ghg decoy on the market they both have paint issues 

the hardcores for the price are a great decoy and will kill you the same amount of birds as any other decoy on the market

like stated rogers is the place to shop

if you want the best decoy out there for the abuse it can take have to go with bigfeet
again IMO any FB dek will kill you the same amount of birds its all up to what your choice is 

good luck 

mike


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## lewy149 (Apr 19, 2007)

If you buy the Avery 12 slot full body mallard bag you can fit a doz hardcores in it and carry 2 doz in at a time also. The bases suck cause they are heavy but do work well, I'm buying stake for all of mine. For the price when they are on sale for 89 and then being able to buy one 30 dollar bag instead of 2 helps when your on a budget and they all kill geese, remember the most important part of all of this is hiding you and being on the x


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## Bellyup (Nov 13, 2007)

I have three dozen Hardcore I bought last winter from Rogers when they went on sale. So far so good, but they have only been used once at Todd's Farm. 

Just my opinion as I don't have a lot of field hunting experience, they are real easy to set up and take down. If you can leave the bases on, and drive in the field, much faster than the stakes and GHG ones. They are light too, I can carry 3 or 4 bags at a time, of 6 slot bags. I dunno abour the shine issue, or durability, but I plan to use them come NoDak time this year. The one time I did use them it was a snowy day, so shine was not an issue, and the round bases were great, the stakes needed a hole drilled in the ground for the dozen GHG I have to. 

All I do know is, these new full body decoys are expensive no matter what brand you buy. A fella can easily have 3K in a spread. Add hauling... almost need a trailer. I see why the folks who run 10 dozen each time out have a trailer.


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## billbuster1 (Jul 27, 2010)

dave smiths are by far the best looking and moste exspensive decoys but i like big foots and higdons


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## anon2192012 (Jul 27, 2008)

My spread consists of about 50/50 bigfoots and higdons. Great decoy that will stand up to years of abuse.


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## Branta (Feb 6, 2002)

nice Mkting spiel on the Dave Smith dekes.

makes me want to buy one just to beat the livin...[blank] out of it! 

just to see if it's all hype!


~~~~
I've got the ideal deke in me head, but to protect intellectual properties I'll refrain from commenting further! when I get it to market, it'll torpedo every other manufacturer!!


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## ggrybas (Mar 11, 2005)

I like/own Bigfoots. Put on some GHG flocked heads and they're good to go!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## GoneFishin (Jan 11, 2001)

Branta said:


> nice Mkting spiel on the Dave Smith dekes.
> 
> makes me want to buy one just to beat the livin...[blank] out of it!
> 
> just to see if it's all hype! ....


Got the DSD ACE turkey decoy I'll test the durability with that as one or two o' dem make a spread.  

At $900 a dozen for the goose decoys I'll wear out what I got first :lol: :lol: and save my Soc. Sec. money for gas and shotgun shells. 

If you can shoot Black Ducks over clumps of seaweed I'll take my chances on geese with my FFD's.


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## raisinrat (Feb 9, 2006)

GoneFishin said:


> If you can shoot Black Ducks over clumps of seaweed I'll take my chances on geese with my FFD's.


Branta you got to show those pics gain from that hunt.


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## BucksandDucks (May 25, 2010)

My spread has 1 doz older hardcores with crazy poses. Higdons, GHG FFD's, GHG standards, GHG shells, and when I really want to fill up a field Pro Series Real Geese Silo's. I'm equal opportunity on decoys


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## here2 (Apr 28, 2008)

hunter 1 is my cousin. he is talking about floaters only. the rest of us have the ducks, now he needs to step it up and get some floaters. 
tony


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## DEDGOOSE (Jan 19, 2007)

Their is one name in floating goose decoys and that is bigfoot.. I have watched GHG floaters split at the seams in freezing temperatures and sink to the bottom..


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

GoneFishin said:


> Got the DSD ACE turkey decoy I'll test the durability with that as one or two o' dem make a spread.
> 
> At $900 a dozen for the goose decoys I'll wear out what I got first :lol: :lol: and save my Soc. Sec. money for gas and shotgun shells.
> 
> If you can shoot Black Ducks over clumps of seaweed I'll take my chances on geese with my FFD's.


Oh come on, its only money. Look how awesome that turkey decoy works.:evilsmile

....And other than the bulk, i love my Big Foots.


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## mintgreenwalleyemachine (Jan 18, 2005)

We sold 12 dozen green head gear, and 5 dozen fa full bodies and picked up 15 dozen hardcores. They look like they will hold up better then the others.The old spread was a little worn out! If you run hard cores get the new hardcore 6 slot bags the decoy fits in the bag with the stakes attached to the decoy. This will make for a quick set up. Areter new goose spread consists fo 15 doz hardcore full bodies, 6 dozen green head oversize shells, 5 doz hard core floater,1 doz bigfoot floaters,2 doz fa floaters, and 3 doz herters floaters! We went to slot bags for everything thing this year and seems to be a sweet way to store and transport the decoys. Good luck this season!


Mike


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## GoneFishin (Jan 11, 2001)

adam bomb said:


> Oh come on, its only money. Look how awesome that turkey decoy works.:evilsmile .....


Ya "Silver Toughed Devil" Adam, ya already talked me into a $120 decoy, then a $750 shotgun, and now you're workin' on some $900 a dozen goose decoys. :yikes: :yikes: I'd have ta remortgage the house ta purchase a spread of them things. :lol: :lol: 

Yeah,yeah, I know the mortgage rates are the lowest they've been in years.


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## adam bomb (Feb 27, 2006)

GoneFishin said:


> Ya "Silver Toughed Devil" Adam, ya already talked me into a $120 decoy, then a $750 shotgun, and now you're workin' on some $900 a dozen goose decoys. :yikes: :yikes: I'd have ta remortgage the house ta purchase a spread of them things. :lol:
> 
> Yeah,yeah, I know the mortgage rates are the lowest they've been in years.


:lol::lol:

I knew youd like that!


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## Branta (Feb 6, 2002)

raisinrat said:


> Branta you got to show those pics gain from that hunt.



even greeners like 'em-


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## schuttie2121 (Mar 25, 2010)

personally i really dont think it matters what decoys you use as long as you are where the geese are at, and you are covered up... it does help though to have some movement and most of the ghg and hc give you taht but to mix in some more I like the deadly decoys they are like a wind sock so on breezy days it gives you a lot of movement and you can get a lot of them in to your spread and they are about $90 for a dozen you can also use them on not so windy days to cuz they have soome sort of fin in the sock to keep them full body and not droopy


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## sean (May 7, 2002)

smoke said:


> Hardcores used to be GREAT decoys when Cory Hamrick and company made them, they had awesome detail, flocked heads, and poses that others did not yet have and the paint scheme was great as well. But they have gone through several ownership changes and since then I'm not sure about em. I did notice when I was in bass pro that the paint seemed to shine under the lights of the store bad! SO what they will do in the sun is anyones guess. I have 6 or 7 dozen from 2000 that I still use everytime I'm out. Plus I have several dozen full body ducks as well from 1999 or 2000.
> 
> IMO you just can't beat a bigfoot decoy. They withstand all the harsh treatment I could ever give em and never let me down. They are decoys that you can hunt/guide over them all season long, mistreat em throw them in the trailer and they keep on taken the abuse. I also have several higdons that have held up great too. Taken blasts from 12 ga. BB from 15 yards and other than sounding like a maraca sp? they are fine.
> 
> ...


My brother Kevlar and I were talking about this the other day. We have GHG dekes and if we were to buy any other dekes it would be Bigfoots. We have a buch of buddies that have had them for years and you can literally throw em in the decoy trailer for years and seems like they never get scratched and hold there paint well. Pintail Charlie bought some Hardcores from Rogers last year and I like them alot and they look sweet, just havent hunted with anybody that has had alot of "use" on them over the years to tell you if the paint holds up....but if Mcmahon says they hold up well, as much as he hunts then I would say thats a solid pick too. Good luck


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## goosebustr79 (Jan 18, 2005)

I have 28 dozen Avery full bodies in the trailer. They are a mix of Pro-grades, FFD's and FFD lesser's. Really considering a re-rig right now. I believe that the avery's are not as effective in our area now. Everyone is running GHG's around us and I think that they are getting wise. I am considering the hardcores as well as the dakota decoy's. I had hardcore's in the past and loved the posture's and we killed a lot of bird's over em. The only problem was the paint did not hold up. Kinda leaning towards Dakota's, but not sold yet. I hate to to do it. the decoy's I have aren't even 3 year's old yet. Also heard rumor of a new decoy gonna hit the market next year.


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## FullBody (Nov 4, 2008)

goosebustr79 said:


> Also heard rumor of a new decoy gonna hit the market next year.


Heard it out of the horses mouth the other day. We'll see...


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## here2 (Apr 28, 2008)

FLOATERS!!! 

branta i do like you dekes though, how much for like 2 doz. with bags? and do you have a floater model?

tony


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## Branta (Feb 6, 2002)

they do make a floater;

bottom is cork, top is a half cylinder of chicken wire - you just stuff the weed in there and you're good to go!

(all kidding aside, I've never seen a better attractant for blacks. absolutely deadly. we pounded them out of that old field for days straight - and not a speck of grain in it)


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