# Higdon Foam Filled Mallards-Standard Size



## michiganoutdoorsman (Dec 29, 2010)

Has anyone used the foam filled mallards from Higdon? Are they worth the money or should I think about getting other decoys? Also, these decoys don't come in different positions. Do you really need different head and body postures for pot hole hunting or is any old position gonna pull birds in? Thanks for any help!


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## anon2192012 (Jul 27, 2008)

Any positions will pull birds, personally I just like the way a variety looks. I have the higdon foam filled mallards with swivel heads and the fully flocked ones. I also have the foam filled wood ducks. Nothing but good things to say about them.

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## DEDGOOSE (Jan 19, 2007)

I hunted a dozen last year whether they were standard, they were small.. I will never buy GHG again.. Awesome decoy.


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## smoke (Jun 3, 2006)

Look into the Dakota flocked head mallards. They've got them in Rogers for $133.99 a dozen and I saw some of them my neighbor got, awesome looking blocks!

I have seen the higdons up close and hunted over them and they do look awesome. But a couple I saw had a pink hue to them? Not sure if it was caused by sun fadeing them or what, but it didn't seem to bother the ducks that came in? 

How much are the Higdons running now per dozen? 
S


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## bc21 (Dec 15, 2010)

smoke said:


> Look into the Dakota flocked head mallards. They've got them in Rogers for $133.99 a dozen and I saw some of them my neighbor got, awesome looking blocks!
> 
> I have seen the higdons up close and hunted over them and they do look awesome. But a couple I saw had a pink hue to them? Not sure if it was caused by sun fadeing them or what, but it didn't seem to bother the ducks that came in?
> 
> ...


I checked out the Higdon's when I was at Cabela's last weekend and they were pretty nice, but I definitely don't think they're as nice looking as the Dakotas. 

Speaking of the Dakotas... I would have to say that I like the painted heads more than the flocked heads. I have a few painted heads on mine just to see how they look and based on what I saw during the youth hunt last weekend the painted look way better than the flocked IMO.


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## michiganoutdoorsman (Dec 29, 2010)

Thanks for the help guys! Smoke- they're $55/dz so I figured for that price you couldn't go wrong! Those Dakota's look awesome but I don't want to spend that kind of money for just a dz mallard dekes. GHG's were out of the picture for me as well because the paint never seems to hold up.


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## smoke (Jun 3, 2006)

michiganoutdoorsman said:


> Thanks for the help guys! Smoke- they're $55/dz so I figured for that price you couldn't go wrong! Those Dakota's look awesome but I don't want to spend that kind of money for just a dz mallard dekes. GHG's were out of the picture for me as well because the paint never seems to hold up.


I completely understand your position on the price. They are pricey but one interesting thing I noticed about the decoys. The hens were molded with brown plastic and the drake heads were molded from green plastic while the bodies were molded from gray. I feel that scratches etc. are not going to show up nearly as bad becasue of that. 

For $79.00 more you get a seemingly better decoy, with 7 drakes and 5 hens. The hens have 2 different positions in a group of 5. The drakes have at least 3 different head positions per 7 count. A rester, preener and looker. Also the dozen come with 7 extra drake heads painted with green/black and a purple hue to them. So you get 12 decoys 19 heads? 

Smoke


_*Disclamier: I am in no way, shape or form, affiliated with these companies. This is just my opinion on these two different decoys. *_


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## michiganoutdoorsman (Dec 29, 2010)

Maybe I'll get a dozen or 2 of the Dakota's and some Higdon's as filler decoys? The options are endless


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## San V. Sasse (Aug 19, 2010)

I would hate to back pack in those as they seemed pretty heavy to me. Everyone has their preference on which brand they prefer. I have had my GHG's for four years and they look like they came out of the box yesterday. You just need to treat any brand of decoy with a little TLC unless you like spending money year after year. Just my .02.


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## Quack Wacker (Dec 20, 2006)

I own a bunch of their diver decoys. More detail, solid paint and indistructable. Would buy more if needed over others. 

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## hankrt (Nov 7, 2007)

We have 4 dozen Blue Bills and they are Awesome!! Great deal for the money too!! Undestructable too!!


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## DEDGOOSE (Jan 19, 2007)

San V. Sasse said:


> I would hate to back pack in those as they seemed pretty heavy to me. Everyone has their preference on which brand they prefer. I have had my GHG's for four years and they look like they came out of the box yesterday. You just need to treat any brand of decoy with a little TLC unless you like spending money year after year. Just my .02.


Yeah the foam they use is heavier than he!! surprised they float:lol:.. If weight is such an issue for you and a High buying criteria I would recommend these Feather Flex all Foam mallards weighing in at just over 2 lbs per dozen.. Heck you could fold a dozen of these up and place them in your fanny pack.









Would gladly swap out all my broken GHGs for new ones and the reason I replaced them with Higdons with every GHG eventually cracks in the keel area from tossing on to shore.. Can you help me with your connections.


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## San V. Sasse (Aug 19, 2010)

DEDGOOSE said:


> Yeah the foam they use is heavier than he!! surprised they float:lol:.. If weight is such an issue for you and a High buying criteria I would recommend these Feather Flex all Foam mallards weighing in at just over 2 lbs per dozen.. Heck you could fold a dozen of these up and place them in your fanny pack.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I weigh 180 lbs. so I don't think their is a weight issue with me . Like I said in the previous post....if you treat any brand of decoy with some TLC they will last many years to come.

Ahhh...for the broken keels, I would say throwing them on the shore is what most likely broke the keels. Can't help you there.


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## DEDGOOSE (Jan 19, 2007)

San V. Sasse said:


> I would hate to back pack in those as they seemed pretty heavy to me.





San V. Sasse said:


> I weigh 180 lbs. so I don't think their is a weight issue with me .


Ok you lost me here "you would hate to pack them in because of weight, but at 180 lbs the weight of a decoy is not an issue..  So the weight is an issue but considering you weigh 180 lbs you would only recommend them for hunters 180lbs and above..  Gotcha 

[/QUOTE]


San V. Sasse said:


> Ahhh...for the broken keels, I would say throwing them on the shore is what most likely broke the keels. Can't help you there.


And I have not had the paint and flocking issues that are so common on the internet with the company you represent.. But if I cannot toss decoys on a grass bank they are junk.. At least with Higdons if a seam splits the foam will hold them up.. Still remember a day on the river with Avery goose floaters, temp was single digits and slowly our spread became part of the bottom as the seams split to the cold. Thank god I bought bigfoots.


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## michiganoutdoorsman (Dec 29, 2010)

I think I'm going with the Higdons after hearing about seams splitting and keels breaking...


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## anon2192012 (Jul 27, 2008)

Not a bad choice. Check out Gander mountain online. Not a fan of the store but its free shipping if the price is competitive.

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## michiganoutdoorsman (Dec 29, 2010)

Ok I'll do that! Thanks for the help man!


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## k seigneurie (Feb 5, 2007)

Called Dakota decoys yesterday and told him I had a leak in one of my mallards, so he is sending me one. No questions asked, now that's standing behind your product. I have a dozen GHG hot buys and two of them leak! They will not replace them.


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## TSS Caddis (Mar 15, 2002)

I don't think it unreasonable at all to expect a sturdy decoy that doesn't have to be put into a velvet sack to continue to look good.

I've only had a couple issues in 30 years of hunting, cracked keels on some eyes and some teal that turned into eclipse plumage after the first hunt, same brand. I don't own many of that brand but that is the only brand I've ever had issues with. I'm a sucker though and ordered some of their new foam filled old squaw that were supposed to be shipped Sept 1st, just got an email from cabelas that they are now expecting them Nov 1. Does the companies management even duck hunt? What duck gear mfg has products that don't show up till duck season is half over? Probably got stuck in China.


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## DEDGOOSE (Jan 19, 2007)

TSS Caddis said:


> \
> I'm a sucker though and ordered some of their new foam filled old squaw that were supposed to be shipped Sept 1st, just got an email from cabelas that they are now expecting them Nov 1. Does the companies management even duck hunt? What duck gear mfg has products that don't show up till duck season is half over? Probably got stuck in China.


I am curious as well about the new Honker and Tim Newbold lessers.. Both have predominantly been displayed in major catalogs for weeks, yet no one can get their hands on them.. If I remember these decoys take up 3 pages of Cabelas catalog and essentially all of Macks full body goose decoys as they are in a snuggy together.. Yet when does it all end, neither company surely has sufficient backstock from last year to satisfy this years demand.. If I were these two retailers I would deny the shipment when it came, other companies are producing equal or better product and not consistently having these problems.. 

On a sidenote: Maybe our resident prostaffers can fill me in.. I have seen where avery has mentioned changing the new decoys nobody has had there hands on, next year to the flexible material that the heads of the new "nobody has had their hands on decoys" and in encompassing the whole body in this material.. So would it be better to wait a year to consider these decoys, or maybe two at Averys pace, or is this just a rumor.


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## KLR (Sep 2, 2006)

http://i.imgur.com/qB7b6.gif


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## BangBangBang (Mar 30, 2011)

those foam higdons are nice and you can't beat the price- which is probably why I couldn't find them ANYWHERE th last two years in a row after about 3rd week of Oct.
They sell out fast (why in hell Higdon don't make more!?!?!?) everywhere.


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## Bellyup (Nov 13, 2007)

I have to agree with Caddis. If I can't gently toss a decoy onto the shore without fear of it breaking, it is no good to me. When I have two or three dozen in a bag and remove them from the boat, do you think the bag is gently set down from the height of the boat on the trailer ? They better be able to hold up to everyday use. Seams splitting in the cold suck. But I think any decoy could have that issue. There are only so many cost effective materials out there to make them out of. If you thought they were expensive now....

I own GHG, Dakota's, Cabelas Real image, G&H, and Carrylite. Oh, and Sport Plast, those surface feeding with the long necks. I have had an issue with every brand I have used, but one brand does stand out with more issues than the rest. Given that, I rate them more on customer service than anything else. I will say the one that has given me the least amount of trouble is the Dakota Flocked Head floater mallards. 

Does GHG make the Cabela's real image ?


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## jonesy16 (Sep 19, 2011)

Does GHG make the Cabela's real image ?[/QUOTE]



I think Avery makes the Cabela's real image. It looks like the same keel on the GHG cheap stuff.


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## michiganoutdoorsman (Dec 29, 2010)

Should I buy the full size or standard size? DEDGOOSE, you said standard was pretty small?


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## anon2192012 (Jul 27, 2008)

michiganoutdoorsman said:


> Should I buy the full size or standard size? DEDGOOSE, you said standard was pretty small?


If it's in the budget get the full size. 

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## DEDGOOSE (Jan 19, 2007)

Huntermax-4 said:


> If it's in the budget get the full size.
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


My thoughts as well, Standard are about like a Hot Buy 15" or so.. 

THey work well for me texas rigged for a couple small pot holes and river spots. But for a better all around decoy go with the larger ones


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## michiganoutdoorsman (Dec 29, 2010)

That's what I'll do! Thanks for the help guys!


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