Find a complete selection of duck decoys from Greenhead Gear, Carry-Lite, Bigfoot, Flambeau, and GHG including mallards, pintails, wood ducks, blue winged teal, blue bills and more in standard and magnum sizes. Complete selection of duck decoy accessories including Decoy Anchors And Rigging along with Duck Decoy Bags.
There are many factors to consider when choosing the best duck decoys besides just looks or cost. Decoy size, type of keel, species, construction, durability, and weight are all factors that should be considered when building different spreads. Whether the decoy is designed to work on the water or land is also important. Here are some of the considerations we make when purchasing duck decoys.
Duck decoys come in three sizes: Lifesize(standard), Over-Sized (magnums), and Super Magnums. The biggest differences between these decoys is of course visibiliy, weight, and cost. Unless I have to pack in decoys a long distance magnum decoys are my top choice. When it comes right down to it, the purpose of using duck decoys is to attract distant ducks, and then pull them into shotgun range. But if the ducks can't see your decoys from a distance then your decoys aren't going to do much for you. This is my reasoning for using magnum and super magnum sized decoys.
With movement being a key element in any successful spread water keels still have their place on days with light winds. A water keel decoy will move in the slightest of breezes. Water keels are also the lightest option for walk-in hunters and offer the greatest degree of mobility. The disadvantages are that on windy days they bob unrealistically on the water and do not self-upright in the water when tossed.
The benefits of a weighted keel include the decoys ability to self-right when tossed in the water and the decoy can ride the water the better in high winds without rolling. On the other hand carrying a bag full of weighted keel decoys on your back is much heavier in comparison to water keel decoys.
Two alternatives exist to hunt with the best floating decoy for the situation at hand. Either purchase water and weighted keel decoys, or buy all floaters and convert the keels back and forth as needed.
Many new duck hunters ask the question what specie of duck decoys should I buy? Ducks decoy best to the decoys of the same specie they are. When hunting mallards you need to use mallard decoys. If you are hunting bluebills you will want to use bluebill decoys. Even with a 100 decoys out being mallards, pintail, and wood ducks, I have observed wood ducks consistently landing with the wood duck decoys and the mallards with the mallard decoys.
From my experience hunting ducks over full body and shells on motion stakes in grain fields and along sand bars on rivers I have never observed a noticeable difference in performance between these two type of decoys. A big difference between the two styles is mobility and storage as shells are stackable. Without a doubt it is far easier to carry on foot or in a boat more shell decoys than full body decoys. Shells also take a lot less room when storing during the off-season. When using shell decoys I highly recommend using stakes as this really increases the visibility of the decoy to distant ducks and makes the decoy look more realistic.
Many years ago the first decoys were made from wood, then came along cork decoys. Both wood and cork hold paint very well, but both materials are very heavy and do not take very much abuse. Herter's introduced foam duck decoys with plastic heads with the benefits of being light and unsinkable. The draw back of foam is that it also does not hand abuse very well and does not hold paint very well. Plastic has become the mainstay material of modern duck decoys. Plastic is lightweight, holds paint well, is very durable, and in-expensive when compared to other materials. In summary for the majority of hunting situations I would recommend plastic duck decoys.
Nothing frustrated Jeff and I more than buying new decoys or repainting old decoys and having the paint chip or rub off. Using that frustration as motivation we looked into why we were getting paint chips and rubs and started experimenting with different products to use as a protective coating to save the paint job and we also started taking a look at the damage our decoy anchors we causing when it came to paint chips and rubs.
The first step we took was to try and find a product that would give the decoy paint a protective finish without a lot of glare. After spending a considerable amount of money and trying a lot of products, we found a product that has worked extremely well for us to provide a protective finish without a tremendous amount of shine or glare. (One thing to keep in mind about real ducks on the water, on sunny days they give off a natural sheen because of the water and feather oil, so don't be too concerned it you have some shine to your decoys. It will look natural on the water.) The product that we use is: Krylon 1311 Matt Finish that can be purchased at most Wal-Marts and home improvement stores.
Typically we will spray our decoys with 2 coats of the Matt-Finish but if these are decoys that will get a lot of abuse (i.e. carried in bags, tossed into boats) we'll give them up to 4 coats. Three years ago, Jeff M sprayed some new Avery life-size and over-sized mallard decoys with 4 coats and carried them in bags and threw them in boats and when we recently checked them they had only minimal chips and paint rub off. Once we have the original coat on we will then respray the decoys each year before then season begins.
The second step we took was to change the old decoy anchors we were using to Ace Anchors (Avery also has a new version of this anchor) which are L shaped decoy anchors with a bungee strap attached to the weight which allows the decoy anchor to stay firmly in place around keel. Because the weight stays firmly attached, you don't have anchors hitting and rubbing your other decoys which helps eliminate a lot of chips and paint rub offs.
Having the right decoys for the situation you're hunting along with the right species will make a huge difference in your success during the hunting season. But also just as important is how you set the duck decoys out. If your not sure how to set your decoys be sure to read our duck decoy spreads section.