TIGHTCHOKE Posted March 20, 2019 Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 In an attempt to lighten the weight of what we often carry when out decoying I got hold of some double walled plastic sheet and made a template and a simple cutting board! Takes a few moments to cut each one out and a piece of welding rod is used to make them stand up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted March 20, 2019 Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 nice and shiny............most rooks/crows will give that a 2nd look.....................when are you going to take them for a spin ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted March 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 (edited) I may get out this week, as to the shine, I have matt black spray paint so can matt them down if they do not bring them in. The plan is to carry 20 or so, much lighter than anything else and much easier than the black bin bag decoys. Edited March 20, 2019 by TIGHTCHOKE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted March 20, 2019 Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 Worh a try. I have some goose decoys somewhere made the same but in plywood and I have shot one or two fooled by them.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted March 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 13 minutes ago, Walker570 said: Worh a try. I have some goose decoys somewhere made the same but in plywood and I have shot one or two fooled by them.. Many years ago I took a Mate out shooting for wood pigeons, they wouldn't play and after a while he asked if he could shoot the decoys as he was bored! I replied that he could if he would pay for the damage, he decided not to! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deny essex Posted March 20, 2019 Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 Many years back when I started shooting I read an article about crow shooting over silhouette crow decoys pictured from above , black cardboard I think was used but as I had some black textured vinyl type material I cut them out and used that material, folded up or rolled up nicely in the pocket and weighed next to nothing. Best bag if memory serves shooting over them was in the 60's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted March 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, deny essex said: Many years back when I started shooting I read an article about crow shooting over silhouette crow decoys pictured from above , black cardboard I think was used but as I had some black textured vinyl type material I cut them out and used that material, folded up or rolled up nicely in the pocket and weighed next to nothing. Best bag if memory serves shooting over them was in the 60's Yes indeed, many years ago whilst at work i received a phone call from a farmer asking if I could shoot some corvids that lunchtime. All we had at work was some black foam, I cut out large fish shapes and secured them to the bare field with 6" nails. Shot 39 in that short session. Edited March 20, 2019 by TIGHTCHOKE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted March 20, 2019 Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 I love crow shooting when they are hungry. When they glide in, set wings. Had an hour many moons ago when they did just that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted March 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 Nice looking dog Mate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted March 20, 2019 Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 5 minutes ago, TIGHTCHOKE said: Nice looking dog Mate. hello, they look very good TT let us know how you get on, Just now, oldypigeonpopper said: hello, they look very good TT let us know how you get on, i did some home made ones using coat hangers/ masking tape/ and paper shreds/ then sprayed black, yours look a much better way of doing them, cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted March 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 If they bring in the crows I shall make a set of grey ones to see if they will bring in the Wood Pigeons, anything to condense what we carry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted March 20, 2019 Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 The problem with crow decoys you can never get them black enough. The only ones I have been succesful with is spraying with glue then adding black 'flock' dust but they only lasted a dozen or so outings. Just look at a crow, it is as black as black AND has a sheen about it. Not to run down your efforts TC but those are grey in comparison, particuarly where the light hits them at an angle. I don't know if you can still get that flock dust, but it certainly made a good job and I suppose I could have resprayed them. I still use them and have a couple of commercial versions with the same finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted March 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 1 hour ago, Walker570 said: The problem with crow decoys you can never get them black enough. The only ones I have been succesful with is spraying with glue then adding black 'flock' dust but they only lasted a dozen or so outings. Just look at a crow, it is as black as black AND has a sheen about it. Not to run down your efforts TC but those are grey in comparison, particuarly where the light hits them at an angle. I don't know if you can still get that flock dust, but it certainly made a good job and I suppose I could have resprayed them. I still use them and have a couple of commercial versions with the same finish. Noted, I will spray them matt black if they fail to bring the corvids within range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted March 20, 2019 Report Share Posted March 20, 2019 2 hours ago, Walker570 said: The problem with crow decoys you can never get them black enough. The only ones I have been succesful with is spraying with glue then adding black 'flock' dust but they only lasted a dozen or so outings. Just look at a crow, it is as black as black AND has a sheen about it. Not to run down your efforts TC but those are grey in comparison, particuarly where the light hits them at an angle. I don't know if you can still get that flock dust, but it certainly made a good job and I suppose I could have resprayed them. I still use them and have a couple of commercial versions with the same finish. hello, you can buy jet black fibre flocking kits or just a pack of the fibre which i reckon would do a dozen decoys, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted March 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 Yes indeed, we will see if they cause enough interest to bring them within range, if not we will have to improve on their appearance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted March 21, 2019 Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 9 hours ago, TIGHTCHOKE said: Noted, I will spray them matt black if they fail to bring the corvids within range. Don't waste the paint. Matt black paint just isn't BLACK enough in my view. Have a look on the web and see if you can get some of that jet black flocking stuff. It would be very easy to apply to those flat deeks. I will see if I can dig one of my old deeks out and compare with a plastic one.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted March 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 Point taken, but I will give them a go as they are first Nev. If I can get them within 100 Yds we can call it Extreme Corvid Shooting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted March 21, 2019 Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 on my crow deeks i used to put black shoe polish on them and buff them up .....that works Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walker570 Posted March 21, 2019 Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 7 hours ago, ditchman said: on my crow deeks i used to put black shoe polish on them and buff them up .....that works Good idea. Crows do have a certain sheen to their feathers. Must try that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ditchman Posted March 21, 2019 Report Share Posted March 21, 2019 20 minutes ago, Walker570 said: Good idea. Crows do have a certain sheen to their feathers. Must try that. a few years ago i did that and put a couple outside the dog run............the spanners went balistic... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pigeon controller Posted March 22, 2019 Report Share Posted March 22, 2019 The plastic crow decoys I lofted recently had been boot polished and the crows loved them, worth a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 On 21/03/2019 at 09:57, ditchman said: on my crow deeks i used to put black shoe polish on them and buff them up .....that works When they first put the rubbish tip at Caister we had the surrounding grass fields that they used to cut for hay and then bailed up with the small bails , we made a few Crow decoys out of plywood and gave them a couple of coats of Black Santex masonry paint , mainly because we worked for a building firm and the materials were free , or they were to us ☺️ , we made the hide with the bails and then put the decoys out at different angles then in the middle of the so called pattern we laid a dead pigeon out with a load of feathers between a couple of decoys , this worked a treat and we reduced the numbers a fair bit , the only reason we gave up shooting them was shortage of the readies Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Westley Posted March 23, 2019 Report Share Posted March 23, 2019 have seen some very effective crow deeks made from stuffed black plastic bin bags. They were used along with some full bodied plastic deeks to 'bulk out' the pattern. I also have used a white rabbit skin on the ground to look like a dead bunny. That worked too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_b_wales Posted April 6, 2019 Report Share Posted April 6, 2019 I made these decoys many years ago, out of Correx. This is a thinner version of the material used to make 'For Sale' signs that Estate agents use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TIGHTCHOKE Posted April 7, 2019 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2019 We went for a run out yesterday and to see some Farmers. I placed a few on a vacant field to see what they looked like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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