Flock v Standard decoys

[rayo]

Morning folk

which do you guys prefer , I’m in the process of buying decoying gear and would like to know your thoughts on the flocked decoys opposed to the standard un flocked ones 

thanks in advance 

[Old Boggy]

I prefer the flocked ones as the unflocked tend to shine, especially when it rains.

OB

[TIGHTCHOKE]

16 minutes ago, Old Boggy said:

I prefer the flocked ones as the unflocked tend to shine, especially when it rains.

OB

I don't shoot in the rain!

Flocked are more expensive and the flocking will rub off.

You can get more unflocked half shells for the same money and put out a bigger pattern.

[prem1234]

Personally I use flocked ones....as stated above they don't shine etc so a bit more realistic.

At the end of the day it's about feeling confident in your pattern etc

[clangerman]

all decoys shine no matter which brand or the cost after all the effort it takes to get in the right spot at the right time why take the chance of shine use real birds nothing beats them 

[spurs 14]

I’ve used both and to be honest if the pigeons are in the mood both will draw them in , I guess at the moment most of the decoys I have and use are un flocked half shells , easier to carry , cheaper and will lay out a bigger pattern , 

[mossy835]

i use sillosocks no shine when wet there still ok.

[kenholland]

you could put flocked on one side , and ordinary on the other , if you have both , then see what happens , that way you have the best of both worlds.

[Smokersmith]

I use dead birds whenever I can.

For crows, I use flocked to great effect.

[motty]

On ‎28‎/‎01‎/‎2020 at 07:53, TIGHTCHOKE said:

I don't shoot in the rain!

Flocked are more expensive and the flocking will rub off.

You can get more unflocked half shells for the same money and put out a bigger pattern.

If you buy the right decoys, the flocking won't come off. I have some decoys that I have used for years that are still in pretty good condition. Poor flocked decoys will quickly lose their coating.

[Wilksy II]

It’s all well and good saying decoys shine in the wet and real birds are best but there nowt worse than beads of water on a dead birds back when it rains

[Ultrastu]

None of the above .

Its movement that attracts a pigeon  - in the shape and colour  of a pigeon .

 

 

[GingerCat]

I've used cheap plastic ones for years. I add dead birds to the pattern. I also have some fuds that im not too keen on and dont seem to pull the birds as well as the cheap plastic ones but they take up less space.

A rotary and a flapper are nice to have and occasionally 1 will work and the other won't. Sometimes neither do the job. If you buy a rotary my advice is to get a light one as they tend to be quite heavy when carried over fields. 

A hat to hide your forehead is not to be underestimated and jdog has an extensive selection of oversized ones and can be considered the pigeon watch "hat connoisseur" should you need advice. I note he seldom uses plastic decoys preferring dead birds  and his flocked ones are probably older than me having seen better days but do the job just as well. 

The most important thing is to be where the birds want to be, if you find that magic spot it doesn't matter if it's flocked or not.

[motty]

8 hours ago, Ultrastu said:

None of the above .

Its movement that attracts a pigeon  - in the shape and colour  of a pigeon .

 

 

Not entirely true. Static decoys can work very well.

[Walker570]

On 30/01/2020 at 16:58, Smokersmith said:

I use dead birds whenever I can.

For crows, I use flocked to great effect.

Another plus 1 for crows/corvids  I purchased a flocking kit (now mods don't get excited) and treated about a dozen of my crow decoys which had started to go shiny and they worked great, much better than before, ALTHOUGH if you look at crow plumage it is shiny.  Crazy. 

Edited January 31, 2020 by Walker570

[JDog]

My fifteen flock coated pigeon decoys may well have been some of the first on the market. I’ve had them getting on for fifteen years. They are usually good enough to get a decoying session going.

[ditchman]

there is stuff on the market which you can buy to re-flock your decoys....there was a thread about it 3-4 years ago   also mentioning UV light inconjunction with the flocking...

[oldypigeonpopper]

hello, you can buy bags of flocking off Ebay or a full kit,

[Smokersmith]

13 hours ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

hello, you can buy bags of flocking off Ebay or a full kit,

I have a kit on the way to give mine a dose of looking after.