Spaniel Posted September 21, 2009 Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 Hi I have been looking at the Mallard Decoys as i wanted to get a few for Wildfowling. But what I have noticed is that the Detail in the Decoys available in the USA seem to be much better then the ones available over here. The above ones are Greenhead Gear Decoys which to me look very realistic...prices are not bad approx £22 for 12 Mallards and £11 for the 2 x sleepers, the only down point is the £42.50 postage from the USA. But does the detail of the decoy make any differance at all and will I be wisely investing in decoys like these or not as the UK ones seem to lack as much detail IMO. Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted September 21, 2009 Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 No it doesn't make a difference, As most of your shooting will be done at dawn or dusk then the detail is irrelevant. A lot of my decoys are the ones that the pound shop were selling and some are so old there is hardly any paint on them. Save your money and jsut buy the ones from the UK, the cheaper the better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henry d Posted September 21, 2009 Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 Don`t worry about detail, remember that most decoying is in low light conditions and the deeks are on water the birds in the air so they look like black blobs as the surface of the water reflects the last light ! I think tidepool do the deek types you are after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaniel Posted September 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 Thanks for that, I normally go out with another guy but i feel a little guilty in keep using his decoys, so i said to him i would get some sleepers and surface feeders to add to the pattern.....then i noticed the above and wondered about the detail....seen the ones on tidepool and will order some today Thanks again Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Country_est Posted September 21, 2009 Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 As above, have had them decoy in to the lab as he was on a retrieve, just cos it was a black blob moving amongst the other decoys. Trev Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaniel Posted September 21, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 Just ordered the following and will wait to see what they are like 2 x Surface feeding mallards from decoy direct 2 x Sleeping mallards from Paddlesdown Fingers crossed they may help bring the ducks into range Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrispti Posted September 21, 2009 Report Share Posted September 21, 2009 Just ordered the following and will wait to see what they are like 2 x Surface feeding mallards from decoy direct 2 x Sleeping mallards from Paddlesdown Fingers crossed they may help bring the ducks into range Do you use a call? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaniel Posted September 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 Do you use a call? Yes still learning to use it to be honest, i brought an OLT 66 Duck Call, the other week, so there is alot of quacking going on in our house at the present Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaniel Posted September 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 Should have tried the fuds from "the other shop", the mallards are great. I have got a box that will be going to a gentleman that offered me some duck flighting on wednesday night as a present. I did see the Foam flat decoys on the auction site but not sure how good they would be as they dont seem to have any weighted keels just looks like a flat bottom, but about £20 for 6. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pavman Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 (edited) Just ordered the following and will wait to see what they are like 2 x Surface feeding mallards from decoy direct 2 x Sleeping mallards from Paddlesdown Fingers crossed they may help bring the ducks into range you may wish to order a few more, would you decoy woodies with just 4 birds in your pattern??? I doubt it, so why with duck??? i use at least 50 a time on the river in gangs of 2 and 3 (always cock bird at the rear) if you dropped 4 to 6 in they would not get a look, you need to advertise a good time party to bring them in, like MC says the £ shop ones are very good a bit small but they do the job Edited September 22, 2009 by pavman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaniel Posted September 22, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 Thanks Pavman, i may have to pop down the £ shop to see what they have in. We normally put out about 20 Decoys but they are the guys i go out with, I wanted to add some to the pattern, hence the surface feeders and sleepers, just to give the pattern a different look. But Deff will be getting some more along the way. Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anser2 Posted September 22, 2009 Report Share Posted September 22, 2009 (edited) If you are going to shoot duck over decoys in daylight detail is very important as is matching the species to what you expect to see. Look at roosting duck at your local nature reserve lake. Do you see the teal dropping in with the tufted duck or the mallard mixing with the wigeon very much. I doubt it , OK there will always be the odd bird with another species , but as a whole mallard. teal , pochard and so on will be with their own species. The exception to this will be if their is just an odd bird or two , then they will join flocks of other species. Good quality decoys from the US or sportplast are what you need. Of course if you are going to confine your decoying to dawn and dusk then the decoy species and quality dosent matter much , except ..... I have sportplast decoys I bought 30 years ago still going strong after many repaint jobs , the £1.00 decoys I bought from poundland last year are already leaking ( the seams have split )and out of the 10 I got only 7 are still useable after about 20 flights ( they have been repainted as wigeon as far to small for mallard). Usualy the bigger the decoy the better they draw , but I am not happy about mixing standard and magnum decoys of the same species in the same group. Better to seperate them into different groups. Edited September 22, 2009 by anser2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spaniel Posted September 23, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Just ordered the following and will wait to see what they are like 2 x Surface feeding mallards from decoy direct 2 x Sleeping mallards from Paddlesdown Fingers crossed they may help bring the ducks into range What can I say but an excellent service, the Surface feeders came this morning that was quick, and they look really good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mayfly36 Posted September 23, 2009 Report Share Posted September 23, 2009 Heres the duck decoys from www.tidepool.co.uk excellent colours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.