Faux Fowl

    I have a hunting buddy who each year spends a small fortune on his duck club membership but still hunts with the same faded decoys he bought more than 20 years ago. The calls on his lanyard have never seen a cork change, and the reeds are so gummed up that his mallard call sounds like a gadwall. No wonder he swears ducks are call- and decoy- shy. Obviously, this article is not for him.
    Who it is for is anyone who thinks that hunting over ultra-realistic decoys is going to make him a more successful hunter and who can appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into every decoy—even those made of plastic, like many of this year’s great new offerings.
    The truth is, waterfowlers have never had it so good. Most of this year’s new decoys are simply too good not to have in your decoy bag. This is the one stimulus package that won’t waste your hard-earned cash, the one investment that won’t lose half its value in six months. So read on and spend our economy back to life. And don’t procrastinate. The season is fast approaching.
 
Aero Outdoors
Full-Curl Pro-Series floating mallard decoys aren’t exactly new, but they’re getting enough of a facelift this year to warrant mention. These non-glare dekes look and float like cork but are considerably cheaper. Oversized for greater contrast and visibility and foam-filled to float like real ducks and last a lifetime, the decoys’ flocked heads and tails reflect UV light like real feathers do. Now they come with improved, durable paint and flocking with better adhesion plus glass eyes and an improved removable keel system for greater flexibility in water or on land. You get six different head positions in every six-pack, and the heads swivel for added variety and realism. MSRP: $90 to $100, depending on head and body positions, for six.
    Aero Outdoors, 509-545-8000; www.aerooutdoors.com.
 
Avery Outdoors/GreenHead Gear
The folks at Avery continue to improve their cutting-edge line of GreenHead Gear decoys, and this year they’ve outdone themselves with the super-realistic GHG Pro-Grade (PG) Series of duck and goose decoys and the improved Hot Buy Mallards, offering hunters a tremendous value.
    Creating an ultra-natural-looking duck spread has never been easier than with the Pro-Grade Series. The mallards come in three packages: Sleepers/Resters, Surface Feeders and Actives. Now you can have No-head Feeders, which imitate ducks feeding below the surface, and Surface Feeders, which appear to be skimming food off of the top. Sleepers and Resters closely imitate content, loafing birds and are deadly for wary ducks. The Actives sport swiveling heads and come in numerous head and body positions for added realism. These dekes are the farthest thing from the old cookie-cutter fakes that you’ll ever see.
    All PG Series decoys are anatomically correct, thanks to the original sculpting from renowned carvers Dick Rhode and Rick Johannsen. And the paint and feathering are ultra-detailed and realistic. All Pro-Grade decoys come with GreenHead Gear’s 60/40 Dura-Keel design, which provides the perfect weight distribution for riding naturally in all water conditions. If you’re interested in decoys that look good enough to put on your mantle, check out the new Pro-Grade Wigeon, Wood Ducks and Green- and Blue-winged Teal.
    To augment your spread with the low-head posture of relaxed mallards at significant savings, try the Hot Buy Mallards. Also designed by Dick Rhode, these great-looking decoys come in packs of six drakes and six hens. And don’t be fooled by the price.
    Goose hunters interested in conserving space and weight will love the super-detailed Pro-Grade Series Canada and Specklebelly Goose Shells. Lightweight for portability, these shells are perfect for filling out a field spread or lining a shoreline near a floating rig. They’re also perfect for cold weather, when geese spend much of their time on their bellies. Both Speck and Canada shells come in Rester, Sleeper and Harvester (Feeders, Resters, Semi-Resters and Sleepers) packs. MSRP: Canada and Specklebelly shells, $150/dozen; Mallard Floaters, $45/six; Wigeon and Wood Duck Floaters, $40/six; Teal Floaters, $30/six; Hot Buy Mallards, $35/dozen.
    Avery Outdoors/GreenHead Gear, 800-333-5119; www.greenheadgear.com.
 
Carry-Lite Decoys
Duck Commander and Carry-Lite have teamed up to create the Duck Commander Series, which includes mallards, green- and blue-winged teal, and gadwalls.
    Each comes with several head positions—semi-alert and preening—with the gadwalls featuring “quacking” drakes and semi-alert hens for a lifelike spread. Duck Commander decoys come in six- and 12-packs. MSRP: Mallards, $50 and $100; Teal, $40 and $75; Gadwalls, $50 and $90.
    Carry-Lite Decoys, 800-653-3337; www.carrylitedecoys.com.
 
Dakota Decoy Co.
Hunters who’ve admired Dakota Decoy’s exceptionally detailed X-Treme Honkers will love the company’s new X-Treme Mallards. This line features six different head positions—all swiveling 360 degrees—per dozen. Thanks to a 60/40 blend of high- and low-density polyethylene, these decoys are almost indestructible. So is their paint, which is applied through a 24-step process for drakes and 16-step process for hens. Slightly oversized at 16 inches long and using a weighted keel with a front cleat for customizing cord length, X-Treme Mallards will please any discriminating hunter. Each dozen has seven drakes with four head styles and five hens with two.
    Also new are extra-long water bases (four per pack) for the X-Treme Honkers, making them perfect for shallow-water setups. This year’s X-Treme Honkers will have a new paint scheme that produces more contrast for greater visibility. MSRP: X-Treme Mallards, $120/dozen; X-Treme Honkers, $150/dozen; X-Long water bases, $30/four.
    Dakota Decoy Co., 605-624-3825; www.dakotadecoy.com.
 
Dave Smith Decoys
Dave Smith Decoys did not introduce anything new this year, but if ever there were goose decoys made for Shooting Sportsman readers, those offered by Dave Smith would be them. The awesome line of Canadas (honkers and lessers), snows and specklebellies is not cheap, but the attention to detail and quality are phenomenal. And frankly, with these decoys you don’t need a trailerload. Late last season we landed some 30 flocks of greater Canadas with only a dozen decoys and no calling or flagging. MSRP: Honker Uprights, Resters and Feeders, $330/four; Honker Sleepers $275/four; Lessers, Snows and Specks, $220/four.
    Dave Smith Decoys, 541-451-4453; www.davesmithdecoys.com.
 
Drake Waterfowl Systems
Drake has a great reputation for making quality products, and the company’s first foray into the decoy market—the Double-Duty Mallard—looks especially promising. Double-Dutys are so named because of their removable Opti-Keels (decoy lines are affixed to separate cleats). When keels are removed, the decoys are more than 40 percent lighter, making them easier to haul into remote duck holes. Going keel-less has other advantages, such as when hunting flooded cropfields where keels can hang up on stubble, and on low-wind days when keels create drag. Thanks to their Breeze-Ryder Base with VacuSeal Technology, the decoys’ concave bottoms create a vacuum with the water’s surface so they sit properly, yet they can move freely in the slightest breeze. Even the best-looking decoys won’t attract wary ducks if they’re sitting stock still in the water.
    Each dozen comes with eight drakes and four hens, with five different body shapes and rotating heads. The sculpting is first rate and the paint jobs super realistic. MSRP: $100/dozen.
    Drake Waterfowl Systems, 866-521-5012; www.drakewaterfowl.com.
 
FA Brand
FA Brand continues to add to its high-end lineup. New for 2009 are Floating Pintails and Wood Ducks. The intricate feather details are superb, and they look as good close up as they do at 50 yards. Each six-pack comes with four drakes.
    Also easy on the eyes are FA’s new Rester/Sleeper full-body standing Canadas, with a one-piece design for durability and convenience. Created by sculptor Doug Eck and master goose guide Bill Saunders, these Rester/Sleepers are as close to real geese as you’ll find. A good addition to any spread, particularly during the late season, FA’s new super-realistic Sleeper Canada Shells have highly visible detailing in the neck, head and tail to ensure they don’t get lost in the landscape.
    Light-goose hunters need look no further than FA’s awesome Snow and Blue Floater Active-style decoys. Each four-pack comes with three different head positions, and the custom-quality paint and Sculpture Flock ultra-visible feathering make them hard to tell from the real thing. MSRP: Snow and Blue Floaters, $100/four; Rester/Sleeper Honkers, $140/four; Floating Pintails and Wood Ducks, $60/six.
    FA Brand, 800-423-3537; www.fabrand.com.
 
Flambeau
Last year Flambeau, in conjunction with Twilight Labs, introduced its UVision coating technology on a few decoys, and this year it has extended the coating to the rest of its decoy line. UVision paint reflects ultraviolet light just as real feathers do, whereas some other paints used on decoys can appear unnaturally dark to birds because they absorb UV light. If you’ve had problems with ducks and geese flaring from your spread when you thought everything looked perfect, UVision decoys could be the answer. MSRP: $45 to $60 for six or 12, depending on species and size.
    Flambeau, 800-457-5252; www.decoys.com.
 
Higdon Decoys
Higdon calls its new Magnum Mallards the ultimate hunting decoys. If you want to save money in the short run, get the regular decoys ($50/six); if you want dekes that will last a lifetime, get the foam-filled version ($60/six). Either way you’ll enjoy swiveling heads for endless poses; keels designed for easily adjusting decoy-line length; and a highly visible spread, thanks to their 18-inch lengths and detailed paint jobs. Each six-pack comes with four drakes.
    Higdon Decoys, 270-443-8739; www.higdondecoys.com.
 
Prairie Wind Decoys
Anyone who has hunted over Jim Jones’s Sillosocks knows how deadly a moving spread can be (see “Snow Time,” May/June). Now the entire line has been upgraded with an improved printing on all Canadas, mallards, specks, snows, blues and sandhill cranes. The decoys still use the same Sillosock body, but the new coating completely eliminates shine and a heavier liner bag fills out the decoys in no-wind situations. Except for snows, all Sillosocks come with flocked heads.   Mallards, Canadas, snows and blues also come in a 3-D Sillochest version, with a full-body upright head and neck made of soft plastic for durability and easy compaction. These decoys are the ultimate space and weight savers. MSRP: Canada and Mallard 3-Ds, $100/dozen ($80 for Sillosocks); 3-D Snows and Blues, $80/dozen ($60 for Sillosocks).
    Prairie Wind Decoys, 307-265-2323; www.prairiewinddecoys.com.
 
Real Geese
Real Geese is adding snow geese and sandhill cranes to its Pro-Series II line, which uses fabric on both sides of highly detailed silhouettes to eliminate unnatural shine. Called Pro-Series II Xtreme Definition, these decoys mirror Real Geese’s deadly Canada silhouettes in ultra-realistic detail. If you’re short on space but need the big spreads snow goose hunting demands, these decoys will fit the bill. I’ve used Real Geese Canadas for years and love the two-dimensional visibility they offer in fields where full-body decoys are hard to see. MSRP: Snow Geese, $200/dozen; Sandhills, $130/four.
    Real Geese, 888-642-6369; www.real geese.com.
 
Tanglefree Products
Tanglefree and Buck Gardner, Champion of Champions duck caller, have teamed up with master carver Don Mintz to produce the newest addition to Tanglefree’s Pro Series line: the Buck Gardner Signature Series Mallard. This decoy is made of high-density plastic for extreme durability and sports intricately carved feather detailing and a super-realistic paint scheme—all for a very reasonable price. MSRP: $40/dozen.
    Tanglefree Products, 877-685-5055; www.tanglefree.com.
 
Taylor Decoys
If you’re looking for hand-carved decoys and don’t mind an 18-month wait, it’s hard to beat Clint Taylor’s custom cork birds for sheer beauty and craftsmanship. Made of high-density tan cork (not the black cork that chips away over the years), the sky’s the limit in terms of how much detail you can get as well as the size of the birds and the poses. New this year is that the blocks are available only with wood heads and glass eyes—built to delight the senses and last a lifetime. No, these decoys are not cheap, but when you’re holding them, you’ll really struggle over whether to hunt them or place them on the mantle. Costs vary with size and degree of detail.
    Taylor Decoys, 315-393-5492; www.taylordecoys.com.