When it comes to duck and goose hunting the past few years perhaps nothing has made the realism of decoys better than the flocking added to the heads and tails of decoys. If you are unfamiliar with them simply look for them the next time you are at your favorite sporting goods store and perusing the duck hunting gear. The flocking is a simple process of putting glue on the decoy and sprinkling felt on top of it. The whole idea is that the felt absorbs light rather than the reflective properties of plastic. If you look at a real duck or goose, their feathers absorb much light and don’t reflect it like standard decoys do. For this reason adding some to your spread really adds to the realism you are able to project. The problem, of course, with these flocked decoys is that they tend to be very expensive! Let’s see how these particular decoys stack up.
Positives of the decoys:
First and foremost these decoys came with flocked heads that came with these decoys were very well done. I have seen other decoys where the quality was pretty poor. Another great feature of these decoys is that the water keel is removable. This is great for storage, but also makes them possible to use in the field as well as the water. I wouldn’t call them great replacements for the top of the line field decoys, but they do compare nicely to standard shells in this regard. A great plus for the goose hunter who goes from water to field during the season. The heads were easily added to the bodies, so assembly was a snap. I paired mine with the Avery Greenhead Gear keel grabber anchors for what have proven to be a great combination in the field. The thing I liked best about these decoys was the price, however, I found them on sale for $100 for 6. Dividing out that equates to about $17 per decoy. Given that most decoys of this ilk are priced at $25 to $50 per decoy, you can see that this is a great bargain.
Negatives of the decoys:
The 2 things that stuck out to me was that the heads of these decoys seemed a bit small compared to the body. I think they look “ok” in the field, but they definitely could handle a little more size to them. The other thing is that the plastic used is reasonably thin and dents easily if you step on it (something that I always seem to do on the bottom of my duck boat!). I’m guessing these won’t have a super long life, but I guess that remains to be seen.
Overall take:
I would say these are definitely worth purchasing for your decoy spread. I have used them this year and they sure seem to have helped my success. They have decoyed geese well, but they have especially decoyed the ducks great. Nothing seems to bring ducks into your spread like a bunch of goose decoys.