Duck Decoy Issues

This post isnt to bash any companies products out there.. we all have our favorites, and there are lots of good decoys on the market. I like G&H better myself, but the price to invest in the numbers of decoys I hunt over.. lets just say it isnt going to happen.

Flambeau has been well known for chipping/peeling paint issues in the recent years.. years ago, the paint used to stick reasonably well.

Last year I added 4 more dozen Flambeaus to my spread. The new Masters Series Mallards looked really nice, the bodies were much more solid and better designed than the previous designed decoys. The decoys looked great, and I have had excellent results hunting over them… so far so good, right?

Well.. today I made my call to Flambeau when I started having chipped paint issues on the new decoys. These decoys have only seen about 6 trips out. The customer service rep stated that they have recieved very little problems for these decoys as of yet. They are issuing me a call tag to ship a few of the decoys to them(they pay the shipping), and they will inspect them, and ship me replacements for the entire batch of decoys I purchased(4 dozen).

If this is all completed in a good time frame, I will feel a lot better about the situation. As expensive as deocys have become, its great to see companies standing behind their products. I just about dropped Flambeau before I seen these new decoys last season, and I noticed they were much higher quality than the previous few years of very poor decoys. I wish I knew the customer service would have been so easy on decoys I already tossed out from the bad years.

I will post the results when all is said and done. I have some Teal and Woody decoys here also that I am going to send them samples of.. we’ll see what happens. It seems the customer service is going to be very painless considering the amount of money invested into the decoys.

In my own opinion, Flambeau makes one of the worst looking decoys on the market today. Any way when you get the new ones, spray them with with a dull clearcoating and they should be chip free for many years to come. I can’t remember who makes the dull clearcot–Krylon??

In my own opinion, Flambeau makes one of the worst looking decoys on the market today. Any way when you get the new ones, spray them with with a dull clearcoating and they should be chip free for many years to come. I can’t remember who makes the dull clearcot–Krylon??

waterfowler…

I agreed on what they looked like until the master series came out. If you drop a Drake mallard(mature) in full plumage and hold it up to one of these decoys, the colors match exactly. The metallic heads on them look very realistic, and the body paint is also good. I think some of the G&H mallards out there are the ugliest, but everything else is awesome.

There are lots of Satin clear coats out there.. all are decent.. but even at very low gloss.. they can leave your decoy very shiny on a sunny day.

The old Flambeaus looked funky, I agree.. but the ducks still came into them for some reason.

waterfowler…

I agreed on what they looked like until the master series came out. If you drop a Drake mallard(mature) in full plumage and hold it up to one of these decoys, the colors match exactly. The metallic heads on them look very realistic, and the body paint is also good. I think some of the G&H mallards out there are the ugliest, but everything else is awesome.

There are lots of Satin clear coats out there.. all are decent.. but even at very low gloss.. they can leave your decoy very shiny on a sunny day.

The old Flambeaus looked funky, I agree.. but the ducks still came into them for some reason.

Krylon 1311 matte finish keep nozzle 12-15″ away when spraying and do 3-4 coats allowing ample drying time between coats–it wont shine.

Krylon 1311 matte finish keep nozzle 12-15″ away when spraying and do 3-4 coats allowing ample drying time between coats–it wont shine.

Ive been buyuing G&H for a few years now, because i had to keep repainting other brands. My brother loves Herters brand divers for a long time and has not had trouble…Good Luck..

Ive been buyuing G&H for a few years now, because i had to keep repainting other brands. My brother loves Herters brand divers for a long time and has not had trouble…Good Luck..

Fleet Farm had all their G&H dekes on Clearence when I was in there last Friday…..just something to check out if you like G&H.

Fleet Farm had all their G&H dekes on Clearence when I was in there last Friday…..just something to check out if you like G&H.

I’ve seen alot of ripping on Greenhead Gear for chipping, but my hunting partner and I have had a few dozen in mallards, woodies, and widgeon for 3 years now I believe and they are holding up well. Look better than G@H and Flambeau to my eye (especially the non-mallard species).

I’ve seen alot of ripping on Greenhead Gear for chipping, but my hunting partner and I have had a few dozen in mallards, woodies, and widgeon for 3 years now I believe and they are holding up well. Look better than G@H and Flambeau to my eye (especially the non-mallard species).

I have used Flambeaus for years and some of them look terrible. Some have alot of paint missing on the heads, almost to the point of them having black heads.
Guess what, the ducks don’t care. They still decoy in like they did when the deeks were new.
I think the pretty deeks bring in more hunters than ducks. I’ll take the cheaper decoys and a bigger spread anyday.

My two cents.

I have used Flambeaus for years and some of them look terrible. Some have alot of paint missing on the heads, almost to the point of them having black heads.
Guess what, the ducks don’t care. They still decoy in like they did when the deeks were new.
I think the pretty deeks bring in more hunters than ducks. I’ll take the cheaper decoys and a bigger spread anyday.

My two cents.

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I have used Flambeaus for years and some of them look terrible. Some have alot of paint missing on the heads, almost to the point of them having black heads.
Guess what, the ducks don’t care. They still decoy in like they did when the deeks were new.
I think the pretty deeks bring in more hunters than ducks. I’ll take the cheaper decoys and a bigger spread anyday.

My two cents.

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Not to hijack this post so hopefully only one or two responses, but would I not be so nuts then in buying used decoys? This is my 1st year duck hunting and I’m looking at getting a spread fairly cheap.

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I have used Flambeaus for years and some of them look terrible. Some have alot of paint missing on the heads, almost to the point of them having black heads.
Guess what, the ducks don’t care. They still decoy in like they did when the deeks were new.
I think the pretty deeks bring in more hunters than ducks. I’ll take the cheaper decoys and a bigger spread anyday.

My two cents.

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Not to hijack this post so hopefully only one or two responses, but would I not be so nuts then in buying used decoys? This is my 1st year duck hunting and I’m looking at getting a spread fairly cheap.

“Not to hijack this post so hopefully only one or two responses, but would I not be so nuts then in buying used decoys? This is my 1st year duck hunting and I’m looking at getting a spread fairly cheap.”
used will fit the bill fine but a dozen of THESE and a box of THESE will be under 50 bucks new and they look great. and next year you could add a box of THESE for a little more realism and w/ new you know what you have

“Not to hijack this post so hopefully only one or two responses, but would I not be so nuts then in buying used decoys? This is my 1st year duck hunting and I’m looking at getting a spread fairly cheap.”
used will fit the bill fine but a dozen of THESE and a box of THESE will be under 50 bucks new and they look great. and next year you could add a box of THESE for a little more realism and w/ new you know what you have

Thanks Fowler that’s Exactly what I was looking for I figured Cabelas wouldn’t have much in my range though after checking out a few other stores and notfinding much even close to that. Field trip this week after work!

Thanks Fowler that’s Exactly what I was looking for I figured Cabelas wouldn’t have much in my range though after checking out a few other stores and notfinding much even close to that. Field trip this week after work!

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I’ve seen alot of ripping on Greenhead Gear for chipping, but my hunting partner and I have had a few dozen in mallards, woodies, and widgeon for 3 years now I believe and they are holding up well. Look better than G@H and Flambeau to my eye (especially the non-mallard species).

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The mahority of my spread is GHG dekes. Personaly I think they look great. The first years batch had some paint issues. But the past few years have been great. (I purchase 2 or 3 dozen a year ) The paint has heald up well and I hunt hard and almost every weekend. The only issue I’ve had was with the old keels. They didnt snap in very weel. (But they’s since fixed that issue) For the money GHG is hard to beat. IMO.

Quote:

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I’ve seen alot of ripping on Greenhead Gear for chipping, but my hunting partner and I have had a few dozen in mallards, woodies, and widgeon for 3 years now I believe and they are holding up well. Look better than G@H and Flambeau to my eye (especially the non-mallard species).

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The mahority of my spread is GHG dekes. Personaly I think they look great. The first years batch had some paint issues. But the past few years have been great. (I purchase 2 or 3 dozen a year ) The paint has heald up well and I hunt hard and almost every weekend. The only issue I’ve had was with the old keels. They didnt snap in very weel. (But they’s since fixed that issue) For the money GHG is hard to beat. IMO.

In my opinion of years of experience I would by a high quality decoy because it will last a lifetime if taken care of. I perfer G&H over just about anything. And I would avoid the strap weights and removable keels if you hunting big water. The weight drag easy and the keels seperate in large mats of wild celery. I have snagged alot of them while fishing with cranks this last summer.

In my opinion of years of experience I would by a high quality decoy because it will last a lifetime if taken care of. I perfer G&H over just about anything. And I would avoid the strap weights and removable keels if you hunting big water. The weight drag easy and the keels seperate in large mats of wild celery. I have snagged alot of them while fishing with cranks this last summer.

I’ve always been a big GH fan except for their goose shells but it’s hard to beat the looks of GHG stuff. Mine has held up well so far at least. I finally broke down and bought some GHG Full body ducks – wow. I hunted with a friend that had them last year and I did so many double takes my neck hurt looking out.

The smartest thing I ever did though was use these for weights Ace Weights

I’ve always been a big GH fan except for their goose shells but it’s hard to beat the looks of GHG stuff. Mine has held up well so far at least. I finally broke down and bought some GHG Full body ducks – wow. I hunted with a friend that had them last year and I did so many double takes my neck hurt looking out.

The smartest thing I ever did though was use these for weights Ace Weights