Which Brand to buy???

[strait-meat]

I was looking to get some Mallard decoys--looking for suggestions on which brand looks the best and most durable for paint or keeps the longest.

Also what are your thoughts on getting magnums compared to life sized. Which ones would you recommend?

[HNTNBUX]

For me G&H magnums have been the most durable. I have two dozen that are over six years old and two dozen that are two years old and I can not tell them apart. I like the way the GHG look but the paint will not last. I don't have any experience with the new Flambeau or Herters.

[Farley]

I think all you can get for Herters are the 007 model, I heard something about herters and cabelas fighting about it in court. Cabelas only wants to sell the 007 model, herters wants their full lineup out there. Not sure where else you can get new herters foam dekes. Maybe Macks??

Biggest thing I think is how you hunt. If you trailer your boat right to the lake and you never take the dekes out, weight is not an issue, but if you are carrying 2 doz dekes over your back for a mile walk through the prairie, or are always lugging them through the swamp, then maybee you want some featherlites. A couple years ago I bought a doz herters foam dekes and love them, I;d like to pick up another couple dozen, but they are super heavy. I've used a few G&H over the years and like those also but they are plastic. I stay away from GHG personally.

Oh and I say get the biggest deke you can get for mallards.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

g & h, herters, cabelas real image, or dakota for durability, FA, GHG, carrylite, tanglefree, flambeau stormfront, bigfoot for looks.

[strait-meat]

I looked at some of the G&H and Flamb, they all looked like fake ducks my kids would play with in the bath tub. But the Herters did look nice and have that classic look but sorta spendy. The GHG and the FA look good but I am guessing the paint doesn't stay on that good?

Who makes the cabelas real image ducks? GHG?

[brittman]

By the time any duck realizes that the G&H decoys are fake you would be shooting at them. They ride nice on the water.

[HunterLee]

I use alot of those hot-buy ones you get for 25bucks a dozen, they aren't that big, but i usually have dozen honkers with also. Like the carrylite ones we got to, but can't beat the price of those hot-buy.

[cutter08]

all of my divers and mallards (about 9dz) are GHG and i still have yet to have any pait issues. I have hot buys and over sized. And i beat the heck out of them.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

hot buys last me about 6 walk in hunts before they become all black coot decoys from the rattle can. the paint is junk.

[strait-meat]

Does any one like the Flamb. decoys? To me they look a little funny but wondering if they have good durability.

[timk]

well i can tell you this you can hunt ducks over anything that floats and is close to the size and shape of a duck if you are in a spot the ducks want to be. as a kid i was hunting a dead river by and old dump site. i tossed out some old booze bottles and they broke up the floting duck weed stuff enough it looked like ducks and trails in the green stuff and the woodies and teal came right in. I wouldn't throw trash in the water anymore but i really didn't think much of it then. so it might not matter what you hunt over.