Realism of decoys. Does it really matter? Please read.
 

Does the realism of duck decoys really matter? Ex. Gamewinner decoys fro. Academy vs. Greenhead gear? What is your opinion?

I think ducks and geese are alot smarter than people give them credit for. I would say that if you place your decoys in a more realistic fashion and they have a more realistic look would help a little. I just got a Mojoduck and i think it seems to help a little bit. its all about making the birds feel safe when they are flying in and the safer they feel, the closer you are going to get them in.

On clear bright days, it has been researched that more realistic decoys work much better. I can say that if you hunt over a large spread that buying the more expensive decoys can break the bank. I have experimented with dozens of different decoys brands and models, and all i can say is they all work.. Some a little better than others, but i think the organization of your spread and movement in your deeks is the biggest kicker. If you want to buy the best looking deoys on the market these are number one in my book http://www.cherokee-sports.com/p-56-...re-series.aspx be sure to watch the short video clip with phil.

I would never invest in cheap decoys. Even if they decoy birds the paint will chip and they won't last as long. I have bigfoot decoys that I have been using for 10 years now and they still kill birds. A good decent decoy will work as good as others and will last a long time.

On blue bird days, the better the decoy the better you'll do.

Location, weather, concealment, set up and knowing when and how to call are all more important factors than what the brand of your decoys are.

it dosnt matter that much.people buy expensive decoys to please themselves (i do it to) but my favorite decoys are the old flabbeau mallards and old hot buy GHG's.as for geese nothing but bigfoot.

I can tell you from experience this weekend that more realistic decoys and spreads equals more birds. I was using some old decoy's on saturday morning and had geese flaring off them because they didn't look quite right. Sunday we switched to some new Greenhead with flocked heads and had geese landing in our spread with out even calling to them. So yeah the more realistic the better.

I have $14 a dozen (Cheap) decoys I have been using for years and they still kill birds too. A more realistic looking decoy will probably help you some later in the season, but I kill plenty of ducks with my cheap ones. I never use more than 8 dekes this time of year. The ducks are call and decoy shy, I don't care what type you are using. The fewer dekes you use this time of year, the better. I'll agree with you on the second part. The problem with many duck hunters is they call way too much.

Honestly, GHG is ALL i buy. Theyre much cheaper than most other decoys and they look the best in my opinion. The paint comes off a little easy, but thats nothin that a little touch up paint won't fix.

Setting a realistic and being completely concealed by cover are probably number 1 and 2 on my duck hunting check list...

yeah i used to used to use those they worked good but there not as durable as bigfoots.

good decoys matter!!!!!
 

good decoys allow you to use less and look more real! i went from 15 dozen old goose dekes to a few doz shells and 1 doz full bodies, we kill more geese and decoy a lot more. old dekes you gotta have a lot to get em in your face.