# Hunting > Game Bird Hunting >  Decoys

## Rock river arms hunter

I'm looking at buying some sets of Decoys, not wanting to be over the top here but I'm after a Really good set of Parries, a mallard set and a canada Goose set/goose set and would like to ask for some words of wisdom and advice as to what to buy/avoid.... :Yaeh Am Not Durnk: 

I'm thinking of a set of 12/18 for each and want to have versatility for em like in relation to floaters/ground ones...

btw guys If any of you are attending the service rifle comp next sunday at clevedon I'll be there

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## upnorth uplander

Recent eNewsletters &mdash; Fish City

scroll thru to the decoys

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## Baz

> Recent eNewsletters — Fish City
> 
> scroll thru to the decoys


+1 to Fish City Hamilton, they had a box of Higdon full bod actives in stock, struggled (and succeded) to order in Higdon full bod feeders and the spinner winner remote decoy was the last one around from what I was told.

Fish City have the best price on the Higdons, I see Gun city have them a little more $$,

I brought a set of second hand GHG oversize canada goose shels 12pk, flocked heads, worked a charm the day after I brought them. Cabela's have them, I havn't seen the oversize shells anywhere here in NZ???

Parries, I have a cheap set of 16" floaters coming, I am planning to cut off the keel and make them into full shell actives on a set of Higdon ground stakes. I had a look at the foam shells for $99, in my opionon, they are shit, the set of floaters was $70.

As I was warned, it's additive!

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## Baz

Why does it change G u n C i t y automaticly to Gun Shitty?  :Grin:  the 16" parries are coming from there, hadnt seen them for a week, asked where they were, they had been missed being sent out..........???

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## Rock river arms hunter

oooh I see,yea I refuse to buy from GS, number one reason: putting chinese parts in real AR-15's like bushmasters and dpm's etc and selling them as legit rifles.... I'm sorry but I cannot trust a thing they do now/sell/offer.... I'd rather spend my money elsewhere! even if its an extra $50 or so....


cheers for that guys!

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## upnorth uplander

Gun city

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## upnorth uplander

sorry, had to try it

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## MassiveAttack

I think the forum censors swear words like gun city.

Give us a bit more guidance about what you want because decoys, particularly goose decoys can consume a lot of money.

Are you looking to hunt on paddocks on on a lake edge?  Are the geese decoys confidence decoys for ducks or goose decoys for geese?

Higdon is a good brand.  The best goose decoys are full bodies.

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## Chris

I brought in a dozen storm front decoys ,they effectively made my old ones redundant.
 With parries decoys being quite expensive & me being a tight ass I painted the old decoys up
 & turned them into 16" Parries. Added a couple of wholes to each & a set of Primo motion stakes
that's a $100 saved  & my old decoys with a new purpose in life 
but weather they work guess will find out in couple of weeks.

Might work ,since added eyes & motion stakes

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## Rock river arms hunter

Oh well I'll be  hunting a mixture of overland for all 3 and then some pond/lake shooting... I've been offered a spot in a mai mai at waikere  :Grin: 

I've been told that parries decoy into Mallard spreads? and I'm to assume I'll need some sillhouttes for overland hunting?
reallistically I want it to be cheap but good ya know? 

cheers guys!

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## MassiveAttack

Size is important so don't go buying 16 inch parries and 16 inch mallards.  Personally I would get some mallard floaters one size bigger than your normal mallard floater (so 20 or 18 inch if you normally use 16 inch mallards) and repaint them.  Parries will decoy into mallard deeks and most people don't run dedicated mallard spreads on water.  Go and have a look at your mai mai and try and replicate the mix of birds you normally see there.  It's good to have a couple of parries off to the side of your mallard spread just to mix it up a bit and also the solid color of the parries makes the whole spread a bit more visible.

Most people start their goose spread off with a dozen shells because you get a lot more for your money than most other decoy styles.  Don't buy the Avery (GHG) Hot buy shells, the paint chips and they don't stack properly.  You can use your shells on land or on stakes on the lake edge.

My next step was to buy four goose floaters (higdon magnums).  I put my shells on the lake edge and the floaters on the water next to it.    The floaters add some very realistic movement to the spread and geese tend to land on water when given the choice as the landing is softer.  When shooting on paddocks I take the keels out and use the floaters as additional shells.

The step after that is to buy some full bodies.  Much more visible than shells and a much more realistic copy of a standing goose than a shell on a stake which just looks like half a goose on a stake.  They are a pain to transport though.

With mallards, try and get a couple of head positions to mix it up a bit and I would try and buy the big ones.  16 inch or even better 18 inch.  Much more visible on the big water.

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## Rock river arms hunter

cheers Mass!

I bought some 16" Mallards from wills,12 of em for $80, its the waterfowler brand, floaters with everything ready to rock n roll...

Yea I was going to buy some like 4 of em, just for starting out I was pondering if a spread of 18 mallards and 6 parries would do the trick?

I'm also going to shoot my shotty on thursday arvo with some mad keen duck shooting family freinds of ours, I was told to shoot some heavy steel through it to loosen the action up on it abit... I think thats partially their way of saying man up and feel the power of a 12 gauge!
correct lol?

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## MassiveAttack

Standard recommendation with any new shotgun is to shoot a box of full noise game loads (steel or lead, doesn't matter) though it to loosen it up before shooting trap loads.  It's also a good idea to bust a few clays with your hunting ammo before opening day.  This only works if you have a thrower and some private land as it's strictly no game loads at all gun clubs.

Your decoys sound good but how many parries do you have on the spots you intend to hunt.  If the answer is "I don't know" then spend a evening sitting by your spot watching what comes in before opening day.  If you have lots of parries then fair enough.  If not I would either buy none or two (depending on the size of the packs of deeks) and then buy either a parrie caller instead or more mallard deeks.  Parries are more of a paddock thing and they will come into mallard spreads.  This does depend on your spot though.

What size are the parrie deeks?  Ideally you want 18" as real parries are quite a lot bigger than mallards.

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## Rock river arms hunter

hmmm yea cheers for that! I've bought some:RIO Royal Steel 32gram 2 3/4 number ones and a pack of Club Uno 32 gram 2 3/4 number 3's... that rio stuff should go well on most ducks?

I'll be trying it out on thursday after work, bust clays etc with a long time family freind and his son who are mad keen duck shooters!

Reallistically I'm after a load that will work well to realistic ranges(40m) and that will deal to parries,mallards and the odd Goose as a general purpose round....

There are plenty of parries on 2 locations but I haven't asked 1 and the other I can't shoot em..... by in large though there will be mallards and dependant on permission parries,  like 30 or so on one property....

I was pondering about buying some silhoutte decoys? and some foam ones for the parries

oh really? well that does make sense being that their a shellduck so a bit bigger aye!

mint as mate

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## puku

Not sure about your ammo choice there RRAH, I've never been a fan of the Rio steel as I trouble with it so changed (Im sure there are others that are opposite).  Also 1's??  There probably a bit big a shot mate, especially in 2 3/4in.  I don't know the figures but would think there are a better number of pellets per load in 2's or 3's.
Personally I shoot 3in 1 1/8oz 4's or 3's for ducks, I much prefer the pattern Im getting from these rather than they 2's or lower that we started with when steel came in.

puku

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## Rock river arms hunter

okay cheers for that!

Yea I was even tempted being new to the game to grab some number 4's but in a slightly heavier loading due to being more pellets and a good confidence builder for a newbie?

I've been told for lead mini mag is mint stuff but at a 42 gram loading i think my shoulder won't be too happy lol!

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## Chris

> okay cheers for that!
> 
> Yea I was even tempted being new to the game to grab some number 4's but in a slightly heavier loading due to being more pellets and a good confidence builder for a newbie?
> 
> I've been told for lead mini mag is mint stuff but at a 42 gram loading i think my shoulder won't be too happy lol!


#4 shot lead or steel works fine with 36 gram , less leed required for steel .#2 or 3 probably better in steel but I'd stick with 36g

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## Rock river arms hunter

yea I was thinking that mate!

36g # 3's :-)

alright next week I gotta buy some and I was going to buy a slab.... whos got quality ammo at under 200 for 250? any recomendations?

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## Rock river arms hunter

In a 3" loading? or 2 3/4 do the trick?

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## Chris

36g steel will be 3" ,lead 2 3/4" .

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## MassiveAttack

You would be better off with Falcon 2 3/4 in 3 shot than the Rios I would have thought.  Use the Rios up busting clays and then buy some falcon for the season.

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## Chris

Have nearly a slab of 40 g Falcon #4 if anyone wants them ,bout 200 shells I think.(lead)

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## Rock river arms hunter

What do you guys think of tungsten shot? also I'm thinking of buying a slab of Clever T3 12g Soft Steel Hunting 2 3/4" 35 gram Number 3s ?

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## Dundee

Alright bac too the subject my decoys are out!Only nine days too go :Thumbsup: 

Todays pics of the ponds and decoy spread

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## MassiveAttack

> What do you guys think of tungsten shot? also I'm thinking of buying a slab of Clever T3 12g Soft Steel Hunting 2 3/4" 35 gram Number 3s ?


I haven't personally used it but a shooting mate didn't have good things to say about any of the Clever ammo.  Is it tungsten or tungsten matrix?  Tungsten is hard, very hard and there is a small chance it may scratch your barrel.  Tungsten matrix is tungsten powder mixed with plastic so it's soft - softer than lead but still heavy like lead.

Personally I would just stick with mainstream ammo.  Gamebore or kent or if you are cheap, Falcon.

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## EeeBees

Heheheheee!! at least with 1s you wont have to pluck them :Grin:  :Grin:  :Grin:

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## upnorth uplander

i have use clever ammo and have had no problems with it, in both lead and steel

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## Rock river arms hunter

cheers,I am going to buy some 2 3/4 soft steel from reloaders!

if your up my way give me a bell and ill buy you a drink :-)

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## Chris

I'm wondering if maybe you're gonna get some big wholes in you pattern with 1 1/8 oz #3's 
Couple of box's of Winchester super-x steel in 36g / 1 1/4oz might be worth having for back-up.

Opening day comes but once a year

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## upnorth uplander

dont waste your $$ on winchester shit, nothing wrong with clever ammo

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## Rock river arms hunter

hmmm cheers for that!

I'm grabbing a case of Rio Royale 3" 36gram #3's so i think they should do it nicely!

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## upnorth uplander

did you get some decoys

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## Rock river arms hunter

Yep! got em from wills, 75 for 12 16" mallards, 4 drakes and 8 hens...

I'm just going to sort out some parry ones aswell,might get a couple of foam ones and some silhoutte FUDS

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## killwell

just picked up a doz hot buy avery deeks look very ducky very happy with the purchase

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## Chris

> just picked up a doz hot buy avery deeks look very ducky very happy with the purchase


Have used those for a couple of seasons,not impressed so got a dozen Storm Front to try this year. Will see if they as good as they crack them up to be.

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## upnorth uplander

why arent you impressed

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## Chris

the ducks seem to ignore them ,like they can't even see them.

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## killwell

might be the calling cris haha :Wtfsmilie:  will rate them after the big day and see wheather they do the job or not :Psmiley:

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## Chris

calling works fine without any decoys .Still a heap of ducks in freezer from last season.

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## Rock river arms hunter

Finally christened the 12gauge today, holy hell what fun! cracked a few clays here and there but I think i really need a lesson on how to before being unleashed upon living creatures....

I think I've got the shotgun bug now!!!! :Thumbsup:

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## EeeBees

RRAH, I am glad you have come over to the shotgun side!!!!  You will never go back from here on in!!!!          Stand properly, stock hard but comfortable into the shoulder, and remember the lead and you cant go wrong really... :Have A Nice Day:

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