Thread: Black duck decoys are they worth it?

Hey folks.

Just a query regarding black duck decoys..

Are they all the hype that their made out to be or do they legit work better and are easier to see than other decoys ?

I'm thinking about getting some old decoys that are spare on the farm and re painting them to be black ducks

in the early morning,lat evening light...its the shape that matters...old timers used to use tyre black over decoys and just have a few bright drakes in the spread....
repainting decoys is 50% of the fun of the preseason excitement.... heck even if you do nothing other than a tiny slash of color on speculum and maybe a creamy stripe on face of hen or two..just do it its a hell of a lot of fun.

Black ducks ate the shiz mate

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

in the early morning,lat evening light...its the shape that matters...old timers used to use tyre black over decoys and just have a few bright drakes in the spread....
repainting decoys is 50% of the fun of the preseason excitement.... heck even if you do nothing other than a tiny slash of color on speculum and maybe a creamy stripe on face of hen or two..just do it its a hell of a lot of fun.

Old timers had cork decoys

Originally Posted by dannyb

Black ducks ate the shiz mate

they are shiz eaters are they????

always thought duckweed or grain was more thier flavour,with acorn and worms as side dish....

black duck is Australian term/name for what is our grey duck the graylard term covers the cossbreeds and the late season mallard decoys that are around now sort of cover all the basis....BUT by the time old Donald is close enough to spot the detale,he should be getting an arsefull of steel #3s and the dog getting ready for a swim.

Originally Posted by bigbear

Old timers had cork decoys

sorry my bad...the fellas with early plastic decoys that had faded........

It comes down to preference, a lot of different thoughts behind it but one of the big theories is big water hunters used black ducks or painted a lot of decoys black as they were more visible from further away so had the added attraction.
I wouldn't say I like predominantly black decoys but definitely prefer to darken most decoys from factory. If you look at a mob of ducks at a distance you don't see a lot of color until you get a lot closer.

Chalkboard black paint works well on old plastics decoys

My 2c worth... I shoot predominately L Ellesmere and I have a few very dark brown decoys in my spread and I use the theory that Love Duck wrote about. My decoys are all flocked and I reckon it is important with dark coloured decoys especially [as I think ?] that if the sun comes out and the water is rough and it splashes on a dark/black painted decoy there is more reflection from the dark decoy than a lighter coloured one ? ... i am not 100% convinced that I am correct but I am more confident using my flocked decoys in rough sunshine conditions.

its a funny thing...in my 38 years of shooting ducks...Ive seen a lot of theories/ideas bandied about as being just the thing to attract birds,guaranteed to bring them swarming in etc etc.
the first that sticks in my mind was supersized decoys...direct from USA flyways,geese decoys you can sit inside of or under or row about in... magnum duck decoys so birds can see from further away...but apparently dont/cant twig to them being wrong size????
I shot parries on home farm,my decoys were lumps of punga log with crude head nailed in place,splash of white spray paint down each side and called them done. had a couple of big decoys,nealy meter long and as fat as queen latifas thigh (ha ha mental picture for the day) these were visible from a km away if way up on ridge and knew where to look...I shot plenty of parries over them..arguably not heavily hunted but they were wise enough to stay away from anyone with firearm...funny that... teenagers with lots of ammunition and accurate centrefire perhaps,,,,,,,oh how things have changed.
then it was super realistic feather patterns...I recall getting all excited when decoy had crossed wing tips!!!!
the mold shapes just kept improving,
then it was quiver magnets....mine hasnt been used for years,even made one up with weasel ball inside decoy...both are noisy
then wingspinners...also noisy if they work and when its windy enough for them to work,you dont need movement as waves moving every thing.
decoys on strings n bungies..still use them
mechanical spinners...Ive now got 3 not convinced the ybe all and end all but the combination ones sure look good from distance...more $$$$ to find
flocked decoys are newish thing...none in my spread as Im a cheap bugger...closest is blackboard paint.

I will say this.3 good realistic decoys in right place with CORRECT calling or lack there of is 10000% better than $10,000 worth of flashest decoys in wrong place and bad calling.
my 2 dunking /tipping decoys are my most valued when lake is full and decoys are close to trees.
love my fancy spoonies..but my home painted ones just as good.
goose decoys have never got me a goose.

callers,have progressed ,some might argue gone backwards/got worse.....olt shaker calls were common enough way back when I was younger,main mallard call was olt 66 or dr115 both still great calls.... there have been massive amounts of plastic acrilic calls come out in last 20 years,then there is electronic calls...mate took recording of mob of parries and took it into recording studio type person and got them to tootoo with it for him...ended up with tape recording of the bits he wanted.... ghetto blaster in maimai and hot barrels soon followed LOL

guns themself......from SxS with full chokes being the norm...possibly due to water swatting also being the LEGAL normal way to harvest birds..to these days of just about every possibly concoction bar belt fed, full auto, being used,and MOST duck shooting videos showing multiple semi autos gangbanging away to the merriment of retailers selling ammunition.... which has led somewhat to that being seen as normal way to harvest ducks...not for this KIWI it isnt.

lead ammunition had got pretty much to pinical of what it could achieve...the steel we have now is pretty good and the superdupergarycooper type stuff is said to be even better than lead was...dont know..far too pricey for mere truck drivers.

believe it or not -ordinary acrylic poster paints do just as well-easily obtained,to apply, and if knocked about simple to use in touchup. Crikey I even DIYed a wind powered mallard -on its first outing bloody wind was so strong it had a heart attack and dropped off the pole ,but not before I nailed the fat mallard drake that got too inquisitive and swung round for a second look-thats presently doing duty as weathervane on my mancave as my no1 w/p decoy prepares for the new season.cllers -got an assoretment but Ive managed to secure a sctchcall like my late father used and its good for what i want-Im not a great blower,preferring to let my more skilled colleagues play solo and i join the chorus .Im electronic on geese -two callers -boy have i had some fun with those! guns -My escort 12gS/a has been my loyal goose companion for 16+years ,but also im very fond of my wee russian princess the cute baikal u/o wehose spoken word has seen many feral geese succumb to a fatal steel enema as they realised too late what the purpose of my visit was!!Im firmly of the school build your kit to suit yourself ,and adapt it as you see fit.Ammo likewise.I dont shag round 23/4 3 4 5 for ducks(and ferals in U/O) or 3"23 34gm goose loads hull solway magnums my pet load -deadly in the escort.Ive been lucky enough to have been given a quantity of 12g /centrefire ammo so im set for the near future.

Dunno if black ducks are the go but what I have found is you need to match your decoys to the area your hunting.ie a small farm dam only needs 2-6 but big water you need a couple of dozen. It's about matching the natural number of ducks you have in the area. The rest is down to calling and camouflage/concealment. If you already have decoys and looking at adding to them then I'd buy a half dozen to add to the mix but I wouldn't get rid of what I have and only buy black ducks. Decoys are like caliber choices every one has there favorite and go to.

I'm certain ducks can identify their own species by colour. I've placed a few parry decoys in a spot of theor own seperate from mallard and grey decoys and incoming parries will usually land amongst theor own kind. I place my goose decoys seperately as well and ducks seldom land near those but the geese do. I tend to lay my grey and mallard decoys in mixed groups with strategic open landing areas between depending on wind direction to have the landing flight paths close to my zone of fire. I never call ducks close overhead.

We don't have any parrie decoys and I can tell you the parries will still come in and land amongst the mallard decoys.....infact they will come in and land even if your out on the kayak packing up the decoys with your truck parked on the bank