Tue Mar 18, 2014 9:46 am
As for H2o decoys, I persoanlly like Big Foot floaters--they are like a mganun size for better visibility. I used to use G&H but their heads would break too easily. I have no experience with GHG or others.
As for field hunting--do you have the space or a trailer to haul FBs? If not consider Real Geese IIs silos as they the best out there and very compact. The only draw back is that you need a 1/3 more to mimick the same amount of decoys, meaning if you want the visibility of 3 dz, you need 4 dz silos.
If going FBs, I have no opinion as there are so many new brands out there that I just have no experiences with as to if they hold up well. But the old stand by and reknowned for durability are the Big Foot FBs.
And then add this consideration to the mix, especially for field decoys--how hard are the birds hunted where you hunt? If like Rochester where they see lots of decoy spreads, usually 1 of 2 things win out - numbers and/or quality. And conversely, if minimal/no hunting pressure you can use less numbers and mediocre quality just fine for good results.
And of course there is ones budget to factor in all of this. Everyone is different. I've seen guys that can not spend $200, and yet have seen guys that think nothing of dropping $2000 on a decoy spread. For the guys on a budget, Craigs List, website want ads, and garage sales are your friend. All this is comparable to fishing boats. Some have 22' fiberglass with a 150hp and all decked out for $30,000 and some have an alum 14' with a 6hp OB for $1500. Hey, they booth get to go fishing.
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God, help me be the man that my dog thinks that I am.