refilling the decoy trailer, some queries on products

[32-40win]

Anyway, I am looking at various snow socks, honker or speck shells.
The choices for socks seem to be better, the choices on shells seem to suck.
Could use some input from those who may have used the Skyfall or Winglocker socks, there is another one out there, Feathertek. They are enticing as the price differences take up some of the exchange or freight factor, but, are they likely to stand up OK.
Winglocker has been out for 5-6 yrs now, makes specks as well, Skyfall has 2 or 3 yrs out there, seem to have improved things and have a decent looking stake setup now. Feathertek is close to Sillosock pricing, not real sure what advantage they have.
Deadly's are too much money, Sillosock is about the same as I paid in 2010, except for the exchange rate.

Any insights on these?

Had FA and GHG oversize honkers, was happy enough with FA, but, new ones are not tail-flocked. Next to no difference in pricing between the two these days, stupid prices up here though. Only one I can see that is similar to what I had in being flocked both ends are Avian-x AXF shells, which I am sure will wind up being a stupid price with the freight.
I could buy speck shells and flock them, not real thrilled about that process though. No more GHG FFD's available. Don't much like the colours on the specks I see, so, they'd likely have to be done anyways. Doesn't appear to be an easy solution to that option, other than running socks instead.

I can certainly see how newbies can get discouraged with decoys. By the time all is said and done, it will be a 10,000.00 bill on this.

[wildside2014]

Have you looked at cutting your price in half and going with a Big Als style decoy or something similar?

[kingrat]

anyone know where to get real geese pro series 2? having a tough time finding them in Saskatchewan.

[snowman160]

Originally Posted by wildside2014

Have you looked at cutting your price in half and going with a Big Als style decoy or something similar?

Do they have fabric on both sides?or hard plastic?

[Diesel_wiesel]

Originally Posted by 32-40win

I can certainly see how newbies can get discouraged with decoys. By the time all is said and done, it will be a 10,000.00 bill on this.

just out of curiosity
to spend that much at once??
are you a guide or outfitter ???
reason I'm asking is
most guys wives would have a conniption fit and blow out a diode or 2 or 6
if they spent that much at once
on decoys

[wildside2014]

Originally Posted by snowman160

Do they have fabric on both sides?or hard plastic?

theyre silhouette dekes. Chloroplast basically

[tikka250]

i have used a buddies skyfly's before and between the other socks i have used (tanglefree and silosock) i would hands down choose the skyfly's. on the one hunt i was on we used a mix of skyfly and silosock socks and i found in the heavy 50kmh winds the silosocks would whip around wildly like a cheap bag while the skyflys bobbed around like a good decoy should. the colapsable backbone on the skyflys is a huge help in being able to store piles of decoys as well.
for shells this year we ran all ghg flocked head shells and had great success. so far the decoys are holding up well to the ***** and abuse we have put them through.

[Pikebreath]

Never used skyfly, or feathertek, they appear to white rock knockoffs,,, and the winglocker looks like a cheap silo sock imitation,,,

That said, if I was starting over building a 600 sock spread,,, I would purchase silo sock feeders for 2/3 (400 total) of my spread (becuz likely more snows are killed over SS than all the others combined),, and then I would add 100 slammers becuz they have the biggest sock and tallest stake (28") to use to around the blinds,,,, and another 100 white rocks with the soft plastic upright heads just to the give spread a more real look and white rock heads are the best I have found on the market.

As far Canada decoys go, I would seriously consider using the Higdon Alpha Wobbler shells. these shell have flocked heads, rounded bottoms, and are put up in 24 inch steel stakes, They have the appearance of being full bodies with some nice wobble when there is wind. I leave the heads on my 6 dozen wobblers as taking them on and of is PIA,, but they do take less space up in your trailer. My 6 dozen legless wobblers take about 1/2 the trailer space as my 40 full bodies do, and they cost less per dozen than getting a dozen full bodies.

We bought several dozen FA Last Pass speck decoys a couple years when Final Approach was being taken over by Primos. I will say those FA speck dekes look very realistic and work as good or better than any other speck decoy I have seen in use in recent years. I believe they may be back on the market now.

[32-40win]

I hear you Pikebreath. The changes on various websites in the last two wks is something else. One site says FA honker shells are now discontinued, GHG are a stupid price, Avian-x AXF may be the way to go, but still are not cheap, likely 1850.00 + frt on 8 doz. I figure likely 22-2300 there. FA are 270.00/doz up here. GHG oversize are 329.
There don't seem to be any decent speck shells to be had, all would need flocking.

Prairiewinds prices just went up, they have new pricing for their free shipping in the US built in. And I am looking at 23doz to replace, plus flappers. Mix of specks and snows, plus bags, which they just ran out of.
Nothing I've seen under 100.00/doz here, specks are more again, sentries are more, flappers are more. Although, with frt, it may be worthwhile to try to strike a deal up here.
I did manage to get two bags of Flambeau grass, out of NFLD.

Tikka, if you have a contact for your friend,pls PM me, like to talk to him.

Wildside, I am not really enthralled with silos. I had shells, will replace them with shells. That is just me though. I like shells, sillosocks.

Blinds are a bit of a killer, they'll be 1000.00 or so. Replacing 3 of those. Not worth buying down south.

[ontario gunner]

Rogers sporting goods has their big sale going on right now.. free shipping in the USA for purchase over $100.. order from there and have it sent too that mail depot in sweetgrass and do a road trip.

[Diesel_wiesel]

there is some good sights on Facebook selling decoys and blinds
I realise yer looking for new decoys,
but I've seen lots of deals on BNIB silo sock and full body's and shells

[gloszz]

Originally Posted by 32-40win

Anyway, I am looking at various snow socks, honker or speck shells.
The choices for socks seem to be better, the choices on shells seem to suck.
Could use some input from those who may have used the Skyfall or Winglocker socks, there is another one out there, Feathertek. They are enticing as the price differences take up some of the exchange or freight factor, but, are they likely to stand up OK.
Winglocker has been out for 5-6 yrs now, makes specks as well, Skyfall has 2 or 3 yrs out there, seem to have improved things and have a decent looking stake setup now. Feathertek is close to Sillosock pricing, not real sure what advantage they have.
Deadly's are too much money, Sillosock is about the same as I paid in 2010, except for the exchange rate.

Any insights on these?

Had FA and GHG oversize honkers, was happy enough with FA, but, new ones are not tail-flocked. Next to no difference in pricing between the two these days, stupid prices up here though. Only one I can see that is similar to what I had in being flocked both ends are Avian-x AXF shells, which I am sure will wind up being a stupid price with the freight.
I could buy speck shells and flock them, not real thrilled about that process though. No more GHG FFD's available. Don't much like the colours on the specks I see, so, they'd likely have to be done anyways. Doesn't appear to be an easy solution to that option, other than running socks instead.

I can certainly see how newbies can get discouraged with decoys. By the time all is said and done, it will be a 10,000.00 bill on this.

I have the skyfly decoys you talk about and brought a bunch of generic ones from China. It depends what you are looking for. I can send pictures of three different companies and you can choose. I like the SkyFly ones, and bought coroplast at Rona and just cut out the same shape that the Economy Sillosocks have.

[Pikebreath]

Originally Posted by Diesel_wiesel

just out of curiosity
to spend that much at once??
are you a guide or outfitter ???
reason I'm asking is
most guys wives would have a conniption fit and blow out a diode or 2 or 6
if they spent that much at once
on decoys

I always tell my wife I could be spending 3 times more than that on a Harley like a lot of old guys my age do!!!! And I guarantee you goose decoys only attract geese ,,,not attract "biker chicks" ,,, so in the long run the decoys are a much better investment for marital harmony

[32-40win]

Ya, Diesel, Facebook buy groups are something you have to be very careful with. I stay out of that stuff, it is simpler. Good for finding some outfits that have sales, but, then there is freight. Have to be careful on that as well, as some outfits have "handling charges". Decoys are a pig when it comes to freight, bulky, not real heavy.
Ont Gunner, I'd need someone to run across the border, can't do that myself. Never inquired how big a shipment they would accept down there, or what their fees are, and some places would not ship to them as well. Gas and driving time from here adds up, time clearing customs, etc.

[Diesel_wiesel]

I ended up buying all the material myself and built my own
I bought a huge roll of Tyvek paper and 15 sheets of choroplast
and some thin 8foot long dowels which I then cut to the length I wanted
my wife has been down from a major back surgery so she sewed them up for me
it took some time, but that was on my side
I got 600 decoys for less then 1/4 of the price
they work just as good as anything that you can purchase ready made

[ward]

Originally Posted by Diesel_wiesel

I ended up buying all the material myself and built my own
I bought a huge roll of Tyvek paper and 15 sheets of choroplast
and some thin 8foot long dowels which I then cut to the length I wanted
my wife has been down from a major back surgery so she sewed them up for me
it took some time, but that was on my side
I got 600 decoys for less then 1/4 of the price
they work just as good as anything that you can purchase ready made

You and your Wife did a great job. A good Snow shoot over your own decoys would be nice experience.

[2 Tollers]

Originally Posted by Diesel_wiesel

I ended up buying all the material myself and built my own I bought a huge roll of Tyvek paper and 15 sheets of choroplast
and some thin 8foot long dowels which I then cut to the length I wanted
my wife has been down from a major back surgery so she sewed them up for me it took some time, but that was on my side I got 600 decoys for less then 1/4 of the price they work just as good as anything that you can purchase ready made

Nice job by you and your wife.

[gloszz]

Originally Posted by Diesel_wiesel

I ended up buying all the material myself and built my own
I bought a huge roll of Tyvek paper and 15 sheets of choroplast
and some thin 8foot long dowels which I then cut to the length I wanted
my wife has been down from a major back surgery so she sewed them up for me
it took some time, but that was on my side
I got 600 decoys for less then 1/4 of the price
they work just as good as anything that you can purchase ready made

Can you tell me what dowels you used? I have tried 9 gauge wire and 14 gauge wire and the wood dowels I would think would break. I am stuck with 400 "sillosocks" with no stakes haha.

[Diesel_wiesel]

Originally Posted by gloszz

Can you tell me what dowels you used? I have tried 9 gauge wire and 14 gauge wire and the wood dowels I would think would break. I am stuck with 400 "sillosocks" with no stakes haha.

I went to smith steel in Yorkton SK
I took a piece of choroplast with me so I could match up the size I wanted
and they had bundles of it there
I just counted out 100 dowel 8 ft long about the same size as silo socks stakes same stiffness
if I remember right they were $1.25 each for an 8ft length at the time I made my stakes 2 ft long each with a hook
that was 4 years ago

[hunter0968]

There are some big changes coming up with the hardcore decoys. They had a bad reputation the last few years but I know I will be definitely looking into them in the near future.

[Matt_1616]

Originally Posted by Pikebreath

Never used skyfly, or feathertek, they appear to white rock knockoffs,,, and the winglocker looks like a cheap silo sock imitation,,,

That said, if I was starting over building a 600 sock spread,,, I would purchase silo sock feeders for 2/3 (400 total) of my spread (becuz likely more snows are killed over SS than all the others combined),, and then I would add 100 slammers becuz they have the biggest sock and tallest stake (28") to use to around the blinds,,,, and another 100 white rocks with the soft plastic upright heads just to the give spread a more real look and white rock heads are the best I have found on the market.

As far Canada decoys go, I would seriously consider using the Higdon Alpha Wobbler shells. these shell have flocked heads, rounded bottoms, and are put up in 24 inch steel stakes, They have the appearance of being full bodies with some nice wobble when there is wind. I leave the heads on my 6 dozen wobblers as taking them on and of is PIA,, but they do take less space up in your trailer. My 6 dozen legless wobblers take about 1/2 the trailer space as my 40 full bodies do, and they cost less per dozen than getting a dozen full bodies.

We bought several dozen FA Last Pass speck decoys a couple years when Final Approach was being taken over by Primos. I will say those FA speck dekes look very realistic and work as good or better than any other speck decoy I have seen in use in recent years. I believe they may be back on the market now.

I agree with the Wobblers. They're stackable but still give a full body look. Fairly durable, which is great because to stack them, you need to grind them together. If you stack them though, it means you'll have to deal with putting the stakes in and out every time, with the cotter pins. Not the funnest with cold hands. Not quite as easy as tossing out a Bigfoot... Overall though, it's nice to have a few around so your trailer isn't bursting at the seams!

[bobalong]

Originally Posted by gloszz

Can you tell me what dowels you used? I have tried 9 gauge wire and 14 gauge wire and the wood dowels I would think would break. I am stuck with 400 "sillosocks" with no stakes haha.

http://www.ebay.com/bhp/yard-sign-stakes
http://www.canadalawnsigns.com/stakes.html

[BeerSlayer1]

Originally Posted by Pikebreath

I always tell my wife I could be spending 3 times more than that on a Harley like a lot of old guys my age do!!!! And I guarantee you goose decoys only attract geese ,,,not attract "biker chicks" ,,, so in the long run the decoys are a much better investment for marital harmony

Love it Pb. Ha ha.

I've always said my wife has no idea how many decoys I own and I have no idea how many pairs of shoes she owns. If one of us wants to add to the collection, no problem cause the other will never know......It's a perfect marriage lol.

[Pixel Shooter]

Tough decisions lol. Not sure what I would do if I was to do it all over again. Had opportunity to shoot over skyflys, not personally a fan. Buddy bought 25 dozen and lots of broken handles first ti,e out with them and stake system in hard ground would suck. Like my sillosocks. Too bad wholesale blew out their sillosocks last month for $400 for 10 dozen.

I ran shells forever. Now run full bodies with a full set up of Canada silos for walk ins and filler around blinds. Cargo trailer to carry all my crap. Simple days with shells could get everything in back of my box and simpler days. G&h shells shot more birds than I care to count. Biggest challenge with shells these days is the stack ability sucks and space is always a premium. what's with the sleepers in the combo packs lol. Only shell I think I would buy is the ghg over sized with flocking. Stack decently. I don't get too caught up in the flocking. When and if they can figure it out there dead. Look great it don't kill more birds. Shoot over fully flocked full bodies and they do make a difference on crisp early mornings vs every other decoys frosting over. Avian x with retractable basis are awesome but not cheap and we don't baby them and hold up great.

Don't skimp now. Now is not the time to buy. Big enough order. Have shipped to border with free shipping. Worth the drive. Dollar sucks but when sales start might be worth?

[Canadasnowman]

Oh my gosh..... You guys are talking big numbers. I too am making several of my own with Coroplast right now, on them ugly days. Saving big money. Snows and Canadas. I'm not fussy, I have a number of shells, sleeper shells, feeder shells, wind sox with Coroplast heads, and silhouettes ...... None have flocked heads. Can't afford the cash for top quality, nor the room.
It's a fun reward making your own that puts a smile on your face when shooting limits.
Some great ideas from several on the Internet.
Wish I could do 400, shoot I'd need more helpers then lol.
I think it dies prove the more bodies in the field the better rather then detail and quality though.
Csm

[Seige]

Those are great snow dekes DW, both you and your wife made.

Very well done.

Hope your wife recovers well from back surgery, and she may join you out there.

I may just have to do some myself, (the decoys) as that savings is brilliant.

May the birds continually vortex within range for everybody! Play safe

S

[ganderblaster]

Originally Posted by Pixel Shooter

Tough decisions lol. Not sure what I would do if I was to do it all over again. Had opportunity to shoot over skyflys, not personally a fan. Buddy bought 25 dozen and lots of broken handles first ti,e out with them and stake system in hard ground would suck. Like my sillosocks. Too bad wholesale blew out their sillosocks last month for $400 for 10 dozen.

I ran shells forever. Now run full bodies with a full set up of Canada silos for walk ins and filler around blinds. Cargo trailer to carry all my crap. Simple days with shells could get everything in back of my box and simpler days. G&h shells shot more birds than I care to count. Biggest challenge with shells these days is the stack ability sucks and space is always a premium. what's with the sleepers in the combo packs lol. Only shell I think I would buy is the ghg over sized with flocking. Stack decently. I don't get too caught up in the flocking. When and if they can figure it out there dead. Look great it don't kill more birds. Shoot over fully flocked full bodies and they do make a difference on crisp early mornings vs every other decoys frosting over. Avian x with retractable basis are awesome but not cheap and we don't baby them and hold up great.

Don't skimp now. Now is not the time to buy. Big enough order. Have shipped to border with free shipping. Worth the drive. Dollar sucks but when sales start might be worth?

Were you pounding in the Skyfly's with a hammer? I ordered a few dozen to try out and was impressed with them but the ground was soft when we were out.

[32-40win]

I ended up with getting the 36doz pck of Skyfly's, and 8doz GHG speck shells. What I have tried so far with the Skyfly's in the ground, has been OK. May have to be more fussy about picking seed holes in harder ground, or a person could sharpen the ends a bit on a sander. Haven't tried that yet, may help, may not.. There are places where Sillosocks won't go in easy either.
Can't see Whiterocks or Tanglefrees being any better, same stake style, decoys were more money and the Tanglefree's take a lot more space, as they don't fold up. I didn't try out any Whiterocks other than the blind door dekes, their bags seem to be about the same as the Sillosock on the wind.
The Skyfly's do pick up wind a hair better than a Tanglefree, and way better than a Sillosock. Part of that could be because of no heads, but, the bag seems to be lighter as well.
I will have to flock the GHG specks, but, that is OK, they were what I wanted.
Freight is brutal on that stuff. A mostly complete replacement order with the 23doz Sillosocks and the 8 doz shells and 5 flappers, 2 doz duck shells, couple of bags, 3 blinds, would have been 1600.00 US out of Prairie Winds.