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Thread: 2019 Decoy Project

  1. #1
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    Default 2019 Decoy Project

    I bought a dozen factory-burlapped Herter's 63s early in the summer. The guy included a headless and very damaged wigeon body (out of guilt for how much I paid). I sold two in the parking lot so I ended up with 11 decoys to work with. Here's the before picture...



    I did my usual by adding after market heads (Autumn Wings on the ringneck and bufflehead and Homer's on the shoveler and merganser) and stainless steel hardware. I originally planned to do all of them as ringneck but was intrigued with the Homer shoveler and hoodie heads and wanted to replace the cork bufflehead that I use on "oyster" hunts.

    I have been using a dozen old G&H ringnecks in the middle of black water creeks when I hunt wood ducks. I still believe that ringnecks make the best wood duck decoys but that's for another time...

    Other than home-painted eclipse bluewings, the G&H ringnecks were the last of the plastic decoys that I used regularly. I think the 6 solid-body replacements will be fine. Autumn Wings only makes ringneck heads in 72-size so I bought a couple of 67-sized bluebill and four 63-sized bluebill heads and painted them for ringnecks. I actually like the 67 sized heads better - I'll put those two on the deepest part of the long-line and use the four smaller headed decoys closer to where I'm hunting.

    Here's the semi-final results...I really like the hoodie and will probably post a picture of him during the season. The shovelers bill are not pointed down enough but I think I'm the only one that will notice. The Homer heads are hard plastic and seem to be somewhat hollow in the middle so I didn't want to try to cut the bases of the shoveler heads and end up with a big hole in the middle with nothing to attach to so I'll put up with it for a while.



    I'll probably never ever try to carve my own decoys but, for now anyway, the painting and little bit of body work I do is enough to satisfy this particular duck hunting itch.
    Ephesians 2 : 8-9



    Charles Barkley: Nobody doesn't like meat.

  2. #2
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    Beautiful as always.

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  3. #3
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    I wish i could find 4 63 burlapped wood ducks and 2 greenwings
    "Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.
    I am haunted by waters" Norman Maclean.

  4. #4
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    Those look GREAT RH! No cooler feeling than decoying ducks with decoys that you had a hand in making or refurbishing some of the classics!
    Listen to your elders. Not because they are always right but because they have more experiences of being wrong.

    "We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give" Sir Winston Churchill

  5. #5
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    We nice. Well done!


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  6. #6
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    those look great-well done!

  7. #7
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    Excellent work.

  8. #8
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    Great stuff.

  9. #9
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    Thanks guys.

    Quote Originally Posted by Phone Man View Post
    I wish i could find 4 63 burlapped wood ducks and 2 greenwings
    The buffleheads were going to be wood ducks but Homer didn't have their woodie heads in stock - I waited all summer for them but finally decided to just make the buffleads.
    Ephesians 2 : 8-9



    Charles Barkley: Nobody doesn't like meat.

  10. #10
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    Looking forward to the pictures of their use.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by WNM View Post
    Looking forward to the pictures of their use.
    Ha ha - I'm planning on a hoodie photo but, after that, I might start setting the hoodie 100 yards away to reduce the odds of an "hoodie accident"...
    Ephesians 2 : 8-9



    Charles Barkley: Nobody doesn't like meat.

  12. #12
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    Very nice RH. What kind of paints do you use? I did 6 Bluebills and 4 old cork Bean mallards this summer. I'll try to post a pic with the process I used but I've been having trouble with pics lately.

  13. #13
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    Nice work
    Member of the Tenth Legion Since 2004

  14. #14
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    They look great!

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Elcid_Fowler View Post
    Very nice RH. What kind of paints do you use? I did 6 Bluebills and 4 old cork Bean mallards this summer. I'll try to post a pic with the process I used but I've been having trouble with pics lately.
    Rustoleum spray paints- camo series (black, earth brown and khaki), flat white, and light and dark grey primer. If you're doing mallards Rustoelum makes a rust-colored primer that is a perfect match for the chest on a mallard drake.
    Ephesians 2 : 8-9



    Charles Barkley: Nobody doesn't like meat.

  16. #16
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    Very nice work!
    Genesis 9;2

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rubberhead* View Post
    Rustoleum spray paints- camo series (black, earth brown and khaki), flat white, and light and dark grey primer. If you're doing mallards Rustoelum makes a rust-colored primer that is a perfect match for the chest on a mallard drake.
    You did that with spray paint? Thats impressive and must have taken a lot of tape. I've repainted some mallards as bluebills that dont look anywhere as good as yours with a foam brush and that took a lot of time

  18. #18
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    Ought to kill a duck over those

  19. #19
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    Beautiful work.
    When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home. -Tecumseh-

    Quote Originally Posted by Griffin View Post
    You're also one of select few clemings with sense.

  20. #20
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    Forgot to post these before the season. The corks are old LL Beans that I had to repair a good bit then seal. I have a few more that still need paint but are ready to go. I did 6 of these Bluebills. They are tanks but damn the restle coat is hard on your hands when it's wet and really cold. They float well though especially in high winds and rough water.

    269AD811-C4A9-44ED-8545-636FF0A42830.jpeg

    27E43278-8199-428D-B93A-C00B9CAEC6E6.jpeg
    Last edited by Elcid_Fowler; 02-07-2020 at 12:28 PM.

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