Thoughts.........'Sounds like similar steps we went through - we had G&H std. mallards, then upgraded to swivel-head magnums when they first came-out. Sold the 4 dz std's and bought 2 dz mags. Then added 2 more dz, then a dz each of gadwall, wigeon, and std. pintails to build an open-water spread for river hunting from a boat. A friend had some Super-mags but they took-up a lot of room in the boat. We opted for 'numbers' and variety of species over 'size' for visibility. We later added 30 G&H honker floaters that provided size factor in visibility equation. Even though we have all the decoys we should ever need for most hunting situations (water and dry field), we rarely put-out more than what we think is necessary given the conditions - usually whatever we can get in 2 bags for open water or usually no more than 2-6 decoys in the timber..........and both of those scenarios would have to be when there's enough wind to move the decoys around a bit - otherwise, it's 2 or 3 decoys on a jerk string. Maybe if we ever get the concentrations of birds we enjoyed in the late 70's and 90's we'll consider a big open-water spread again - 'requires a lotta effort and time.fieldt76 wrote:Kicking around the idea of getting a dozen G&H and a dozen Dakotas and comparing them at the end of the season.
Right now, all of my decoys are standards. Probably going to step up to magnums or super-magnums. Thoughts?
As far as mixing brands - it may not seem like it matters that much to ducks until you see'um slide-off for what could be any number of reasons. You wouldn't want it to be because of your decoys. Why chance it?
Personally, I like consistency and realism - so we generally don't mix brands of the same species - generally, the paint schemes vary enough that it wouldn't look realistic. Though, when ducks want in a certain spot, consistency might be less critical than if the few ducks that are around become increasingly more wary.
If you're in the Starkville area, you're welcome to come by and compare G&H magnums, GHG over-size, and Dakotas. I would even sell the GHG's - they haven't been used much.
I think the best recommendation I could make (value-wise) is to go with 2 dz G&H mags and flock the drakes' heads. Build your spread from that - then branch-out as your situation dictates.
I wouldn't get 2 brands and try to do a comparitive analysis - too many other influences to prove or disprove 'effectiveness'.
