February workbench
- Thread starter Don Mintz
- Start date
Where did you get these from? These are super cool! When they set, are they hard?
Also, where are you out of? Have a website? I need to find a good waterfowl taxi to do a few birds. Might have a client here sir. Have a wood duck, a pintail and a speck that I need to get done for the wall.
They are from McKenzie taxidermy supply. And yeah they are hard when you get them, not sure if it changes when heated, obviously they have to soften to mold to the configuration you want but I'm sure they harden back up to what they were.
Just haven't had to heat a pair yet.
I'm in northeast NC. But I'm not really doing it as a business right now. Just some for my brother and myself, might try it as a business later but will have to get all the permits and stuff in order to make money from doing it.
Im going to have to look at those feet. might have some ideas but I would want to heat and reshape if possible.
Matt Mahoney
Active member
Mine too Don. Fond memories of the drakes whitling wings on a cold winter morning. Memories because I can't hear then anymore!
We would hear that whistling half way back to town in the truck after a morning of hunting GE. Barrows have a different sound to their whistle than commons, a lower buzzing whistle, maybe a richer sound, we have lots of barrows around and have had for 20 years, maybe more. People don't notice unless they have an occasional shot at a passing bird. I've never decoyed a barrows before using barrows decoys, now we shoot a few on nearly every diver hunt. When you look at them at 200 yards away on the water you can pick them out from the commons. Commons almost look completely white from the side on the water with a bit of black on their back. Barrows look like half black half white. We were covered up with GE this year, but since there were no mallards, there were no hunters. In the past the birds were flying continually through the day like usual because of other hunters in the area, we never saw another hunter or boat when we hunted this year. Apparently duck hunters around here won't duck hunt unless they can hunt mallards, I guess I don't mind if they stay home. We live in a diver hunter's paradise. You could shoot that 7 drake 7 species limit that I'm always trying to get and never shoot a puddle duck. There are at least 10 diver species we have taken here over the years mostly over species specific decoys.
This was my first barrows around 20 years ago. One of the first decoys I flocked. We had a dozen common GE decoys and 3 barrows decoys about 30 yards away. The barrows landed right in the middle of the 3 barrows decoys.
This was my first barrows around 20 years ago. One of the first decoys I flocked. We had a dozen common GE decoys and 3 barrows decoys about 30 yards away. The barrows landed right in the middle of the 3 barrows decoys.
I see I'm not the only one to try a Euro, although yours are better looking than mine. I haven't decided but I will probably repaint the head. I think I tried too hard on the "mask". Hollow white pine, painted in acrylics.
Mark Belknap
Member
Wow, those are amazing.
thanks Mark, like I said in another post, these are pretty basic colors for a black duck and no hand painting or paint pen flecking. I think they are probably as good or more effective than some of the crazy detailed decoy. There really is no way to tell the difference in heads from highly detailed flecking and these at 5 feet, let alone 20 yards. My biggest issue is ducks don't buy decoys, hunters buy decoys.
Ronald Bock
Active member
So true. I look at some of the old decoys that just had basic colors in the right places. Those decoys pulled in a lot of birds. Here I am sweating the minucia on working birds. They'll never see competition. Maybe I think I'm too much of a perfectionist.
I just can't bring myself to sell birds I'm not proud of or birds that might be looked at unfavourably by the buyer.
Mark Belknap
Member
Starting to work on a big diver spread in an old school style of black cork decoys. Nasty and dusty stuff to work with but I love the texture and look. Hoping to complete 60 - 100 more before next winter. Mostly redheads, a few cans, bluebills and buffleheads for the white. I don’t see goldeneyes usuallyAround here those old timers used alot of corn too!
It would take me 5 years to make 100! That will be an awesome rig to gun over.
Ronald Bock
Active member
Got a few projects going at once. Sanded and sealed several of these harlequins for a guide up here in AK. These ought to be nice gunners. I have a couple left on the bench that need final sanding and sealing.The goldeneye is split in two and mounted for a AKDNR display. My daughter will be painting the two halves this week. One half drake and one half a hen.