Banded Mallard decoys -review sort of

Mark W

Mark W

Well-known member
In my ongoing quest to stay light, I started looking for the lightest, easily transported dozen decoys I could find. Most were from another time and place and a couple of folks on this site had some decoys they would sell (thanks to those folks). Somehow I had come across a newer site, Banded Mallard. They seem to have similar decoys to the old Flambeau Feather Flex decoys. Site claimed they weighed next to nothing and they could be stacked for easy transport. I looked around the web for reviews but they were not to be found. Birthday was a couple months back and a dozen of these decoys were on the suggestion list. Wife actually purchased these and I've been toying with them for some time now. For what I was looking for, they fit the bill pretty nice. I don't how they will work fooling ducks but I've seen old Clorox bottles fool ducks so we will see.


As advertised, these decoys are light. If a dozen of them weigh a pound I would be surprised - seriously. They also stack very nicely as 12 stacked on top of each other would easily fit into a small backpack with room for other stuff. A small difference from the older decoys, these bodies are flocked, or something very similar to flocking. Wonder how this will hold up over the years.


View attachment BM1.jpg


I added a swivel on the bottom of the head and used some mono and a sliding 2oz egg weight to keep the decoy in place. Don't think I will need anymore than this as the decoy is quite light. I've floated one a couple of times and the weight seems fine. I did notice that with the head being in the front (duh), the decoy does have a slight forward leaning stance. Nothing a little bit of tire weights, or lead tape won't fix.


View attachment BM3.jpg


View attachment BM4.jpg


Since my goal is one small backpack to carry everything in, I found a way to attach both the bodies and heads to the backpack that should work. Not the best picture but the bodies are just held together with some mono and attached to the outside of the backpack. The heads with about 3' of mono are looped through the shoulder loops and then attached to the backpack as well. This way they won't be hanging down low and catching on stuff.


View attachment BM5.jpg


Will know in a few short months how this all works out.


Mark W
 
If it were that easy, I do believe I would pay heavily for it. Never seen a duck shot that is banded - ever. Never shot one myself either.


Mark W
 
Well I did shoot one but it was I think 1964 or 5 but my CRS is kicking in and I can't remember S. Mark , you need a couple dozen full bodied cedar decoys to really feel like you are really hunting. Are the shoulder to shoulder skybusters getting to you? True story- I woke up from a very bad dream about that just a couple nights ago. I must be just getting to be a cranky ol fart
 
This reminds me of my first decoys, Feather Flex mallards. Yes they are very light and can be rigged with just a small fishing sinker. But....
Not very practical on windy open water.
Even worse, I noticed after a couple of hours they were riding lower in the water......turns out they soak up water like a sponge!
Retired them and bought some molded plastic Flambeau mallards.
 
This reminds me of my first decoys, Feather Flex mallards. Yes they are very light and can be rigged with just a small fishing sinker. But....
Not very practical on windy open water.
Even worse, I noticed after a couple of hours they were riding lower in the water......turns out they soak up water like a sponge!
Retired them and bought some molded plastic Flambeau mallards.
Click to expand...

Never thought about the foam sucking up water. Thanks for pointing this out. May have to wax the bottom and inside of the decoy to prevent that from happening. any other suggestions to stop water influx.

Not worried about windy days and choppy water. These won't be used in areas where I would see this.

Mark W
 
This reminds me of my first decoys, Feather Flex mallards. Yes they are very light and can be rigged with just a small fishing sinker. But....
Not very practical on windy open water.
Even worse, I noticed after a couple of hours they were riding lower in the water......turns out they soak up water like a sponge!
Retired them and bought some molded plastic Flambeau mallards.
Click to expand...

Kim you took the words right out of my mouth! I had a dozen of the feather flex mallards in mid-90s and they never lived up to my expectations. I was excited about the weight and transportability but any kind of wind caused me issues and they also soaked up water on long hunts. It's possible the ones posted are made of different material but they are eerily similar to the old ones (these new heads look a little different) so I wonder if someone just bought the molds are now rebranding...
 
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