decoy eye question?

M

mike samilo

Member
I have some ll bean decoys that are missing the glass eyes,Id like to replace them does aybody know what size eyes they were I dont want to make the holes bigger.Also I think the original eyes were held in by a little wire,can i get eyes with the wire to push them in?Or is my only choice without the wire and im going to have to set them in a glue of some sort,any help appreachiated thanks
 
probably 9 mm-brown---contact tohickon glass eyes, or get up with Willy and tell him you need them on wires-i think there is a guy in kennebunkport who is still making the bean style dekes, so he may be able to lead you to correct size. you might find him on the dcf, , under the name, blackduckin.
 
Thanks George but we only carry the flatbacks and nothing on wires any longer. your andvise of tohikon is probably right on the money. As an aside regarding flat back eyes: I cannot say that I have ever heard of anyone having a flat back eye fall out of a decoy if it was glued in with epoxie or waterproof glue. When I was using the eyes with wires I would cut the wire off completly and have flatbacks essentially anyway. Traditionally the eyes on wires have very large pupils and do not look realistic IMHO but they are perfect for the old time decoys.

Willy
 
im really just concerned about getting the right size,I have around a dozen ll bean dekes and half are missing the eyes,all the eyes are red,the wire is not important,ill just glue the new ones in
 
Hello Mike,
I buy my eyes from Willy. If you have a drill bit collection try and match the size with the end of your bit then change it (guess) to mm. I do believe that llbean decoys the eyes arent set in puddy/epoxy. I think they are just glued on the head/ Might want to buy some eyes from Willy and some eye setting epoxy and drill a little hole and reset them. Maybe not.. you might want to keep them as close to they are when you bought them. The duck blind is having a sell on eyes right now. What are they coots? Woodies? Wooden heads or plastic? Look on Willy's site they have a chart with the type of duck and the size eyes you need.. Hope that helps.. Ed
 
ed,thanks for the reply they are black ducks trying to keep them the original size on the holes that are there already,looking to just mix up some epoxy and press them back in
 
Mike, Blackducks with red eyes? Thats different isn't it? 12 mm dark browm is what I use in my decoys for Blacks. I dont have any ll beans anymore. Ok cool good luck.. Ed
 
man, youo might kill more blacks if they had brown eyes--black, as per willy, was pretty much de rigeur for oldies-i loop the wires and embed in plastic wood--have some over thirty years old with original set in them.
 
Willy, i have not had much trouble decoying ducks, and you cannot eat judges!!! mix pupils, then the ducks think they are coming into stroke victims! hehehehheheh
 
thanks a lot George....I just about spit my single malt all over my flat screen. I think the "I've just been goosed look" is quite popular with the waterfowl set.

Willy
 
I dont know why there red if i knew how to post pics id show em to you,wierd i didnt think red was fitting I havent used them yet,a widow in my town gave them to me because she knew i hunted im trying to get em fixed up to gun over,they had so much dust on them from being in the garage i had to wash them to see if there was any paint left on them they turned out real nice
 
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