Herters 81 X 72 X 24

Steve Sanford

Steve Sanford

Well-known member
All~


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I just finished the paint on 2 dozen big Herter's Mallards and Blacks. I do not know who first got the idea to put a Herter's Model 72 Mallard/Black Mallard head on the body of a Herter's Model 81 Goose - but I think Zack Taylor probably spread the word - through Sports Afield and through one of my favorite books: Successful Waterfowling.


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These came to me from Central New York earlier in the summer ready for paint. The owner had burlaped the bodies, coated the heads with epoxy + sawdust, re-fastened with new hardware and caulk, and then primed everything with flat oils.


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I began with the Blacks and finished the Hen Mallards yesterday.

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I like the bottoms light enough in color so the owner can write his/her name with a felt marker.


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All the best,

SJS







 
Absolutely gorgeous. Don't ask me why, Steve, but I seem to favor the hens. Boy, what a spread this hunter will have for this year. Great job!
Al

PS: I really like the way you handled the speculum.
 
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I thought you were retired, you are doing work work than the 9-5 crowd. Hopefully you'll have it all done by duck season
 
Zack Taylor was one of my youthful idols. I would read everything I could that he wrote in Sports Afield and his Successful Waterfowling book which I still cherish, tattered cover and all. He was even kind enough to reply to a letter I sent him via Sports Afield. I keep that letter with his closing "Good luck hunting ZT" as my special book mark as I re-read his book from time to time. He, like so many on this site continue the legacy of hunting through connections with others. A special thanks to you Steve, and all the others that continue to share!
 
They look great Steve.
Are they all Behr paints?
What colors did you use on the hen mallard body and the blackduck heads. The drake mallard heads look real good.

I just finished some canada geese with your paint suggestions and was very pleased. The wet on wet blending is easier said than done.

Great looking gunners.
 
Bill~

All will be revealed in my Tutorial - when I can find the time....

In the meanwhile:

Black Duck Face Behr Ultra Mocha Latte PPU 5 - 4

Black Duck Body & Hen Mallard Back, Dark Markings: Behr Ultra Espresso Beans PPU 5 - 1

Hen Mallard Face & Body Behr Ultra Collectible PPU 7 - 4


Of course, nothing is simple....

On the Black Duck face, I base coat with Mocha Latter then highlight cheeks and brow with Collectible

On the Hen Mallard, I base coat all of body (except back ) with Mocha Latte, then overpaint with Collectible.

There's more - but it'll have to wait for the Tutorial.

Hope this helps!

SJS

 
Well done, I did that to some goose bodies but swapped the heads out for a mag mallard head mold that I got on the web. The 72 heads on the 81 bodies never looked right to me. When I check into a hotel I expect to find a copy of Sucsessful Waterfowling in the nightstand.
 
Birds look great. The only complaint I have with the herters is the keel. There's nothing to hold the decoy by when you wrap the anchor line.
 
Good morning, Rob~

Funny you should mention wrapping the line. I have been thinking that someone needs to do a post / documentary /psychological treatise on the wrapping of anchor lines on decoys. I learned early on to hold the head of any decoy in my left hand and wrap the line with my right, going over the body. Growing up, we always had weights that could be stored over the heads.

In our Broadbill documentary, Alan Horal shows how he puts the ring anchor over the head first, then wraps the doubled line and tucks a bight beneath it.

Others use a "figure 8" approach.

Later, I discovered that some lucky fellows - who did not trailer their rigs but kept their gunning boats tied up on the marsh between hunts or kept their decoys in a stool boat - did not wrap at all. They set the anchor beneath the bird then let the line "coil" itself down onto the deck, and then set the bird onto the line.

The problem with Herter's stool - especially the larger Geese or Brant (Model 81 or 92) - is that the torque on the head tended to loosen the head over time when the head was used as the "handle". The head would pull the screw eye and washer into - and maybe even through - the Durlon foam body.

Most modern decoys have complex keels that offer some means of wrapping the line around the keels. I cannot re-train my 63-year-old brain/muscles to wrap that way - and the keels are just contraptions that foul everything up in my hands. (As per George Costanza in Seinfeld: "...it's like those hip musicians and their complicated shoes.").

All the best,

SJS

 
Well done Steve, except I leave in 3 days to duck camp and feel I need to redo my "art" work. (ha)
Rob, I have the Herters 72's and agree with your keel issue of wrapping line. And don't like grabbing heads either Steve. I have become a Figure 8 guy. I Plasti-Dip 2 coats on 6oz flat weights, then "figure 8" the amount of line I want to use and crimp the flat weight to the line, so that I can wrap the weight around the neck. The rubberized strap weight leaves no marks on the neck. Just grab the side and bottom and wrap away. It goes pretty quickly and decoys store without the line untangling.
Good and safe hunting my friends.
Steve
 
I always grab the block from the bottom and across the keel and figure 8 the line around head and tail..Then the ring anchor over the head of the block..Never hold from the head..Just how Ive always done it...when I take out a new guy and he starts to wrap around the keel I always chuckle to myself...
 
I also wrap them in Figure 8s. I'm in the middle of modifying my herters right now. Maybe Steve can post some of my pictures to show you guys what im doing. I'm adding big cedar keels on them. Easy to handle with gloves.
 
bruce , the decoys came out great . im glad they will be put to good use. my barn was doing them a disservice hope there is room in your blind to gun over them. joe s
 
Steve, you make the hens look so simpl but so nice that I almost might give it a try. I have been intimidated due to skill and color blindness but you seem to have simple and elegant down pat!
 
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