Heydey decoys
- Thread starter Chip M.
- Start date
I never installed the weights in mine and have to upright them after tossing them. I prefer them over any other decoy for walk-in hunting.
Clinton John
Active member
You should be ok with the weights in them.
I had some, they were average in my book.
The deal breaker for me with them was hey didn't ride worth a crude in any kind of deeper open water where the wind/current was going.
So I gave them away and refilled those spots with more avin x decoys.
I had some, they were average in my book.
The deal breaker for me with them was hey didn't ride worth a crude in any kind of deeper open water where the wind/current was going.
So I gave them away and refilled those spots with more avin x decoys.
Curious..... what is the weight of one without the weight in it?
William Mills
Member
With the weights in there isn’t much weight savings over some other brands. If you store them in bags to keep them looking nice the bills or tails get permanently bent. If you carry them around on Texas rigs the paint fades quickly. Honestly not worth the money in my opinion unless you are strictly using them to carry in with out the weights and place them each individually
This is why im wondering weight if anyone can help me out with this..... I guess i could just buy one or find one and weigh it myself. Working on something...
William Mills
Member
According to their website- 10.8 pounds with no weights, per dozen. With weights they are about 15.6 pounds per dozen
So approx 14.4 oz without weight and 20.8 oz with weights..... need to get home and look at a few things. Thank you very much Mr. Mills. I missed that on their website.
Vince Pagliaroli
Well-known member
The lightest and durable "Walk In Decoys" I have in my wide array of hunting decoys are FOLD UP DECOYS F. U. D. The originals were painted by Adam Grim the winner of the Federal Duck Stamp including this years stamp. I'm uncertain if they are still made but can be found on the internet. The ducks were packaged 6 to a box. I have one unopened box of Mallards that Adam was kind enough to sign for me at the Ohio Show. One of my hunting partners called them Old Man Decoys, and at that time we were in our 60's. The ducks had no problem decoying to them when we hunted the local refuge...
my 2 cents
my 2 cents
Chip M.
Active member
That's what I was wondering. I hunt a lot of big water and have had great luck with GHG XD.
So 14 oz is REALLY light. I thought my decoys were light for what they were. I am using a custom keel I designed myself that is removable. It is removable with 2 eyebolts that are hand tight. No tools needed and by using 2 eyebolts, the decoy line can be attached to the chest end or the rump end, depending on how you want the decoy to rid in the water. I have kind of kept it close to my chest, because I am not a decoy seller. I have actually given the design to the Mintz family and what they want to do with it, they can. Im sure the brilliant mind of Mr. Mintz will only make it better. Anyone who trades for my decoys will get this, as its the only thing I know.
As far as weight, my decoy come in at 23 oz without the keel. These are solid, double flocked and anywhere you are worried about the decoy breaking, they are reinforced with components that wont break (Beak and rump primarily). Everything has a breaking point, but ive had to REALLY try hard to break these parts of the decoy. Double flocked to withstand the elements, again one of Don's creations. Ive become a true believer and ran all over the country in the elements with open slotted bags with the double flocked process last year, and those decoys look just as good as the day I made them. No issues with flocking coming off and I BEAT them last year. But still double the weight of a heyday. I go keel less when I have to hike them in somewhere, I throw the texas rig over my shoulder and just go. Not a worry in the world about flocking coming off or being beat through vegetation. I mean it when I say "unbagged and dragged", because I really dont care if they are babied at all. In fact, I purposely didnt baby my decoys in the slightest last year when I had my doubts on Don's flocking process. I usually grab 18 and do just fine on the journey with them. But again.... still 23 oz without keels. Only negative to keel less is they do not self right. Once up, they do very well. I dont have any issues with wind blowing them over either because of the solid wide bottom. Heyday, ive heard (again, correct me if wrong), can get flipped by the wind when weights not inserted because the hollow body design. I dont have this issue, but my decoys do have to be set in place when there is no keel. Also, the other negative i have heard about Heyday is they tend to bend and not hold original shape over time. Paint seems to be an issue on these as well, but I think paint on plastic decoys has been an issue for a long time on decoys. Flocking fixes that, but flocking has never been durable for the price. Believe me when I say I had my doubts when Don originally told me about his process.
I can add a part of the keel, which will self right when thrown. But there is no action when thrown out this way. The idea with this was to be hunted in stale water, no current and more of just pond type water, but didnt need to be set in place. Toss em and watch em roll over on their own. Don's river keel is no secret, and its beyond effective. So i took that idea and made it to where the "blade" could be made removable. The reason I thought of this was because Don's original design was long and sometimes hard to get in slotted bags. I thought, if I could make that blade removable quickly, I could just put them in my blind bag and put them on the keels when I did hunt current but still be able to put my decoys in slotted bags for transport. By playing with the base of the keel, through testing I was able to achieve very very nice movement in current with a blade that is half the size of Don's original length. Don's original blade length was actually to violent and in the slightest of current, a 3 oz weight couldnt hold it in place. I loved the action, but I didnt want a 6 oz weight on each decoy to hold each bird in place. In turn, now I can leave the blade in place and still put the decoy in slotted bags. This is how I will actually hunt all my birds this next season, blade on and bagged in slotted bags, just like last season. Even when not hunting current, ive been told on a jerk rig, the river keel is absolutely stunning with action.
With the keel base, no river keel blade, my decoy comes in at 29 oz.
With the keel base and with the river keel blade, my decoy comes in at 31 oz.
So for 2 oz more, I think its worth just leaving it on, especially if I can get it in slotted bags. Im very happy to be able to build such a workhorse of a decoy, fully flocked, and now that has insane motion in current that comes in under 2lbs per decoy. I do not know all the exact ins and outs of the Iq Decoys, but I know they have to be close. I will never truly be able to pay back Don for his knowledge and patience in teaching me what he has. We still are always pushing the envelope and trying to be better somehow. We try to constantly bounce ideas off each other, but unfortunately, I have been a dud this off season and havent made a ton of decoys. Life has just been weird. Im hoping its finally on the ups and ups and i can get back in the shop and finish a few birds. I have to get at least another couple dozen done as I need to send some out to a few friends who have sent me calls. I will definitely have their birds done in the next 6 weeks and shipped. Otherwise, im not a decoy maker for sale, and the keel design is just a small bit of gratitude I could give the Mintz family for how quickly they brought me along in the ability to make decoys. Im sure they will take the design and make it even more perfect.
I will try and get the video up of the action. You can see some of the elements i hauled decoys around in last season, no enclosed bags and through knarly winter storms. Even when I got home, there were many times, I didnt even take them out of the boat and they just sat open to the elements all week while I was at work. I just did my best to make the flocking fall off... and it didnt.
I am forunate to have an irrigation ditch close to the house that I can test different things throughout off season.
As far as weight, my decoy come in at 23 oz without the keel. These are solid, double flocked and anywhere you are worried about the decoy breaking, they are reinforced with components that wont break (Beak and rump primarily). Everything has a breaking point, but ive had to REALLY try hard to break these parts of the decoy. Double flocked to withstand the elements, again one of Don's creations. Ive become a true believer and ran all over the country in the elements with open slotted bags with the double flocked process last year, and those decoys look just as good as the day I made them. No issues with flocking coming off and I BEAT them last year. But still double the weight of a heyday. I go keel less when I have to hike them in somewhere, I throw the texas rig over my shoulder and just go. Not a worry in the world about flocking coming off or being beat through vegetation. I mean it when I say "unbagged and dragged", because I really dont care if they are babied at all. In fact, I purposely didnt baby my decoys in the slightest last year when I had my doubts on Don's flocking process. I usually grab 18 and do just fine on the journey with them. But again.... still 23 oz without keels. Only negative to keel less is they do not self right. Once up, they do very well. I dont have any issues with wind blowing them over either because of the solid wide bottom. Heyday, ive heard (again, correct me if wrong), can get flipped by the wind when weights not inserted because the hollow body design. I dont have this issue, but my decoys do have to be set in place when there is no keel. Also, the other negative i have heard about Heyday is they tend to bend and not hold original shape over time. Paint seems to be an issue on these as well, but I think paint on plastic decoys has been an issue for a long time on decoys. Flocking fixes that, but flocking has never been durable for the price. Believe me when I say I had my doubts when Don originally told me about his process.
I can add a part of the keel, which will self right when thrown. But there is no action when thrown out this way. The idea with this was to be hunted in stale water, no current and more of just pond type water, but didnt need to be set in place. Toss em and watch em roll over on their own. Don's river keel is no secret, and its beyond effective. So i took that idea and made it to where the "blade" could be made removable. The reason I thought of this was because Don's original design was long and sometimes hard to get in slotted bags. I thought, if I could make that blade removable quickly, I could just put them in my blind bag and put them on the keels when I did hunt current but still be able to put my decoys in slotted bags for transport. By playing with the base of the keel, through testing I was able to achieve very very nice movement in current with a blade that is half the size of Don's original length. Don's original blade length was actually to violent and in the slightest of current, a 3 oz weight couldnt hold it in place. I loved the action, but I didnt want a 6 oz weight on each decoy to hold each bird in place. In turn, now I can leave the blade in place and still put the decoy in slotted bags. This is how I will actually hunt all my birds this next season, blade on and bagged in slotted bags, just like last season. Even when not hunting current, ive been told on a jerk rig, the river keel is absolutely stunning with action.
With the keel base, no river keel blade, my decoy comes in at 29 oz.
With the keel base and with the river keel blade, my decoy comes in at 31 oz.
So for 2 oz more, I think its worth just leaving it on, especially if I can get it in slotted bags. Im very happy to be able to build such a workhorse of a decoy, fully flocked, and now that has insane motion in current that comes in under 2lbs per decoy. I do not know all the exact ins and outs of the Iq Decoys, but I know they have to be close. I will never truly be able to pay back Don for his knowledge and patience in teaching me what he has. We still are always pushing the envelope and trying to be better somehow. We try to constantly bounce ideas off each other, but unfortunately, I have been a dud this off season and havent made a ton of decoys. Life has just been weird. Im hoping its finally on the ups and ups and i can get back in the shop and finish a few birds. I have to get at least another couple dozen done as I need to send some out to a few friends who have sent me calls. I will definitely have their birds done in the next 6 weeks and shipped. Otherwise, im not a decoy maker for sale, and the keel design is just a small bit of gratitude I could give the Mintz family for how quickly they brought me along in the ability to make decoys. Im sure they will take the design and make it even more perfect.
I will try and get the video up of the action. You can see some of the elements i hauled decoys around in last season, no enclosed bags and through knarly winter storms. Even when I got home, there were many times, I didnt even take them out of the boat and they just sat open to the elements all week while I was at work. I just did my best to make the flocking fall off... and it didnt.
I am forunate to have an irrigation ditch close to the house that I can test different things throughout off season.
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looks really good William
My heaviest decoy is 28 oz, some keel less as light as 17 oz. It's very similar to William's decoys, all were made from the same pattern.
This one was competed a few days ago and weighs 28 oz. I'm up to 41 poses on the same basic pattern. As William mentioned we have had a collaboration going for a couple of years now and figure out something new every day. I gave William the basic specifications for the river keel and he came up with a dandy keel system that my son and I call the Rein-a Keel, mostly in jest, but the name kind of stuck.
I have some personal decoys that I use, same pattern that weigh 8 oz.
Foot print is the big deal for ride, I never worry about self righting, I just concern myself with not blowing over in the wind. Any foam decoy will be light prior to putting a keel on, generally speaking, on custom decoys you just have to determine what your needs are and put weight on them accordingly. I'm a lot more concerned about packing ducks out than I am packing decoys in. My pack with a dozen decoys in it, two buckets to sit on, weighs under 20 pounds. I don't even use decoy anchors, just cinch bags I made out of mesh laundry bags with rocks in them. Usually we are hiking a long way and carrying a shotgun and a fly rod.
rocks for the mesh bags are never in short supply in Idaho, no reason to pack the weights. I don't use very many decoys, usually a half dozen or so. Getting set up isn't a big deal, I never throw my decoys, I'm pretty finicky about my set up and always have a strategy in mind. To each their own, some are accuracy by volume and some are accuracy by precision. I did the 200 decoys thing 30 years ago, multiple bags and decoy carts. The older I get the less decoys I want to pack.
Regarding Heyday, I've never used any and don't know anyone who hunts over them. I've seen them at Scheels, they look decent enough. To me the biggest thing is they are made in the USA. There aren't many making decoys in the USA anymore. It's expensive and finding anyone who has any work ethic at all is difficult.
We hunt pretty fast moving water and generally have 12 oz weights that I got tired of packing, so we just gather up a few rocks and put them in mesh bags.
A couple of those 8 oz decoys.
Of course you mallard hunters could always use one of these special 17 oz decoys.
This one was competed a few days ago and weighs 28 oz. I'm up to 41 poses on the same basic pattern. As William mentioned we have had a collaboration going for a couple of years now and figure out something new every day. I gave William the basic specifications for the river keel and he came up with a dandy keel system that my son and I call the Rein-a Keel, mostly in jest, but the name kind of stuck.
I have some personal decoys that I use, same pattern that weigh 8 oz.
Foot print is the big deal for ride, I never worry about self righting, I just concern myself with not blowing over in the wind. Any foam decoy will be light prior to putting a keel on, generally speaking, on custom decoys you just have to determine what your needs are and put weight on them accordingly. I'm a lot more concerned about packing ducks out than I am packing decoys in. My pack with a dozen decoys in it, two buckets to sit on, weighs under 20 pounds. I don't even use decoy anchors, just cinch bags I made out of mesh laundry bags with rocks in them. Usually we are hiking a long way and carrying a shotgun and a fly rod.
rocks for the mesh bags are never in short supply in Idaho, no reason to pack the weights. I don't use very many decoys, usually a half dozen or so. Getting set up isn't a big deal, I never throw my decoys, I'm pretty finicky about my set up and always have a strategy in mind. To each their own, some are accuracy by volume and some are accuracy by precision. I did the 200 decoys thing 30 years ago, multiple bags and decoy carts. The older I get the less decoys I want to pack.
Regarding Heyday, I've never used any and don't know anyone who hunts over them. I've seen them at Scheels, they look decent enough. To me the biggest thing is they are made in the USA. There aren't many making decoys in the USA anymore. It's expensive and finding anyone who has any work ethic at all is difficult.
We hunt pretty fast moving water and generally have 12 oz weights that I got tired of packing, so we just gather up a few rocks and put them in mesh bags.
A couple of those 8 oz decoys.
Of course you mallard hunters could always use one of these special 17 oz decoys.
I'd never get my dog out of the decoys with that last one! Flocked, I assume?