old giant mallard decoys need ID

[bob welsh]

I recently acquired 13 old I'm guessing from the mid 50's or 60's rubber ?plastic? oversize mallard decoys. They are in new condition less dirt and dust. They have no marking of manufacture. I acquired them in Michigan but I remember as a boy hunting over these in Illinois. The rubber like material and keel design remind me of Neumann and Bennett's but that is just a guess. They are foam filled as well.

 

[don novicki]

Great find, sorry I can't help with I.D..

 

[Eric Patterson]

Bob

My thoughts too are Neumann and Bennet aka Plasti-Duk. They made them big and offered foam filling as well.

 

[Carl]

I have no idea of brand, but great find, give them a bath and they'll hunt!

 

[bob welsh]

I will clean them up and rig them . Just wondering why a maker wouldn't leave a marking on the bottom. I guess I will chalk it up to another unexplained mystery.

 

[bob welsh]

Here's a Neumann & Bennett's model D20 canvasback side by side for scale

 

[Carl]

Goose-size mallards!

 

[Steve Sanford]

Here's a Neumann & Bennett's model D20 canvasback side by side for scale

Bob~

I dunno....



Not enough tailfeathers....an odd number...and the unforgivable central tail feather! All self-respecting Mallards carry 8 pairs every where they go.....I can see them flaring from the rig now!

I'm thinking these birds are destined for a life on the shelf....

Hope this helps!

SJS

 

[bob welsh]

The designers of decoys back in the day played fast and loose with anatomy without a doubt. I do enough pie facing and rubbernecking in the blind that I need something else to blame the flares.

 

[Carl]

Bob~

I dunno....

View attachment 79338

Not enough tailfeathers....an odd number...and the unforgivable central tail feather! All self-respecting Mallards carry 8 pairs every where they go.....I can see them flaring from the rig now!

SJS

This is almost as bad as putting out an even number of goldeneye or bufflehead decoys.

 

[Vince Pagliaroli]

I like the decoys and the tail feathers just as they are. Decoys are NOT taxidermy and nor should they be. This IMO is where modern day decoy making/carving went off the rails and straight into clone creations with no personal identity or maker/carver style. The art and craft of Decoy making/carving is a wonderful form of Outsider Artistic Expression. Long Live Old School!

Hunt those decoys and they will work just fine.

my 2 cents

 

[Vince Pagliaroli]

The person that carved the masters for those decoys did a mighty fine job. It would be very good to determine the company that made those decoys.

 

[JasonM]

This is almost as bad as putting out an even number of goldeneye or bufflehead decoys.

Don't forget black ducks, they are the worst!

 

[SJ Fairbank]

Don't forget black ducks, they are the worst!

This is true. They can count.

 

[bob welsh]

Im still looking for some evidence like an advertisement or someone,s personal knowledge of this decoy model. If N&B (plasti-duk) it would have been common to see these in the midwest so there west coast location does not rule them out.

 

[Ed L.]

Bob~

I dunno....

View attachment 79338

Not enough tailfeathers....an odd number...and the unforgivable central tail feather! All self-respecting Mallards carry 8 pairs every where they go.....I can see them flaring from the rig now!

I'm thinking these birds are destined for a life on the shelf....

Hope this helps!

SJS

You could start from the mold split starting with 1. Then you have 5 on each side. That helps my head with design symmetry.