Ringer

Chris Toy

Chris Toy

Active member
Didn't fare too well in the pool this weekend, it was the first one pulled, still pretty happy with the way it turned out. Hollow cedar and oils.

DSC05757.jpg

 
Chris,
Don't feel so bad about getting pulled first. Two of the four birds I had in the pool were pulled first and the way I look at it is that someone needs to be first, why not me? I like the birds I did and that's what really matters to me. I love that ringer. The shape of the head and the painting on the bill in my eyes looks great. Nice Bird!
 
nice to meet you Chris

that's a nice, clean, good lookin' ringer. I could have swore my ringer hen was the first pulled though....must have been the second
 
Matt, they pointed at mine and yours and said "get those two out of here." Mine hit the edge of the pool first though! ;-)
 
Please ship to the Island of "pulled first at Westlake" located in W. Townsend, MA, c/o PF Boundy, curator.
He can lead my coastal rig this season.
 
Rich, Chris,
Do you you guys ever get any feedback as to what was the reasoning behind being eliminated early?

Chris, that is a nice looking Ringer.

Best,
Brian F.
 
Brian, You can ask the judges after the show, but they see so many birds that chances are they don't remember.

Everyone else, thanks for the comments.
 
I have stuck around and talked to past judges and got their feedback and it has always been good feedback. The thing about this type of competition is that the judges are different from year to year which isn't a bad thing but they all look for something different so its tough to make your decoys to suit them. I make my decoys to suit me (and thd real ducks) and if the judges like it then all the better but I don't get hung up on it. I use the same type of material Chris used in this decoy for keels so maybe that's what they didn't like. I like using that material so I will continue to put it on all my decoys that require a keel because I hunt my decoys after the pool competition and I want to end up with what I like.
 
Seeing that yours was pulled first makes me think, 'would they even put one of mine in the water?'

Luckily, I have no desire to enter decoy contests. As stated above they are simply dictated by the opinions of the current judges. Don't lose any sleep over it. Decoys are meant to be used and hunted, not fondled and oogled over.
 
I can't believe that the keels had anything to do with the eliminaton as the judges never saw the keels. They do not handle the decoys but maybe got a fleeting glance at the bottom when the handlers picked them up. The judges were all duck hunters this year and not carvers so that may have had a lot to do with their likes and dislikes. I do know for sure that they did not like bobtails as they pulled every one in a hurry including a couple of mine. If you think the judges are biased against composite keel material....paint it then they will never know for sure. The pool is always a crap shoot but still always fun and a great way to support the show so don't be afraid to enter.

Willy

And btw....really nice Blackjack Chris....I liked it a lot. I also had a Ringer in the contest but no cigars......you pays your money and takes your chance.
 
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The judges really shouldn't be able to tell what the keel is made of, I doubt that was a factor. Most likely it was something about the way it rode the water. I checked it pretty good and thought it sat on the water pretty nice, would have liked the tail just a touch lower, but it was within an 1/8 ". It did rock a little when the kids were moving around in the pool, I didn't think it was any worse than some of the low head birds, but who knows, it may have taken a funny roll when they were looking at it.
 
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