whats in your rig ?
- Thread starter jeff tarr
- Start date
Doug Bowman
Well-known member
I have 2 rigs , One of carved wood and cork blocks and one of plastic .
Capt. Jack Passie
Well-known member
Feathers, It don't get any better than that. But beleive it or not I had days this past seson when I had over 200 stuffers out a the geese flew by like I wasn't even there. However on the whole they work very very well. Especially on bright days. I'll try to post some pictures soon
Last edited:
Dave Walker
Active member
Stayed small this year and it was all hand carved, 11 total blacks, mallards and a woodie. Cool feeling to hunt your own rig. Did it out of my homemade boat too.
Phil Nowack
Well-known member
Homemade urethane foam
Charles H.
Active member
Right now, a handful of my own carved cork/wood mixed in with some plastics. I hope to put the plastics on craigslist by September!
Chuck J
Well-known member
Dave Sikorski, John Lawerence, and four of mine, then a bashful Tim Speight Ruddy:
Mike Trudel, Matt Brooks, PG Ross, me, Paul Rutgers, Gary March
My 'beater' swan
Rodney Milborn
This one doesn't get hunted much, but it is the only finished goose of mine at home, the rest of the rig is in my dad's brooder coop waiting for Sept 1
The 'indoor/outdoor' swan...with authentic battle damage...( I think I have been watching Kung Fu Panda too many times)
There are more hiding in the second row of the top shelf, but I really wasn't in the mood to haul out the ladder...all hand carved by me and my friends...closest to plastic is a couple E Allens from a painting class.
Chuck
Mike Trudel, Matt Brooks, PG Ross, me, Paul Rutgers, Gary March
My 'beater' swan
Rodney Milborn
This one doesn't get hunted much, but it is the only finished goose of mine at home, the rest of the rig is in my dad's brooder coop waiting for Sept 1
The 'indoor/outdoor' swan...with authentic battle damage...( I think I have been watching Kung Fu Panda too many times)
There are more hiding in the second row of the top shelf, but I really wasn't in the mood to haul out the ladder...all hand carved by me and my friends...closest to plastic is a couple E Allens from a painting class.
Chuck
Last edited:
Geoff Vine
Active member
Here's an "oldy but goody" photo of some of my Bluebills on an island in lake Winnebago...
Last edited:
joseph van wie
Active member
E- Allens I painted & LL Beans my father bought about 45 years ago. & in the near future my hand carved.
Hank Yorke
Well-known member
I have a mix of a bunch of small rigs that make up my big rig...
4 dozen burlapped Herter's #72 divers
6 burlapped #72 Mallards
6 burlapped #90 Canada geese
1 dozen E. Allen Mallards/Blacks
1 dozen LL Bean Mallards/Blacks
60 or so handcarved puddlers and divers. They are mostly cork, a few hollow cedar, even fewer canvas and a rig of 10 fronds. 90% of the birds are carved by me.
All the small rigs have a purpose some get used more frequently than others though. I should have a small 4 bird rig of 4 cork geese and a wood 6 bird rig of teal (tupelo, balsa & frond) by next season.
4 dozen burlapped Herter's #72 divers
6 burlapped #72 Mallards
6 burlapped #90 Canada geese
1 dozen E. Allen Mallards/Blacks
1 dozen LL Bean Mallards/Blacks
60 or so handcarved puddlers and divers. They are mostly cork, a few hollow cedar, even fewer canvas and a rig of 10 fronds. 90% of the birds are carved by me.
All the small rigs have a purpose some get used more frequently than others though. I should have a small 4 bird rig of 4 cork geese and a wood 6 bird rig of teal (tupelo, balsa & frond) by next season.
Mark Spolarich
Well-known member
My diver rig is almost all repainted herters of varying sizes and styles, only a couple of plastics in it. My puddler rig is about half herters and half plastics.
I have started work on making my own, just need to find the time to finish one. I have a canvas decoy framed and covered, just need to carve a head.
After finding this site i have developed the urge to remove plastics from the spread, carve my own, and add a few from other carvers.....slow process though...
I have started work on making my own, just need to find the time to finish one. I have a canvas decoy framed and covered, just need to carve a head.
After finding this site i have developed the urge to remove plastics from the spread, carve my own, and add a few from other carvers.....slow process though...
Puddle ducks are all plastic except for 6 Herters wigeon. The rig is a mix of G&H, Flambeau and Carrylites.
Coots are 3.5 dzn Flambeau's, they are cheap, light and almost always self-righting.
Divers are mostly G&H, Flambeaus and Carrylites, 6 GHG buffies and a couple dozen homemade foamer bluebills.
And 6 foamer scoters.
So, the vast majority of mine are plastics. I've had some of them for 15 years, some have been repainted, many have not and still look good. With plastics (other than G&H which seem to have conistent great quality), I think it depends on which day the individual decoy was molded and painted as to how the paint holds up. I've got Carrylite Best-buy bluebills that are 12 years old, some still look great and others look terrible.
My foamers. The next batch will be redheads and will be a little more rounded.
[inline Foamers1.jpg ]
[inline FoamerBluebillPair.jpg ]
[inline BlackScoterFoamerPair.jpg ]
View attachment Foamers1.jpg
View attachment BlackScoterFoamerPair.jpg
View attachment FoamerBluebillPair.jpg
Coots are 3.5 dzn Flambeau's, they are cheap, light and almost always self-righting.
Divers are mostly G&H, Flambeaus and Carrylites, 6 GHG buffies and a couple dozen homemade foamer bluebills.
And 6 foamer scoters.
So, the vast majority of mine are plastics. I've had some of them for 15 years, some have been repainted, many have not and still look good. With plastics (other than G&H which seem to have conistent great quality), I think it depends on which day the individual decoy was molded and painted as to how the paint holds up. I've got Carrylite Best-buy bluebills that are 12 years old, some still look great and others look terrible.
My foamers. The next batch will be redheads and will be a little more rounded.
[inline Foamers1.jpg ]
[inline FoamerBluebillPair.jpg ]
[inline BlackScoterFoamerPair.jpg ]
View attachment Foamers1.jpg
View attachment BlackScoterFoamerPair.jpg
View attachment FoamerBluebillPair.jpg
Four rigs of puddle ducks and geese:
1.Hollow white cedar mallards and blacks done by Rich Smoker. Marion, Md.
2. LL Bean corks from the 70's, blacks and geese with some cork wood ducks from Ala. carver.
3. Full flocked blacks from Mike Braun
4. Plastic puddlers and geese.
Will use individually or mixed as per hunting situation dictates. Would enjoy posting photos but I still can't make it happen after multiple attempts.
1.Hollow white cedar mallards and blacks done by Rich Smoker. Marion, Md.
2. LL Bean corks from the 70's, blacks and geese with some cork wood ducks from Ala. carver.
3. Full flocked blacks from Mike Braun
4. Plastic puddlers and geese.
Will use individually or mixed as per hunting situation dictates. Would enjoy posting photos but I still can't make it happen after multiple attempts.
Pete McMiller
Well-known member
Interesting to think about it.
From memory......................Of course a bunch of my own - cans, redheads, GE, BlueBills
Both cork and wood from Mike Trudel, Jim Brown, Rick Troutman, Lee Harker, Bob Swan, Marv Meyer, Grayson Chessor, Yukon Mike, Ira Giese.
On top of that I have about 8-10 doz Toledos. Also, maybe 5 doz. G&H to lend out.
From memory......................Of course a bunch of my own - cans, redheads, GE, BlueBills
Both cork and wood from Mike Trudel, Jim Brown, Rick Troutman, Lee Harker, Bob Swan, Marv Meyer, Grayson Chessor, Yukon Mike, Ira Giese.
On top of that I have about 8-10 doz Toledos. Also, maybe 5 doz. G&H to lend out.
