For all you duck hunters out there, what are some of your favorite gadgets to add to your spread to make it more lifelike? I hate still water on a calm day. If you ever just sit back and watch ducks, there are always ripples in the water and some kind of movement going on. Had someone buy this for me this year at Christmas.
The idea was good, but execution is kind of poor. The legs spin in alternate directions, causing the decoy to sit there and spin in circles, way too fast, not to mention it will soak you when you walk up to turn it off. First day I used it, I threw it out in the spread and it did a pretty good job of breaking the surface of the water, but it flat out looked stupid out there. Had lots of birds come in for a better look, but they would all flare when they got a better look at it and none would commit. I'm hunting a roosting place, so the beginning of my hunts are in full light and get darker as the hunt goes on, opposite from a lot of others. After having 5 or 6 groups of birds make a quick exit, I pulled it from the spread and birds started coming in closer. Once the sun got past the horizon, I put it back in the spread and it seemed to suck the birds in well. I would call it pretty good in low light, but the damn thing is still too loud for my liking. Watched a few birds try to sit right on top of it, but once they heard the noise, they did a 180. I don't think I will be using it too much. I have considered rewiring it to where the legs spin in the same direction and it doesn't spin in circles like a retard.
My favorite gadget is a Mallard Machine, similar to this one.
Mine is probably 10 years old and has 4 attachments instead of three. I don't really use it like instructed, instead I attach two decoys to it on the front and back of the deeks, so they don't really duck their heads down like they are feeding. Attaching both ends just makes them bob up and down and throws ripples all around them. There is no noise and I can control it easily by hand and not have to walk out in the spread to turn it on or off. The downside is that is a big long cable that controls it and I have to roll and unroll it, which gets your arm wet, and it is a bit heavy and bulky. Good outweighs the bad on that, so it is something that I always use. A true remote control for it would be much better.
So what do y'all like to throw out there?
The idea was good, but execution is kind of poor. The legs spin in alternate directions, causing the decoy to sit there and spin in circles, way too fast, not to mention it will soak you when you walk up to turn it off. First day I used it, I threw it out in the spread and it did a pretty good job of breaking the surface of the water, but it flat out looked stupid out there. Had lots of birds come in for a better look, but they would all flare when they got a better look at it and none would commit. I'm hunting a roosting place, so the beginning of my hunts are in full light and get darker as the hunt goes on, opposite from a lot of others. After having 5 or 6 groups of birds make a quick exit, I pulled it from the spread and birds started coming in closer. Once the sun got past the horizon, I put it back in the spread and it seemed to suck the birds in well. I would call it pretty good in low light, but the damn thing is still too loud for my liking. Watched a few birds try to sit right on top of it, but once they heard the noise, they did a 180. I don't think I will be using it too much. I have considered rewiring it to where the legs spin in the same direction and it doesn't spin in circles like a retard.
My favorite gadget is a Mallard Machine, similar to this one.
Mine is probably 10 years old and has 4 attachments instead of three. I don't really use it like instructed, instead I attach two decoys to it on the front and back of the deeks, so they don't really duck their heads down like they are feeding. Attaching both ends just makes them bob up and down and throws ripples all around them. There is no noise and I can control it easily by hand and not have to walk out in the spread to turn it on or off. The downside is that is a big long cable that controls it and I have to roll and unroll it, which gets your arm wet, and it is a bit heavy and bulky. Good outweighs the bad on that, so it is something that I always use. A true remote control for it would be much better.
So what do y'all like to throw out there?
