# flocking decoy heads



## mallard

After a tough go of it later in the season I thought about flocking the heads on my bigfoots.Have any of you guys tried this?If so did you notice a difference at all in how the geese decoyed?


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## Decoyer

One thing you have to keep in mind with flocking is that it rubs off very easily. You will have to really baby the heads if you do this.


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## goosehtr4life

Not sure what flocking is, but what works for us is putting the geese in small familes from 6-10 in a spread and have about 10-15 familes in the spread. We use silouette's and have had a lot better success than with Bigfoots. Also we use the final approach blinds and cover them with mud to take any glare off they might have. Also especially late season you must have some sort of movement in the decoys and the more people calling the better.  I hope this helps, we shoot the majority of our geese after Dec.1 every year.


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## Austin Bachmeier

Flocking is coating the black on the head with fuzzy material so it doesn't shine. It is also done to the butt, and there is white available for the cheek patches.


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## nodakoutdoors.com

I've thought about flocking mine many times, but for all the work and money I'm not sure it's worth it. Like Decoyer said, the paint will rub off and I don't want to do it over and over again. But I'm taking this opinion only off what many others that flock have said.

My .02


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## Decoyer

Scheels in Fargo used to have a flocked head set up. I didn't really think it looked all that impressive. I don't think you will get what you are looking for out of a do it yourself flocking kit. I think the really good flocking jobs are custom done.


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## Qwack

I think it looks really good but it is expensive and it does come off easily. I read on another forum that hobby shops sell stuff to flock the inside of jewelry boxes that works well and is a lot cheaper than the stuff sold specifically for hunters.


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## mallard

goosehunter,I have done everthing that you mentioned with decoys and blinds etc.I was shown the basics on how to hunt by Doug and Chris.I was hunting some very decoy shy geese.One thing a friend of mine has thought of is to take my goose shells and set them up like the higdon full body stackables,the ones that are movement decoys.He is a handy man kind of person that is going to experiment while he is laid off this winter.He also is going to work on making a homade saunders flapper.Chris,last time I talked to Randy he flocked most of his decoys,he has a heck of alot of them.Maybe it would be worth getting hold of him to see how durable the stuff is.


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## Madison

If you want a couple of more ideas for adding movement to the spread, I've talked to some experienced goose hunters who actually tape black balloons to the backs of their full bodies for movement.

Also, in Macks Prairie wings there are some very realistic moving heads that replace the heads on bigfoots or higdon full bodies, they kinda bob up down depending on the wind. I first saw these at the MN sportsman show and was like WOW! these are at the top of my christmas list for sho!! Sorry I cant think of the name but its something like "wildlife heads"??? If anyone has used them or seen them let me know how they have worked for you..OH and never forget the flag if you need movement!!!

Keep it reeel
madison


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## MNhunter

I would HIGHLY recommend flocking the heads. All my Foots are Flocked.....(10 doz) Really helps on bluebird days, you can really see a diff with the flocked and unflocked when the sun is out. Yes you do have to baby them a little, have heard of fellas putting socks on the heads. I just toss em in the trailer, my gear gets used hard. We will need to touch em up but thats life.

Flock em'! Youll thanks me later! :beer:

Kill em all! :sniper:


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## MNhunter

Check out this site for flocking kits

http://www.goosebusterdecoyflocking.com/


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## mallard

Have the day off and started flocking my big foot heads. WOW!Boy do they look good!Nothing like the crappy ones that are in the Fargo scheels.I I used a wire brush on the grinder to scuff them up before applying the material as I was told it makes a big difference in durabilaty.I was also told that transporting the heads in a separate bag helps.God do they look awesome!


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## Decoyer

I understand that you can remove the original heads pretty easily, but I thought you aren't supposed to remove the heads from the feeders?


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## Decoyer

I forgot to ask, mallard, what brand flocking are you using?


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## mallard

Decoyer,I bought the velvet feathers at scheels but I think they are all about the same as far as price and quality goes.I didnt know about the feeders where you are not supposed to remove the heads.I guess I will have to get a bunch of tube socks to protect them.The heads are going back on and not coming off if that is the case.I have another dozen to go and also have to paint the white patches.


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## T Shot

The flocked heads in Scheels were not done correctly, the guy that did them didnt rough up the heads or get enought on to get a decent look. IMO they look very good when done right and last quite a while, I have my bigfoots and silos flocked and man does it make a difference. Decoyer, havent seen you in the store for a while, you must come on days when I'm not working. Stop in sometime.


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## Pluckem

I flocked my BigFoot heads at the beginning of the season. It looks awesome! It does take some time and some touch ups at the beginning of every season but I enjoy doing that kind of stuff it gets you in that hunting mood and there is only a few things better in life than hunting. I used a flocking kit from Donjer http://www.donjer.com and i think it worked great and held up nice. I got the 3 ounce bag of fibers and the 8 ounce bag of glue. I did 1 dozen heads with that and had enough to do six more. Cheapest stuff I have found, check it out.


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## mallard

pluckem,I have a pamplet from donjer.Did the fibers fade at all?What color did you get(dont know if they carry more than one shade of black for colors).They are a heck of a lot cheaper than velvet feathers.Also do you do any thing to protect the heads when you are transporting them?


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## Pluckem

Mallard, I think they only have one shade of black, I know I got the plain black. The glue also come in the same color as the fibers you get so the glue will be black also. Mine didnt fade at all. I keep the heads in a camo cloth bag about the size of a normal backpack and the feet and bodies in the deke bag. Works great, I just handle the camo bag with a little more care. The directions say all you have to do is put a coat of latex paint on them but I would suggest you sand the heads too. Any other questions let me know.


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## Matt Jones

Forget flocked full-bodies! They don't look that real and will soon become a thing of the past.

If you want realistic decoys...just check these Bad Boys Out!!!

http://www.partridgecreek.ca/decoy/nonedekes.html

Man, I'm going to start making a spread for next year. I'm thinking a dozen or two of these and I'll have those late season wary honkers landing in my Lap for sheezy! :wink:


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## Decoyer

Well after researching it a little bit, I decided to try it. I went to scheels and got a box of velvet feathers. Here goes nothing!


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## Decoyer

Well I just finished my first head, and they look awesome. I guess the real test will be this fall to see how they hold up. I am either thinking of taking all the heads off and putting them in a decoy bag, or just getting a bunch of tube socks and being more careful with them in the trailer. How do you guys that flock store them?


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## FACE

Just got done flocking 5 doz. heads and MAN! am I glad to be done!!!! They look incredible set up in the yard, can't wait to see them in the field! The only problem I encountered is it takes a LOOOONG time to do that many!!! Still looking to add more BF and Averys. But might hold off flocking till I'm well rested up! I think the best way to store the heads would bee to use one decoy bag for them and be careful not to throw them around too much and to place a sock over the feeders since BF recomends not removing them.


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## GooseBuster3

I will never flock my heads due to the fact that my decoys get the living **** beat out of them, new use in spending all that sandng and dicking around with glue to make them look more live like, geese are dumb anyways, I would like to see sombody tell it will increase my harvest during late season hunts, all it ends up being is a number game, all it comes down to is a number game, so Ill take any one on with my 74 fullbodies and 7 doz sillys!! any takers?????


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## honkerhntr

I think that anything that you can do to help your decoys look better will always help the number of birds you harvest!! It is a good thing to do in the offseason. Yes the flocking will come off sometime. I beat the $hit ouf of my decoys and the flocking has held up great!! Flocking is not for everybody. YOu need a bit of time to do them right and not half *** it!! If that is all you are going to do then you shouldn't flock your decoys. There is one thing that you can take to the bank.... That is a flocked foot looks TEN TIMES BETTER then a non-flocked foot!!

Hope this helps

Chad Erdman


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## gandergrinder

Goosebuster,
Close mouth. Open mind. :lol:


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## GooseBuster3

After helping GG flock his last night I'm swing'in towards doing mine to, so maybe I should have keeped my mouth shut!


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## mallard

GG,Which kit did you buy?If you need any tips PM me.When you are done flocking them let them sit in the garage a few days in the heat so the adhesive can cure faster.Did you use a grinder with a wire weel to scuff them up good? mallard


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## FACE

GB3,
I suppose now you will really be able to take anyone one now after you flock 74 FB heads!! :wink: Anyways have fun, it shouldn't take more than say a good week or two! :lol: I used the Cabelas flock kit because it was less $ plus it comes from Van ***** taxidermy supply in SD and they are known for having decent stuff! I prepped my heads just by taking a propane torch and kind of synging the plastic enough to put a dull surface on them. I've tried to scrape off the adhesive but it stays put! just the fuzz seems to be able to be scraped down to the glue. if you need to touch up anything I would recomend using a cheep airbrush and spray the glue on the spots that need more and then add more flock. Easy to clean up because glue is waterbase. Also put all flock into a sealable plastic box like the ones the mojo duck comes in and proceeded like coating chicken with shake-n-bake. It seemed to cover very well!


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## honkerhntr

The only thing that I will say bad about the cabelas kits is that they use a water based glue. I think that you would be better off with an oilbased glue, just for the fact that you are hunting in some $hitty conditions and don't want the glue to come off in the rain or snow. Don't forget to use some kind of plastic sealer before you apply the glue. Good luck

Chad Erdman


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## FACE

All the kits use waterbase glue. they cure out waterproof though!


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## mallard

Face,Don-jer,black widow,and goose buster boys are oil based.


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## FACE

I was then misinformed by them when I questioned them about their products when researching them. The info that i got was that they were water cleanup and I know you cant use water to clean up oil based stuff.


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## FACE

Even the glue that comes with Velvet feathers kit from scheels says waterbase glue.I have used that last year on 1 dozen millenium drake mallard decoys and used the piss out of them and they still look like they did when I did them. So when the glue cures it holds up! So the durability of the waterbased glue is phenominal, you just have to make sure that it is fully cured before use. 
P.S. After flocking the mallards heads I then misted a light black stripe over the top of the heads to make them more realistic and to cut down the solid green look of them. The green flocking is different than the black for geese because it is an irredecent silk like material that kind of sparkles in the light....Really looks cool!!!


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## FACE

If anyone is interested I checked Van ***** Taxidermy supply and they have flocking for $14.00 per/lb and flocking adhesive for $10.00/pint. (all colors) They guarantee the adhesive to bond well so I called my taxidermy guy and he tells me it is an excellent product. I trust his opinion since my stuffed critters he has done for me are spectacular and he uses Van ***** products. I'm not trying to promote them, just a recomendation.


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## honkerhntr

Vandykes flocking is made for indoor use, not for outside $hitty wheather. The kits that I have used have worked well and are priced well below what the others are chargeing. The fibers have nothing to do with sticking. It is all in the prep work and cure time. I have found some other tricks that have helped also in this matter. I still think that waterbased glue will not work good for waterfowl hunting. Not trying to start a pissing match either. JMO.

Chad Erdman


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