# Avery Full Bodys or Mallard Shells?



## shooteminthelips (Jun 13, 2007)

I am going to buy 3 or 4 doz of one of the other, but I am not sure if I need to full body's or if I can save some cash and just get the shells. Now lets not get into a discussion on what brand I need to get! I already know what I want just don't know which ones I should get, as far the style of the decoy. So if anyone has some opinions on which ones would be the best please post up. Please explain why you think I should get either decoys also too!

Thanks


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## bandman (Feb 13, 2006)

http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/forums/vie ... highlight=
There's some input between shells and fb's in there (esp halfway thru).

You're going to kill ducks with either/or, it just depends personally on how appealing you want your spread to look and how much you want to spend. Take this to the bank: It's really not going to matter if you have 20 year old floaters or the best fb decoy on the market out there as long as you've done your homework and know what you're doing.

Hatchetman: what's up w/ your response/pimping Avery in there??? Talk about catchin' me off-guard. :rollin: oke: The million dollar question: Where are them decoys now?? I just had to give you some flack about that. :wink: :lol:


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## universitywaterfowler (Jul 15, 2007)

If you have the space the full bodies will work better, more realistic motion, stacking the shells can scratch them too. If your a little tight on space and or money the shells are more than adequate to kill you all the ducks you'll ever need.


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## Acemallard (Sep 30, 2003)

I agree with the statment you will kill ducks with either. I just have a problem with the stakes on the shells. I hunt late into the year and that stake will not go into frozen ground to well. Thats why we use the FBs. My 2 cents worth.

HARDCORE WATERFOWLER


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## universitywaterfowler (Jul 15, 2007)

I agree with you, just didn't think I had to point that particular problem out.
also helps to have the bases when you have weeds over the ground, stakes penetrate the weeds, which puts the decoys so low they hit ground, or the weeds and wont move. The bases will sit on top of the weeds doing exactly what they need to do. Same thing happens with snow, skates go through snow then down into ground, the decoys ends up hitting the snow then rendering the motion system useless while if you use bases the bases sit on top of or close enough to the top of the snow that the motion will still work.
Long explanation for something I didn't think had to be said.
Good luck this season gentleman.


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## Shu (Oct 21, 2003)

bandman said:


> Take this to the bank: It's really not going to matter if you have 20 year old floaters or the best fb decoy on the market out there as long as you've done your homework and know what you're doing.


Exactly. They will come to the goose dekes first and foremost and then mallard dekes can't hurt. The first few years in Nodak we hunted with goose shells and sillys with duck floaters propped up against the wheat stalks and did great. Location, location, location. Good luck!


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## universitywaterfowler (Jul 15, 2007)

Come on he didn't say this was his first time every seeing ducks and geese im sure he knows that. Everyone who has ever hunted waterfowl should know ducks like to land with geese. 
He isn't asking for generic answers hit him with something real.


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## Shu (Oct 21, 2003)

read between the lines pro - you don't need fullbodys to kill ducks. That real enough for ya?


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## universitywaterfowler (Jul 15, 2007)

Yes we know this, everyone know this.
I was just takin a poke at the fact that everyone says such generic stuff all the time. We know scout scout scout, hunt where the birds want to be, bigfoot decoys work and so do avery.
He wants to know how they work and which would be better, he is a seasoned hunter, he doesn't want to hear you don't need them, or goose decoys work just fine.
again just taking a poke to keep this interesting.


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## shooteminthelips (Jun 13, 2007)

Your right University. I have been at this a long time. Not as long as Hustad or Porkchop, but then again those guys are really old! J/K.

What I am doing is building a killer duck spread for the field. I dont hunt water, but a lot of time we hunt geese in the morning and ducks in the afternoon. I have the money to spend and I want a really cool looking spread for Mallies in the field. Full Bodys are really cool and I have the room for either decoy, just was wondering if anyone had bought the shells tried them and wished they would have bought the full bodys instead. Or tried the shells and are glad they didnt buy the full bodys.

Trust me I am always on the X. Inless I have had to many Budlights the night before. Ever driven around in a field for an hour trying to find the right spot? I have! And this isnt my first rodeo!


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## bandman (Feb 13, 2006)

universitywaterfowler said:


> I was just takin a poke at the fact that everyone says such generic stuff all the time. again just taking a poke to keep this interesting.


I think you need a oke: 
You're making a mistake knocking on people putting in their varied .02 trying to help and losing future credibility/respect with those same people at the same time IMO.

Shootem: Is this what you wanna hear? Our field spread roughly consists of 10 doz ghg fb mallards, 14 ghg fb pintails, 18 fb mallard enticers, and what else have you.. Do we regret not buying shells? NO, don't really ever think about it. Would shells give us the "SAME" amount of success for half the price? Yup. 
(This thread is simply set up for bias responses so you better expect a different array of answers.) :wink: I just don't like feeling like I'm being arrogant or that my way is the best/only way. :eyeroll:

I will say I do miss our "pre-fb days" due to half the prep time. 
You got the money and the room so do what you want.


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## HonkerExpress (Sep 23, 2005)

First off, don't listen to bandman, he don't know what he is talking about. lmao. I guess if I was going to do it, full bodies have their place in the world just as shells do. I guess if it comes down to personal preference I would go with the full bodies, they take up room and they take a little more time to set up but that extra realism is worth every penny in my opinion. I don't have any full body duck decoys though. I just rock with full body honkers. I don't do much hunting straight for ducks so I guess my money gets thrown into honker decoys. Just my two cents.

Bandman, you know I am giving ya chit so don't get on here and start ripping me a new one for saying that. lol. You guys got the field picked out yet? Laters. Hows the bow hunting looking up your way.?


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## HATCHETMAN (Mar 15, 2007)

OOOH Bandman...YA GOT ME!!! Ready for another Novel???

In mid march, I still had the last of the GHG's, including the '06 rester Canadas I purchased mid-year. Spoken in a comparison context...there are things about the GHG that are more convenient....nobody is here to dispute that they have/ will have the largest following in the industry because they're good at fooling humans. The stands and hotlegs are convenient....IF they come out of the box correctly (not bent, etc). I found out quickly that the little pins come out of the hot-legs, so I epoxied them all into the holes, now in early December I received a batch of FB mallards that were absolute garbage right out of the box: paint, bent wire in the hotlegs, legs that weren't trimmed to come out right, etc. It was a new box from the factory, and it went right back to the factory in December....I got my decoys back in early April. I purchased the '06 rester Canadas in January of '07, and there were 3 heads out of a dozen that needed to be replaced, and 4 of the hotleg mechanisms were bent up again. My replacement parts for those came in April as well with the duck decoy parts. So as I do with many things, I think someday this outfit will get the message that I've been seen 6 too many times, and maybe things should start improving, sadly they never did. So....the decoys went like hot-cakes on Ebay, and they're someone elses burdon now. I know the ducks prefer the HC's and Full curls in my spread over the Avery's, and I suspect the difference in color scheme as the culprit. Oh yeah...I contacted Tinks, who is the owner of HC now, and they had a dozen new old-style metal rings to me 3 days after I called them about the flimsy plastic jobs they currently send with the mallards. Just remember the best customer service department out there is the one you never have to use!!! 
So there ya have it...a few of the many reasons I don't believe in or respect that comany anymore.


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## bandman (Feb 13, 2006)

HonkerExpress said:


> You guys got the field picked out yet? Laters. Hows the bow hunting looking up your way.?


Hey, how the heck ya been? You know better than to think I'd take you serious.  Yea, we got a few different spots last weekend which will only get better as the harvest carries on. The bow hunting has looked better, but I only got one thing on my mind right now. :wink:

Maybe I'll see ya around for the WFfest this weekend. Between the wedding and softball tournament; I'm going to try and find time to sneak up there and watch one of my buddies blow in the contest.

HM: Very smart to do your business with someone that will take care of you like that. I definitely see your side. I did get ya though.


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## BeekBuster (Jul 22, 2007)

I think some take alot of these threads a little too far. (not a bad thing) But you click on the thread to read more about that specific question, and by the end of the thread you hae guys typing a 3 page report on something completely different. Now for my .02 (im not an expert) i think that if you cant make up your mind between the FB's and the shells, look at the rest of your spread, does it look realistic to you. Are you comfortable with your ability to call? If you dont think you need to add any more realism to your spread get the shells. If you had a bad season before and blame it on the realism of your spread/call get the FB's. I guess just base it of your success/money/storage. :wink:


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## bandman (Feb 13, 2006)

BeekBuster said:


> But you click on the thread to read more about that specific question, and by the end of the thread you hae guys typing a 3 page report on something completely different.


 :lol: We got a little side-tracked there. It's kinda that time of the year. (Back on track.)


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## verg (Aug 21, 2006)

I just bought a couple dozen ghg shells. I chose these because of their stacking ability. Once you have a bunch of goose dekes in the back of a truck i don't have much space left. My thinking is yes the full bodies stand up better and have motion but I just don't feel you need that much for mallards. Once you have goose dekes out and a mojo or two, that is just about all you need for ducks. Yes when the ground gets cold the stakes for the shells might not go in but they are bigger than standard size and will look just fine sitting on the ground. I don't feel you have to get to fancy for ducks, they have always decoyed nicely into my bigfoots. I just thought I'd add a few duck shells for the wary ones that have seen the mojos before. 
Just my thoughts


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## aslakson (Jul 14, 2006)

If I were starting over with a full body duck spread I would say buy full bodies for the actives and shells for the feeders. The feeder shells look just as good as a full body...but I'm not exactly sold on the active shells.


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## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

aslakson said:


> If I were starting over with a full body duck spread I would say buy full bodies for the actives and shells for the feeders.


My thoughts exactly, for some reason I think the feeder shells just look better than the actives. We bought 16 FB mallards this year adding to the 6 we had. 12 actives, 6 feeders, and 4 resters. Thats what we will use when hunting sandbars (where you need FBs). Then we added a doz feeder shells to get our feeder to active ratio right in the field.


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## HATCHETMAN (Mar 15, 2007)

Back on track now, most of the time in the field, down here, and in my experience, you will be wasting your time fiddling with duck decoys of any kind, because the goose dekes are much more visible to the ducks, and if the geese have been hittin' the field, so have the ducks, so the quackers will come right into the goose dekes. Now I use the duck decoys on the sandbars, islands,and small pothole spreads for ducks only, and I use the rester and upright FB dekes in the goose spread as confidence decoys. I've found when placed on the ice /shore with the goose decoys, the duck decoys make a marked difference in the finishing effect on geese. Shells or fullbodies, buy 'em both, and see what you like the best.


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## universitywaterfowler (Jul 15, 2007)

The reason most of these threads end up going in different directions is because they invoke thought and opinions. Everyones being different, creates arguments and negotiations. Not a bad thing, but usually theres just a few different people on here that are arguing... I am included in this. Now, I love to argue, I do it all the time, because it is a great way to get people to really blurt out the undeniable truth. When you argue about something it really shows your passion, and that is why you can't be mad at people for arguing, and you can't be mad at the people that are arguing with you.
JUST SLEEP WELL KNOWING THEY ARE AS PASSIONATE AS YOU.


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## USSapper (Sep 26, 2005)

> When you argue about something it really shows your passion,


Or ignorance......


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## universitywaterfowler (Jul 15, 2007)

well normally you can tell if someone is ignorant. but yes you are correct.


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## bandman (Feb 13, 2006)

:idea:


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## USSapper (Sep 26, 2005)

bandman said:


> :idea:


haha, ding ding ding


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## universitywaterfowler (Jul 15, 2007)

I consider ignorance- Someone who refuses to learn more because they don't want to be wrong.
I hate ignorance, but can be used as a tool to keep you out of trouble.
Point in case: Whenever I get pulled over I always say to the officer: Man I'm sorry, my tires are bigger than the ones that came on the truck and I haven't been able to get my speedometer adjusted. Works very well because i got 33" tires on my truck. 
Thats being stupid on purpose to keep myself from getting a ticket, a wise way to use it. However not true ignorance.
Don't believe anyone on here to be ignorant, maybe stubborn but thats a good thing.


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## bandman (Feb 13, 2006)

Speaking of speeding tickets. Yesterday on my way to GF to buy some decoys from a guy off here and wouldn't ya know it...I told the officer he was defeating the purpose of my trip, but he wasn't havin it. :roll:

3 points off my license, $21 speeding ticket (which could've been a lot worse), and $30 dollars in gas money later for some decoys..Oops.(All he had to do was drop my speed 3 mph and it woulda been 1 point and a $15 ticket, but I didn't adjust to the speed drop-off quick enough.)

"The orange says slow downnnn...." (even at 8:00 p.m.) Being in a hurry bit me in the a$$ and by the time my fuzz picked up that hiding Charger; it was too late.

Ok, how bout them shells & fb's again..


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## universitywaterfowler (Jul 15, 2007)

Got pulled over when I moved up here 2 weeks ago, tagged doing 18 over.
Got out of the ticket! :jammin: 
it was a laser trap, my parents with a trailer on the back of their truck got pulled over 47 seconds after me, and were 30 yards in front of me. Two others got pulled over right in front of them before I was done getting out of my ticket.
Oh and the rest of them got tickets. I hate police


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## bandman (Feb 13, 2006)

universitywaterfowler said:


> I hate police


Careful, there's a couple on here. :lol: I was doing exactly 18 over also. Guess my clear driving record and politeness couldn't even get me a simple warning. Oh well, wutcha gonna do? Them darn quotas gotta be filled some how I guess.


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## USSapper (Sep 26, 2005)

End of the month dontcha know


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## jgat (Oct 27, 2006)

A $21 speeding ticket? Man, if they were that cheap around here I would'nt think twice about speeding. I believe the minimum ticket in WI is something like $115. Guess I know how I am going to shave off some time going to SK this year! j/k, I pretty much gave up speeding about 3 years ago. It's just not worth it.


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## jgat (Oct 27, 2006)

By the way, talk about your classic thread hijacker, who knew speeding tickets could do it?


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## Goosepride (Sep 29, 2003)

You break the law you pay the price...pretty simple. Would you try to get out of it an instance if you "accidentally" shot an extra bird in the field? Pretty much the same concept, isn't it?

That's what's funny about a lot of people...they are hypocrits. As long as they don't get caught doing something illegal, everyone else better be legal though.


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## universitywaterfowler (Jul 15, 2007)

A-men to that 
I don't hate off duty officers, just like them to stay away when the lights can flash. :beer:


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## USSapper (Sep 26, 2005)

Back on topic here, I bought 4 dozen of these FB guys last year when I got home and about two months later realized they had the shells that look virtually the same but are more compact and a ton cheaper. I set the two next to eachother in the store once and backed up a few feet. As I looked at them, I said to myself, there is no way a duck or goose would realize this is only half a duck-shoot I can barely tell the difference at 5 feet and with a little elavation, no duck will notice especially when there is usually corn, wheat or soyeans sticking up at least a few inches making the decoy 'blend' in a little better.

IMHO-go with the shells, I plan on it if I ever need more


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## universitywaterfowler (Jul 15, 2007)

I bet if you got a 6 slot full body goose bag and filled that with those shells youd get 100 in there. I mean i fit a doz lessers in mine.


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## HATCHETMAN (Mar 15, 2007)

So Bandman...were the GHG's really worth getting in a hurry for??? oke:

Whooooh boy I sure couldn't resist that one!!! :rollin:

Sorry brother, just couldn't resist!!

HM :beer:


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## bandman (Feb 13, 2006)

HATCHETMAN said:


> So Bandman...were the GHG's really worth getting in a hurry for??? oke:
> 
> Whooooh boy I sure couldn't resist that one!!! :rollin:
> 
> ...


Try not to fill your pants up when I tell you they were the 11 active bigfoots in the classifieds. :sniper: :sniper: 
Some mind games goin' on in here.  (Remember when I said I'm not sold on one brand.) Heck, I even pulled off the ole' "cardinal sin" and went and complimented my Chevy w/ a Ford about a month ago. 
I guess you could say I'm unpredictable, but it's a bit of a toss-up for me. My BF's, and GHG's like to go to war together. (The GHG's might stand on the front-lines, but the BF's can take on a bit more friendly fire.) :wink:


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## HATCHETMAN (Mar 15, 2007)

How did I know you were gonna pull the old " they were actually bigfoots instead of GHG routine" :rollin: :rollin: :rollin: .....It's all good bubba...just gotta give you some chit.

Maybe the cop was really an Avery prostaffer, and he really gave you the ticket for buying the BF's??? oke: :huh:

:beer:
HM


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## huntingtim08 (Sep 17, 2004)

you'll be fime if you get the shell dekes. If you dont wanna stack them or take the heads of after every hunt, get an avery 6 slot decoy bad for a dozen sheel dekes, you can fit two shell in each slot and they fit really nice.


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## takem1 (Feb 20, 2007)

I don't know UW I think it's a whole lot of arrogance. Just out of curiousity how old are you? You and your none stop arguing and being right all of the time has got to stop. You are getting way out of line with your rude remarks and knowing absolutely everything. The fact of the matter is I highly doubt you do know everything.


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## universitywaterfowler (Jul 15, 2007)

Your right Im wrong.
everything i say is just to make me look good in your eyes cuz in the end that is all that matters.


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## takem1 (Feb 20, 2007)

Thank you. I'm glad we finally agree on something


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Seriously, how can a question of whether to have shells or full bodies for ducks end up this way?

NO MORE PERSONAL ATTACKS. You guys that have been starting fights lately are not going to be here long the way you're going. It's hunting for crying out loud, enjoy what you do.

http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/forums/terms.html

LOCKED


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