Thinking of downsizing

[RUGER]

I am at kind of a "dunno" type deal.
We have somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 decoys.
We had over 1,000 last year but lost several in the floods.

I am kinda thinking about selling off a few hundred of them and putting that money back into fewer, larger, higher quality decoys.

Then I think "what if" and we get drawn for a good spot next year and we need a big spread. I could keep what we have and use them all as fillers and then still acquire some more higher quality decoys this summer and put them in closer to the kill hole.
Or we get drawn for a good blind but it is a small hole.
Then again, I still like the black 2 liter bottles myself. Show up from a LONG way off and have better motion that the most expesive decoy you can buy. :D


Is quality better than quanitity?

Over thinking or what?

Can you tell I am already missing duck season?

 

[CBU93]

You already have em...be prepared for when the good draw happens.

 

[Grandslam11]

If you sell any, I want dibs on about a dozen (better looking). I just want enough to hunt farm ponds locally.

 

[scn]

My guess is that you will regret selling them if you go in that direction. Unless storage is a major issue, I'd hang on to them and try to acquire some of the "better" decoys you are wanting along the way.

 

[TNGunsmoke]

My guess is that you will regret selling them if you go in that direction. Unless storage is a major issue, I'd hang on to them and try to acquire some of the "better" decoys you are wanting along the way.

Yep.

 

[TNTomtaker01]

It's better to have and not need than to need and not have...

 

[duckriver]

Last year we were in the same boat. Ended selling and having quality over quantity

 

[callemquacktn]

I was in your boat several yrs back and I sold and regretted it.
The kind of deal you got most of those decoys on don't come around often. Almost like never.
I would keep them.

 

[callemquacktn]

It's better to have and not need than to need and not have...

What Matt said

 

[TreyB]

My guess is that you will regret selling them if you go in that direction. Unless storage is a major issue, I'd hang on to them and try to acquire some of the "better" decoys you are wanting along the way.

This

 

[TreyB]

It's better to have and not need than to need and not have...

Agree

 

[DaveB]

Interesting.

I can tell you I have some goose shell decoys, they are the same size as canada's. I would take my spread to the goose fields and thought I was doing pretty good.

The some guy pulls up with about ten of the decoys that are the size of Fiat cars. Him and his partner hauls the dekes out and set them up.

Birds came in from a long way to the monster dekes. Don't know if size matters in the duckie world. I know geese like BIG spreads but they are suckers for the big ones.

 

[tickweed]

I would probably keep them. Big spreads are nice. However that's a lot of things to think about with the big spreads. They take a lot of motion unless it's windy. you have to make them come alive. I'd probably keep em as fillers. I would concentrate on quality, especially in the killing hole.

 

[Polar Kraft]

Keep them, for a duck hunter there is no such thing as too many decoys. Food for thought, if you have 800, pick the worst looking 400 and paint them black, or tar them. I would suggest getting some big G&H or avian x (my personal preference) and treating them like gold. These decoys can be used by themselves for smaller spreads or when you finally get your number 1 draw use them to line the hole in which you want the birds to finish. Took me 12 years to get a top pick, it will happen for you eventually. The last thing you want is to have to drop a bunch of cash quick to build up numbers when the draw finally works out your way.

Side note, my uncle will go to his 45th draw this year and has never heard his name drawn.

 

[RUGER]

Side note, my uncle will go to his 45th draw this year and has never heard his name drawn.

Wow that is wild.
We have been beyond lucky.
The very first year we went to Gooch we got 5th pick. :)
The next year we got drawn but it was late in the draw.
Struck out this year. :D

 

[kopter doktor]

I know a few dozen you can sell.....or repaint,i have 2 of yours that i found last week....one of them had its head almost shot off....get some canada floaters.