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View Full Version : Banning Spinning decoys?



Crazy_Farmer
01-08-2008, 10:23 PM
Many states have started to ban battery powered spinning decoys becuase of many reasons, Washington, Orgeon, Arkansas the ones that come to mind but I know theres alot more. Just wondering what some other guys thoughts on these are.

I know the first season we used one it was absolutely great, pulled in a lot of really high up birds, we had a couple weekends in a row where the migration really picked up and we saw multiple flocks of easily 300+ mallards come into the decoys. I have noticed a huge difference in how the birds react differently now to them, infact we have had much better success when we have a large canada goose spread out without a robo. Infact the days when we just go for ducks the its about half and half, birds that dont want anything to do and half that dont want to fully commit but just give a flyby, where as last year it was more like 75-25.

There is actually many reasons why states have started to ban them, things like

- the immature ducks are more drawn to the wings( I can account for that, of the 30 mallard wings I sent in last year, they mailed back that 24 were immature and 6 were mature ones) Guys down south are complaining that all the young ones get killed up north now and they get the tougher smarter mature ones

- What used to take guys years to learn to call right and set up decoys right now is replaced with weekend warriors who go out and just buy a spinner and a couple decoys, this thought has made states believe that after many years of above average harvesting, duck numbers would deplete.

-The other thought is its a mechanical device, not wind or human powered, ethics are in question by it being electronic.

- Field hunting for ducks was something very few did before spinners came along, you'd need to find a good little honey hole or some open water, now you could just pull off any farm road and get permission on the field and hunt it with great results.

Now personally, I could care less to see them stay or go, if you use one I got no problems with that at all, and if you dont more power to you. One thing I hate to see though, guys hunting, and instead of doing all the little things right good location and set up, they throw out 3 spinners and a couple goose shells and it can be like drawing a moth to a flame. When it comes to that, thats not really hunting anymore thats just shooting. I know last year was great with it, I truely believe the ducks are starting to put two and two together and they are seeing the spinning decoys up and down the flyway now since most everyone using them, With only one good weekend on duck hunting left, I'm having a hard decision on whether or not to use ours. Sorry for boring you guys just my .02

Dirty
01-08-2008, 10:34 PM
The price of Robo Ducks have dropped enormously. I noticed that Ducks Unlimited was selling Flambeau Robo Ducks for $75.00. I am a firm believer that they are trying to flood the market with these decoys to make them less effective. If more birds associate them with danger they will be spooked by them. Over the last 3 years it seems that they have become less and less effective. I think this is a clever ploy to make them ineffective without placing a ban on them. Just my two cents.

BoomBoom
01-08-2008, 10:40 PM
I've used them since 2000. Used 1 the first year, then got another Mojo for 2 in my spreads. I'm with you, I could care less if they ban them.

It seemed that for the first 3 years or so they were very effective. For the past couple of years, they don't seem to make a difference.

There are not many duck hunters here in the Okanagan, and the guys I know all have spin wings. I think this has alot to do with lack of attraction by the ducks.

If someone asked me if they are worth it, I would say not any more and invest the $150 in GHG full bodies!...oh yeah...forget I said that...invest your extra cash in those shiny Crappy Tire painted pelicans!!:-D

...or better yet, find the fields/ponds where the ducks want to be and invest the money in a nice gift for the landowner.

...boom....

Buck
01-09-2008, 02:11 AM
I'm new to the game and have hunted with spinning decoys my observation as a guest is that good calling makes all the differance with a good decoy spread.It would be interesting to see how many ducks would come in without calling and just to the dekes and spinner.My guess would be 60 to 40 with calling.We need some seasoned guys with experience to chime in.I think good calling to ducks that are lookin for a place to land is deadly.

Tanya
01-09-2008, 08:30 AM
Tanya's hubby John here;

We used one for the first time this year.(It was a gift) Some days it was awesome other days I wondered if it even spooked birds. One thing it does for sure is pinpoint a spot where incoming ducks will try to land. To me this makes it worthwhile as you can set up your shots accordingly. As we hunt a lot of field edges it also brings the birds the 10 yards closer to the edge for clean kills, so I would have to say I'm in favor of it.

SHAKER
01-09-2008, 10:56 AM
Under the the new alloctation policy, the Govt. is trying to make less restrictions for resident hunters???? So I doubt this will get much talk unless resident hunters push for it to banned.

Bow Walker
01-09-2008, 11:06 AM
Trail a wire down into the water - used a battery pack that's on steroids. When they touch down in the decoys.......ZAP! :eek:

Saves a lot of steel shot and gun cleaning. :wink: If you do it right the feathers should fall off as well. :rolleyes:

craigchaplin
01-09-2008, 11:56 AM
I really don't care one way or the other either.....although i do use it now and do find it helps me......still workin on my callin. Although i do think the calling is the key fer sure. I know i have scared birds away from my robo with my "at times" bad calling. They work and i don't believe its any different than decoys. In the older days guys made stuff that did the same thing just weren't electronic. Its more of a convienience thing fer me and it does bring em in that little bit closer fer the kill shot. my two cents.

rudar
01-09-2008, 12:02 PM
Well, I'm very new at the game, and bought an air-powered spinner. I can attest that you still need to set up other decoys and/or create a good blind, and/or call, and/or something else that I'm not doing right :) Because just throwing a dozen decoys and a spinner out there definitely isn't pulling in ducks like moths to a flame. I suspect my blinds have been a bit too close to the water/ too far away from other things sticking up from the marsh, so have been more visible than they should.

NEEHAMA
01-09-2008, 01:22 PM
i say use all the goodies, that is why we have the bag limits. ya only get your 8 ducks.

HuntNHookSports
01-09-2008, 08:28 PM
Motion is king. If they take away my batteries I will use a string and spring. I have taken more than one limit with 4 decoys and a spinner. If the wings aren't cupped and the feet aren't down, something is not right.

I agree with John. I set my decoys and blind according to the spinner and wind. Seldom do I shoot at ducks farther than 25 yards.

Mr. Dean
01-09-2008, 08:39 PM
Just a thought...

Could it be that the flocks are becoming upset by luring in the dumb/young birds, and that the magority now are older/wiser???

Not a waterfowler, just taking in what I've read in this thread.

Crazy_Farmer
01-09-2008, 09:12 PM
I agree that motion is king, I know guys who have far better results using a couple jerk strings in the spread then a spinner, and if they ban mojos here they'd just go back to using the jerk strings all the time. I dont think or have heard any word on even considering these being banned yet, and don't think they will be any time soon. Mr.Dean now thats the question of the hour isn't it, some guys are now noticing a difference in how the birds are reacting to them and others still are having great result, could be many things, where you're hunting whether it be a field or water, if you're off a refuge with ducks all year round or mainly hunting migrating ducks. But I know from last year to this year running the same spread in the fields doing everything the same we've seen way less birds want to commit, so we've stuck to mainly hunting geese. We obviously need to make changes or locations but I just wanted to really find out what others results and thoughts have been on using them.

pupper
01-09-2008, 09:44 PM
I like using them, as they are very effective. If they want us to shoot less ducks than lower the bag limits!!
The ducks will catch on over time probably.
they are even for sale cheaper here: Motorized Duck Decoy (http://www.exploreproducts.com/cgi-exploreproducts/sb/ref.cgi?storeid=*2676fab6d5d651471e0ab13125b771112 948adde1d&name=Hunting_Tips_and_Tricks&url=http://www.exploreproducts.com/edge-expedite-hotshot-motorized-duck-decoy.htm)

BoomBoom
01-09-2008, 09:46 PM
I am in agreement that motion is important. We have all been there rearanging our spread when all of a sudden there they are. I believe this is more than coincidence, its the motion.

I do;however, believe that irregular motion, ie/ rearranging,taking a leak, is different than constant motion created by spin wings. My regular partner has a spin wing that can be turned off remotely compared to mine that are remotly controlled. (new thread maybe regarding electronics and ethics?!) Seems like a good idea, particularily when the ducks have spotted the spread and are coming. We have not used enough times consistently to really form a solid opinion.

I do believe that most ducks, particularly local birds are slowly being conditioned to the blur of spin wings and thus are decoy shy.

Always an interesting study to really figure out why the ducks don't come into ones's spread...is it decoys,location,calling,lack of, weather,hunter camo or whatever. Let's not forget, and I believe this to be the case, most often ducks have it in their mind where they want to eat and where they want to sleep!...and it is going to take one hellava spread,calling sequence etc...to pull ducks from what they need to do when their mind is fixed on that...eat and rest! This is what makes waterfowling appealing to many of us.

This past season (unfortunately, we are done here in the Okanagan:-() I had a few opportunities to watch real ducks congregate in 30-50 bird groups along a local flight path. On most occasions flocks flew right past this bunch of birds. I started thinking "if they won't come in to the real birds how am I to make my spread more attractive?" I would sure like to hunt with the guys that can pull birds in situations like this! This is one example of ducks need to eat (even more critical later in the season) and it will take a good hunter to consistently pull these birds.

my thoughts....boom....

HuntNHookSports
01-09-2008, 10:52 PM
Could it be that the flocks are becoming upset by luring in the dumb/young birds, and that the magority now are older/wiser???

Any one who hunts or fish will tell you it is a lot easier to bag a young one than a mature one. You don't live to be old and wise by being dumb. The harvest will always contain a higher number of juveniles regardless of hunting methods. Besides I am sure the predator birds get far far more young ducks than hunters.
3 years ago you could shoot ducks with a spinner while wearing high vis. Now they are harder to use, but I think they are still effective if used properly.
The evolution of the motion decoy has a long way to go.
I hunt ducks like I fish bass. If the ducks aren't biting, I switch it up. Something always works.

Tanya
01-10-2008, 08:49 AM
Tanya's hubby John here;

Boom Boom that's the second rule of duck hunting. As soon as you get out of your blind to have a leak or rearrange the decoys some birds will fly by. For those of you new to the sport the first rule is that as soon as you pick up the decoys and leave some ducks will fly over exactly where you just were. This rule applies even if you haven't seen a duck all morning.

Just a thought if I was a wildlife manager wouldn't I want th harvest to be slanted towards young birds. I would think that older wiser birds would have better nesting success.

Crazy_Farmer
01-10-2008, 06:20 PM
Boom Boom that's the second rule of duck hunting. As soon as you get out of your blind to have a leak or rearrange the decoys some birds will fly by. For those of you new to the sport the first rule is that as soon as you pick up the decoys and leave some ducks will fly over exactly where you just were. This rule applies even if you haven't seen a duck all morning.


Funny story, we were goose hunting about 2 months back now with two other buddies and they had to pee really bad about mid morning and we had only seen one goose so far so, so we say sure get out there quick and do your thing. Well as soon as they both step out of the spread and unzip and start pissing, a flock of around a dozen tavernor geese come in real low. The guys didnt know what to do so they honestly just stood there holding there johnsons in one hand not moving.

The geese at first noticed them and flared, but we got more aggressive on the calls and a bit of flagging and they circled twice more and even flew over them at about 10 yards and then dropped right into the kill hole, since just the two of us were holding our guns we shot I think 4 or 5 out of that bunch. Needless to say I was amazed at how bad the geese wanted to land with our certain decoys and not mind the two guys pissing just 15 yards away.

As for the first rule, out of the all the weekends we've goose hunted, probably 75 percent of the time just after we pack up all the decoys with a big truck in the middle of the field do a couple more flocks always come by low. I guess we need to smarten up and stay out there a bit longer.

Tanya
01-11-2008, 08:12 AM
Tanya's hubby John here;

It doesn't matter how long you stay out CF the first rule seems to always apply.

wetcoaster
01-19-2008, 11:00 AM
Any one who hunts or fish will tell you it is a lot easier to bag a young one than a mature one. You don't live to be old and wise by being dumb. The harvest will always contain a higher number of juveniles regardless of hunting methods. Besides I am sure the predator birds get far far more young ducks than hunters.
3 years ago you could shoot ducks with a spinner while wearing high vis. Now they are harder to use, but I think they are still effective if used properly.
The evolution of the motion decoy has a long way to go.
I hunt ducks like I fish bass. If the ducks aren't biting, I switch it up. Something always works.

Couldn't agree more

Dano
01-19-2008, 11:43 PM
I've noticed a lot of birds do a "fly by" within range rather than commit to land like they did a few years ago.
I did ok before I used the Mojo but I have to admit that on the few occasions this year that I killed the battery on it, I didn't feel as confident. One thing about the Mojo, we hunt an area with mountains on both sides of us. I believe we miss a lot of birds that fly by before we see them because of the trees. The Mojo attracts some of these birds and they give us a look rather than flying by. I'll use the Mojo as long as it's legal too.
Dan
P.S. I use magnum decoys too....:eek:

duckslayer
01-20-2008, 11:08 AM
The ducks are catching on to these things for sure!! I have found that they are worth their weight in gold in a field hunt or over water in low light and then as the sun starts to brighten things up they start to do the ''fly by'' as Dano says and never fully commit. I run a super lucky duck with a remote and as they start circling i will shut it down and have had better results this way. One of the rivers i hunt the ducks like boom boom said have their mind made up where they want to be so i will get caught off guard several times and have ducks coming in cupped and committed and then they pick out the robo before i get it shut off and they flair like crazy and i don't get a shot at them but in the early light they practically land right on the spinner. It is still a valuable tool in my spread it just doesn't get used as much as a few years ago
Slayer

Qwa-honn
01-21-2008, 10:25 PM
I think that the amount of ducks that are killed here in a year compared to the states we will never compare. And what is the difference if you kill eight quickly or in five hours? Some places the ducks are getting a little wiser to them but you still have it all over the guy that doesn't have them. I have used only one and had out as many as five. I don't need them to land in my decoys just get close enough for a clean kill. A dead duck is a dead duck wether I shot him at 15 yards or 45yards.

longshot
02-25-2008, 10:13 PM
I could not care less if they ban them, they scare more birds than they bring in.

Longshot