wondering what everyone prefers when it comes to full bodies.

[duckman23]

Im looking at buying some new full bodies. Right now im kinda leaning twards FA lessers or ghg lessers.
I have heard great things about FA decoys and i realy like the full legs and feet on them. I have heard mixed things about GHG decoys.
I have also heard alot of good things about dakota decoys but they are huge and it would take forever to cary them in to places you cant drive in to. The other day some one mentioned Hard Core decoys. So im just trying to get a little insight.

[riverland]

Comes down to personal preference.  I've hunted over different spreads some mixed which I like because they all can be different sizes, colorations and positions.  I like a lot of feeders with just a few lookers.
The lessers are nice and compact.  I know guides that hunt over just "real geese" decoys as well.
For LONG lasting durability- I don't think you can beat Bigfoot decoys.  I've seen GHG paint flake off and scratch off, but Ive got bigfeet that are very old and still look almost new.  I believe the colors are mixed into the plastic rather then painted on. Just my 2 cents

[John Akehurst]

First and foremost, I am not linked in with or sponsored by any decoy manufacturer:

It really does come down to preference.  Like was said, the most durable from my observations and experience is the Bigfoot.  

I am currently running mostly GHG.  I have a few Flambeau's, Final Approach and G&H mixed in.  The one thing about mixing the different brands will be more body and head postures that will give you more realism in the spread.  I do have a few GHG with the paint rubbing off, but at this time, they still work in the field.  The flocked heads on the FA's is pretty much gone on some.  The G&H and Flambeau have no flocking.

I do not run any bigfoots currently, but I do hunt over them as a friend of mine has about 4 dozen of them.  The reason I do not have any, is that they are so big and take up a lot of space.  I can fit a lot of GHG lessors in my trailer and that is why the bulk of my spread are these.

Dakotas are a really nice decoy, but I don't have any.  There is another one on the Market called Monster decoys ... but I understand they may have stopped making them because they too closely resemble the Dakota and I think there was a major uproar over them.

Growing up I killed birds over what I called the junk yard rig.  These were home made jobs made with tires and hose and silouhettes.  One problem ... boy these were heavy!  Especially cause I was little, hunting with Dad.  We left these in the pits and blinds.  No body would ever steal these.  

One more piece of advice, they aren't cheap, but if you get the 6 slotted decoy bags, they are a huge help.  I hang them in the trailer and if need be, I can still get my ATV in there.  Also, if your destination is not navigatable by vehicle, you can snap two bags together with the straps and hang 2 bags on each shoulder, therby carrying 2 dozen full bodies in with ease.

FFD or not ... again it is your preference.  I run a lot of flocked heads, As I do think that this makes a good difference by reducing any shine.  The FFD's are too much money in my thought process to get all skinned up.  I usually hunt two different locations in a day so in and out of a trailer 4 times a day and having people with me who didn't drop a dime for the purchase of the decoys, they can get a lot of abuse.  We killed geese all but two outings last season.  We hit our bird limit everytime (not including the two outings) with the exception of 3 times.

I once read an interesting article in ... I think it was Waterfowl Hunter (This magazine has since deceased) where they set up a field with no hunters, or calling.  They set up with stuffers one day, the next day it was FFD's, the next day was flocked heads, and the next day was no flocking at all.  They stood back and counted the number of birds that would land into the spread.  Naturally in the order I typed the different groups above the stuffers won, then FFD's and so on with no flocking bringing up the rear with the least amount.  Now, I do not know how scientific this experiment was as every day geese can act differently and I don't recall the weather conditions.

Now if you really want the best decoy of all.  Have tons of money and ways to store them ... Get the ones from the Creator Himself.  Stuffers will win everytime in my book.  I don't have any ... but have hunted over them and you can really do a number with a really small spread of  "The Creator's Decoy".

My 2 cents.

[darstormas1]

All I have is ghg full flocks and I like them alot. I also dont run anything but full bodies unless hunting over water of course. A friend of mine has some final approach full bodies, but even he said he likes the ghg better. just personal preference as everyone has said. I have shot geese over a half dozen giant shells. Main thing is be on the x or close to it. good luck

[Camo2006]

I like the Bigfoots but I buy what I can find on sale at the end of the year. I think the spread looks better with all different brands of Decoys in it. The Bigfoots seem to hold up the best as previously mentioned.

[cornfieldbill]

I HAVE BIG AN SMALL  GOOSE DECOYS  SOME MOVE SOME DON'T I PUT OUT 50 FULL BODIES AS A START AN GET BIGER AS IT GETS LATER UP TO 150 GIVE OR TAKE

[shadowlawnskysthelimit]

I have several dozen of the GHG Snows that I put out mixed into up to 2000 white rags. I really like how they look and have not had any problems with paint chipping. I do have all my full bodies in old pillow cases to protect them. When the birds get real decoy shy I use as little as 6-12 full bodies all by themselves.
As far as Honkers or Specks I have about 500 rags but dont use them that much since I purchased some GHG full bodies, again they look awesome in the field.
I have looked at FA's at local Bass Pro but dont like the weight of each decoy. Bigfoots are well too big for me. For me if I am going to use a decoy that is bigger then I will pull out the ol 747's that are collecting dust.
Gotta say if I had only 1 choice; rags or full bodies, most of the time I'll take the rags. Too many times we have hunted next to guys with lots of full bodies and silosocks and quantity almost always beats out quality. Just mho!!!!

[John Akehurst]

Speaking of stuffers.

I stumbled across this website this morning.

www.goosestuffers.com

Everything you need to make your own.  And they say you can do them for around $20.00 each.

I might have to check this out someday. 

[Shane]

Speaking of "747's" I have 14 of the those huge shells and I tell you what with all the advanced fullbody decoys which are awesome no doubt I have still found these big daddies to have a lot of drwing power at great distances due to there huge profile and by the time they figure out there size there landing gear is down and boom boom boom it's over......

I have Avery lessers as well and ther are nice....these days I am looking for realism , affordability and durability as my qualifiers when shopping for new deeks...

[MSOE DuckGuy]

Well many things to consider here.

First, what kind of room do you have? FA's that I have take up a lot more room and are heavier, GHG are lighter and smaller.  Bigfoots are durable but take up A LOT of space.  Personally I love Bigfoots but I dont have the room for them, so I go with GHG or Avery.  Also, never buy decoys full price.  You'll pay $20 a piece or more for fullbodies.  I always do craigslist or on sale decoys.

[craig]

I know what I prefe rbut, can't afford.DSDs are very realistic,if I could they are all I would use.

Grace
craig

[bear40doux]

BIGFOOTS are unbeatable IMO! My buddy and I dog train over 18 of them year around. 3-4 times a week we are walking them out and packing them in. We grab em by the head, the foot, we drop em, the dogs knock em down, they are out in the hot summer sun, rain, even snow sometimes....they look great still! The paint stays on great and flocked heads looked awesome after months of abuse.

Hands down...BFs are the best bang for your buck!

[nerksa_nayr52]

I'm a fan of Bigfoots. I was given a dozen as a Christmas present a couple years back and that is all I have used since. I mostly hunt giant Canadas that don't seem to be as weary as the smaller birds do though. They are extremely durable.