What to do with my old decoys now?

[wvmntnhick]

Well, I've been using an avian x breeder hen and I've really liked the way she looks but didn't care much for the weight. I'd bout a Susie Snood because she was lighter only to find that she didn't pack well.  Bought a Mad Shady Baby feeder because she was priced right and my squirrel hunting partner swore that it was a great decoy. They're all nice but, they either don't pack well enough for me (Mad and Snood) or they're heavier (anything avian) than I'd like to have while taking long walks. They're fine for this particular area when I'm only going a couple hundred yards but when I hit some ground that I can open up and cover ground, they become a hindrance. Having said that, I bought 2 of the Montana 3D hen decoys on sale from Rogers. Still looking to find a good deal on the jake. Guess I'll just use my avian for a basketball and use the others for some strange man cave display. 

[TRG3]

After I bought my Pretty Boy and Funky Chicken, I left my foam decoys on a shelf in the garage. Then, I needed to hunt an area some 30 minutes from the truck and certainly didn't want to carry anything bulky through the woods for that distance or length of time. So....I pulled a jake and hen foam decoy off the garage shelf, folded them up so that they fit in my ground lounger, and headed out. I took a nice gobbler with them an hour later and was able to pack everything back to the truck in one effort. You never know when something that you thought was in your past will need to be revived, so find a comfortable place for your old decoys. You never know when you'll need to resurrect them.

[Greg Massey]

The Primos foam decoys, and the WalMart ones were some of my first decoys and i still keep them in a bag just for the days i don't want to carry my avain x or anything bulky. Had way to many great hunts to get rid of my old foam decoys. Some of my old foam decoys show battle scares from old lead shot..lol

[wvmntnhick]

I've got plenty of the old foam decoys around. Heck, my daughters saw me packing my vest the other day and had to have one. I lost two hens in one fail swoop. Lost my Cherokee sports inflatables. Loved those things. The durability wasn't there but man were they portable. Sure would love to see them pop op again. Regardless, the Montana dec's will be my primary once they show up. Guy I turkey hunt with where I'm living now is jonsing for my avian. I'll probably sell it to him along with the Susie Snood decoy. May give the Mad to my nephew.

[Greg Massey]

Hey wvmntnhick, some of my first turkey decoys were homemade plywood silhouette. We would paint them solid flat black with a red painted head and we even would attach old goose or turkey wings on the sides of these decoys. Man we had a lot of fun carrying these around those were the days..also everyone of us wanted to carry a single barrel Topper 10 gauge shotgun. Late on a friend and i bought the first Browning BPS 10 gauge shotgun in our area and carried those around for couple year. Those were like dragging a log with a rope tied around you...IT's funny to see us now wanting light weight decoys and carrying 20 gauge shotgun.

[Tunaguy]

I'd invest in some Sherpas.

[stinkpickle]

Old foamies are good for setting up a nice flock while fall hunting.

[Spitten and drummen]

I bought Montana hens and a jake. they fit nice in the vest with minimal weight and look plenty good enough to fool birds. I haven't carried a decoy in 10 years but these will see some field time. probably not a lot but some. they set up quick and easy and store back up as fast. doesn't seem like they will be a pain , especially lugging them around.

[RutnNStrutn]

Find someone that is just starting out in turkey hunting, and give the dekes to them. That's what I did with my old dekes after I upgraded to a couple of DSD's to go along with BMobile. They were very appreciative of the old dekes that I no longer cared to use.

[CMBOSTC]

I just came up with an idea for the most portable decoy ever made, and it's rugged. A sock puppet painted to look like a gobbler head. That would be a sight,  a gobbler sock puppet sticking out of a double bull ground blind talking to the turkeys. Ha HA!

[tha bugman]

you can order the cherokee inflatables from walmart.com for about $11.00

I've got plenty of the old foam decoys around. Heck, my daughters saw me packing my vest the other day and had to have one. I lost two hens in one fail swoop. Lost my Cherokee sports inflatables. Loved those things. The durability wasn't there but man were they portable. Sure would love to see them pop op again. Regardless, the Montana dec's will be my primary once they show up. Guy I turkey hunt with where I'm living now is jonsing for my avian. I'll probably sell it to him along with the Susie Snood decoy. May give the Mad to my nephew.

[tha bugman]

Man, I got an old feather flex that works just fine.

[THattaway]

Find someone that is just starting out in turkey hunting, and give the dekes to them. That's what I did with my old dekes after I upgraded to a couple of DSD's to go along with BMobile. They were very appreciative of the old dekes that I no longer cared to use.

Best post yet. Plenty of younger new hunters around who can benefit from ANY old hunting equipment. Most all of us had sponsors of some kind. Pay it forward.

[Spurs]

I second the motion to give them away.  That is where all of my "old equipment" goes.  I find a friend in need and pass it along. 


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[wvmntnhick]

IN the end, that's probably what will happen with Susie and the MAD hen. I'm probably going to sell the avian though to recoup some of my funds. My nephew will probably get the previously mentioned dec's as well as the a few of the foam ones. There's three kids in that family so I'm sure if I work it right, they'll all have a few to get them going.