# Teal Decoys....are they worth it



## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Been playing with the idea of getting a dozen or so teal decoys. Do you use them and do you think they're worth adding to the spread?


----------



## Hoopermat (Dec 17, 2010)

Every day 
I use 2 to 3 dozen. 
Until the freeze.


----------



## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Yes they are good decoys to have in a spread, or all by themselves. More times than not I have teal buzz me throughout the day. I seem to always have teal decoys mixed in with wigeon, pintail, mallard and spoonies. I even have a dozen blue winged decoys I use.


----------



## Shadow Man (Feb 22, 2017)

I'm glad I'm not the only one out there with blue wing decs in my spread, I would love to shoot a mature drake, I've seen them over the years but never harvested a drake in breeding plumage, it will make it on the wall for sure when I do!


----------



## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Shadow Man said:


> I'm glad I'm not the only one out there with blue wing decs in my spread, I would love to shoot a mature drake, I've seen them over the years but never harvested a drake in breeding plumage, it will make it on the wall for sure when I do!


I have seen a few over the years. I know guys that have been lucky to shoot some nice looking drakes around the GSL. I'm still waiting to get a blue winged teal, scoter and old squaw from the GSL.


----------



## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Shadow Man said:


> I'm glad I'm not the only one out there with blue wing decs in my spread, I would love to shoot a mature drake, I've seen them over the years but never harvested a drake in breeding plumage, it will make it on the wall for sure when I do!


First duck I ever killed was a blue wing drake at the ripe old age of 7 years old. It lit just between a few decoys and dad pointed him out to me. Handed me the old single shot 12 gauge and pulled back the hammer on it for me. I put the bead where he told me and pulled the trigger. Gun knocked me flat on my rear and I stood up crying. Dad patted me on the back and said I had killed the duck. I wiped my eyes and sure enough there he was floating dead. Two years later grandpa got me a model 1100 in 16 gauge which I still have over 50 years later. Ton's of blue & green wings in LA but no cinny's.


----------



## sketch21 (Jul 11, 2013)

YES on teal decoys!

I still run a few repainted Flambeaus from the 90's. At this point they are 20 years old and very tired. I have some newer models too, but Teal are a go to for a lot of hunts.


----------



## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

You betcha on the teal decoys!! I don't have as much waterfowling experience as many others on here, but here is what I have learned about decoys.

First off, be where the birds want to be (duh!) and you can probably get away with cut out and painted black decoys - ask the airboat crowd! Second, if birds are stale, sometimes a little change is all it takes to mix up the situation - some of my best mallard shoots have happened over 6 teal decoys. With every Tom, Dick, & Harry having $150 duck calls and calling like they are in Stuttgart, having a spread of teal decoys and using a teal call (very very very sparingly) have stopped the southern migration of many greenheads. Lastly, it seems that teal are around here from opening day until freeze up, thus adding realism to your spread (should you use them along with mallards, pintails, etc.).


----------



## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

Hoopermat said:


> Every day
> I use 2 to 3 dozen.
> Until the freeze.


Just curious, but why only until the freeze? Teal are readily available all season long and they love to drop into the decoys. I have had many late season hunts where the little teal save what would have been a "slow" day.


----------



## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

OK well if anyone sees teal dekes go on sale locally in Salt Lake or Utah Counties please post it up here.


----------



## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

LostLouisianian said:


> OK well if anyone sees teal dekes go on sale locally in Salt Lake or Utah Counties please post it up here.


Watch walmart.com you can get them for as low as $17 a six pack. They have some hardcore blue winged teal for $20 right now. usually free shipping or you can pick up at the store and not pay shipping.

I'm cheap, I buy what's on sale, but I get two or three times as much than if I were paying full price.


----------



## Shadow Man (Feb 22, 2017)

Another good place to watch is the "bargin cave" at cabelas, any customer returns and scatch and dents end up there, I've picked up several decoys over the years for screaming deals!


----------



## quackaddict35 (Sep 25, 2015)

I have a dozen teal dekes, I love that they're small and don't take up a lot of space in the bag but still add numbers to your spread 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Raptor1 (Feb 1, 2015)

I usually have a half dozen or so out, but I guess from the posts above it would have been a good idea to get some more into the spread when they were on sale at wally world for 10 bucks. Oh well I think I did enough this offseason in the decoys, picked up 2 dozen wigeon, 2 dozen pintails and a couple of motion butts. Plus 24 inflatables (spoon, pintail and mallard) that were on a killer sale.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

LostLouisianian said:


> Been playing with the idea of getting a dozen or so teal decoys. Do you use them and do you think they're worth adding to the spread?


I use them often. Lot of times if I'm jump shooting I'll just carry a few teal dekes, they don't take up much room in my pack.

Have 2 sets, one big set for early and another for the late season. The drakes in the early set are eclipse drakes, look like hens really. I'd be happy with all hen teal decoys actually.

.


----------



## Clarq (Jul 21, 2011)

I love teal decoys for several reasons:

1. Realism: we have greenwings all season long in Utah. They fit right in.
2. Variety: like others have said, they add variety to the spread, which I think ducks might like (but who can really tell?).
3. Versatility: They're authentic whether I'm hunting on streams, small water, big water, even the Great Salt Lake. My diving duck decoys, by contrast, only get used in a few places.
4. Compact: They weigh less and take up less space than mallard decoys.

I'd buy some more, if I didn't already own way too many decoys.


----------



## dkhntrdstn (Sep 7, 2007)

I have them in my spread. i got gwt and cinnamon teal and working on adding blue wings in to it.


----------



## JuniorPre 360 (Feb 22, 2012)

There's a few very small spots down my road where I could sit and shoot limits of teal with 18 decoys. Mallards seem to like them too. On those hard to reach back ponds in the marsh, I always pack light. 12 teal and 6 very nice mallards have always done the trick for me.

I once landed 6 geese in my 18 teal decoys at Public Shooting Grounds. I think they're still out there laughing at how fast I shot all 3 shells.


----------



## lucdavis (Dec 28, 2012)

https://www.hardcore-brands.com/product/blue-wing-teal-decoys/


----------



## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

lucdavis said:


> https://www.hardcore-brands.com/product/blue-wing-teal-decoys/


Those are the same ones on sale at Walmart for $20.05 per 6 with free shipping to the store.


----------



## MuscleWhitefish (Jan 13, 2015)

Just buy some sand paper and black and white paint. 

Make them into buffleheads.


----------



## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)

$22 Today.............https://www.walmart.com/ip/Flambeau-Green-Wing-Teal-Decoys-6pk/45807810


----------



## SCtransplant (Jul 31, 2015)

I like shooting teal, I like eating them even more.


----------

