If you’re interested in hunting waterfowl, you should invest in high-quality decoys.
These provide a realistic-looking spread of fake ducks that will fool the real ducks into thinking they’re real, so they’ll get closer to land and become an easier target for you to shoot.
Should you use mallard decoys?
Mallard decoys are popular because of how this duck species is so predominant and these ducks are usually the ones that other ducks will spend time with, which is another reason why you’ll see many mallard duck decoys on the market.
With this in mind, here’s what you should know about the best duck decoys for the money in 2022, featuring mallard as well as green-teal decoys.
Here’s the rundown of 10 quality products, looking at their pros and cons so that you can choose the best decoys for your next hunting adventure.
Best Duck Decoys – Reviews & Recommendations for 2023
- AvianX Top Flight Floater Decoy
- Dakota Decoy Drake Head Mallard
- Avian-X Top Flight Green Wing Teal Floater
- Higdon Outdoors Mallard Duck Decoys
- Lucky Duck Spinning Wing Decoys
- PS Products Concealment Decoy Duck
- Cupped Waterfowl Duck Decoys
- MOJO Elite Series Duck Decoy
- RioRand Duck Hunting Decoy
- Fold Up Decoy FUD
Editor’s Choice: AvianX Top Flight Floater Decoy
Features
- Quantity: 6
- Duck Breed: Mallard
- Type: Floating
When choosing duck decoys, you want to ensure that they look as authentic as possible. These are a pack of six floater duck decoys that look realistic when put on the water.
They have been painted in the colors you’ll find on real ducks. They also contain a coating adhesive so that the decoys stay durable, providing greater value for money.
These duck decoys have weight-forward swim keel positions which further makes them look realistic. They’re also easy to use. All you have to do is snap the line through the swim clip.
This will make the decoys move in a natural way when they’re on the water, mimicking how real ducks move.
You’ll love the attention to detail that’s been paid to these duck decoys, such as the way their beige heads have black markings and how their feathers have been meticulously painted on their backs.
This pack of decoys contains three drakes – one’s a high-head, one’s a feeder, and one’s a swimmer – and three hens – one’s a high-head, one’s a feeder, and one’s a swimmer.
These variations will ensure that your duck decoy spread won’t look too uniform that it alerts ducks to it being fake.
Runner-Up: Dakota Decoy Drake Head Mallards
Features
- Quantity: 12
- Duck Breed: Mallard
- Type: Floating
This Dakota Decoy pack of 12 decoys is perfect for you to purchase if you need to go waterfowl hunting.
Generally, 12 decoys is an ideal number to have per hunter on a hunt, so this pack will give you everything you need, especially if you’re organizing a smaller hunting spread.
The duck decoys in this pack have been hand painted, with the painting process going through 24 steps for the drakes and 16 steps for the hens. This ensures that the duck decoys display great attention to detail so they look realistic.
The decoys don’t all look the same, which is good to add realism to your spread. They have six different head styles. The heads can also spin 360 degrees so that they look like they’re moving.
They come with a weighted keel that’s got a cleat on the front of it. This enables you to either shorten or lengthen your lines, depending on how much water depth you’re dealing with.
This pack contains seven drakes (which have four unique head styles) and five hens (with two head styles). It provides a good mix of ducks and different head positions so that the spread looks realistic and will fool ducks more effectively.
Best Value For Money: Avian-X Top Flight Green Wing Teal Floater
Features
- Quantity: 6
- Duck Breed: Green-winged teal
- Type: Floating
It’s disappointing to buy duck decoys and then discover that they don’t last for a long time. These decoys won’t let you down in terms of durability because they’re made with non-chip paint and have rubberized molding to make them strong.
Every duck decoy is 10 inches in size from breast to tail. They all have weight-forward swim keels to make it look like they’re floating on the water like real ducks.
The six decoys in this pack include two feeder drakes, one low-head hen, one feeder hen, and two low-head drakes.
The mix of head styles makes these decoys look more realistic, whether you group them together on the water or spread them further apart from each other.
These are beautiful duck decoys that have authentic paint colors and great attention to detail, such as on their wings. Ducks will definitely be fooled into thinking they’re real and this will make them feel more comfortable entering your spread.
Since these realistic duck decoys have variations, they’re a really good value for money because you can purchase one or two packs and get a good decoy spread out of it.
Alternative: Higdon Outdoors Mallard Duck Decoys
Features
- Quantity: 6
- Duck Breed: Mallard
- Type: Floating
These duck decoys are a little different from previous products because they have more color in them. They have also been enlarged so that they are more visible. Their feathers have been carved deeply to make them look realistic.
They also have a weighted keel so that they can be set up easily and without much fuss, which makes them easy for beginners and experienced hunters alike.
The ducks are filled with foam, which makes them light and ensures that they won’t sink.
This is a pack of six mallard duck decoys (two hens and four drakes) that have various head postures and body positions so that they don’t look too uniform. Their heads are adjustable and can also be rotated.
Although these are quality products, one potential drawback is that they don’t look as realistic as some other decoys we’ve featured in these reviews.
Therefore, you might not want to rely on these decoys in the main area of your decoy spread, but rather use them as additional decoys to increase the overall effectiveness of your decoys.
Alternative: Lucky Duck Spinning Wing Decoys
Features
- Quantity: 1
- Duck Breed: Mallard
- Type: Spinning wing
If you’re hunting ducks, especially during the late season, you’ll want to get your hands on decoys such as this one by Lucky Duck that mimic flight.
This decoy creates a gentle flash from its wings which further will get ducks’ attention and bring them into your hunting zone.
This is a motion duck decoy that will add extra realism to your decoy spread. It comes with a 42-inch stake so you can prop it in the ground and watch it spin. It’s made out of EVA plastic so it’s durable and has been painted to mimic real-life ducks.
It’s got durable injection-molded wings that are magnetic and have authentic prints on them. Its chest mount has a bungee included to secure the decoy. This is important because it prevents it from becoming damaged.
This is a battery-operated decoy duck with spinning wings that comes with a rechargeable battery as well as a charger. You won’t have to worry about it losing power during a long hunt, as it will work for approximately 18 hours.
A nice additional feature of this decoy is that it can be upgraded, thanks to how it’s HD remote kit ready, although the remote isn’t included in the pack.
Alternative: PS Products Concealment Decoy Duck
Features
- Quantity: 1
- Duck Breed: Mallard
- Type: Concealment box
This is a product that varies quite a bit from the previous ones we’ve featured in this guide. It is basically a shell decoy duck, so it looks like it’s sitting, but it also comes with a cherry-wood base.
The “base” is actually a box, in which you can store your weapons or other hunting gear.
This concealment base comes with a shell-style magnet so you can easily release its inner lock. To ensure you keep your weapon safe inside this box, it’s lined with padded felt to prevent it from getting scratched or scuffed.
The box’s dimensions are 9x6x2 inches, so this is large enough to store your various accessories. You’re not limited to using this box for weaponry as you can use it for finicky pieces of hunting gear that you don’t want to lose when out on the hunt.
While this isn’t a decoy you can put into your duck spread, it will ensure that you can better conceal your hunting gear so that ducks won’t see it. The duck on top of the wooden base looks realistic, with its colors and feather details mimicking real-life ducks.
This is a smart accessory for the serious hunter to own because it will ensure greater concealment wherever you’re hunting waterfowl. However, since you won’t be able to use it as a decoy, it would be good if the duck could separate from the base.
Alternative: Cupped Waterfowl Duck Decoys
Features
- Quantity: 12
- Duck Breed: Mallard
- Type: Floater
Floater duck decoys come in handy in a variety of spreads, especially because at one time or another you’re likely to be hunting waterfowl near water sources. When ducks see the floating decoy, they’ll assume that it’s a real duck resting or swimming.
Since you want to ensure that your decoy spread will look realistic, it’s good to choose a pack of decoys that contain ducks that look a bit different from each other. This pack contains hens and drakes, and they vary from each other in terms of how they look.
The decoys come with weighted keels so they’ll float effectively and this also makes them more durable. The keels provide good balance and mimic realistic ways in which the ducks move on the water.
The ducks look realistic with their paintwork, which further ensures that you’ll draw more ducks to you during the hunt. They’re molded from plastic that’s both durable and lightweight.
Unfortunately, these duck decoys don’t come with different head positions as they are quite uniform in that way. This is therefore a pack of decoys that you shouldn’t solely rely on to attract ducks but can be used as additional decoys in a varied spread.
Alternative: MOJO Elite Series Duck Decoy
Features
- Quantity: 1
- Duck Breed: Mallard
- Type: Motion
If you’re looking for a duck decoy that stands out from the crowd, this one by MOJO is worth checking out. At first glance, it’s designed to look cartoonish, with comical teeth that have been painted on its beak!
But that’s where the funny stuff ends, as this decoy is built to help you seriously hunt and bag more ducks.
It’s a battery-operated spinning-wing duck decoy that gives you 16 hours of runtime. It has magnetic spinning wings that spin very fast to mimic how ducks in the wild fly.
This duck decoy has a flexible body that makes it look realistic, and it’s also quieter than other motion duck decoys on the market so it won’t give you away during the hunt.
Thanks to its unique design, it can be used as a decoy or as a gift for a loved one. Its fun appearance is sure to add extra enjoyment to your hunting adventures.
But, ducks will appreciate the realistic colors and featherwork on the back of the decoy, which is sure to fool them. This is also a good decoy to add to a duck spread as extra motion is always valuable.
Unfortunately, you can’t use this right out of the box because it requires batteries that aren’t included. In addition, a drawback of this duck decoy is that it shouldn’t fall into the water.
Some people who have purchased it on Amazon have mentioned that it can become damaged after being immersed in water.
Alternative: RioRand Duck Hunting Decoy
Features
- Quantity: 1
- Duck Breed: Mallard
- Type: Floater
You might not think of using a plastic duck that frequents your pond as a hunting decoy, but this RioRand decoy works double duty!
This is a realistic floating mallard decoy that’s easy to use in a variety of applications, such as on lawns as a decoration or in lakes as a decoy during a duck hunt.
It’s been made with durable materials and has many life-like details in its male-duck appearance. It’s the same size as real-life mallard ducks, so ducks are more likely to assume it’s real.
This duck decoy comes with a keel to ensure that it stays upright on the water.
Although realistic looking, some people have reported receiving decoys that had faded colors on them which made them look fake.
This plastic duck doesn’t contain additional features to make it work as effectively as some other decoys on the market, but it’s certainly worth adding to your current spread.
You should use it early on in the hunting season when ducks are naive and more likely to fall for decoy spreads, instead of later in the season when ducks have seen lots of decoys and have become more difficult to hunt as a result.
Alternative: Fold Up Decoy FUD
Features
- Quantity: 6
- Duck Breed: Mallard
- Type: Full size
Full-size duck decoys are some of the most popular to use in a spread as they tend to be the most lifelike. What’s special about these decoys is that they’re foldable so they’re easy to set up.
Once set up in your spread, they become 3D decoys. They come with a FUD sling that enables you to carry the decoys on your waist. This makes them easy and convenient to carry around.
These decoys are made to look realistic, but they’re also designed to be durable. They’re painted with a UV-protectant coating and they’re made with neoprene.
This is a type of rubber that’s weather-resistant, therefore ensuring that they will last you for a long time.
These decoys are also resistant to water, scratches, and are shot-proof, which is good to know in case you happen to shoot your decoy instead of a real duck!
You can use these decoys in a variety of locations, such as on water, on land, and even in icy locations, so they’re versatile.
Another great feature these decoys have to offer is that they have special pivot points which means that you can display them in a variety of ways, such as in sleeping or feeding positions.
However, some people who have purchased this duck decoy have said that its plastic rivets are cheap and tend to break easily.
Duck Decoys FAQ
Before deciding on what type of duck decoys to purchase, you might have some questions. Let’s explore two common questions about these products.
Is 12 duck decoys enough?
While you might think more decoys are always better to have in your carry bag, this isn’t a hard and fast rule when hunting ducks. Some people say that you should have at least two dozen decoys or 24 decoys, but that more is better.
The truth is that this isn’t always practical or convenient advice.
The number of duck decoys you should have when hunting will vary depending on the situation. For example, if you’re trying to shoot ducks in small and confined waters, a spread that contains between six and 36 decoys should be enough.
But, if you’re hunting in open fields or on large expanses of water, you could do well with more decoys.
With that said, you should gauge what ducks in the environment are doing so that your spread looks realistic. For example, if ducks are in smaller groups, having too many decoys could look fake to them.
It’s more effective to mimic the behavior of real ducks as this will guide you to how many decoys you should use.
What is the hardest duck to decoy?
Although sometimes it feels like all types of duck can be challenging to hunt, especially when it comes to tricking them with decoys, it’s said that the black duck is the trickiest.
This is because they are smart and skittish, so they seek out areas where they can’t be found by hunters and predators alike. They’re extremely wary of both.
Black ducks are also wary of decoy spreads. They will take their time to study decoy spreads, so they require hunters to be careful, really still, and watch their response to the decoys.
However, don’t lose hope! It’s been said that part of the reason why black ducks are difficult to hunt is that their numbers have been in decline, so that’s something to bear in mind.
If you want to hunt black ducks, it’s good to be aware of their behavior. They don’t waddle deep into the water and will choose to build nests in the dirt, usually in areas concealed by vegetation.
They like to socialize with mallard ducks, which is further problematic for hunters because the two duck species look quite similar! Note that while they’re similar in size to mallards, they have darker plumage.
When it comes to male black ducks, they are similar in appearance to the females but they have yellow bills whereas females have green ones.
Conclusion
If you’re preparing to go duck hunting, make sure you have the best duck decoys for the money.
In this buying guide, we’ve featured 10 of the best duck decoys, looking at all their special features so that you can choose the ones that will increase the effectiveness of your duck spread.
We’ve featured both static and motion duck decoys that ensure you can get a realistic, authentic spread whenever you’re ready to bag more ducks.
We’ve also provided you with information to help you increase your duck hunting success, such as how many decoys you should invest in and what you need to know about the most difficult duck to hunt.
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