Anyone use the 2013 DSD's this year?

[alloutdoors]

I'm curious what kind of experiences people have had with the new 2013 DSD decoys. In particular, how has the flocking held up for anyone who used the jake or strutter? Have you had any toms with muddy feet climbing around on top of either your jake or strutter, and if so how hard was it to clean the flocking afterward?

[Old Gobbler]

DSD has a special proprietary adhesive they use to bond the flocking to the decoy , it is widely credited to be the best - Brad gave me a good idea what it is --it has mechanical bonding properties superior to any flocking available -

  I don't have a 2013 Flocked DSD's -  but what I did is flock my DSD Jake and Gobbler decoy to look exactly like them , my flock job is very good because Ive done flocking plenty of times before, of waterfowl decoys , but nowhere as good as the factory DSD job - I used a commonly used flat enamel and  flocking and it came out real nice ....  Flocking will wash up and clean up real nice with a hose and water and dry it out , dont worry about it ever getting muddy it washes out if that happens

I have a set of 2 dozen flocked ringneck duck decoys  that I use with my 2 layout boats  at the tip of my 180 decoy spread , and let me tell you , me and my Uncle were astounded at how well they worked , it was like a magnet for ringers  , the extra dark black bodies stand out and look way ..way better than they did before

I have some before and after pictures of my DSD's ill dig them up if I can find them --Shannon

[bigbird]

They rock!! I've killed 3 birds over them this season and all of the birds seem to respond to the jake very well. Have not had one get up on the back yet with muddy feet! A guy I know goose hunts with flocked decoys and he told me to clean up any mud all he does is he uses some dish soap and water in a bucket lightly washes them! Get some you won't be disappointed!

[DirtNap647]

i likem

[CrustyRusty]

I have a 2013 jake and some older hens.   I had a tom run  up to it and start thumping it up pretty good on our opener here in NY.  It looks as new and worked better than I expected.   Here are the results:

[sixbird]

Well, I had some Cabelas points that I haven't been able to use so I decided to spring for a DSD hen. I would have NEVER paid the $124 that it cost to have one at my door but since I had the points, it was essentially free. I didn't really have any expectation that it would perform any better than my foam "cheapies."
Well, so far, I haven't had a tom see it, at least as far as I know...I have had two hens see it and they both were VERY aggressive toward it. One even climbing on the things back and pecking on it's head!
I've only had one hen show that level of aggression with the foam decoys in all the years I've used them and, to be honest, I don't think she showed quite that much. The "foamies" seemed to elicit a more confused reaction and after a few seconds, an abandonment.
I'm thinking, if a gobbler sees it, it should elicit a reaction on the same level. At least that's what I'm hoping...
Whether it's a $124 reaction, I don't know. I guess you have to decide that...

[alloutdoors]

Thanks for the responses. Just to be clear, I'm well aware of how effective DSD's are as I already own the entire flock of them, just not the 2013 versions. I've just been curious about the durability of the flocking ever since I saw them introduce it. I usually have multiple jakes and toms climbing on top of my jake decoy each season and I wondered how the flocking would hold up to that abuse. I once had two jakes spend an hour climbing around on one of my hens in a muddy cornfield and when they were done there was literally half an inch of mud caked to her back. I can't imagine I would ever buy the factory flocked versions since my decoys really couldn't be any more effective than they are now, but I could see maybe taking it on as a DIY project at some point just as an excuse to get my decoys out and give myself a turkey hunting related project to do between seasons.

[SinGin]

Ok dumb question here. But what is thjs (flocking) you all are talking about?

[MAKEemQUIVER]

I had two birds jump on my jake, which has the flocking. There was one spot of mud about the size of a dime that was on the flocking afterwards. When I got home I took a rag wetted with warm water and it cleaned up good. Also had to wipe a little blood off of him  .

[sixbird]

Ok dumb question here. But what is thjs (flocking) you all are talking about?

I have one that I bought from Cabelas in May 2013 and I don't see the "flocking" or at least what I know as flocking...
I did finally have a tom come to the DSD and he was completely mesmerized...I've had them do nearly the same with my old "foamies" so, like I said in another post, they work and are beautiful, but $124 worth of beautiful? I don't know...If you want the most realistic decoy, I say go for it...If you want something utilitarian that works, I'd say stick with the "foamies..."
I think the main difference between them is that the DSD's will likely keep a birds' interest longer...I don't know that that's a huge benefit...I mean the idea is to get the bird in and shoot it. "Foamies" will do that...

[budtripp]

Ok dumb question here. But what is thjs (flocking) you all are talking about?

I have one that I bought from Cabelas in May 2013 and I don't see the "flocking" or at least what I know as flocking...
I did finally have a tom come to the DSD and he was completely mesmerized...I've had them do nearly the same with my old "foamies" so, like I said in another post, they work and are beautiful, but $124 worth of beautiful? I don't know...If you want the most realistic decoy, I say go for it...If you want something utilitarian that works, I'd say stick with the "foamies..."
I think the main difference between them is that the DSD's will likely keep a birds' interest longer...I don't know that that's a huge benefit...I mean the idea is to get the bird in and shoot it. "Foamies" will do that...

When your trying to hold birds in close and get a good bow shot on them, the dsd's make a HUGE difference over inferior dekes. If you simply blast them as soon as they clear the 40 yd mark with a shotgun (which I do as well, love doing it that way too) then you don't need them. But if you like trying to stick a gobbler with an arrow every now and then, the dsd's can't be beat.

[Devastator]

Never used a deke to kill a bird..to each his own!

[sixbird]

Ok dumb question here. But what is thjs (flocking) you all are talking about?

I have one that I bought from Cabelas in May 2013 and I don't see the "flocking" or at least what I know as flocking...
I did finally have a tom come to the DSD and he was completely mesmerized...I've had them do nearly the same with my old "foamies" so, like I said in another post, they work and are beautiful, but $124 worth of beautiful? I don't know...If you want the most realistic decoy, I say go for it...If you want something utilitarian that works, I'd say stick with the "foamies..."
I think the main difference between them is that the DSD's will likely keep a birds' interest longer...I don't know that that's a huge benefit...I mean the idea is to get the bird in and shoot it. "Foamies" will do that...

When your trying to hold birds in close and get a good bow shot on them, the dsd's make a HUGE difference over inferior dekes. If you simply blast them as soon as they clear the 40 yd mark with a shotgun (which I do as well, love doing it that way too) then you don't need them. But if you like trying to stick a gobbler with an arrow every now and then, the dsd's can't be beat.

Point well taken...I don't bowhunt them so that benefit isn't one that is essential for me. I will say that I generally don't shoot as soon as I see them since I set up with my gun in my lap so I rely on the birds going to the decoy while I slowly raise my gun or take advantage of them strutting for the decoy and their fan obscuring their vision. The "foamies" are good enough that that can be done...
If you bowhunt them, I could see the DSD having a real benefit...

[30_06]

The flocked jake worked well for me this year.

If you already have a DSD decoy you can purchase a flocking kit direct and install it yourself. Have seen a couple that looked pretty good, would imagine durability would be as good as factory installed provided you did a good job on the prep prior to adhesion.