Windsocks vs Full Body Decoys - Which are better?
The best waterfowl decoys is a highly debated topic within the hunting community. Much like arguing over which shotgun brand is better or which shotgun shell is superior, everyone has their preference for decoys when hunting ducks and geese. Below we’ll talk about why silhouette windsocks are our favorite decoys for almost all situations!
Weight
Windsocks are much lighter than full bodies, especially when you are comparing to a full body goose decoy! One windsock weighs just a few ounces, an entire 12 pack will often weigh less than a single full body. When you need to walk in a bunch of decoys, you’ll appreciate lightweight decoys like windsocks!
Portability and Storage
Decoy bag options for full body ducks and geese are usually limited to 6 or 12 slot bags. With a cube decoy bag, you can fit up to 200 silhouette windsocks in a single bag! That means one guy can carry in 200 decoys at a time, compared to only being able to carry 12-24 full bodies.
The portability benefits really shine when you are hunting without a decoy trailer. Full bodies take up a lot of space, and if you only have one pickup truck, you’ll be hard pressed to fit even 100 goose decoys in the bed. Running windsock decoys, you could fit well over 1000 decoys in a single truck bed. If done correctly, you could run an entire snow goose rig out of one or two pickups!
These same space saving benefits apply when you have limited storage space in your garage or shed. The wife will be happy when she has space to park her car in the garage!
Motion
Low wind days can be a killer for hunting success. A bunch of motionless decoys in a field does little to convince hundreds of live geese flying above. Because of their weight, even on a stake system, full bodies need a fairly stiff wind to make the decoys move. Windsocks are designed to catch the wind, and it only takes the slightest breeze to make an entire spread dance back and forth. On strong wind days, you can push them in the ground further so they don’t move as much, and you won’t have to worry about them falling over like full bodies!
Realism
Full bodies win in the realism category, but that is expected, as they are designed to look exactly like a live goose, and are shaped using molds carved by professional decoy carvers. With the silhouette head, and windsock body, Sillosocks get very close to the shape and size of a full body. With massive groups of snow geese traveling together, and the population of Canada geese becoming overtaken by large groups of lessers, the shift in decoy spreads has prioritized quantity over realism.
Cost
Full bodies are typically going to be at least $100 for 6 decoys, but can be well over $200 for 6 for high quality decoys. Windsocks start as low as $30 for a dozen economy decoys, and won’t be more than $90 for a dozen premium windsocks with a full body head.
Click below to shop our full selection of decoys, and see why we believe windsocks are the BEST decoys for geese and ducks alike!