duck shells vs. fullbodies?

[nick2010]

any have any problems with the shells? or do they work pretty much as good as the full bodies? i'm looking to throw some in with the goose spread, how many should i throw in with about 5 dozen or so full bodies?

[kberggren]

I love my shells! but actually i only use the Feeder Style and i also put the motion cone on them so i different have to worry about using different stakes! The feeders shells I think look a lot better then the Active Shells but they will work! My duck FB spread consists of 1/3 shells and 2/3 FBs but maybe only once a year does all of them get put out! The nice thing is i usually carry in 2 or 3 12 slot FB bags on my carrier when i walk in. I can fit a shell and a FB in each slot so in 2-12 slot bags i have 4 dz decoys and in 3-12 slot bags i have 6 dz decoys! And the decoys have not shown any wear or paint scratches that are notisable. I would say 2-3 doz should work with 1-2 mojos, it helps having your mojos on remote so you can turn them off when geese start to approach. Hope this helps!

[FrogMan]

We run that same way! works great, all of our feeders are shells and all of our actives are full bodies. We have 3 12 slot bags with a total of 6 dozen deks. Although this year i am putting cones on them! That is a great idea! never thought about that. Where can i buy those cones at? Or did you make something?

I love my shells! but actually i only use the Feeder Style and i also put the motion cone on them so i different have to worry about using different stakes! The feeders shells I think look a lot better then the Active Shells but they will work! My duck FB spread consists of 1/3 shells and 2/3 FBs but maybe only once a year does all of them get put out! The nice thing is i usually carry in 2 or 3 12 slot FB bags on my carrier when i walk in. I can fit a shell and a FB in each slot so in 2-12 slot bags i have 4 dz decoys and in 3-12 slot bags i have 6 dz decoys! And the decoys have not shown any wear or paint scratches that are notisable. I would say 2-3 doz should work with 1-2 mojos, it helps having your mojos on remote so you can turn them off when geese start to approach. Hope this helps!

[Russell Brzezinski]

I actually run all shells. the full bodies look great, but for us, it's all about portability! We typically have to walk all of our gear in, so this is a huge advantage for us.

Using a 12 slot bag, you can carry 24 shells (heads on) or, 3 dozen with heads off. I hate to mess with heads while out in the field , so we opt to go 24/bag.

we run 6 dozen consisting of;
3 dozen feeder mallards
1 dozen active
1 dozen feeder blacks
1 dozen active blacks

trust me on the pulling power of the "judas" duck! (blacks)
buy a pack, set them in the rig and then go to the end of your field and tell me what decoys "POP"? I guarantee it'll be the blacks and thats the first thing the ducks will see too. (well, other than your spinners!) :p

[CamoHunter870]

I use a mix of shells and fullbodies as well but have 3 or 4 doz. shells and only bout a 1 1/2 doz. fullbodies.

The shells are easier to carry and you can haul more so I'd lean towards those if I was purchasing them again. The only negative thing about the shell is they dont have motion stands with them so putting the motion stakes in frozen ground can be a pain in the butt.

[Quackaddict9]

shells work as good as full bodies for me... I've hunted with both in the field with good results. Shells are lighter and easier to transport.

[jthunts]

I think the only downside to shells is it's a pain to use on ice. Everything else shells will do everything a FB will do.

[Whiskey Jack]

I use shells only, I need the mobilty and also lack the storage space at home.