Here are a few birds I've completed in the past year or so that should finally see our rig this year...well, minus the pintail. All cork birds. Can't wait to get some blood on them! Figured some of you might like seeing them.

Matt

Very cool!

Matt those are beautiful decoys. You have some serious talent.

Stunning decoys!! Where do you find the cork to make them?

You figured right. I enjoyed your work.

Wayne

Very nice! Not sure I could hunt with those...I think they would end up on my fireplace mantel where I could enjoy them that way.

Nice decoys. I hunt over custom made hollow cedar mallards. Your decoys have nice lines and are well painted.

Dont leave them unattended, someone may shoot them.

Those turned out real nice, great job.

BEAUTIFUL DECOYS!!! Almost too pretty to take out and hunt over in a smelly marsh, where they might get dirty and/or shot.

Here are a few of mine; please remember that I have NO talent and that these are designed to be purely working blocks, not works of art.....the upside is that they are made out of essentially garbage (throw away scraps); the bodies are styrofoam, the heads are scrap pieces of 2x4, and the "burlap" that is used for wrapping is left over surgical gauze from work....all of which would have landed in a landfill otherwise.





The two decoys in front are my home made ones; the ones in the back are a mix of mine and factory:

killer - awesome dekes!

and 16 - don't apologize for those blocks if they work! We all have different talents - some of us would die to have Killer's skill and experience, but would settle for yours in a heartbeat!

Now go shoot some birds! Our quick freeze in MN has sent them elsewhere - no late season geese or flight mallards this year. Major bummer!

Couldnt have said it better.

Im speechless over both of your dekes. Love the fine craftsmanship, but also seriously impressed with the working utility set. Love practical and homemade. They look terrific.

Congrats to you both!

Excellent!

Nice job.

I went to HaverDeGrace 2 years ago to the waterfowl museum. Really cool stuff but not as detailed as yours for sure. I bought a hunting block from Capt. Harry Jobes. Gunning decoys for sure. Went to Vincetti's shop too, it was a delight.

Nice dekes - a lot of work for shooting birds. Here is a bufflehead I carved about 30 years ago:


Went duck hunting for the first time this year and have an interest in carving some more, so if you could share your cork source it would be great.

thanks for all the comments fellas. sorry it took me so long to get back, for some reason logging in on this site gives me fits, just tried it with firefox and finally was able to get back in.

Nothing wrong with those birds 16ga, you should see my first. Carving is a great way to turn waterfowling into a 12 month season. No reason art can't be functional also. I've been carving for 5 years now, have done probably 50-60 birds total. The trick with a gunner is to make it look like you did a whole lot by really doing very little. I can usually rough in a bird in a couple hours, but spend most of my time cleaning things up, making sure everything is symmetrical, etc. Paint usually goes pretty quick if it's a bird I've done before and don't have to spend time trying color mixes. Usually can paint most birds in 2 sittings. Then have to make keels, can usually get good looking scraps from a cabinet shot, then have to weight them to self right the bird and then seal them up with several coats of spar. Finally converted a 12x20 storage shed into a workshop so now I can have a dedicated space to carve and do my reloading, and now can park our vehicles in our garage again!

Penrod, I get my cork from theduckblind.com. It's pricey but most carvers agree its the best cork out there. Shipping is what hurts you.

Once again, thanks for the kind words. If anyone is ever interested in getting started feel free to ask any questions. I was self taught and pretty much had to learn everything online.

I love watching Vincenti's videos he posts online, love how they paint with oils like that without drawing any guidelines,etc. I've been lucky to have a couple birds displayed at the ward museum but have never made it up there. My 6 year old is showing some interest in carving and I plan on him and I going up there in the next couple of years after he gets a few under his belt.

Those are awesome super job!

I love that Blue Bill