doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Shooting old guns over wooden decoys

Jtplumb, what grade is your D.M. Lefever crossbolt gun? And was it made in Syracuse, Bowling Green, or Defiance?

1905-6 9f it�s the one 6 months ago I was trying to figure out what imperial steel was. I just shoot less than 10k psi in it, has plenty of thickness, fluid steel and weighs 7.75 lbs.

I used to duck hunt quite a bit before I bought a plumbing company now not so much. Hope to retire soon, hunt with my boys till I expire.

Unfortunately I sold that boat to a friend and I ceased to duck hunt for about a decade. With a heater I could hunt in a tee shirt

Brent I used to cut keels from sheet lead and cast anchors in an old adjustable wrench handle so it makes a hole for the line. Rather than knots I crimped lines on birds and anchors with a split piece of copper tubing. Never had one let go. Remember to cut your lines so the last figure 8 wrap lets you bend the anchor around the head, leaving no loose line. That way you can bag your decoys and don't need individual pouches. Fifteen life-size or slightly larger decoys will fit into an old GI seabag. Situation and boat type determine whether to empty bags to bottom of boat and leave ashore or bring full bags and use for camo or dog comfort when out in the blind.

Great stuff Hal and I have always used military bags both sizes in my boats.
Thanks

I like burlap bags for my decoys because I can use them to camouflage the boat. Anyone else ever note that when you cut your lines so that the last figure eight leaves just enough line to wrap the weight around the decoy neck, if anyone else does it it never comes out even like when you do it?...Geo

Back when we had the ducks, one of the most common of the big ducks, was the black duck. Late season the red legs would show-up. My favorite decoy was the oversized Bean Coastal made by George Soule. Cork bodies with wooden heads. A few in the brackish water marsh pot holes was all it took to have them cautiously circle and drop in. They weren't easy, but when you were successful it was worth the effort. Gil

Hal, we will crimp lines and he will have to choose his anchor style first, but what I was asking about was the lead keel to keep the decoy upright. Maybe they are not always used, but he believes they are needed. I'm just a plastic deke guy with a lot of basswood, lead and a furnace and ladle.

I'm sort of an enabler I guess.

I've got an old cast iron strip decoy anchor mold around here somewhere. I could pour 4-5 strips at a time. The strips were wrapped around the block's neck. They were good for ponds and still water. For river currents, I used a spade bit to cut a 1.5" hole into wood. I'd make an Omega symbol shaped piece of 100 lbs. test solid stainless leader wire that I'd place in the cast lead while still melted to attach the line. I'd cut rings from a bicycle inner tube and attach them to the anchor to secure the anchor to the block's neck. Gil