Official Product Review On The Flyright Decoy Machine – We Field Tested The Flyright Rotary Decoy Machine

Official Product Review On The Flyright Decoy Rotary Machine

OFFICIAL HUNTTHENORTH.COM PRODUCT REVIEW ON

THE FLYRIGHT DECOY MACHINE

Official Product Review Score: 27 / 30 “A Rating”

Functionality 4 / 5
Durability 5 / 5
Effectiveness 5 / 5
Variety 5 / 5
Price 3 / 5
Overall Product Satisfaction 5 / 5

Functionality 4 / 5

In field testing the Flyright Decoy Machine we found several key components. First is the main rotary framework, made of primed and painted steel in a camo coloring, is virtually indestructible, although it is a little heavy and bulky to transport. Other than that, the nice thing about this machine is it is self-standing so there is nothing that needs to be pounded into the ground. It also runs off of a deep cycle marine battery and lasts for 6 – 8 hrs from what we could tell (pending very cold temps). It only takes about 20 min to set up the entire machine which means you definitely need to account for that as extra set up time in the field in the morning but it also alleviates the need for thousands of decoys. The decoys that are recommended for the use of the machine are Feather Flyers and they come in individual six slot bags for easy transport and were also easy to set up as well. Again the only downside to the machine is it’s weight and bulkiness, mostly during transportation. We give the Flyright Machine a 4 / 5 for Functionality.

Durability 5 / 5

The main framework of the machine again, we felt is pretty much indestructible. There are only two pieces of the entire machine that could potentially get damaged. The speed controller which is attached to the main framework is plastic and if the main machine were dropped on that piece during storage or transportation it could be crushed. The Feather Flyer Decoys are also made out of styrofoam and could also be damaged during storage or transportation if something heavy were placed on top of them. Other than that, with proper care the entire machine should last for years and years of use. Also individual Feather Flyer Decoys are available from Featherflyers.com as needed for replacement. If proper care is given we give the Flyright Machine a 5 / 5 for durability.

Effectiveness 5 / 5

During our field testing, in our opinion, we put the Flyright Decoy Machine to the ultimate test. We used the machine over a three day hunt in the toughest conditions we could find for hunting snow geese. It was a late season spring snow goose hunt in South Dakota, hunting 90% adult geese in a high pressured situation. We also resorted to only using a spread of 11 dozen Sillosock Decoys, which most serious snow goose hunters know is a very small spread when hunting adult spring birds. On two out of the three days we had numerous flocks of adult birds that we felt would normally have not even given our spread a serious look, drop down into decoying range. Two hunters were able to harvest 30 adult snow and blue geese in one three hour hunt, all of which hovered directly over the Flyright Rotary Machine. Overall we give the product a full 5 / 5 for effectiveness.

Variety 5 / 5

The Flyright Decoy Machine is basically designed to hunt snow geese exclusively. The Feather Flyer Decoys come in adult snow geese, blue geese and juvenile snow geese color phases. The machine itself is now available in a 6 bird flyer machine, a 9 bird flyer machine and New For The 2013 Fall Season, a 12 bird and 24 bird flying machine. During our field testing we used a 6 bird machine set up next to another 9 bird machine. This proved to be a deadly set up as we were able to spread out the machines a little further apart from each other so the flyers were not so condensed. With the new additions of the 12 bird and 24 bird machines we give the Flyright Machine a 5 / 5 for variety.

Price 3 / 5

The overall price of the Flyright Decoy Machine is our only main concern. The pricing ranges from $479.00 + shipping for the 6 bird machine, to $579.00 for the 9 bird machine, up to $979.00 for the 12 bird machine and $1,679 for the 24 bird machine. In addition to the up front cost, a deep cycle battery is needed for each machine as well, which could range from $65.00 to $120.00 depending on the quality of the battery purchased. We gave the pricing of the Flyright Decoy Machines a score of 3 / 5.

Overall Product Satisfaction 5 / 5

Overall we were very pleased with the actual effectiveness of the machines. Although we were only able to use the machines during the spring snow goose season, we felt that the product is very effective in bringing the adult spring birds into gunning range. We also like the fact that adding more machines to the spread can seriously increase the overall effectiveness during the spring season, especially for the serious snow goose hunter and / or outfitter looking to set his spread apart from the crowd. We also feel this product is very effective on no wind days and should have a huge impact on juvenile snow geese in the fall and spring as well. Overall we rate the Product Satisfaction a 5 / 5 and recommend this product for the serious snow goose hunter looking for the edge for the upcoming season!

PRODUCT ADVANTAGES

  • A relatively new product that the snow geese have not seen yet
  • The ability to draw in flocks of snow geese from long distances
  • Especially productive for hunting on no wind days
  • The ability to continue to enlarge the number of flying decoys in the spread by adding more machines
  • Excellent reports on wary adult geese as well as fall juvenile geese
  • An investment product that should last for many years
  • A definite advantage over the hunter the next field over
  • The ability to decrease the overall snow goose decoy spread size
  • The decoy movement takes away from the hunter’s blind in the field

PRODUCT DISADVANTAGES

  • The price of the machines definitely make this an investment
  • The bulkiness of the machines when transporting to and from the field needs to be accounted for
  • The extra 20 min set up time associated with each machine
  • The need for a deep cycle battery for each machine and extra maintenance after each hunt
  • The machines are only available online at prairiewinddecoys.com and featherflyers.com
  • Additional shipping charges may apply to add to the overall cost of the machine

Adult Snows Headed For The Spread

Feather Flyer Decoy Used On Machine

6 Feather Flyer Decoys In Custom Bag

New 24 Bird Machine In Action

Field Testing The Flyright Decoy Machine
by dan wennerlind

We had an opportunity to hunt over the New Flyright Decoy Rotary Machines during the last spring snow goose season and really put the product to the test! In my opinion we hunted over what would be considered the toughest hunting conditions possible. We hunted late season spring snow geese in April, in South Dakota. To add it, these were all adult birds concentrated in larger flocks. And finally we were only using a spread of 11 dozen Sillosock Decoys. We field tested the Flyright Decoy Machine over a 3 day hunting period. We used a 6 bird machine set up next to a 9 bird machine during our hunt. Here is what we concluded:

The first hunt was an afternoon hunt and the weather was warm and sunny with no wind. We got set up late in the day and were not hunting on the “X”. We did not have any flocks of snow geese seriously look at the spread, however we also were competing with two huge flocks a mile south of us and were not in the flight path from the roost. During the second and third morning hunts we experienced much better success. We consistently had smaller flocks of ALL ADULT snow geese working the spread. We noted that although the geese were not willing to fully commit to landing in the spread, but over and over they would work the spread down to between 35 – 45 yards high and hover directly over the Flyright Decoy Machines for a clean shot. Two hunters harvested 30 adult snow geese in a 3 hour hunt, which in my opinion, with the circumstances described, is exceptional!

We also concluded that we were able to draw the larger flocks over to our general direction which also added to the overall productiveness of the hunt, as more geese in smaller flocks would then break off and head into our direction and come into gunning rage as well.

We also felt that it was much easier to hide our blinds from the incoming birds as we set the blinds up about 25 yards directly behind the machines to make sure we were out of the sight plane. One thing we did play with was the width of the spread. The first day we had the two machines about 10 feet apart. By the third day we spread the 2 machines out about 20 yards apart and placed several single Feather Flyer Decoys in between the machines so the flyers were not so congested and the birds seemed to respond better with the more overall space we took up with the machines.

In speaking in length with the inventor of the Flyright Decoy Machine Mike Franklin of Pacific Wings Prairie Adventures, who also guides snow goose hunters in Saskatchewan every fall. Mike explained to us that after field testing the machines over 3 seasons now, he has found that it is most effective on no wind days when the snow geese are very hard to decoy. He also noted that the juvenile geese, in the fall absolutely love the machines and dive bomb the spread over and over! Mike also noted that when hunting in tough spring conditions he recommends using 2 – 3 machines for maximum potential. That was before the 12 bird and 24 bird machines were available though. In our opinion the ideal set up for an actual outfitter would be to use 3 machines ranging from two 9 bird machines set up on either side of the 24 bird machine in the middle. Then adding a half dozen single Feather Flyer Decoys around the edges of the machines for added irratic movement. For the avid snow goose hunter who will only be using the machines once or twice a year, we recommend either going all in for the 24 bird machine or purchasing two of the 6 bird machines and a couple single Feather Flyer Decoys to set up around the machines. This will allow the hunter to drop down the overall size of his spread, possible using 10 – 15 dozen Sillosock Decoys and thus the entire spread will fit in the back of a pick-up bed. A single machine could also be used effectively on its own, on those hard no wind days, as needed. No matter what situation, we feel the New Feather Flyer Decoy Machine will be a great enhancement and addition to any snow goose spread.

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