White Rock Decoys Review
The package finally arrived from Cabela’s containing my Sentry Snow Goose Decoy from White Rock Decoys. I have been researching these decoys for a while and I was intrigued by the Tuf-Snap collapsible support system. There were no dealers for White Rock Decoys close to my location so I couldn’t just go and have a look at the new system. As a result I scoured the internet for real life examples of people that had used the new White Rock Decoys. Since the decoys are relatively new there were was limited information and limited pictures of the snow goose decoys from White Rock Decoys.
Recently White Rock Decoys announced that Cabela’s Canada and North Pro Sports would be part of their dealer network. Up until then there were only two other Canadian dealers and they were located in Quebec. I was excited but also disappointed when both Cabela’s and North Pro Sports did not have a display version of a White Rock Decoy available to have a closer look at the snow goose decoy. I was a little upset with this and it continued my procrastination on buying the White Rock Decoy system.
About two weeks ago I decided to bite the bullet as the snow goose season was open and I had run out of time. After putting together the first decoy I wondered to myself why it had taken me so long to buy a dozen decoys from White Rock Decoys.
The White Rock Decoy system is a very simple and effective snow goose decoy. While they are slightly more expensive then Sillosock decoys, they are by far a more advanced decoy system. Before I go forward I would like to say I have very few complaints about the Sillosock Decoy system. They helped me build my spread size and they did provide successful hunts. The reason I started to look for alternatives was their significant lack of easy setup and storage.
The Tuf-Snap collapsible support system is the main reason for the advantage of the White Rock Decoy system. The Tuf-Snap collapsible support system has a “backbone” that runs the length of the snow goose bag and overcomes a major hurdle with most decoy systems. The Tuf-Snap collapsible support system allows for simple and easy setup and storage of the White Rock Decoy system. Exactly what I was looking for!
In the Field – Snow Goose Hunt
I decided against writing a review of the product until I was able to test the White Rock Decoy in the field. The Tuf-Snap collapsible support system lived up to every promise on the White Rock Decoy site. This particular morning I was testing out my old Sillosock decoys versus my new White Rock Decoys. The target species was the formidable snow goose.
Setting up the White Rock Decoys was noticeably easier. The fiberglass stake is a larger diameter that the Sillosock stake but the Tuf-Snap collapsible support system does give a type of handle to push the decoy into the ground. The test morning was just after a rain so there were no issues pushing these decoys into the ground but I could see it being somewhat of an issue in dry conditions but nothing that couldn’t be overcome. The main advantage came from the backbone of the Tuf-Snap collapsible support system. As soon as you put the decoy into the ground the decoy deployed and started to catch wind. In contrast since this was the first time setting up the Sillosock decoys I needed to “fluff” up the decoys to make them look realistic.
While waiting for the flocks of snow geese to come in I looked around at my spread for any noticeable differences between the decoys. It was a very windy morning and the White Rock Decoys looked realistic while the Sillosock decoys were on the verge of displaying the “death thrash”.
The tear down of the White Rock Decoy was a breath of fresh air. I have always dreaded taking down the Sillosock decoys. The Sillosocks do not collapse and unless you take additional time to compress each decoy, they tend to take up double the amount of storage. The White Rock Decoys on the other hand compress easily and allow you to take down more decoys in one pass than the Sillosock decoys. Usually I am short on time at the end of my hunts and I greatly appreciated the enhanced ability of the White Rock Decoy system.
Overall I highly recommend the White Rock Decoy system. I have not listed my Sillosock decoys for sale yet but as soon as the season is over they will be available.
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