Avery GHG Decoy B: A field-tested review for Australian waterfowlers

The Avery GHG brand has built a steady reputation among waterfowl hunters across North America and, increasingly, in the Southern Hemisphere. For Australian shooters who chase Pacific Black Ducks through the wetlands of the Murray-Darling or work the coastal swamps of Victoria and South Australia, the brand's gear has become a familiar sight at boat ramps and in the back of utes. The Decoy B sits at the heart of that lineup, a body-style shell designed to imitate a feeding or loafing duck on the water. Hunters comparing options for the upcoming season often find themselves weighing the Decoy B against rival silhouettes from Avian X, Mojo Outdoors, and Dakota, especially when kitting out a full spread from scratch.

Avery merged with Greenhead Gear some years back, and the combined catalogue draws on decades of field testing by guides and competition callers. The Decoy B reflects that heritage. It is a simple, durable floater built around a one-piece plastic shell rather than a collapsible fabric frame. For Australian hunters who often walk long distances through flooded tea tree or paddle into remote timber on the Gippsland Lakes, that sturdiness matters. The decoy is light enough to throw into a pack but tough enough to survive being stepped on, dropped from a boat, or sat on by an over-eager kelpie.

Field credibility is what sells the Decoy B to sceptical hunters. Many Australian waterfowlers started with hand-carved timber decoys or basic plastic shells, and they tend to trust products that have proven themselves on real water rather than in glossy renders. The Decoy B has been around long enough to develop that kind of word-of-mouth following. In social media groups dedicated to duck shooting across New South Wales and Queensland, the decoy gets regular mentions, particularly when shooters are discussing the rebuild of a tired old spread. It is the kind of mid-priced, reliable workhorse that fits the way most Australians hunt: practical, no-nonsense, and capable of handling rough conditions.

Pricing and availability also play into the picture. Australian shooters can no longer pick up a Decoy B off the shelf at a local tackle shop the way their American counterparts can, which has pushed many buyers towards online specialists that ship internationally. Hunting Equipment USA stocks the full Avery/GHG range alongside rigging gear and accessories, which makes buying a complete kit a single-order affair rather than a six-week project chasing parts across multiple suppliers.

Build quality and materials

The Decoy B is moulded from a high-density polyethylene that resists cracking in cold weather and does not warp if left in the sun on the bank. Australian summers can push surface temperatures past fifty degrees Celsius on a calm day, and cheaper decoys often pay the price with bent keels or discoloured paint. The GHG shell holds its shape through the heat, and the factory-applied finish is matte enough to avoid unwanted glare during a low-light approach.

The keel is weighted and slotted, which is a quiet but important detail. A heavy, well-balanced keel keeps the decoy upright in choppy water and lets it ride properly when a slight breeze kicks up across a dam or a tidal flat. Hunters working the open sheets of Lake Cullen near Kerang or the shallow margins around Werribee will appreciate that stability. Decoys that wobble or lean look unnatural and spook wary birds, particularly old drake Pacific Blacks that have seen plenty of spreads over their lifetime.

Paint adhesion is another area where the Decoy B delivers. The feather detail is crisp and the breast-to-head transition is shaded rather than stamped, giving the silhouette a soft edge that reads well at twenty metres. Australian hunters shooting over decoys for an entire morning often find that lower-quality paint starts to flake after a season or two of being dragged through lignum and saltbush. The GHG finish holds up better than most, though as with any plastic decoy, storing them out of direct UV when not in use will stretch their working life.

Realism and silhouette

What makes the Decoy B effective is how it reads in low light. Most duck shooting in Australia happens at first light, often before the birds are backlit by the rising sun. In those conditions, silhouette and posture matter more than fine detail, and the Decoy B is shaped to look like a duck that is actively feeding with its head tucked or slightly raised. The body has a believable keel-to-tail curve and the head sits at a natural angle rather than the rigid upright pose of cheaper shells.

The colour scheme is conservative and lifelike. The drake pattern uses muted browns and greys that work across the spectrum of Australian duck species. Pacific Blacks, Chestnut Teals, Grey Teals, and Hardheads all share similar tonal ranges, so a decoy that looks credible to one will usually read as food to another. Mixed spreads tend to outperform monoculture spreads, and the Decoy B slots easily into a rig alongside teal decoys, mallard-style shells, and specialty floats like the Sillosocks decoys range, which add motion to an otherwise static setup.

Hunters who shoot in tidal estuaries around Melbourne or along the Coorong in South Australia will notice that the Decoy B does not lean or spin awkwardly when a current pulls at it. That is partly the keel and partly the body shape. The decoy tracks with the current rather than fighting it, which is exactly how a live duck behaves when feeding along a weed line. Small details like this are what separate a working decoy from a showroom piece, and they are the reason the GHG shell has earned a place in so many Australian gunnels.

Setup and rigging

Rigging the Decoy B is straightforward. The keel slides into a single slot on the underside of the shell, and a loop of decoy cord clips through the head insert. Most Australian hunters use a simple drake-to-hen ratio of about four drakes to two hens when targeting Pacific Blacks, or lean heavier on hen decoys when working the more cautious Grey Teal. The Decoy B works as either sex, depending on the painted finish chosen, which keeps the packing list simple.

Cord choice matters in Australian conditions. The heavy lignum and cane grass found in northern Victorian wetlands around Lake Boga and the Barmah Forest will chew through thin nylon within a season. A braided cord with a proper crimp and swivel will outlast the decoy. Hunters who shoot from layout boats or push poles tend to run shorter cords to keep the spread tight, while walk-in hunters along the Macquarie Marshes prefer longer lines so the spread can drift into the wind and look more natural. The Decoy B cooperates with both setups because the keel weight keeps the cord tension consistent regardless of length.

Packing the spread in and out is another practical consideration. The Decoy B is a one-piece shell, so it stacks neatly in a decoy bag without the bulk of collapsible designs. For hunters who walk long distances into the timber swamps around Bombala or the paperbark forests of the Top End, that compactness saves energy and keeps the load balanced. A standard six-slot bag will swallow a dozen Decoy B shells plus a handful of motion decoys and a couple of spinners, which is a comfortable rig for most solo hunts.

Strengths in the field

Limitations to consider

Gear up for the season at Hunting Equipment USA, where the full Avery/GHG range sits alongside rigging gear, carry bags, and motion decoys from Sillosocks, Avian X, Mojo Outdoors, and Real Geese. Order over $1,300 and the freight ships free, which makes it easier to build a complete Australian-ready spread in one hit rather than piecing it together across multiple orders.