Brand | Lucky Duck
Price | $29.99
Warranty | 1 Year Mfg Defect
Battery | 3 AAA
Battery Life | 10 Hours
Operation | Intermittent/Random
Power | On/Off Switch
Size | Realistic
Motion | Flapping
Stand | 7 inches to 12 inches, Clip
The Lucky Duck Rapid Flyer Dove Decoy is one of the more unique motion dove decoys on the market. Instead of the traditional spinning wing motion used by most dove decoys, the Rapid Flyer flaps its wings. It’s clever, but does it work? We decided to give it a try and find out.
First Impressions
The Lucky Duck Rapid Flyer is one of the more realistically sized dove decoys we’ve handled, and since the wings don’t spin to create a flicker, they are made of a fabric with a somewhat realistic coloration and pattern. Outside of some realism, and the fact that the Rapid Flyer wings flap instead of spin, the decoy is a little underwhelming. The plastic materials that comprise the mechanical flapping parts and battery compartment, feel thin, weak, and cheap. The wings, although they look nice, are also flimsy.
When we opened the battery holder, we struggled. The plastic cover to the battery tray utilizes a tab of plastic with a detent, but the tab was so flexible it bent, without releasing the detent. After some massaging, and fear of breakage, we had the battery compartment open. The batteries were a snug fit, and it seemed as though the plastic battery compartment had some unintended bowing. It’s unclear why the plastic materials were warped, but it was unsurprising with the general low-quality feel of the materials used to construct the decoy. Our criticism of the Lucky Duck Rapid Flyer doesn’t end there. The slots in the decoy shell where the wings attach, look like somebody created them hastily with a rotary tool or hobby knife.
The Lucky Duck Rapid Flyer Dove Decoy mounts via a clip, or an absurdly small stand.
Lastly, the included stand is absurdly small at about 10 inches and is comprised of heavy steel rods and a rod connector. It is topped with a strange ramp that the dove decoy clips onto. It’s a strange mix of what looks like hardware store parts, and an over-engineered ramp, for a crude clip to clip onto. The stand is a total waste, and the decoy is better utilized clipped onto a branch or barb-wire fence. The one partially redeeming thing about the Rapid Flyer's mounting system is a mounting hole in the upper breast of the decoy that lets you use the normal-sized stakes, included with the Lucky Duck Lucky Dove. It’s unclear how much those dove stakes cost, or if they are even sold individually. You might just be better off buying a thin-walled steel tube that matches the Lucky Duck Lucky Dove stake, and hitting it with some matte black paint.
The does a decent job looking like a real dove from above.
In The Field
It’s unclear if the Lucky Duck Rapid Flyer Decoy will hold up over time and while it is good from far, built from seemingly far from good materials, the proof is in the pudding. What matter’s most, is performance, so we set up the Rapid Flyer alongside others in our tests and turned it on. The stand was too short for the Rapid Flyer to perform very well in a field with tall wild grasses. It became more visible and also performed better when clipped to a barb wire fence, or elevated just above bushes using a stand from the Lucky Dove spinning wing decoy.
When we gave the Rapid Flyer Dove Decoy a little space to operate, the motion while slow, was interesting. On its own, it does not have the strong flicker of a standard spinner. So it doesn’t attract doves very well at a distance, but when doves were nearby, it enticed them to land near the decoy spread into nearby branches, and onto the ground. The realism of the Rapid Flyer is enhanced by the intermittent action of the flapping, the nearly random intervals of flapping seem more like a real bird occasionally flapping while taking a dust bath, or preening. At close range, it makes sense that it is more enticing than a traditional spinner that is more attractive at a distance, but unrealistic up close.
Conclusion
We wish the build quality was better, and while the Lucky Duck Rapid Flyer Dove Decoy was interesting, it’s not the best option if you were only going to own one decoy. It doesn’t produce the more enticing flicker, that helps draw in doves from a distance. What it does have going for it is a natural look that draws doves onto the ground or a fence, after a spinner has already got their attention and brought them in. While we bought one for this test, we would not suggest it over either the Mojo Outdoors Voodoo Dove or the Lucky Duck Lucky Dove.
The Lucky Duck Rapid Flyer Dove Decoy flapping motion is slow, and lacks a flicker, but is enticing to nearby birds.
[…] the Lucky Duck Rapid Flyer, the Lucky Dove does not feel chintzy. It doesn’t seem like it will need to be babied in and out […]
[…] We plugged a Lucky Duck HD Receiver into the Flapper Teal HD so that we could operate it remotely. Because the decoy and remotes were all Lucky Duck products, they were plug-and-play and functioned perfectly. That is perhaps the only positive thing we can say about Lucky Duck in general, following our disappointing experience with the Flapper, and similar concerns over product design and quality regarding the Lucky Dove Rapid Flyer. See the full Lucky Dove Rapid Flyer review. […]