Famous Duck Decoy Carver

The world of waterfowl hunting is a niche that gets ever smaller when you start looking at world class duck decoy carvers. Like any fine art, the elites are in narrow company. Zach Benson is in that group. He began carving in college out of not being able to afford a decoy spread to hunt over. Years later he is known the world over for his one of a kind works of art. The process starts by harvesting cedar trees from his own property. That wood is then milled and laid to dry in his barn. After about a year it’s ready to use, at which point he hand carves each bird, then lays layer upon layer of oil paint.

WHAT MAKES A WORLD CLASS DUCK DECOY?

Early on Benson competed in shows like the Clayton Decoy Show and the Oregon Waterfowl festival. Both of which were great learning experiences, but he quickly learned that they came with too many rules. Art of any kind is subjective, but awards weren’t necesarily given to the best decoy, rather to the one that followed the rules. It did leave any room for creativity. The “winners” were birds that checked every box. So competing didn’t last long for Benson. He wanted to create art, not cookie cutter ducks. Now, the look he is so famously known for is an angry duck in an uncommon position. His ducks have attitude. They are one of a kind. So you’ll still see him year after year at the Clayton Decoy Show in Ohio, but not on the competition floor. Like a lot of other carvers, he shows newwork out of his hotel room - where people are encouraged to walk around room to room with a beer in hand. Aside from that, you have to follow Zach on Instagram, where he is very low key, sharing new work in his stories. And if you wait to long on purchasing his latest piece, it will already be gone.

Check out the article below which was published in the most recent issue of Wildfowl Magazine. You can also learn more about him from the VIDEO we made a short while back with Benelli.