Goose Call?

[Sportland_Bait]

I want to pick up a goose call. Any recommendations? I'm a first timer so should I get an acrylic or a wood call?

Jason

[Gordie]

Big River Long Honker is what i started on and still use today./

easy to work and inexpensive to start with. I will be getting a new one for the next seasons hunt but I will always carry the BRLH

[nobody05]

Do what I did. Instead of working your was up to acrylic save the money and spent $150 right away on a call and you will never look back. Learning the shortreed on the otherhand took some doing. I found to do it in a car while driving or somewhere else where you will not drive somebody nuts trying to learn

[uwleagle]

I would buy a cheap call that comes with an instructional CD to start with. Buck Gardner Canada Hammer or Zink Power Clucker are a couple of choices. Then after you learn how to blow that call half way decent you can try a bunch of higher end calls and see which one you like best. I wouldnt spend top dollar on a call right away because its going to be tough to tell which ones fits you best if you have no idea how call in the first place. You might even end up being satisfied with the cheap call. You sure dont need to have an expensice acrylic call to kill geese. Plenty of people call them in with polycarb calls.

[TylerS]

I'm sort of on the line with nobody05, but you don't have to drop $150 on a call right off the bat. I cut my teeth on a Tim Grounds Super Mag polycrilic call that cost about $60. Even though I have a bunch of more expensive acrylic calls now, that TG is still my go to.

Remember, calling a short reed is a lot like playing a musical instrument: you're not going to get good over night. Lots of practice (mine came during long car trips) and listening to geese. Get yourself a good starter DVD or CD, too. I really like the Bad Grammar Lineup.

[PierBridge]

DJ Illinois River Valley #800 or #77 Goose calls are very, very easy to call with. I highly recommend any body who is frustrated or struggles with calling to get one or both.

They are about $35 and Cab-elas has them or can order them.

[Maxxed Out]

If you live in MN Jason and can I would wait until Gamefair. You will have a ton of call manufacturers there. You can try a bunch and you'll also get your best price. If you can't wait until then I"d go with Death Row out of Bemidji. Make sure you spend the extra $$ and get the broken in guts it just makes your life easier starting out.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

I would buy a cheap call that comes with an instructional CD to start with. Buck Gardner Canada Hammer or Zink Power Clucker are a couple of choices. Then after you learn how to blow that call half way decent you can try a bunch of higher end calls and see which one you like best. I wouldnt spend top dollar on a call right away because its going to be tough to tell which ones fits you best if you have no idea how call in the first place. You might even end up being satisfied with the cheap call. You sure dont need to have an expensice acrylic call to kill geese. Plenty of people call them in with polycarb calls.

This is great advice. Until you know the basics of running a short reed, you aren't going to get the full potential out of some of the higher end calls that require more back pressure, or have broken-in guts. Heck, you might just find that a cheaper poly carb works just fine. C & S Calls ( a minnesota call maker) makes some absolutely great sounding poly carbs. The important thing to remember is to select a call that is both comfortable on your lips and in your hands.

[Todd Caswell]

Jason,

My calls are always in my truck, I'll stop by the shop next time I see your truck there. Short reed is the way to go if you have the time and the patience to learn. And you don't have to spend big bucks either one of my favorite calls is a little hedge wood call that is fairly inexpensive and sound as goosey as they get..

[JPowell]

If you can't wait until then I"d go with Death Row out of Bemidji.

I agree...i have been running DRC for a couple of years.

Maxxed~i am pretty sure DRC is out of TRF.

[Fowlmouth]

I'd recommend a Short Go goose call from flyway customs. Great call, super easy to blow. Plus it's a local company with great service.

[dietdew]

C&S calls out of Zumbrata MN. Mike will hook you up and has great CS. His die hard series are great calls for a great price. $45 will get you an Apostle short reed which is my go to call.

Also as some have mentioned DRC makes great calls. The "life Sentence is a great beginner call and Corey also has great CS.

As far as broke in guts go they are not necessary for hunting application and won't do anything to help you learn.

[Maxxed Out]

I'm going to disagree with you on the broke in guts. They will help you in hunting and will also make it easier to learn. I can't tell you the number of people I take out that are frustrated with their call and I give them one of mine. Nine times out of ten they find it easier to call and blow a larger variety of notes and pitches.

[johnsd16]

I picked up a Grounds poly SuperMag and love it. $60 and it sounds fine. I agree there is something rational about spending the $150+ right off the bat, but if you don't end up liking it you have to swap it out anyway. You can usually move a used acrylic, or any short reed other than the very bottom end for that matter.

Also, +1 for C&S, good guy and good calls right in MN. The Die Hard series is plenty good and he has a full line of acrylics too.

[dan z]

have a BGB fat boy, great call easy to blow $150

also have a TG super mag (poly) $60 that finds my mouth more often than the BGB. for some reason It just halls them in better.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

I'm going to disagree with you on the broke in guts. They will help you in hunting and will also make it easier to learn. I can't tell you the number of people I take out that are frustrated with their call and I give them one of mine. Nine times out of ten they find it easier to call and blow a larger variety of notes and pitches.

It all depends on the call and how the guts are tuned. I tried a set of Zink's COD guts in my RNT dirtybird for a while this fall...couldn't make them sound near as good as my RNT guts without a ridiculous amount of shaving. But throwing those same zinks in a no-name hand turned walnut call with an unshaved reed made that call sound crazy good. I've run triple crowns from time to time in a HS Bad Medicine, gives it an awesome loud crack, but I have to use more air to maintain volume when getting fast. Hard to do when crunched down in a layout blind when I never practice calling anymore.

[Maxxed Out]

This is true, however there are alot of sounds that a call without big's just can't make.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

This is true, however there are alot of sounds that a call without big's just can't make.

None of which are really needed to kill birds...

[Maxxed Out]

There are many sounds I use to kill honkers that can't be done or done right without bigs. You can birds without them, but you can kill more birds with them. If you're going to learn why not try to be the best.

[Sportland_Bait]

Thanks for the reply. How long does it take to get the guts broke in? And how do you know when/if they are broke in? Thanks.

Jason Erlandson

[Maxxed Out]

To break the guts in naturally takes a long time. Basically when your guts are "broken in" there are little grooves made in the tone board of your call (the bottom piece the top piece is the wedge. This allows the reed to get deeper into the channel and IMO improve the range of notes that can be made from the call. The orange example is factory broken in guts the yellow tone board is from them breaking in naturally over time (this one was probably a couple of years to get grooves like that).

[Sportland_Bait]

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I always read about broke in guts and never knew what that really meant.

Jason

[CluckmeMN]

Hey guys! Looks like a great site! Hope my first post doesnt sound stupid!

What do broke in guts do that regular guts cant? Its doesnt look like much changes except the guts where in to the way you blow a call??

I have blown and tuned many different calls, some with and some without broke in guts...and i think i can blow them all pretty well?

if i buy a call with broke in guts (usually cost more) will i be able to contest call and do all that? Or will it just help a beginner cut corners to achieve better sounds without learning key fundamentals? Because that sounds great!( i would still kinda call myself a beginner, many have used short reeds longer than I have)

[Maxxed Out]

For a lot of your basic notes there really isn't a huge difference between the two. I do think you get a goosier sound out of bigs but that's just my opinion. There are a lot of advanced notes made by geese (many of which I'm still perfecting) that are great for killing honkers when in the field. There are also notes that you need big's to make that you will never kill geese with but are needed for the contest stage.

[norwall]

wood cocabola