Calls

[fishersofmen]

What brand and style of duck and goose calls are you guys using? Looking to upgrade this season and there continues to be an increasing variety of calls out there. For those of you who have experimented with alot of different calls what has worked the best for you? Do you prefer single, double, triple reed? I tried many different calls at Cabelas last year and each one has its own sound for sure. Seems like the majority of decent calls are in the $100-$150 range.

Any advise or tips for early season calling?

[Maxxed Out]

I would really recommend coming to gamefair tomorrow or next weekend. There are so many calls you can try there and find the one you like. They also discount them significantly the second weekend. I've been very happy with my DRC calls and just picked up a new EX3 from Molt Gear I really like.

[Muthagoose]

After years working at the herters,d&c caller and ostroms booths tuning calls may I suggest bringing a couple sani wipes... Way back then ya just wiped it on your shirt and every year Id get a cold right after..Nice calling with a lung full...I have a variety of woods and acrylics and they all work..

Id shy away from the cheapo polycarbs with the thick bell ends

and soft bodys ya just wont get top end/high tones with them..

[Gordie]

Any advise or tips for early season calling?

Very little if any at all. I have even left the calls in the truck early on.

I dont put that much concern on calling for ducks as I dont concealment and decoys spread and if your on the spot or X as people call it calling is the last thing you will have to worry about.

Geese I will call and early on I let the geese tell me what they want most times its less calling than I would think.

[Muthagoose]

""Geese I will call and early on I let the geese tell me what they want most times its less calling than I would think.""

Spot on gotta ready the birds and NOT over call...

[Shane Z]

I've used pretty much tried every call on the market for the past 10 yrs and can tell you that finding the right call brand/s for each person's style of calling takes time. Game Fair in Anoka would be an excellent place to start searching though! Double reed duck calls are great sounding calls but as the weather gets colder, condensation in the call will freeze and "lock up" the reeds (hindering proper air flow). Single reeds will give you the extra power on windy days but often times lack in the finesse department , making it more difficult to get down on those softer tones such as the feeding call or chuckle. If your a big diver hunter I wouldn't suggest getting all crazy about duck calls but mallards can be highly responsive to calling! In the field especially,mallards will hone into your calling.

As for goose calling, there are many great call makers out there. Don't look for the hot new call but look towards a call that ha proven itself in the field (often times on the stage as well) there are a lot of good forum reads in reviews of all the different calls that are out there. If you interested in a call and want to make a purchase, MOST of the call makers will talk to you and tune it accordingly. Geese are highly responsive to calling but overcalling can flare geese just as fast. As a kid I went down to the city lake and called geese from all different kinds of scenarios (flying away, flaring them and hitting them with the comeback call, different notes ect.) Calling takes practice, it's not easy but once you learn the basics if a short reed, your on your way creating better hunting situations for you and your buddies! Let me know if you've got anymore questions.

Take Care,

Shane Zavodnik

[BrdHunter01]

There is a guy in Onamia that makes double reed echo calls. Just picked one up for $30 bucks on Saturday. Best sounding call I own! Better than $60-100 calls I have. We'll see how it holds up in the cold weather...

[magnum mike]

The louder, the better for me. My favorite call is the guy 500 yards down the shoreline that blows his call at everyduck he sees. I never have to look that way until I hear him blow and the ducks almost always flare around him and set in my quiet blocks. True story and it happens EVERY year.

We are diver hunters and my point is I think calls do more harm than good. Dabblers are another story and I have seen some good callers make mallards do some pretty neat tricks. I am NOT a good caller for ducks so I can't help any more than what is posted above.

[PerchJrkr]

Stop in the Krugerfarmcom tent next weekend and talk to Field Hudnall. Lifetime warranty on his calls, super nice guy. He'll help you get it tuned while you're there and give you some tips. Good to see a call maker that sells calls and not B.S.

[WallyGader]

Most any calls that are known names are good calls, its all about what fits your situation for calling. Wooden duck calls i think sound more realistic as they get raspier, but are not nearly as loud as acrylics. Acrylics are good for getting ducks attention, in which i think are good for situations such as "running traffic" or hunting big water. Offcourse you can use both in any situation but thats my 2 cents with ducks calls.

For honkers short reeds are the way to go. If you dont have any experience with these though they can take some time to learn.

Offcourse im not saying you dont know how to blow a call, but i think thats the single most important thing alot of people just dont want to admit, and just buy exspensive calls and think they do in fact sound better just because the paid a pretty penny for them. I think anyone wanting to be able to call ducks successfully owes it to themselves to first learn to blow from the larynx, and get a good calling video, for honkers you should definitely invest in a video. Once you do this you will know exactly what that call is supposed to sound like assuming your going to blow it before you buy it, and base your decision from there.

[Quackaddict9]

Here's a good list for Ducks and Geese...

Tim Grounds Championship calls

Death Row Calls

Field Proven Calls

RNT Calls

Zink Calls

Big Sean Championship Calls

C&S Calls

No, I didn't forget Foiles....

[Ufatz]

The brand and the price of your duck call should be the lowest of your priotities. First: practice every time you get a chance. Buy or borrow tapes or CD's done by professionals and watch videos. LISTEN. Sit and observe ducks when you can and LISTEN.

A great many ducks are shot each fall while fleeing from a wild-eyed, leather-lunged duck call blower. NOTE: I said duck call BLOWER. Not duck CALLER.

Then when you go call shopping try to find one that will HOLD its tune. Then more and more practice.

Ya gotta learn to talk duck!!

[fishersofmen]

I have been using calls for a while around 15 years (I'm sure a rookie compared to some of you guys) and would agree the videos and tapes were definetly helpful. I live on a little lake too so I get to hear the actual communication of ducks almost every day which is nice. Mainly just looking to upgrade as my calls are all cheap and old. Have an old wood double reed that I will definetly keep around however. I tried out a triple reed made by Duck Commanders last year that I really liked sounded nice and crisp but as some of you have said not sure about the durability and tuning of a triple. I think I will check out the game fair this weekend.

I do agree that many guys out there over use calls. I remember opener last year everytime a flock of birds would fly over every party on the lake would just start barking.

[mallardnwalleye]

Get the Barnie Calef DVD. It is the closest someone has come to describing how to hunt with a duck call.

Ignore people that talk about overcalling. Most people either put out a wall of noise and stop or don't call enough.

Agressive confident calling works.

First Master the 5 note greeting, hail call, single spaced quack and use them agressively. Then start to think outside the box and use your own experiences.

Remember 99 % of the people in MN duck hunting don't call ducks effectively and consistently.

Many folks think a contest routine has a resemblence to hunting-It doesn't.

Get a J frame Arkansas style single reed In acrylic, replace corks often, get extra reeds, learn to tune the call and never alter the original reed.

Get a RNT original or MVP or an Echo Boss or XLT.

Again Get Barnie Calefs tape as it descibes hunting calling in a real way.

RNT's series is also OK.

Many of the rest are put out by guys who are good contest callers or are callmakers that go to Canada for their videos and flip on the spinner and never "turn" a duck in the whole video.

More important practice and let your experience in the field be your guide.

Think of yourself as a salesmen that will get turned down x number of times and be embarressed but that only by putting yourself out there will you learn.

Good Luck!!