Goose call suggestions under $50.00

[CANOPY SAM]

I haven't even begun looking, but there are so many knowledgeable people here with SO much experience I thought I'd just consult the guru's before I even started shopping.

What would you suggest for a good goose call at a middle of the road price? As many of you know, my calls take a beating every year. Soaking wet, muddy, dripping with chew spit, freezing up, filled with dirt, left in the wet pockets, frozen again....etc., etc., etc....you know the drill.

I don't want to pay an arm and a leg for a call that I put thru that much trouble. I want a deep, growly call, with sharp highs, and a crisp finish. There are so doggone many choices now I don't even know where to begin.

What do you suggest?

[eyesonly]

Buck Gardner makes a sweet short reed. I believe its called the honker hammer. Its the call next on my list as a few friends have that call and it sounds awesome. Being a short reed it does take some pracrice though. I think its right at $50.00

[dan z]

If I didn't have a Tim grounds poly and a bgb fatboy I would have the hammer on my lanyard. Sweet call for the money.

[zero]

yup, a hammer is a good choice. but the deep growly and sharp highs will come from you.

practice, practice, practice

[CANOPY SAM]

I have one of the Tim Grounds poly models. A good friend gave it to me many years ago. It's a good call but over the last few years it seems to freeze up more frequently. Not sure I can really blame this on the call, but it has gotten a little worn and tends to squeak without warning, and seems to require more air then it used to.

This one will still remain on my lanyard, but I'd like to add another for those times when I need it.

I'll take a look at the Honker Hammer. Tell me about this bgb fatboy?

We've also got a few young fellas right here in TRF that appear to be manufacturing their own line of calls. I don't recall their names. Any of you folks heard anything about them?

[child23]

Hi canopy. I think you are thinking of drc calls that is based in the area

[CANOPY SAM]

Hey Travis! Do you know those guys, or how I can get ahold of them?

[child23]

There HSOforum is drccalls.com. I believe that Corey loffelor is who

Runs it. I don't really know him but I do have a couple of their calls

[Wanderer]

yup, a hammer is a good choice. but the deep growly and sharp highs will come from you.

practice, practice, practice

Agree 100%.

This is not a call you pick up on Friday to hunt Saturday. I picked one up at FF for $17 and see I have some work to do with it before it can be my confidence call.

The Primos flute is much easier to use right out of the package and has been working better for me this weekend. Also $17.

I haven't done much water fowling in the past 20 years so the growling from the gut is taking some time to nail down.

[fishersofmen]

Buck Gardner calls are garbage IMO. I got a Hammer a few years ago and it sounds like a party horn. Ended up giving it to my kid to play with. I went with a Sean Hammock Big Kahuna, not cheap though. (Check out his videos on his web site the guy is insane caller)

In the end you get what you pay for. A cheap call is going to sound like a cheap call most of the time. Yea I know there are really good callers that can make a cheap call sound decent but a better quality one will sound that much better.

[Todd Caswell]

Yep there's a reason there cheap, save your money and buy a good one, if your going to go with a short reed plan on spending a few monthes learning to blow it, Grounds, Foiles, Zink RNT all make quality calls, my fave is a little wood( Hedge) call made by Winglock...

[dan z]

Canopy, a bgb is a glorified straight meat Honker made by foiles. Good luck finding one as big guy Keller passed away a few years ago. Love the call however.

[Fowlmouth]

Try a Flyway Customs short go poly. I have the same in an acrylic and its super a short reed super easy to blow, plus they are a local company. You'll be happy with the call for sure.

[Wanderer]

...yeah but this thread is about cheap calls...

[Kettle]

I was hunting with a friend who had the hammer this weekend, sounded pretty good imo, I tried it out, would take some practice but overall for 20$ it was pretty darn good. I have a buck gardner snow goose call that sounds quite good as well. I never cared if the price tag was cheap, if it sounds like a goose or a duck that's all that matters. Granted you may not sound like a championship caller but that's not what matters imo

Kettle

[CANOPY SAM]

Thanks guys. Great info here.

Interestingly, while at the lake this weekend I listened to a guy across the lake practicing his goose call. Oh my goodness. I'm always amazed at how Joe Shmoe doesn't realize just how bad his calling is! This guy literally sounded like an elementary school kid practicing on his trombone. Sorry, but it was pretty funny.

Wanderer. I guess it's all relative, but to me I'd think $50-$80 for a goose call wouldn't really be on the "cheap" end when looking at all our options. I guess I'd call it a middle of the road investment. A $17.00 call, to me, is cheap, but as stated above, if it still sounds good it's probably money well spent.

I used the Big River Goose Flute (wood) for many years, and I could make that call sound really nice. It's all I could afford when I was a younger hunter, and it brought me a lot of birds. I'm now at a place where I can afford to step up my purchase amount and buy a better quality call, but I really doubt, no matter how much money I have, that I'll ever buy a waterfowl call for more then $100.00. IMHO, it's just too much money for such a simple thing. But I'm not knockin' anyone who buys them. I just wouldn't use it quite enough to justify spending that much money.

My son knows a couple guys that work with the DRC crew, and I'm going to try out a few of their products. My next step will be to run over to the Big C in East Grand Forks and try out the various options they have for sale. I'll be looking specifically at the few calls that have been suggested here.

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

[MNHunter65]

C&S Calls are another good one to look at. Made in MN as well.

[Todd Caswell]

Think of a call as a musical instrument, if you go to WalMart and by a flute its not going to sound the same as a flute from a music store. The biggest difference between a cheap 20 dollar call and a 75 to 150 $ call is the quality of material and workmenship, the got systems are totally different including the reed, a shaved reed makes a huge difference, a call with an unshaved reed takes a ton of back pressure. When you become truly efficient on a short reed you will understand the difference between a cheap call and a quality one

[Roosterslayer05]

I think goose calls are a little different then duck calls. You get all these guys saying a cheap call is a cheap call. When it comes to duck calls you can find good calls in the 20-30 dollar range. If you know how to call you can call. When it comes to short reed goose calls the cheap models really aren't any good.

Do you know how to tune your call? Maybe your call is squeaking because it's out of tune. Whenever it gets wet and freezes I retune my call. If you don't know how look into it. It's very easy.

I would recommend buying the EX3D call from Molt Gear. I got one last year and I love it. It's a middle end call that's made of delerin instead of polycarb. I like the sound of the delerin allot better then polycarb. I got the call for 50 bucks but my friends hunt with Scott so they got me a deal. I'm not sure what the market price of the call is. Honestly this call sounds just as good as the acrylic version.

[zero]

it really doesn't matter if it's a 150 dollar call or a 17 dollar call you still have to practice, I've been in the blind and had guys blow 200 dollar calls and sound like sh#$ when the calls gets around the 150 you have a call that is made better, that's it. will it sound better? the geese will tell you what they want or don't want, over call is a good way to get a flare off in side 50 yards, don't trust your calling? flag and flag some more.

practice, practice practice

[carpshooterdeluxe]

Spending more money on an expensive call isn't the best option unless you already know how to blow a short reed and tune a short reed, or are willing to put in the time required to learn how to use one. the air presentation is completely different than using a flute call.

all your doing is paying for the acrylic instead of molded, and maybe a slightly better set of guts. many companies use the same guts in their cheap and expensive calls though. buy a poly carb, a good instructional DVD, a case of beer, and get to learning.

[CANOPY SAM]

csd, a case of beer can make ANY call sound awesome!!! At least to the person blowing the call!

I suspect that was the case with our neighbor at the lake last weekend!