nathanpezold
FNG
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2021
- Messages
- 37
I am looking to get into waterfowl hunting and am looking to get my first call. Any help would be appreciated. 
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First duck call
- Thread starter nathanpezold
- Start date
- Banned
- #3
A realistic spread and some good concealment will go a long ways towards some good days in the blind to start. Learn by watching the ducks first...alot of folks when new to waterfowlin thing a mallard call is the answer, I've killed for far more ducks over a good spread by being quiet than I have with calling.
A point to ponder anyways. An inexperienced caller (myself included) can sometimes do more harm than good.
A point to ponder anyways. An inexperienced caller (myself included) can sometimes do more harm than good.
If you've ever played a wind instrument before, calling at them with a Mallard call should be pretty easy to do if you spend some quality time on Youtube researching vids about the kinds of calls they make and what they sound like, and WHAT those calls MEAN in their world. And commiting that to memory. And then do the practice while in the car with the windows up thing. There's basically, as I understand it, just 3 (maybe 4) sounds for you to do. The kind of social calling they'd do amongst all the other ducks who arenearby with them in the water... Then.. a more urgent and excited version of that, which you might think of as them seeing some other ducks passing by overhead and they're trying to be like "Oh Hey! Hey Friend! Come on down here and socialize with Me! I noticed you flying by and that got me excited to be social with you!" Or at least that's how I'm choosing to interpret the difference I hear in the calls. And then.... lastly.. they have this sort of more subdued and quite staccato type of sound they do when they are happy and feeding on something, which can be used to add more realism and possible appeal to the other ducks hunger.
For me in the very open desert-y landscape out at Wister in the Salton Sea, a leafy suit of appropriate color such as the bushes out there, and similar mesh facemask has worked great!
You just make your sit location nice and low and within or in-between some of the bushes/brush right up to the muds edge, trying to remain in the shadow so you're not cooking out there in the heat of that place.
Other than that just don't be dumb and do like you'd do in any hunting situation and keep your movements to a minimum. Especially when they have eyes on you approaching overhead. In other words, I'd say try to avoid raising that duck call to your mouth if they are incoming and would be able to easily see those movements. But if you already had your arm up to your mouth because maybe you were calling at them while they were up high and off to one side flying by... then by all means just keep your arm in that position if they then have successfully turned to now fly incoming to you. Minimize your fingering movements while cupping the call and also have a similar camo pattern of liner gloves on, to blend in with that leafy suits colors and you'll do well at remaining unseen, without needing to drag in a buncha isht to the spot and build up a ground blind from external materials you brought in with you. If you had a dog that retrieves I could see how that route might be necessary though so the dog could remain hidden until needed.
If you're serious about it, I'd definitely invest in some decoys. I don't have a lot of experience with ducks, Only 3 seasons under my belt so far, and even I was able to several times convince ones flying over to turn around in a circle and come back around to where I was setup... only problem was other hunters in the next section over... the ducks would obviously be able to see far from up there in the air... they had decoys and I didn't... so that particular day it was upsetting me to no end because multiple times I'd get them to come back and them being up in the air like that... they'd see these others guys spread and I guess they just assumed it must have come from over there instead? And I got to watch them pop several ducks that should have been mine. That stung to have that happen while I was getting eaten alive by Mosquitos out at Wister, CA. So the next day I ordered some decoys and those fully coated Texas rig cables with like, I wanna say 4oz? or maybe 6oz? Cupped weights on em that dig into the sand so the wind wouldn't move the decoys into deeper water that I wouldn't be able to get into with waders.
I say that because the other gentleman I went there with the first time... one of his dekes ended up getting moved over in the water by the wind into an area where he could not retrieve it anymore to take it back out because he encountered some kind of trench in the mud, presumably from the small amount of water current in this one section created by the breeze which sometimes runs thru, perhaps carrying the silt to elsewhere, I'd imagine.
Only thing I'd say is, to my ear... the Wooden calls sound more life-like to me. Umm... only other thing I can think of is... if where you are experiences cold/freezing kind of conditions, you might want to research on vids and forums for people mentioning that this call or that call has problems with the reed freezing-up and perhaps becoming inoperable on you while you're out there. But I'd imagine most of the manufacturers now likely make calls where this has a lower chance of happening than before. I also remember reading if you are in those kinds of weather it's good to store the call when not immediately needed back against your body on your person so it can be kept warm so the reed won't freeze.
DEFINITELY bring Mosquito spray AND a ThermaCell. if they are needed where you are going, and you don't have them, you may have a horrible experience. (And even WITH them, you can still get bit-up a bit.
I have a friend who is a practicing doctor in a few different roles, one of them ER duties sometimes and when she saw the pics I posted of the back of my Tricep, and on my back, for example... she didn't believe it was Mosquito bites and literally thought I'd come down with Shingles (since I'm early 50's now), because it was that bad looking!
It's my understanding that some folks like the more raspy sound of an acrylic/plastic type of call for the purpose of it reaching out further trying to make high up and farther off ducks potentially hear it and turn back around. I just noticed the audible difference between the sound of my calling with the prior plastic one I had, and then I'd be hearing around me what I first thought for a split-second might have actually been a real duck in another section over on that waterfowl reserve, but then I later figured was somebody else using a call that just plain sounded better. So I asked around and also researched it... and that difference in tone, I found out, was likely because those other people were using a wooden call instead.
So then I ordered a um... (checks his Amazon orders.)
And to my ear, it sounds noticeably more lifelike.
For me in the very open desert-y landscape out at Wister in the Salton Sea, a leafy suit of appropriate color such as the bushes out there, and similar mesh facemask has worked great!
You just make your sit location nice and low and within or in-between some of the bushes/brush right up to the muds edge, trying to remain in the shadow so you're not cooking out there in the heat of that place.
Other than that just don't be dumb and do like you'd do in any hunting situation and keep your movements to a minimum. Especially when they have eyes on you approaching overhead. In other words, I'd say try to avoid raising that duck call to your mouth if they are incoming and would be able to easily see those movements. But if you already had your arm up to your mouth because maybe you were calling at them while they were up high and off to one side flying by... then by all means just keep your arm in that position if they then have successfully turned to now fly incoming to you. Minimize your fingering movements while cupping the call and also have a similar camo pattern of liner gloves on, to blend in with that leafy suits colors and you'll do well at remaining unseen, without needing to drag in a buncha isht to the spot and build up a ground blind from external materials you brought in with you. If you had a dog that retrieves I could see how that route might be necessary though so the dog could remain hidden until needed.
If you're serious about it, I'd definitely invest in some decoys. I don't have a lot of experience with ducks, Only 3 seasons under my belt so far, and even I was able to several times convince ones flying over to turn around in a circle and come back around to where I was setup... only problem was other hunters in the next section over... the ducks would obviously be able to see far from up there in the air... they had decoys and I didn't... so that particular day it was upsetting me to no end because multiple times I'd get them to come back and them being up in the air like that... they'd see these others guys spread and I guess they just assumed it must have come from over there instead? And I got to watch them pop several ducks that should have been mine. That stung to have that happen while I was getting eaten alive by Mosquitos out at Wister, CA. So the next day I ordered some decoys and those fully coated Texas rig cables with like, I wanna say 4oz? or maybe 6oz? Cupped weights on em that dig into the sand so the wind wouldn't move the decoys into deeper water that I wouldn't be able to get into with waders.
I say that because the other gentleman I went there with the first time... one of his dekes ended up getting moved over in the water by the wind into an area where he could not retrieve it anymore to take it back out because he encountered some kind of trench in the mud, presumably from the small amount of water current in this one section created by the breeze which sometimes runs thru, perhaps carrying the silt to elsewhere, I'd imagine.
Only thing I'd say is, to my ear... the Wooden calls sound more life-like to me. Umm... only other thing I can think of is... if where you are experiences cold/freezing kind of conditions, you might want to research on vids and forums for people mentioning that this call or that call has problems with the reed freezing-up and perhaps becoming inoperable on you while you're out there. But I'd imagine most of the manufacturers now likely make calls where this has a lower chance of happening than before. I also remember reading if you are in those kinds of weather it's good to store the call when not immediately needed back against your body on your person so it can be kept warm so the reed won't freeze.
DEFINITELY bring Mosquito spray AND a ThermaCell. if they are needed where you are going, and you don't have them, you may have a horrible experience. (And even WITH them, you can still get bit-up a bit.
I have a friend who is a practicing doctor in a few different roles, one of them ER duties sometimes and when she saw the pics I posted of the back of my Tricep, and on my back, for example... she didn't believe it was Mosquito bites and literally thought I'd come down with Shingles (since I'm early 50's now), because it was that bad looking!
It's my understanding that some folks like the more raspy sound of an acrylic/plastic type of call for the purpose of it reaching out further trying to make high up and farther off ducks potentially hear it and turn back around. I just noticed the audible difference between the sound of my calling with the prior plastic one I had, and then I'd be hearing around me what I first thought for a split-second might have actually been a real duck in another section over on that waterfowl reserve, but then I later figured was somebody else using a call that just plain sounded better. So I asked around and also researched it... and that difference in tone, I found out, was likely because those other people were using a wooden call instead.
So then I ordered a um... (checks his Amazon orders.)
And to my ear, it sounds noticeably more lifelike.
MidwestElkHutner
Lil-Rokslider
I'd second the recommendation of something like a buck gardner call or something similar. I would also recommend starting with a double reed call. A double reed will give you better tone and control at the beginning, and are easier to run. Once you get some experience, then look into some of the higher end calls. I prefer a timber toned call. They are typically deeper in tone and easier to get that raspy duck sound.
The first thing is to learn how to do the basic calls....cluck, feeding, hale, etc . Then you can learn how to combine them into a series. Pick up a CD or download some youtube videos on the basic calls and practice them in your truck. You will get some strange looks at the stop lights, but there is only one way to learn.
The next is to go out and hunt. If you can hunt with someone that has experience, that is the best. Let them do the calling and pay attention to volume, intensity, and timing of when they call. A couple tips:
1. The saying of less is more applies to duck hunting 100% of the time. Depending on time of year and location some of the birds will have been called to their entire trip down the flyway. You can easily over do it.
2. When first learning...don't call at ducks heading right towards you. Or at least be very easy with volume and intensity. If you see their tail feathers, that is the time to up volume and intensity
3. The quickest way to not get a second invite to hunt in my blind is to high ball every single passing duck at full volume and non stop.
4. There is only one way to learn to call ducks and that is to call ducks. But if you are hunting with others that are better callers, let them take the lead and add some background clucks.
Last but probably the most important is try to find groups of ducks and just listen to the sounds they make and the cadence of those calls.
The first thing is to learn how to do the basic calls....cluck, feeding, hale, etc . Then you can learn how to combine them into a series. Pick up a CD or download some youtube videos on the basic calls and practice them in your truck. You will get some strange looks at the stop lights, but there is only one way to learn.
The next is to go out and hunt. If you can hunt with someone that has experience, that is the best. Let them do the calling and pay attention to volume, intensity, and timing of when they call. A couple tips:
1. The saying of less is more applies to duck hunting 100% of the time. Depending on time of year and location some of the birds will have been called to their entire trip down the flyway. You can easily over do it.
2. When first learning...don't call at ducks heading right towards you. Or at least be very easy with volume and intensity. If you see their tail feathers, that is the time to up volume and intensity
3. The quickest way to not get a second invite to hunt in my blind is to high ball every single passing duck at full volume and non stop.
4. There is only one way to learn to call ducks and that is to call ducks. But if you are hunting with others that are better callers, let them take the lead and add some background clucks.
Last but probably the most important is try to find groups of ducks and just listen to the sounds they make and the cadence of those calls.
huntineveryday
Lil-Rokslider
- Joined
- Apr 8, 2019
- Messages
- 270
Get one of these: https://www.mackspw.com/RNT-QuackHead-Quack-P-I-P-E-Duck-Call
They can be found from a lot of retailers, are under $20, and they sound pretty good. I've got a handful of cheap calls and this one sounds pretty good and is the easiest to run. But make sure to put it on a lanyard tied to both the insert and the barrel of the call so you don't lose part of it!
A double reed call will be easier to sound like a duck with for a beginner, but if you can learn to call a single reed you'll probably end up with better fundamentals and be able to do more with the call. Start with a cheap polycarbonate call and learn on that. It'll be good enough to kill ducks and versatile enough for you to learn on. When you get good with it, then go blow in some wood and acrylic calls and you will be able to notice the differences and advantages of different calls enough to find something that matches your calling style.
Spend time learning how to make single quacks and comeback calls that sound like ducks first. Some time on YouTube will find you dozens of how-to's and videos of real ducks making duck sounds. I think the ducklander series of videos on YouTube do about as good of a job explaining things as any for a beginner.
They can be found from a lot of retailers, are under $20, and they sound pretty good. I've got a handful of cheap calls and this one sounds pretty good and is the easiest to run. But make sure to put it on a lanyard tied to both the insert and the barrel of the call so you don't lose part of it!
A double reed call will be easier to sound like a duck with for a beginner, but if you can learn to call a single reed you'll probably end up with better fundamentals and be able to do more with the call. Start with a cheap polycarbonate call and learn on that. It'll be good enough to kill ducks and versatile enough for you to learn on. When you get good with it, then go blow in some wood and acrylic calls and you will be able to notice the differences and advantages of different calls enough to find something that matches your calling style.
Spend time learning how to make single quacks and comeback calls that sound like ducks first. Some time on YouTube will find you dozens of how-to's and videos of real ducks making duck sounds. I think the ducklander series of videos on YouTube do about as good of a job explaining things as any for a beginner.
I like the Quack Head calls. Cheap and easy. You can call ducks in with cheap calls you have to know how to make the sounds is all. Practice Practice Practice. I don't care what any body says the last thing I am spending money on is an expensive duck call.
- Thread Starter
- #8
OP
nathanpezold
FNG
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2021
- Messages
- 37
I’ll look at those call you put up. I also play the saxophone and I heard it might help me with calling.
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Eltigreblanco
WKR
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2019
- Messages
- 683
Check out the haydel dr-85
Not a bad call. My first one. But I'd definitely say the second one I got is easier not to mess up on. Takes less initial air pressure to initiate the tone.
Oh cool, yeah I played Clarinet a little bit in school. That'll help you a lot. Especially for that 'feeding' sound the other gentleman was mentioning.
- Thread Starter
- #12
OP
nathanpezold
FNG
- Joined
- Nov 15, 2021
- Messages
- 37
What are some of the best duck call brands?
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You'll get a different answer from nearly everyone you ask. But, you have Lares, RNT, Echo, Zink, Haydel, Powers, and several others. Personally, I have an electrical taped Haydel DR85, a Lares Hybrid, and a Powers Impulse II on my lanyard
There's a newer brand out called Maker's that has really come on strong. They have some great sounding stuff.
There's a newer brand out called Maker's that has really come on strong. They have some great sounding stuff.
Mosby
WKR
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2015
- Messages
- 1,937
I am getting back into WF hunting and recently bought a couple of calls. I don't plan on getting a ton of them, just a few so I decided to go with calls from a few small call companies. I have a call from C & S calls and a call from Singleton Game Calls. I am also going to buy a couple of RM Custom Calls. Then I am going to practice on my porch from Christmas to next season. If I can't call them in with what I got...it won't be the calls.
I am sure I could buy a Buck Gardner Double Nasty and call just as poorly but I want to have a single lanyard with some quality calls on it. I am a gear whore though.
Edit: If I needed to stay under $30 for a call, the Buck Gardner Double Nasty is a nice duck call for the $$. Haydel and DC make good cheap teal calls too.
Last edited:
JMasson
Lil-Rokslider
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2020
- Messages
- 264
I've been calling at ducks and geese since I was 6, this is my 30th season. I have always used a single reed, I tried a double reed but they don't have the range of a single reed call. Not even comparable. There's a reason that anyone calling in a competition whether it is main street, meat or live duck uses a single reed call and that is because of the range and tone. There's a lot of very good makers out there but I only ever talk about one, RM Custom Calls from North Carolina. Stump (the owner), makes an amazing call and while they may seem spendy, they are (in my opinion) the best. I have a CWF, FTM, Pothole and added a 410 last year. They're amazingly easy to use and once you figure how to plant your tongue properly and present air to the call, you will sound like a duck. Since you play the saxophone that shouldn't be a huge learning curve. I would recommend the 410 as a FTM or CWF can get really loud (they both scream, the CWF more so) and they can get away from you. The 410 has a raspy-nasally sound and I love the bottom end rattle you can get from it. The Pothole would also be a good choice to learn on but doesn't have quite the top end range that the 410 does. BTW, I have nothing to gain from Stump from this. I'm just a loyal customer and we share several very good mutual friends.
I also recommend a double reed for getting started. Easy to blow, sound like a duck. My favorite is the winglock double.
Check out Bobby Hayes from ducklander calls on YouTube for calling instruction. He does a good job showing tongue placement and air flow control.
Last recommendation is if you have access to a park or somewhere that attracts a big flock of mallards, go listen to them call for a while to get an idea of what realistic sounds are. Remember the goal is to sound like a duck, not a guy blowing a duck call.
Check out Bobby Hayes from ducklander calls on YouTube for calling instruction. He does a good job showing tongue placement and air flow control.
Last recommendation is if you have access to a park or somewhere that attracts a big flock of mallards, go listen to them call for a while to get an idea of what realistic sounds are. Remember the goal is to sound like a duck, not a guy blowing a duck call.
long hunter
WKR
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2021
- Messages
- 1,590
Here duck, here duck------------- Just had too do it
Crazy Coot
Lil-Rokslider
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2021
- Messages
- 177
My favorite brand is Echo. Rich-n-tone makes great calls. There are several top of the line call makers out there but those 2 are my favorites.
I definitely would not recommend starting with either of those. They can be tricky to learn on and they can be frustrating.
Go with a double reed call if you’re just getting started. I’d highly recommend the Haydels DR-85.
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