Duck Calls

Hey duck hunters i am wondering what a good brand or kind of call is realy good for a beginer mostly for mallards.
Thanks jig_head

I would buy something that comes with an instructional tape or cd. You can keep the instructions and the call in your call and practice anytime you are driving. This will keep you in the good graces of your family.
Buck Gardner makes a good single reed call. The Illusion system is very easy to call and sounds good. I would not spend a fortune on a call until you learn to call and find out what you want in a call.
Hope this helps.

Gator Hunter

I would buy something that comes with an instructional tape or cd. You can keep the instructions and the call in your call and practice anytime you are driving. This will keep you in the good graces of your family.
Buck Gardner makes a good single reed call. The Illusion system is very easy to call and sounds good. I would not spend a fortune on a call until you learn to call and find out what you want in a call.
Hope this helps.

Gator Hunter

Thanks jig_head.

Thanks jig_head.

Personally I would go with a double reed. Easy to blow and very forgiving. I have been blowing duck calls for 20 years and still use a double reed. The call I use for hunting is a $5-$10 call on ebay. It’s really a personal thing. My brother is a great caller but I don’t like to blow his brand, and he doesn’t blow my brand. Neither of use has spent over $20 on a duck call in our life. I would recomend the same as Gator Hunter. One other thing I would recomend is to open the call and don’t worry about messing up the reeds. Try different posisitions with the reeds, and break in the call good before moving on to the next. Everybody seems to be afraid to move the reeds because they may never find the sweet spot again. I say play with them until you know exactly what will happen when you move the reeds in and the wedge out and so on. This will also help when you find that call you love and you crack a reed or just wear them out. When you get a new set of reeds you will know exactly where to put them. As for brands of calls there are 101 out there that are good. Primos Wench, Haydels DR85, Buck Gardner Fowl Mouth 2, etc…. I would also blow the call outside! In the vecicle is a great place to practice with a call you know sounds good, but a call will sound a lot different outside than it will in the store. One thing to remember about calling ducks is that the greatest caller in the world can send ducks packing if he calls at the wrong time. Calling ducks is as much about reading and knowing what the ducks want that day as it is about sounding good. A hard 5-7 note highball (comeback) along with a good hen quack are good to master, and will put a lot of ducks in the decoys.

Personally I would go with a double reed. Easy to blow and very forgiving. I have been blowing duck calls for 20 years and still use a double reed. The call I use for hunting is a $5-$10 call on ebay. It’s really a personal thing. My brother is a great caller but I don’t like to blow his brand, and he doesn’t blow my brand. Neither of use has spent over $20 on a duck call in our life. I would recomend the same as Gator Hunter. One other thing I would recomend is to open the call and don’t worry about messing up the reeds. Try different posisitions with the reeds, and break in the call good before moving on to the next. Everybody seems to be afraid to move the reeds because they may never find the sweet spot again. I say play with them until you know exactly what will happen when you move the reeds in and the wedge out and so on. This will also help when you find that call you love and you crack a reed or just wear them out. When you get a new set of reeds you will know exactly where to put them. As for brands of calls there are 101 out there that are good. Primos Wench, Haydels DR85, Buck Gardner Fowl Mouth 2, etc…. I would also blow the call outside! In the vecicle is a great place to practice with a call you know sounds good, but a call will sound a lot different outside than it will in the store. One thing to remember about calling ducks is that the greatest caller in the world can send ducks packing if he calls at the wrong time. Calling ducks is as much about reading and knowing what the ducks want that day as it is about sounding good. A hard 5-7 note highball (comeback) along with a good hen quack are good to master, and will put a lot of ducks in the decoys.

I just learned something, useing a hen quack mixes the bag, I do the same when bowhunting for deer. It keeps the woods active using both female and male sounds. A trick i like to use is i hunt with a turkey mouth diaphfram to let the deer know the turkey says its safe where its at, it really put deer at ease when the woods are spooky that day. Do you guys use any other calls to let the ducks know everythings safe besides a duck call, mimicking any other bird sounds?

I just learned something, useing a hen quack mixes the bag, I do the same when bowhunting for deer. It keeps the woods active using both female and male sounds. A trick i like to use is i hunt with a turkey mouth diaphfram to let the deer know the turkey says its safe where its at, it really put deer at ease when the woods are spooky that day. Do you guys use any other calls to let the ducks know everythings safe besides a duck call, mimicking any other bird sounds?

thanks guys your alot of help

thanks guys your alot of help

Mossy…I dont know of anyone that mimics another birds sound….But I have used heron,coot an egeret decoys for givin the ducks alittle more confidence to drop in…

Mossy…I dont know of anyone that mimics another birds sound….But I have used heron,coot an egeret decoys for givin the ducks alittle more confidence to drop in…

IMO. Carlson makes the best call. Their beginners model comes with a very good tape. It has alot of good info about calling and calls in general on the tape. They are single reed calls that really get out and touch some ducks.

IMO. Carlson makes the best call. Their beginners model comes with a very good tape. It has alot of good info about calling and calls in general on the tape. They are single reed calls that really get out and touch some ducks.

Echo makes a polycarbonate call for $30 bucks that has the same guts of the call as their 130 dollar acryllics. I have an Echo and I love it. It is a single reed, which is a little harder to learn to blow, but you have to practice with either.

I just like the range and tone of single reed calls better myself.

Echo makes a polycarbonate call for $30 bucks that has the same guts of the call as their 130 dollar acryllics. I have an Echo and I love it. It is a single reed, which is a little harder to learn to blow, but you have to practice with either.

I just like the range and tone of single reed calls better myself.

rich-n-tone has a $30 call that’s pretty darn good. i believe it’s called the quack head or something like that. i just bought one on sale for $20 at cabela’s…..best sounding call i’ve ever owned .

rich-n-tone has a $30 call that’s pretty darn good. i believe it’s called the quack head or something like that. i just bought one on sale for $20 at cabela’s…..best sounding call i’ve ever owned .

I see what your saying Filck, bring a couple of your favorite duck calls, a few of your goose calls to let everything know its ok plus put some geese and heron decoys out too. If that doesen’t bring em in thier probably not going to land anyway.

I see what your saying Filck, bring a couple of your favorite duck calls, a few of your goose calls to let everything know its ok plus put some geese and heron decoys out too. If that doesen’t bring em in thier probably not going to land anyway.

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I just learned something, useing a hen quack mixes the bag, I do the same when bowhunting for deer. It keeps the woods active using both female and male sounds. A trick i like to use is i hunt with a turkey mouth diaphfram to let the deer know the turkey says its safe where its at, it really put deer at ease when the woods are spooky that day. Do you guys use any other calls to let the ducks know everythings safe besides a duck call, mimicking any other bird sounds?

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Virtually all duck calls are hen calls. In nearly all species the drake is only capable of a weak rasp. The hens are the noisy devils. Just like a woman, ain’t it?

Gator Hunter

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I just learned something, useing a hen quack mixes the bag, I do the same when bowhunting for deer. It keeps the woods active using both female and male sounds. A trick i like to use is i hunt with a turkey mouth diaphfram to let the deer know the turkey says its safe where its at, it really put deer at ease when the woods are spooky that day. Do you guys use any other calls to let the ducks know everythings safe besides a duck call, mimicking any other bird sounds?

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Virtually all duck calls are hen calls. In nearly all species the drake is only capable of a weak rasp. The hens are the noisy devils. Just like a woman, ain’t it?

Gator Hunter

Your absoutley right gator…..everyone sounds like a hen mallard…thats why I mix in a drake mallard whistle…or even a widgeon or pintail call……

Your absoutley right gator…..everyone sounds like a hen mallard…thats why I mix in a drake mallard whistle…or even a widgeon or pintail call……

Exactly what I learned on the Carslon CD. You never want to sound like a duck. You need to have a different sound to peak a ducks interest.

Here is the Carlson training CD’s. These are a must have for any duck hunter, you won’t be dissapointed.

Carlson CD

Click here to hear a Carlson call.

Exactly what I learned on the Carslon CD. You never want to sound like a duck. You need to have a different sound to peak a ducks interest.

Here is the Carlson training CD’s. These are a must have for any duck hunter, you won’t be dissapointed.

Carlson CD

Click here to hear a Carlson call.

I didn’t know that the hens do most of the voicing, it must be really satisfying to get them to come in after alot of practice. i can see im going to like hunting waterfowl. When practicing for years to fine tune my deer calls i can see the enjoyment in getting ducks to come in. I can see it now, coming in to the decoys around me and going straight over to someone else’s decoys, not likeing that set up and coming back to mine, maybe sounds greedy but i’ll bet it happens to just about everybody once in thier life.

I didn’t know that the hens do most of the voicing, it must be really satisfying to get them to come in after alot of practice. i can see im going to like hunting waterfowl. When practicing for years to fine tune my deer calls i can see the enjoyment in getting ducks to come in. I can see it now, coming in to the decoys around me and going straight over to someone else’s decoys, not likeing that set up and coming back to mine, maybe sounds greedy but i’ll bet it happens to just about everybody once in thier life.

The Mallard drake calls are money on calm days!!!