jakerau
Offline
1:1 in 08 Foaming at the Gills!
Profile Status:
Reged: 06/04/06
Posts: 554
Loc: OREGON
|
|
Hi. I'm new to the sport of duck hunting. Just bought m first call. Its at Buck Gardner Double Nast II. I went out early the other day and listend to the duck and geeses, tried ot call some in. My call just does not sound like the ducks I was hearing. It is more high pitched than the naturals. Anyone have any suggestions? Is there a way to tune duck calls? Anyone have this call and know how to use it? Thanks.
Jake
|
JimW
Offline
Duck freek
Profile Status:
Reged: 09/15/03
Posts: 1288
Loc: port orchard WA
|
|
http://www.duckcommander.com/store/index.php/action/item/id/4/ get these vids and a dc 400 http://www.duckcommander.com/store/index.../3/prevstart/6/
and this one
http://www.duckcommander.com/store/index.../3/prevstart/6/
this is the original Drake mallard call. it will do the pintail and wigeon as well. if you muffle your call you have a grunt it its a perfect diver call. good luck Jim W
for in close and use the one you have for big water blue bird days.
--------------------
In memory of Floyd M. Wright; Nov 3 1925 - Oct 8 2007. you were the greatest, I love you Dad.
|
Gooose
Offline
Ancient Mod
Profile Status:
Reged: 09/14/01
Posts: 11018
Loc: Area 12
|
|
What WTT said. The call you have is what I would call a hailer...designed for calling at birds a mile away or more. In close it will scare the birds off. I've watched people do this continuously...nice flock of Mallards initially atracted and heading in towards your setup for that first checkout pass and the guys will let out with a screaming high ball when the birds are a 100 yards out. We nicknamed one guy The Bugler. Net results is those birds turned away and showed no further interest in that guys setup. He'd simply blast away at them in frustation with the same screaming highball. I also highly recommend a good pintail/widgeom whistle or a police whistle which does just fine. Do not buy an Olt pintail/widgeon whistle as they just plain do not sound right.
--------------------
Independent Advocate For The Fish
Not Represented By Any Organization
Simple Solutions to Simple Problems
Simple Solutions to Complex Problems
There's lies, damned lies and then there are statistics......Mark Twain
|
Gooose
Offline
Ancient Mod
Profile Status:
Reged: 09/14/01
Posts: 11018
Loc: Area 12
|
|
Consider also purchasing a Scotch duck call. While it won't allow you to do all of the range of calls perfectly it has worked for me for 40 some years. It also works great in the background of of someone working regular calls. You can provide a background of feeding chuckles, various quacks and some high ball that sound very realistic.
--------------------
Independent Advocate For The Fish
Not Represented By Any Organization
Simple Solutions to Simple Problems
Simple Solutions to Complex Problems
There's lies, damned lies and then there are statistics......Mark Twain
|
Rocket Red
Offline
Vegetarian Cannibal
Profile Status:
Reged: 01/15/02
Posts: 1140
Loc: Naked Barbieville
|
|
Is the Scotch duck call the one with the accordian tube off the back of it?
I use a call they call P.H.A.T. Lady. If you just blow into it, the sound is much higher than a real duck. When you use your voice right, it mellows it out. Sweet call, I have had a lot of calling success with it, and I am no great shakes.
I have found that I have had more success with the higher pitched calls than the more natural. The Duck Commander cut-down magnum is slightly higher in pitch than his other calls and it was always my favorite.
I second getting the duck commander drake call. It is multi-purpose, and you can mimic a lot of different birds with it.
--------------------
"Painter of light, my a$$!"
|
jakerau
Offline
1:1 in 08 Foaming at the Gills!
Profile Status:
Reged: 06/04/06
Posts: 554
Loc: OREGON
|
|
What do you mean by using your voice right? I thought you just had to blow into the thing. Do I need to be vocalizing as I blow?
--------------------
Jake
www.flytymes.blogspot.com
|
Gooose
Offline
Ancient Mod
Profile Status:
Reged: 09/14/01
Posts: 11018
Loc: Area 12
|
|
You simply do not blow in to a call. You can change the inflection or tone of a call considerably by how you blow in to it. You can also muffle calls with you hand over the end. Jake it is a huge learning experience...enjoyable but years and decades of learning we all went thru that cannot be expressed in a simple internet post or even one or several hands on trainig sessions.
--------------------
Independent Advocate For The Fish
Not Represented By Any Organization
Simple Solutions to Simple Problems
Simple Solutions to Complex Problems
There's lies, damned lies and then there are statistics......Mark Twain
|
Rocket Red
Offline
Vegetarian Cannibal
Profile Status:
Reged: 01/15/02
Posts: 1140
Loc: Naked Barbieville
|
|
Absolutely use your voice. There will not be any raspiness (is that a word?) in a call if you just blow. When you listen to someone who knows what they are doing you will hear their voice sometimes right before they begin to make the call.
There was no internet when I got my first duck call and I never knew that you used your voice either. I'll never forget being 13 and my buddy's mom dropped us off at the farm we liked to hunt. We sat out in an absolutely awesome spot on a perfect day. It was our first day with my new call and we literally flared hundreds of mallards that were coming into our dekes without calling, becase we were blowing like madmen into that Faulk.
We got like 3 birds because they were able to sneak in between calls. We talked to the farmer's son back at the house at lunch. He was like "You guys ever stop to breathe?", and I said "Well, when I got dizzy I just passed the call to him and he started blowing". He said "Next time you might only try blowing when they go past your set flapping their wings not when they are locked up and heading in. You also might want to use your voice to make the sound rather than getting louder and quieter to change pitch." "Oooohh really." we said feeling pretty dumb.
We called his mom and told her to give us until dark. Killed the rest of our limits and learned a valuable lesson.
--------------------
"Painter of light, my a$$!"
|
Gooose
Offline
Ancient Mod
Profile Status:
Reged: 09/14/01
Posts: 11018
Loc: Area 12
|
|
Absolutely learn to use your voice! My father could and did suck Canada geese and Brant into the dekes by simply voice calling. No artificial calls. Bit of an art to learn but it works. For ducks the classic example is a low passover that you did not see coming....grabbing your call or any other movement is gonna scare those birds off. Just freeze and voice call a series of loud quacks until the birds are far enough down swing for you to settle down and get to working them. You can also voice call in the background to a regular caller. 
--------------------
Independent Advocate For The Fish
Not Represented By Any Organization
Simple Solutions to Simple Problems
Simple Solutions to Complex Problems
There's lies, damned lies and then there are statistics......Mark Twain
|
clucknmoan
Offline
Team RamRod
Profile Status:
Reged: 01/07/05
Posts: 348
Loc: Garden Valley
|
|
No question best low end duck call for the money is a Red Leg by Haydels. I have owned countless $75 to $200 duck calls and the first call I grab is my Red Leg---Ducky Ducky Ducky!!!! They are typically tuned out of the box moderately which requires less air for a beginner. There is one problem with them--you'll know it's the right call if it smells like someone already barfed in it. Don't ask why but they always smell that way new. Maybe the guy tuning them has bad breath? The most important thing is all (most) duck calls are fantastic in the right hands. It takes years or practice, and I don't just mean while your hunting during the season practice. I used to blow in competitions and I would literally blow 2 to 5 hours a day all year long. Problem is once you have enough experience to know how to blow a call, you realize that the most important thing all along has been knowing when to call. Time to learn again. It's never ending and an absolute joy the whole way.
|
Mojo
Offline
Instigator
Profile Status:
Reged: 09/10/03
Posts: 7403
Loc: Bootsville, Idaho
|
|
I agree totally. Most guys (me too) call WAAY too much. Most newbies ot novices call at the wrong time. I have a couple dozen duck calls, and the best is an old Lohman's Double reed I got for a highschool graduation present. It's money.
--------------------
Tight Lines,
Mojo
TEAM MOOSE DROOL
TEAM SMOKIN' MERC
TEAM JACKSON BALDWIN
Alaksa Nitro Baits Pro Staff
|
jakerau
Offline
1:1 in 08 Foaming at the Gills!
Profile Status:
Reged: 06/04/06
Posts: 554
Loc: OREGON
|
|
So when is the right time to call then?
--------------------
Jake
www.flytymes.blogspot.com
|
jakerau
Offline
1:1 in 08 Foaming at the Gills!
Profile Status:
Reged: 06/04/06
Posts: 554
Loc: OREGON
|
|
Here are some links to videos of duck calling competitions. Thought it was fun to listen to. I noticed that in each video the callers follow the same pattern. Is there a routine they are required to go through? Anyway, thoughtI'd post the links for any other interested parties.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig0BcsoLuhs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvVwIG3zOrk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Lf5uYJfZM
--------------------
Jake
www.flytymes.blogspot.com
|
Mojo
Offline
Instigator
Profile Status:
Reged: 09/10/03
Posts: 7403
Loc: Bootsville, Idaho
|
|
Aaaaahhh, grasshopper, there is the 1 million dollar question. The answer is "It depends". Time of year, wind, time of day, weather, species of ducks, adn location and number of decoys all play in to that one. If I had a quick easy formula, I'd write a book and be rich.
Basic deal is...Highball (greet call) when the ducks are a long way off. Never blow that one when you have ducks working. Once ducks are within a couple humderd yards switch to feeding chuckles and soft quacks. When they start to leave (not just swing aroung) give them a comeback, like a highball, but plead a little harder.
There is so much more to it than that. Trust me, sepnding time in the marsh with good duck hunters is the best bet. If you are hunting next to a group of good callers (and you aren't very good, or just learning), your best bet is to not call at all. If you do and scare off their duck, they are gonna be pissed.
--------------------
Tight Lines,
Mojo
TEAM MOOSE DROOL
TEAM SMOKIN' MERC
TEAM JACKSON BALDWIN
Alaksa Nitro Baits Pro Staff
|
clucknmoan
Offline
Team RamRod
Profile Status:
Reged: 01/07/05
Posts: 348
Loc: Garden Valley
|
|
First of all forget about anything you heard in the calling contest routine. The only reason I brought it up was to illistrate just how much practice it takes. A contest routine is a simulation of hailing birds along way off, working them in close, then calling them to finally set them down. There are hardly any simularities in a good contest caller and good meat caller. Mojo is right there is no answer to every situation. A good rule of thumb is only call at their tail feathers and wing tips. Don't call if they are headed straight at you, he's already interested, let him decide. 
|
Gooose
Offline
Ancient Mod
Profile Status:
Reged: 09/14/01
Posts: 11018
Loc: Area 12
|
|
Sage advice from all. I never did get the hang of using a regular duck call so stick with the old Scotch call and a Pintail/Widgeon call. When birds are approaching or overhead stick to just a bit of feed calls and quacks. Not much but just enough as you'll learn to provide some life to your decoys. Add in a few calls on the Pintail/widgeon whistle and you are pretty much set. I've also had great results using the Pintail/widgeon whistle at hailing and call back calls on flocks of Pintail and widgeon. Those birds do get hit with calls incoming and overhead. A police whistle works just fine but if you do buy a commercial call do not buy an Olt...doesn't sound anything like the real thing. If you can find an old Herters call you have probably the best ever made...e-mail me and I'll offer you a nice price for yours.
Best thing to do is to simply listen to the birds...drake mallards for instance have a quite different call than hens.
--------------------
Independent Advocate For The Fish
Not Represented By Any Organization
Simple Solutions to Simple Problems
Simple Solutions to Complex Problems
There's lies, damned lies and then there are statistics......Mark Twain
|
jakerau
Offline
1:1 in 08 Foaming at the Gills!
Profile Status:
Reged: 06/04/06
Posts: 554
Loc: OREGON
|
|
This is all good information. Thanks to everyone. This year is a year of first for me. Bagged my first steelies couple weeks ago and I want to get duck, geese, and maybe some upland birds this year. It's amazing how these things can enrich your life. Life is just good. Anyway, another question: decoys - what is an affordable brand? Most I have seen have been quite expensive. I saw some at a garage sale the other day... was tempted. If I got my hands on 3 or 4, would that be enough to get the attention of some birds or do I need a dozen or so  ?
Thanks
--------------------
Jake
www.flytymes.blogspot.com
|
clucknmoan
Offline
Team RamRod
Profile Status:
Reged: 01/07/05
Posts: 348
Loc: Garden Valley
|
|
I hate to push business there way for other reasons but look for Greenhead gear hot buys. The last time I bought some they were only like $25 a dozen (plus wights and cord). As far as color scheme and durability of the paint goes you can't beat them for the price. I don't like the posture of them though. As per how many, it depends again, on birds and time of year, but I wouldn't go with less than 2 dozen.
|
Mojo
Offline
Instigator
Profile Status:
Reged: 09/10/03
Posts: 7403
Loc: Bootsville, Idaho
|
|
Opening day, I would wnat as many dekes as I could get my hands on. Last day of the year, I'd put out like 5 decoys. The key is putting your dekes in a place ducks want to land. As my old hunting buddy says, if you ain't laying in fresh goose crap, you are hunting in the wrong spot.
--------------------
Tight Lines,
Mojo
TEAM MOOSE DROOL
TEAM SMOKIN' MERC
TEAM JACKSON BALDWIN
Alaksa Nitro Baits Pro Staff
|
pez
Offline
hobo
Profile Status:
Reged: 05/22/07
Posts: 143
Loc: Wishin I was in elk camp...
|
|
Initially I'd get a dozen cheap mallard decoys. Then you can fill in later with better decoys, as well as gadwall, widgeon, pintail, wood ducks, etc. Pretty soon you'll have three times as many as you can carry-then you'll be set:)
|
Mojo
Offline
Instigator
Profile Status:
Reged: 09/10/03
Posts: 7403
Loc: Bootsville, Idaho
|
|
Why do you think I originally upgraded to a 22 foot boat? 
--------------------
Tight Lines,
Mojo
TEAM MOOSE DROOL
TEAM SMOKIN' MERC
TEAM JACKSON BALDWIN
Alaksa Nitro Baits Pro Staff
|
Previous
Index
Next
Threaded
Edit
Reply
Quote
[Re: 