Parker Knox for SPLIT REED
During the summer months, we spend our hard-earned dollars on new decoys, blinds, property management, lease agreements, boats and a multitude of other endless upgrades to better our chances of success. Some of us are competing in calling competitions, while others are supporting their buddies gunning for a title. If you’re like me you probably have a stash of old calls in a drawer or on display somewhere; most of which have depreciated in value to the point where it’s worth more to keep them as mementos than it is to try to sell them.
As waterfowlers, we are constantly trying to best mimic the sound of live ducks, and most of us will buy a new call almost every year. This brings us to the topic of discussion: selecting a new call and improving your calling skills. There are a vast number of companies marketing and selling high-quality duck and goose calls, and for some, it may seem overwhelming. This article is aimed at – but not limited to – helping the beginner caller with a few suggestions when making your new call selection, and honing your skills as a waterfowler.
1. Learn the Basics
This may sound trivial – but such is the case with anything in life – if you don’t know the basics, you simply will not master your craft. Think about it. When a bunch of mallards are working your decoys and a hen sounds off, what do you hear? What does her calling cadence consist of? It’s four, five, six, seven, or more, basic “quacks” of the differing pitch, length and tempo, all strung together in one of the sweetest sounds to hit a waterfowler’s ears. What do you hear when you find birds feeding in your favorite moist soil plot? You hear a version of shortened quacks as they mow through the millet and smartweed. Watch any instructional DVD or YouTube video and they all start by teaching a single note quack. Simply put, you must first learn the basic fundamentals, or every call you pick up will sound similar to the one you just tossed in the drawer of old wood and acrylic, and you will be left unhappy with your purchase yet again.
2. Try As Many Different Brands As Possible
I bet you can name dozens of different call companies and the guys and gals that endorse them. And rightfully so! These are some world-class callers and hunters that make a living in the waterfowl industry. These manufacturers spend an exuberant amount of their budget on marketing to the waterfowl community, and the recent social media “boom” only fuels the fire. Now… by no means am I speaking poorly of the call-makers of today. In fact, it’s the contrary. I look at it as a blessing that we have as many options as we do. I only want to encourage you to try as many different calls as possible before making your final selection. Most retailers will be happy to open up the glass call case and let you take a few test drives. Also, the waterfowl weekends, expos, and trade shows are great places to try new calls. You may also pick up a few pointers from the people working the booths. After all, they are the ones building and tuning their products, and they are usually extremely helpful and knowledgeable.
Just as I have suggested experimenting with different brands, you’ll want to try different calls inside each certain brand. The length and thickness of the barrel will affect how you run the call and how responsive it is to changes in air presentation. Different materials will also have different sounds. An acrylic call will sound sharper than a wood or polycarbonate call. The size of the bore in the insert will affect volume and pressure. A smaller bore will be quieter and have more “hold” which requires less back pressure put into the call. Inversely an open bore will be louder, but more difficult for an inexperienced caller due to the need for more back-pressure. Some calls take more air and different air presentation, which is exactly why I recommended trying as many as possible.
3. Call With A Buddy and Record Yourself
In my opinion, this practice is completely underrated and can be the difference between improving your skills, and continuing to practice bad habits. Before we delve in here, let me make one thing very clear. Just because one of your hunting buddies sounds good on a particular call doesn’t mean you will too. We all have different anatomy, which means we all have different sized heads, mouths, tongues, etc. This affects what is known as “air presentation”, or how we deliver the proper, warm air into a duck call to produce the desired sound. Things get really fun when you’ve mastered your air presentation and can pick up just about any call and sound like a duck. For now, however, we will keep it surface level. I have had the pleasure to hunt and call alongside some of the best callers in the world – guys that have not only won world titles but hunters that I would put against any other group on any public land in the country. I have learned a lot from hunting with these accomplished callers. The one concept that took me a while to grasp was that the call itself is just another tool in the bag. I mention this for two reasons: One, to further instill the above tip encouraging you to try different calls, and two, to listen and try to replicate the sounds that your talented friends (and the ducks) are making. You might consider taking it a step further and record them calling and working birds. Then record yourself in a similar setting (outside, not in your kitchen!) for comparison. Heck. Record live ducks or listen to other people’s sound files and match them. I firmly believe the recording piece is important because what you hear when you’re personally blowing your call sounds completely different than what a partner may hear, or what you hear when it’s played back. Have you ever heard yourself talk in a video or on a microphone and thought, ’Do I really sound like that?’ I know that I have. We all sound like George Strait singing “Troubadour” in the bathroom as we get ready in the morning, but on Karaoke night you’re just another dude in a ball cap who can barely carry a tune. My point is this: calling with a friend and consistently recording yourself for feedback will help you recognize the sounds that you want to make and eliminate the ones you don’t.
4. Experiment With Different Reeds and Cuts
Most manufacturers will include a few extra reeds in the box with your new call. If not, you can usually purchase replacement reeds for a few extra bucks. Some call companies even have pre-cut reeds of different lengths, thickness, and dog-ears to custom tune your call without the precise trimming it takes to cut your own reeds. This is another situation where you might consider including a friend that has experience tuning calls. It’s fun and easy when you get it down, but it can be very frustrating if you don’t know what you’re doing. I remember being no older than 12, maybe 13, playing with old calls in the basement, and the first time I shortened a reed I was astonished at how much the sound changed. I had shaved a gnat’s hair off the end of the reed and the pitch of the call seemed to go up an entire octave. Typically, a shorter reed has a higher pitch and requires less air, while a longer reed is deeper in tone and requires more air. This is, of course, dependent on your air presentation. So experiment! Try something new! You may even resurrect some of those old calls and bring them back to life with a quick change or tuning of the reed(s).
5. Use What You Have
Using the tips above might just save you a few hundred dollars on a brand new lanyard full of shinny new calls; maybe it won’t. Quite frankly, for sake of the livelihood of my friends in the business, I hope you are reading this with a pocket full of cash, getting ready to go buy 10 new calls to test out for yourself. It’s not a bad idea if you have the means. If you don’t, I would suggest practicing with what you currently have hanging from your lanyard before you invest in a new, high-end acrylic call. I believe that if you put the information above to work, you might surprise yourself with the results. Who knows – maybe you will develop your skills and mentor someone else on their journey to becoming a better duck caller.
With duck season having ended for most of us, dark geese will be the target for a few weeks before the snow geese arrive. Then we creep into the summer months after chasing turkeys and maybe a little bass fishing. It’s that time of the year when I would suggest picking up your calls. Practice and make some adjustments, then practice some more. I believe that if you put the information above to work, you might surprise yourself with the results. Who knows – maybe you will develop your skills and mentor someone else on their journey to becoming a better duck caller.
