[Rick]

You name it and I've blown it. What I settled on are an RNT original acrylic( for windy days or more open water sloughs) and an Echo Timber( for close in callin or when hunting timbered areas where too much volume can blow birds out of your spread).

My go to call is the Echo Timber. It is actually a Mallard Mauler made by Bernie Boyles which uses Echo's insert. So I consider it an Echo. It is a double reed with a wooden barrel and the insert toneboard is poly. Prolly a $50 call that , IMO, sounds the duckiest I have ever blown. Acrylics are great when needing a bit more volume, but wooden barreled double reeds will win out every time as a finisher call.

I will have to say that many o' birds have fallen to the cheaper blister packed calls you can get at Wally World. BUt where I see the difference in a call and the guy running it is in the late season when birds are wary. At that time it is not just about when/when not to call, but also how your call sounds and what separates it from Barney's kazoo that birds have been hearing for 4 months. Does bad calling flare birds?? Yep, seen it first hand many times with some of my clients that insist on "helping". Their calls usually go back in their pocket after that happens though.

Do you need to spend $150 on a call to kill birds? Heck no. But you do need a call that can produce great tone and pitch when blown correctly. I love nothing more than to fart around when in a blind and things are slow and belt out a 30 note highball on my acrylic just for grins. But when birds are working my wooden/poly double reed goes to my lips everytime.