Call Reviews

[BUCKWILD]

Tell me about your favorite duck or goose calls. In what situation do they work best? Single/double reed? Low/High call range? Let's say that a novice were to pick up a call and blow a decent 5 note hail call with little experience. I would consider that call a ''1'' on a 1-5 scale. ''1'' being the easiest and ''5'' the most difficult. I'm also curious about goose calls and whistles.

[BLM]

Personally, I've settled on rnt calls. Calls currently on my lanyard...rnt short barrel acrylic single reed, rnt original acrylic single reed, bgb wood with acrylic insert double reed, mallard/pintail/teal whistle, and haydel's speck. Just got my new rnt acrylic spec call in yesterday and love it. Most of my back-up calls in the blind bag are haydel double reeds. I haven't blown every call out there, but out of the ones I have blown I just like the sound and versitility of the rnt calls.

My experience was that changing from double reed to single reed was difficult for a while because operating a double seemed much easier. A word of warning about buying calls though...it can get addictive if you have a little extra cash to spend. I think the sound is better from the more expensive acrylics, but when its all said and done, piles and piles of birds have been killed with the $10-$30 calls.

Best thing to do, although it's difficult if you're not very close, is to go to a store that sells a lot of calls and blow a bunch of them. Places I've done that: Cabela's, Bass Pro, Simmons in NE LA. It's all personal preference and what's right for some folks won't be right for others. It seems your calling will get better with years of practice and experience in the field. It also helps a ton if you have someone that knows what they're doing to get advice from along the way. Sorry for the babling...good luck.

[Triton22]

Double reed: Gander Valley Homewrecker

Single: Lots of great calls. Personally using Watkins' Original and Hybrid right now.

[DuckhunterF250]

i use duck commanders...the sarge and green mile very easy to blow..teal call very useful on the lanyard will bring em in every time

[deadbird8]

I'm no master caller by any means. I have a Buck Gardner double reed Hercules Pocket rocket and BG single reed Tall Timber. Both are poly carb (~$25). The PR has their 'spit tech' so it will blow completely wet. I would classify both as a '1' on your scale. The tall timber is much louder than the other. I have never really been able to master a single reed call- the BG's are very easy for me. I have tried and returned several other manufacturer's calls.

The other thing about the BG's is they have acrylic versions of most of their calls. I am trying out the poly's before going with a $$ acrylic one.

[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.

[grrifles]

I love my Echo meat hanger it is a very easy to blow double reed the second on my lanyard is echo timber and the last is a ducklander trouble maker. Out of the 3 the easy to blow is the meat hanger it goes low and high very easy.
The ducklander does not blow high but it stays on the bottom very well can be very soft. Then the timber I still work on. I am not that good of a caller but get the job done.



chris

If you are ever up here is AR just go by the echo shop Rick will hook you up with the right call. I also hear the same about RNT just have not been there.

[goosman]

I was partial to rnt for a while but i got a hold of the new deathrow sudden stop and that thing as sweet you can high ball and get real low like an old wood double reed i really like it and it feals good and the hand
I liked it so m,uch i bought there life sentence goose call and that the best call i have ever blown love it my buddy had never blown a short reed before or hunted for that matter he played with mine one afternoon driving around scouting and he could kill geese probably by the end of the day very easy to blow real high again like the duck call but you can moan and growl real low too. my vote goes to cory at death row for now we'll see i usally by something different every year and end up liking that too lol but maybe not this fall.

[duknut17]

For me I found that Zink calls are very ducky/goosey and easy to blow, low cost and have a call for everyone for every situation. Check em out www.zinkcalls.com

Goose: Zink money maker, Zink little man

Duck: Zink PH-2, Zink PH-1, Zink XR-2