Number of calls needed/and best

[Bigpoppa]

I own several dozen duck calls. Some are good and some not. When I hunt a blind or from the boat I uually have several in my blind bag so I can change if need be. When hunting flooded timber I dont have this luxury. I usually have 3 mallard calls, a whistle,a wood duck, and a gadwall call on me at all times. I could probably scrap the wood duck call but I feel naked without 5 or 6 calls in quick reach. I have always been this way and have had great success but as I buy more calls I grow to love each one and have trouble deciding what music I will be playing for the day. How many is to many? Does anyone know the ultimate call? Something I will never get tired of.

[Anatidae]

How many's too many?.......if the birds you wanted to call to have gotten outa hearin' distance, 'cause you fumblin' around tryin' to find the call you wanted to 'hit'em' with,....you got too many. [img]images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]

'Shoulda seen me in La.....'had a Dr-85, a DRS-88 and a Cammander whistle on one lanyard......a snow goose call, Anastasio's modified Olt coyote call, and a Chien Caille speck call on another......and a Tim Grounds Magnum Honker on another........'talk 'bout a 'fumble-fest'! ......'bout choked myself everytime I heard a 'speck'. 'Funniest thing was.......weren't as many birds as I had, calls around my neck!! [img]images/smiles/icon_sad.gif[/img]

Wal-Mart calls......HA! [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] Stick that RNT up yo nose, 'Bigun' [img]images/smiles/icon_eek.gif[/img]

[ January 07, 2002: Message edited by: Anatidae ]

[SUPER-X2-]

Whats up Xpress.I am still trying to learn to call.I have several different ones but my favorite is the cocobolo wench.. Who needs calls when you hunt with steelshot and KMD...ha!ha!

[GulfCoast]

I have a drawer full of 'em. Probably have 30 or 40, people give 'em to me for Christmas every year, then I buy a few, pile keeps growing.

Stinks when you loose one that your wife gave you for Christmas the year before and is the only one out of the bunch that she recognizes....

I only take 2 with me, plus a pintail whistle. One of them never changes, the others seem to rotate on a fairly regular basis. Any more than that, to me, is just extra stuff banging around my neck.

I am not sure that there is an "ultimate call". Find something you are happy with and stick with it until you learn, then play around looking for the next thing that makes you happy.

You will hear people gripe about paying "X" amount of money for a call, "you don't need it" blah, blah, blah. You don't need a $30K pickup truck, or really any more house than a tent to keep the rain off your back, either. Buy what ya want, as many as ya want, just learn to blow it right if you are gonna hunt anywhere near me!

[CaptnT]

After several years of trial and error, loosing the inserts to several "high dollar" calls, endless hours of trying to melt frozen ones with a little "shot" of Dickel and other assorted tactics, I have settled on:

Echo double reed (I like it for far off calling)

Roy Rhodes Huntin' Buddy (single reed, good for ducks in the timber, in close calling
)

Primos Wench

5-in-1 call (for the drake grunt, pintail, widgeon effect)

I traded my RNT for the Echo because the Echo is so easy to blow, rarely ever sticks, and sounds ducky. I like the rubber insert instead of cork, more reliable, especially in cold weather.

The Huntin' Buddy is a single reed that I have a love-hate relationship with. Somedays it sings as sweet as a suzie, other days it pisses me off. Kinda like a high maintenance girlfriend, but I have fooled many a flock with it, and it has earned a place on my lanyard.

The Primos wench I find is a reliable, in-close call. It is also a good call to give someone who insists on calling that high-dollar call that they play like a kazoo.

A recently bought a Duck Commander extra raspy call on sale at Walmart for $10. Great timber call as well, and I couldn't pass it up for the price.

The five-in-one I consider my most valuable call, even though it only costs about $5. It fools the most skiddish of birds, especially when there is someone in the area blasting a duck call and twirling a robo. I like the widgeon call it does, brought back several green-wings. I am still working on the pintail call. I have decoyed a few wood ducks with it as well. I don't know why more people don't use one.

I have used the Haydel's DR 85 with good sucess, but I am tough on equipment and usually break one after a few times in the field. I'm not a competition caller, so I can't justify buying an RNT, but I have seen them spook more birds in the hands of inexperienced callers than bring them in. Even the guys that can call good with them complain about them sticking.

Here's a little tip. Bring in your calls after the hunt, place them on a heater vent (car or house) and dry them completely. Break them down, cover them with Carmex or some other wax based product, wipe off excess and they are less likely to stick, that is unless you are a spitter. [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

[ January 08, 2002: Message edited by: CaptnT ]

[featherduster]

Express, I use different calls for different situations and from what I follow on the board here we probably hunt similar situations. When I hunt flooded timber I use quieter calls, Haydels DR-85, DC-Brown Sugar, Haydels Red Leg. When I hunt open water I use a Echo single reed molded acrylic (the $30 one), Haydels DR-95 X-tra loud for getting attention at long range if neccessary. I keep other assorted calls in my bag for backups if needed but try to cut down on what I hang on the lanyard to cut down on confusion like Anatidae said. I also rotate a couple of Cut Down Game Calls, one cocabola, another acrylic, cheap but great sound.

[professor]

I use four calls and a whistle. Each one has a very different sound. The Redlegs is used almost exclusively for what I call the "Reelfoot Highball." It has a great high squeal. The RNT is my low call and I use it for soft, close-in quacks. The DR85 (slightly modified) is my utility player and gets used a good bit for most situations. My BGB Bourbon & Water has the best sound and is highly versatile, but the #%@#$^&*^$ thing sticks so bad that I can't use it as much as I would like. If I could stop the sticking, it would be my "go to" call.

All of my calls hang at different lengths on my lanyard in an attempt to eliminate the "fumble fest" that was mentioned in an earlier post.

I retired my favorite call a couple of years ago for sentimental reasons. It was a highly modified Olt. The man that modified it for me died and it is now irreplaceable.

I don't generally carry a goose call, but if I do see some snows, I take the DR85 apart and bite the reed about half way down. This sounds like a goose if done right. If done improperly though, it sounds like a peacock.

[FranchiMan]

Got 3 calls on my lanyard. All mallard. That's all the calls I ever need to take huntin.

Cocobola Commander in Chief is in the #1 spot around my neck. Sounds great in the timber or open water. Very raspy. [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[Model12]

Usually the number of calls around a duck hunters neck is directly proportional to his experience.
An old timer with 50 plus years told me...5 or more, rookie. 3 or 4, experienced. 1 or 2, really startun to learn something. No calls, beat-up gun, old clothes, and two grandsons in the boat with at least 4 state calling championships between um... now he's a pro....

[GulfCoast]

I hear ya on sticking Prof. The RNT for which I just lost the insert was a sweet call, but STUCK LIKE GLUE. Only call I have ever had that was a chronic "sticker."

I sent it back to RNT after they admitted on the 'Fuge that they had some trouble with some of their jigs, and RNT "fixed" it. It still stuck a lot after that, just took longer "between sticks".

I think acrylic tends to stick more than wood, based on my observations. I have never paid any attention to whether cork stoppers do any better than rubber or vice/versa.

[Knockin-m-down]

Xpress..... You don't need any calls to kill a spoonie! they ususally just come in by theirselves. lmao [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

[Hailcall]

FIRST TIME I HAVE USED THIS NEW FORUM, HAD'NT BEEN ON IN AWHILE. I TOO HAVE SEVERAL DUCKS CALLS I HAVE MESSED WITH OVER THE YEARS, BUT UNLIKE YOU, I HAVE ONE OLD FAITHFUL THAT GOES ON EVERY OUTTING I GO ON. I BLOW A CACHE RIVER ACRYLIC CALL I PURCHASED 12 YEARS AGO AND IT'S LIKE THE OLD AMERICAN EXPRESS, I NEVER LEAVE HOE WITHOUT IT. IT'S WHAT I CALL A "MEAT CALL". SURE I CARRY A BACK-UP CALL AND ALSO HAVE A COMMANDER WHISTLE ON MY LANYARD, BUT RARELY EVER USE THEM. MY ADVISE TO YOU WOULD BE TO GO PURCHASE A QUALITY ACRYLIC CALL FORM ONE OF THE BIG NAMES (MY CHOICES WOULD BE DUCKALL, ECHO, RICH-N-TONE, SOUTHERN GAME CALLS) AND CARRY IT WITH YOU EVERYWHERE YOU GO, EVEN DURING THE OFF-SEASON AND MAKE IT YOUR BEST FRIEND. I HAVE A BUDDY WHO WAS A GOOD CALLER AND HE BLEW THE DR-85'S AND YENTZENS JUST LIKE I USED TO. WHOLE NEW STORY ARFTER HE BOUGHT AN ACRYLIC SOUTHERN GAME CALL AND SPENT SOME TIME WITH IT. GIVE IT A TRY. BY THE WAY. NUTHIN WRONG WITH DR-85'S AND OTHER CALL LIKE IT. I JUST FOUND I COULD CONTROL VOLUME AND CHANGE PITCH ALOT EASIER FOR SOFT CALLING AND WHINNING OR PLEADING AS THEY CALL IT IN AR. JUST MY 2 CENTS WORTH. [img]images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]

[jstanard]

I keep a LOUD acrylic duck call and a softer Ebony duck call on my lanyard. I also have a Primos speck call that I can't blow worth a crap. Oh yeah, I keep a drake whistle that also works for the peepers and squealers.

Anybody wanna guess who makes the duck calls? [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img] [img]images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Hey Professor, what's the limit on peacocks?

On the subject of sticking, assuming that a call blows dry (if it doesn't blow when dry, it's junk) and not including frozen calls(the reed being literally frozen to the toneboard), calls stick when the tolerances between reed and toneboard are too close at the reedseat. Capillary action pulls moisture from breath (or elsewhere if you're a spitter) underneath the reed at the reedseat. This effectively changes the toneboard radius resulting in a sticking reed.

I wouldn't say that a "sticker" is a poorly designed call, just that it is poorly designed for the application of hunting. If I were to enter a competition, the call I would choose happens to stick pretty bad when hunting. It was designed for maximum control - it will feed with very little effort, and can take as much air as I can give it without breaking into a squeal. If the competition was held in a duck blind in 99.9 percent humidity on a 33 deg morning, I'd have to choose another call.

[Bigpoppa]

Hey Knockin 'em down,

Spoonies are just really happy Mallards.

X

[Blackduck]

I always carry three plus a whistle. Each year I rotate some of them. The 2001-2002 line up includes
Open H20:Acrylic single reed Roten and RNT and a Cocobola Echo
Timber:Cocobola Echo and SouthernGameCall and the Roten Acrylic.
I like the Roten but the turd sticks too much. Never had any problem with the RNT. The wood calls are much more less likey to stick than the acrylic. Other favorites that did not make the line up this year includeDR85 and BGB.