doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Duck Calls

Gentlemen,

I'm going to actively pursue duck and goose hunting this coming season, I was taken few times this past season and enjoyed it immensely. Since I was inexperienced my buddy did all the calling but I would like to do some of my own this year.

I started looking at some calls and was surprised at the prices. I understand collectible old calls fetching $1-200 but new acrylic calls are in the same range.

What are some affordable calls you think I can pick up on eBay to get a start?

I see some used Olts in the $10-30 range, which ones would be good for a beginner and any other suggestions? I made myself a nice neck lanyard with 6 holders, may as well look the part..

Duck calls are like violins. Some can play them and some can not. It takes a good ear and practice to get the most out of your natural talent. Then you can refine it to suit your hunting situation. Do not make the mistake of falling in love with the "high volume hail" calling because they often sound like crap at fifty yards. Buy a good CD on calling and listen to it until you can understand "duck" like you do English.

In late season you will find ducks have been called to death and will respond to just the bare minimum amount of calling while large amounts of calling, even good calling, will repel them like gunfire. Look at it from the ducks viewpoint. They have heard the same bad calling for months, start to land in the decoys only to have a near death experience but some duck hunter who could not hit a barn door with a shovel. Talk about negative reinforcement.

First thing to determine is what type of hunting area will you be in. Heavy timber, blinds of the banks of a small stream or small river or a blind in open water. That in part will help you select the type of calls to buy. Expect to spend from 50-100 per call for a decent call. Acrylic calls should be in your mix but not all acrylic calls or all wood.

Always have at least one goose call on your rig. If I had a dollar for every time I heard a duck hunter say he forgot his goose call while he was duck hunting because he did not think he get a chance to call a lone goose into decoys I could by the entire bbs each a box of shells. Getting a single goose into range that way is a very rewarding event. It is your calling that they are responding to not the decoy layout because you did not have a single goose decoy out there. 100% you.

If you have a lathe you can turn your own calls. The internal parts are easy to buy, simple to rough tune and make a decent call for a few dollars. If you get into it really big you can buy a jig to cut and make your own parts so the entire call is custom hand make in your shop. Do a web search for call maker sites or drop me a PM.

Just be cause a calling contest winner can blow a call does not mean you can as well. Did that stars name on your bat as a kid make you into a major league hitter? Many of the custom calls are tuned for non hunting conditions. A call contest takes a different call than hunting does. You are preforming to a audience of call judges not ducks. Completely different audience. Take one of the contest call out into the marsh and it just in not setup correctly. It will sound good to your ear but you are not the judge in this case. That judge has feathers and has been hearing first class duck speak for his or her entire life.

Practice is the key. Money will not make you better past buying decent calls. If you are tone deaf you will never call worth a darn. But it you have a little talent, and work at it, ducks will come near. Then you had better have been practice your shooting as well. Bang, bang, bang is often the final duck call in the marsh.

I would look for an Olt 66, a real classic. I've had mine since the 70s and if I could only take one call with me, that would be it. Easy to blow, easy feeding chuckle. Pristine Olt 66 calls have become something of a collectors item, but you can still find well used ones for around $25 - $30. An outfit called DJ Illinois River Valley Calls has also brought them back into production.

Glynn Scoby mallard call. Nice soft mallard call that is easy to blow and will let you know when you've overblown it... just is not a loud call and KY John has covered the ill affects of shouting at ducks...

I'm an outdoor writer. I have a string of duck calls. My favorite call is an old PS Olt I bought a long time ago. I called my first ducks with it and I wouldn't trade it for all the others.

Ducks are not rocket scientists; some will come to anything others might never come to a call.

Best thing to remember is duck calling is like being succefully married, you have to know when to shut up.

My favorite is a Cajun and my buddys is a Yensen Sure Shot

http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-OLT-66-DUCK-...=item3f08d2dd83

http://cgi.ebay.com/CAJUN-DUCK-CALL-2-ON...=item3366c237cb

Mike

The greatest waterfowl conservation tool ever invented was the duck/goose call . In the hands of the "average or novice" hunter it has kept more waterfowl out of the "kill zone" than any other tool hunters have .

Don't worry about buying a used call, there are quite a number of newly made ones by excellent makers available. Go to reliable local sporting goods store and talk to the duck hunters. The answers you are going to get on are from experenced waterfowl hunters not some clerk in one of the nationwide retailers, not saying that some are not knowledgeable. Nationwide retailer that I might look for advice by phone or e mail is Mack's Prairie Wings from Stuttgard, Ark. Most employees I've dealt with are very knowledgeable as their main emphasis is waterfowl hunting. A good website for waterfowl hunting info is The Refuge.

Above all when you become proficient Do Not Over Call, gotta comeing shut up. I think you'll love waterfowl hunting, been at 60+years and can not get enough off it. By the way I leave my mallard calling to my hunting partners, do good with the other ducks, but not mallards. Right now tuneing my turkey calls.

Dick Jones and oldman have good advise!
I would find an outdoor session at something like a Cabelas or Bass Pro were you can try different calls and gain some instruction.
I have found some calls I can blow and some I simply cannot blow.
Tim Grounds has twice taught me how to blow his HalfBreed Magnum and in my hands, I sound awful and in his hands its a musical instrument.
I would stay away from eBay as many of the calls are collector and the rest will/may have problems and require tuning.
Olt is out of business and of course if you want an Olt, then purchase a 'new' one on eBay. Then practice.-Dick

Although Olt is out of business, I belive the Illinois River Valley calls are just Olt calls reincarnated. Check them out at Cabelas. Haven't tried the duck call but have an original Olt goose call still in it's box. Switched to a short reed years ago and get more range but I'm not new at it.

Best,

jmc