duck and goose calls

[scottcrb]

so im a second season duck hunter and up to my eyeballs in excitement for duck season.  i have aquired a bit of gear last season and in the off season but still need to get some good calls so i can help with the calling this season.  does anyone have recommendations on duck and goose calls? short reed vs long on goose calls? acrylic vs plastic? $30 calls vs. $130 calls. and what kind of calls should i have what ducks and geese are good to have ? i hunt both west side and east side and ev everything from divers to mallards teals etc.  thanks for the help.

[ducks55]

A lot of questions there and a lot of answers out there. Short reed goose calls are going to be harder to start out with and take quite a bit of practice compared to long reeds but IMO short reeds sound better. Acrylic calls will hold up better than a normal plastic call but are a bit more pricey, but with the price of acrylic comes better quality and better sound. I like Buck Gardner Spit Tech calls because they don't stick and freeze up as easily as others. They are acrylic and only cost around $60. I know there is a lot more info out there and there are some people on here that know a lot more than me but I hope that helps a little bit.

[scottcrb]

that does help and thanks a lot for the info. good luck this season.

[h2ofowlr]

Second season?  I would get a primos wench duck call to start with.  Easy to blow and learn on, then move up to the acrylic, more expensive ones.  If you can learn the short reed goose, then you will be ahead of the game.  You can pick some less expensive ones at $25-$40 or jump to the high dollar if your looking at burning a few bills.

[Crispy]

I've got a Buck Gardner Double Nasty II and I really like it for a beginning call. I'm still learning but I feel like I can use it fairly well. I also have a Primos Wench, which is nice, but I feel like the DNII is a better call. You're not far from me, so if you feel like listening to what either of them sound like let me know. I plan on moving to a single reed after this upcoming season; I want plenty of time to practice so I'm holding off.

Are you familiar with operating a call? If not, I found this website useful: http://www.callingducks.com

[kbyers]

How good are your calling skills?  Are you just starting out or can you bring a few ducks in?  A lot of people that are starting out calling ducks do more harm than good by over calling.  I took a buddy of mine out last season and we both had a buck gardner call, mine older(8 years or so) and his new(6 months) and mine sounded 10x better.  And no amount of tuning made his sound better.  I picked up a RNT Micro Hen last November and was pleasantly surprised.  My brother always hunted with high dollar calls and I never spent more than 30 buck on mine, thinking that I could buy 4 of mine for each of his.  But then I realized that his calls sounded much better than mine and that while I could buy a wider assortment of calls, they never sounded as good.  So my recomendation to you is buy what you can afford, but money spent now will pay off in the long run.

As for goose calls, I can't blow them.  But if I were you I would call up Bill Saunders and chat with him.  He can help you decide what is right for you.  My brother has on of his calls and was talking to him at sportsman's one day.  Bill said the call didn't sound "quite right", he tried tuning it and it didn't sound any better.  Then traded my brother that one for a new one that he tuned right there for him.  That is great customer service!

[Meats]

Scottcrb..............I have been a rep and prostaff for a few different call companies over the years.
I currently prostaff for Buck Gardner calls so if you have any call questions or just calling tips in general feel free to give me a call.

Brad Roberts
360-790-0604

I will be at the Cabelas waterfowl weekend in september at the Buck Gardner / Mossy oak booth so stop by and I will help you in any way I can.

[snocohunter]

Scottcrb..............I have been a rep and prostaff for a few different call companies over the years.
I currently prostaff for Buck Gardner calls so if you have any call questions or just calling tips in general feel free to give me a call.

Brad Roberts
360-790-0604

I will be at the Cabelas waterfowl weekend in september at the Buck Gardner / Mossy oak booth so stop by and I will help you in any way I can.

When is the waterfowl weekend? I just got some more cabelas gift cards coming from work so I need to spend them 

[Meats]

Scottcrb..............I have been a rep and prostaff for a few different call companies over the years.
I currently prostaff for Buck Gardner calls so if you have any call questions or just calling tips in general feel free to give me a call.

Brad Roberts
360-790-0604

I will be at the Cabelas waterfowl weekend in september at the Buck Gardner / Mossy oak booth so stop by and I will help you in any way I can.

When is the waterfowl weekend? I just got some more cabelas gift cards coming from work so I need to spend them  

Sept 18-19
Hope to see ya there.

[Ragged Outdoors]

Hey scottcrb I just bought a Foiles Strait Meat short reed goose call at Cabelas about 2 months ago and it is the easiest call to blow for me so far.  His instructional tape is actually very good too.  Got it on sale for $100 bucks. The most important thing with short reeds is don"t get impatient and just take it one step at a time.  I am by no means a champion goose caller but it's my new favorite call

[h2ofowlr]

Hey scottcrb I just bought a Foiles Strait Meat short reed goose call at Cabelas about 2 months ago and it is the easiest call to blow for me so far.  His instructional tape is actually very good too.  Got it on sale for $100 bucks. The most important thing with short reeds is don"t get impatient and just take it one step at a time.  I am by no means a champion goose caller but it's my new favorite call

The Foiles Strait Meat short reed goose calls are easy to blow.  They also sound very good.  The Zink calls, are popular, but take more work for someone to learn on.

[ducks55]

You got a freakin steal on that Strait Meat Honker

[carpsniperg2]

i have spent hundreds on duck and goose calls the 2 best calls i use and love are the primose wench and the lohmans goose flute both around 40.00 i have 200.00 calls and i like my cheap ones better

[h2ofowlr]

i have spent hundreds on duck and goose calls the 2 best calls i use and love are the primose wench and the lohmans goose flute both around 40.00 i have 200.00 calls and i like my cheap ones better

I have several of the $100 + dollar ones sitting on my shelf.  I have two boxes full of calls.  I am addicted to buying every new one that comes out eventhough I continue to use the same ones.  They get pitched into the call box.

[FeatherFanatic]

Short reed goose calls are tough to use like the guy said above, but they sound better, If you learn on a short read then you will never have to worry about learning a flute, If you learn on a flute then eventully you will want to learn on a short read,  The Zink poly paralyzer is what me and 4 buddys all learnd how to blow a short read on and it comes with a DVD.. Duck calls id get a foils straigh suzy, its about 40 bucks and for the money it sounds great.  If you want expensive calls get a Zink money maker.