duck calling.. help?

[jeepster]

as my gear pile grows, and my decoys seem to be multiplying in the garage... i cant help but to notice no matter how much equipment i have, that there  is no substitute for calling ability... i am not the kind of guy who can just pick something up by reading how-to tutorials or watching the duck commander on tv. the few guys i know that hunt ducks rely on thier buddy to do the calling so effectively i dont know a single person who calls. are there any classes/workshops that teach duck calling or does anybody know how i can get onto the fast track to being a better caller?

tomorrow im gonna put on the waders, grab my gun and im going to finnish the season off strong, go out splash around in a slough, toss some decoys out and sit in the bushes making ungodly noises that frankly even my dog is unsure about but i feel its time to quit screwin around and to start hunting... 

[sakoshooter]

Calling takes practice just like anything else. This time of year with the same educated birds staying in the area, calling is best kept to a minimum. Let the birds tell you how much to call and when. Every day is different but lately listening to a few guys that constantly hail call all morning long and witnessing the ducks flaring every time tells me to keep my call in my blind bag.

[Nimrod]

The best  advice i can give u is go down to your local waterfowl store and pick out a duck call, mind u make money not an issue plan on spending 80 to 145 bucks do not buy an easy to blow call  i can't stress buy a good call, not a primos look at foils echo ect.... Then just go make the sounds only one way to learn, everyone starts out like this ain't no skipping steps just alot I'd frustration and head acks... Buck Gardner has a great how to video should check it out....

[CountryslickR]

RNT also has a very good instructional cd to listen to and practice with..

[upwind]

Look up duck calling 101 on the enternet .

[Heredoggydoggy]

'Way back in the early '70's a buddy and I did a lot of duck hunting.  He was the fanatic, and learned to call by playing a 78 RPM instructional record (anyone remember those?) over and over and matching the sounds with his own call.  I'd pull into his yard and I could hear him inside the house blowing on his duck call.  He got really good, and could bring in a flock of ducks that looked like they were too far to hear his calls.  The moral of the story is Practice, Practice, Practice!  The modern equivalent of his 78 RPM record would no doubt be a CD.  Like all calling, a bad call does more harm than no call at all.

[jeepster]

i was at cabelas the other day and saw all the calls in the display case... couldnt help but to drool over some of them... i went with a few of the 30-40$ duck commander calls tho.... bought a new pair of waders so have to keep budget low for a while...

[Stilly bay]

at this time of year novice calling isn't going to help. get a yourself a haydel 85-DR for $18 (one of the best calls ever made) and practice practice practice. in the mean time get a whistle and use it while hunting..... those whistles can be magic this time of year. I watched a buddy call in 5 or 6 buffleheads with a whistle, and these birds were about a hundred yards down stream and they swam upstream all the way to us. from then on I was sold on whistles.

practice the really hard calls like the feeding chuckle with a paralyzer. not many guys can do a decent feed chuckle and fewer still have even heard of the "paralyzer call" its pretty much all I use this time of year.

[Nimrod]

U don't have to be an advanced caller to decoy birds seriously less is most of the time more i let my decoys do alot of my work especially this late i'n the year... One jerk string  duck and u got her maid

[Glockster]

at this time of year novice calling isn't going to help. get a yourself a haydel 85-DR for $18 (one of the best calls ever made) and practice practice practice. in the mean time get a whistle and use it while hunting..... those whistles can be magic this time of year. I watched a buddy call in 5 or 6 buffleheads with a whistle, and these birds were about a hundred yards down stream and they swam upstream all the way to us. from then on I was sold on whistles.

practice the really hard calls like the feeding chuckle with a paralyzer. not many guys can do a decent feed chuckle and fewer still have even heard of the "paralyzer call" its pretty much all I use this time of year.

That is some really good advice!  The ducks have all heard bad duck calling for 3 months now.  You'll do nothing but scare them away if you are anything short of a great caller this time of year.  But the whistle is easy to learn.  especially if you hunt the wet side, learn how to imitate the three note widgeon call!  You can also make drake mallard 'meeps', pintail whistles and teal peeps with that call. 

Forget the instructional "prostaff" videos, etc.  Learn from the ducks themselves...I used to go to the local parks after hunting season and just listen to them and imitate until I could sound like them.  Even though I'm a good caller, I think calling is only about 10% of the game most of the time.  Concentrate on concealment, decoy movement and your set up and you'll kill more ducks than the average dood. 

[Crispy]

Just to add to the good advice above - I didn't start seriously practicing my calling until after the season ended a few back. I did a bit of research online as far as the basics go: how to hold the call, how to put air into the call, and the ways to properly "shut off" the air I've just put into the call. Once I got there I just kept at it and eventually got to where I could make one consistent, decent sounding quack and worked into multiple quacks, and now I'm slowly working on incorporating multiple pitches and cadences. I've yet to actually see birds flare from my calling - but I'm sure it's happened. Don't forget to be overly critical of yourself either. I think that helped me out.

I blow a Buck Gardner Double Nasty II and like it for a beginning call, but I'm ready to step up to something nicer with more range after this season when I have time to practice before next season. I'm of the personal opinion that you don't need a great call to begin with. Most of the well received low end calls should get you by for a while and be a good platform to learn the basics (cadence, air, etc).