Hunters may
not realize that communication among ducks and geese is a
combination of sound, body posture and action. The meaning of a call
may be more related to body posture and action than to the sound of
the call. Because it is difficult to duplicate the body posture and
action of ducks and geese, you need to understand the meaning of the
calls in order to correctly recreate them. Two thing to keep in mind
when you are calling ducks is that the pitch of the call, and the
length of the individual notes of the calls of different species of
ducks, are affected by the relative size of the duck. Generally
speaking, the larger the duck, the deeper the call and the shorter
the individual notes are. While Mallards, Teal, Black Ducks and
Gadwalls all use similar sounding Social Contact, Decrescendo and
Mating calls; the calls of Mallards and Black Ducks are deeper
pitched than the calls of Gadwalls and Teal. Because of their larger
body size Mallards and Black ducks also call slower than Gadwalls
and Teal. While most puddle ducks will respond to the calls of a
Mallard, if you are primarily hunting species other than Mallards,
you should use the right call for the species you are hunting.
Puddle Duck
Calling Sequence
When I first
see puddle ducks a long way off I use a loud, long hail or high ball
call (decrescendo) to get their attention and let them know where I
am. I also use loud, long calls on windy days, when the ducks can't
hear as well, especially if they are upwind; and when I'm hunting
flooded river bottoms, where sound doesn't carry very far. If the
birds don't come my way, or if they turn off before the come in, I
use a more drawn out version of the decrescendo, to try to convince
the birds to come my way. While I call I watch the birds. If they
respond to the call I'm using, I keep it up. If they don't respond I
try something else: a loud decrescendo; a soft decrescendo; a long,
drawn out decrescendo; a string of short quacks; or a chuckle,
whatever it takes. Sometimes I quit calling all together, to see if
that works.
Once the ducks
get within a hundred yards or so I use softer, shorter hail calls
and slow, loud quacks, trying to sound like a contented hen. Most
duck hunters have heard the early morning quacks of a hen Mallard
across the water, that's the sound you should imitate when your
calling ducks that are in close. When the ducks are close don't blow
loud, fast quacks, that's the sound a duck uses as it jumps into the
air when it's alarmed. And don't over call. If the ducks are coming
toward you, put the call down, grab the gun, and let 'em come. If
they look like they might swing off use slow, soft quacks or the
chuckle to keep them coming.
Most of the
calls used for hunting diver ducks can be performed on a standard
mallard call by growling into the call to produce the rrrr of
the females. You can produce the scaup of the males by
cupping your hand around the call and blowing a short eouuk
while closing your hand at the end of the sound. I use a Haydel’s
MG-84 Marsh Guide Mallard for a high pitched call, and a Haydel’s
DR-85 Double Reed Mallard for lower pitched calls. Lohman offers
their Model 450 Diving Duck Call specifically for hunting divers.
When you are
calling ducks, think about what you are trying to do. Initially you
try to get their attention, to let them know there are other ducks
in the area, and where they are. If the ducks aren't coming toward
you, you try to get them to change their course and come closer. As
the ducks get closer you try to convince them that there are other
ducks on the water, that it is safe to land, and that the area is a
good place to rest and feed in safety. However, the calls you are
performing are not used by the ducks for those purposes. They are
used to announce a willingness to mate, used during courtship
behavior, and used as a threat. So, what you have to do is use the
calls the ducks use, but, use them in a way that will get the ducks
to do what you want them to do.
You can use a
loud decrescendo as a hail call to initially get the ducks
attention. Even though the decrescendo is a pair bonding call, it
can be used to attract ducks because they are accustomed to hearing
it in the fall. You can also use the decrescendo as a comeback call
to turn the ducks, and as a pleading call to entice the birds to
land. But, when you are calling, remember that ducks are not very
big, and they have small lungs, they can't possibly call as loud as
I hear some hunters blow their calls. The closer the ducks get, the
softer you should call.
You can use a
series of quacks and chuckles to convince the birds that your decoys
are real, and that everything is all right. Even though the inciting
call is a threat and not a feeding call; it is used by ducks in a
feeding situation. You can use the chuckle or a diver growl to
convince the in coming ducks that there are one or more drakes
harassing the hens in your spread. To add more realism to your
calling you can use the social contact calls of the drakes, and the
sounds of any other duck or goose species that might be in the area.
I always carry
more than one Mallard call, each call with a different pitch. If the
ducks don't respond to one call I try the others, until I find one
they do respond to. I also carry several calls so that I have a
backup when the call I'm using gets wet and won't blow. While I
really like the sound of a good wooden call, they sometimes have a
tendency to freeze up on cold days. I always have a couple of
non-wooden calls with me. Plastic, polycarbonate and acrylic calls
may still freeze up, but you can usually clear out the ice by
blowing into them hard, or by knocking them against your hand.
To keep from
sounding like every other hunter on the marsh, especially when the
ducks don't seem to be responding to my hen Mallard hail calls,
quacks and chuckles I use a drake Mallard call. When the ducks won't
respond to a Mallard call I use a Pintail/Widgeon/Teal whistle or a
Wood Duck whistle, which may be all it takes to get the ducks to
respond. If I'm hunting lakes, rivers, sloughs or marshes that are
big enough for divers to use I also keep a diver call on my lanyard.
I include decoys of these other species in my decoy spread just in
case some of them show up. After being hunted for several days or
weeks the ducks often get call and decoy shy. When this happens I
may stop calling altogether, use fewer or more decoys, or move to a
new location.
If you really
want to sound like the ducks you've got to have calls that can
produce the right sounds. There are a lot of calls on the market
that don't produce the right sounds, or that can't produce a wide
range of tones. If a call doesn't produce the right sounds, or is
not able to produce a wide range of sounds, you won't be able to
reproduce realistic duck calls with it. If you have limited
experience with a duck calls stick with a double reed call, although
they are more limited in their range of tones than single reed
calls, they are easier to blow, and they will get you blowing the
right sounds more quickly, and more consistently. After you become
proficient on a double reed you may want to get a custom single reed
call.
Before you buy
any call I suggest you give it a try. Blow a loud high ball, a
softer quack and a chuckle, to see how the call performs. If you are
one of those callers who likes to tune their own calls, ask before
you start fiddling with the reed; some stores will let you and some
won't. If you're looking for good over the counter calls Big River,
Haydel's, Hunter's Specialties, Knight & Hale, Lohman, Mallardtone,
Primos, Quaker Boy and Sure Shot all make good inexpensive calls. If
you can't find what you want at your local store, Bass Pro Shops,
Cabela's, Herter's, Trinity Mountain Outdoor Products, Wing Supply
and several other catalogs offer a good selection of calls and
instructional tapes.
As with most
things you pay for, the better the call, the higher the price. The
price of custom calls made of laminated wood, cocabola wood and
acrylics start at around $70. I don't suggest you buy an expensive
call through the mail, unless you know the maker, because you may
not be able to return it. The best way to buy a custom call is to
meet the maker at a show, and try several calls, then choose the one
you like. If you don't like the sound of the call most of the makers
will tune it while you wait. Watching a call maker tune a call, and
asking questions about how and why they do it, is also a good way to
learn how to tune your own calls.
This
article is an excerpt from the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual ($14.95
+ $5.00 S&H) , by T.R. Michels.
T.R. Michels is
a nationally recognized game researcher/wildlife behaviorist,
outdoor writer and speaker. He is the author of the Whitetail, Elk,
Duck & Goose, and Turkey Addict's Manuals. His latest products are
the 2003 Revised Edition of the Whitetail Addict's Manual, the 2003
Revised Edition of the Elk Addict's Manual; and the 2003 Revised
Edition of the Duck & Goose Addict's Manual. For a catalog of books
and other hunting products contact: T.R. Michels, Trinity Mountain
Outdoors, PO Box 284, Wanamingo, MN 55983, USA. Phone: 507-824-3296,
E-mail: trmichels@yahoo.com, Web site: ww.TRMichels.com
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