what's hanging on your lanyard?

leslie riggan

leslie riggan

Well-known member
Hey everyone, i'm new to this wonderful site and was looking at all the rigs, when it came across my mind to ask what do you have around your neck? I haven't been duck hunting but for a couple of years and goose hunting 1 year so there are lots of stuff to learn. One of the things i have learned is to ask what works. I've only hunted land loving ducks but a sea duck hunt is on my menu. Being about 3&1/2 hrs from the atlantic sure is tempting. How about sharing what calls you would recommmend to an ameatuer. Thanks for the read.
 
I'm guessing you are asking about calls.
I have an old Faulks single reed duck call, a teal/wigeon whistle, a diver call and a cheap goose call. Can't use most of them worth a dang and most of the time I don't need too!
 
I've got a Pure Duck that I got based on recommendations from guys here. Sounds very ducky even with my unskilled attempts. The CD that came with it is awesome - probably worht the price for that alone.

Charlie
 
I agree with Charlie on the Pureduck calls. I bought one too based on reccomendations from this site. If you want a high end call ($125 I think) it's a good one. Also, the CD that comes with it is one of the best I've seen. I think he sells just the cd by itself too.

Also, not to totally spam, but I really like Bob Haye's calls. They're a very good call for beginners to pros, and you're not paying for the big name so you're able to get a very good acrylic call for well under $100, or a good wooden or diamondwood call for around $50. He makes an incredible double reed duck call as well, which is what I'd recommend for a beginner, as well as a very good single reed. He also makes some great short reed goose calls.

Here's the link to our webstore on our classicbarnegat site with these calls. http://www.classicbarnegat.com/Product_list_calls_1.html

Here's the rest of the store if you're interested
http://www.classicbarnegat.com/Other%20Products.htm

If you don't feel you're ready for a short-reed goose call, then I'd personally recommend the Eastern Shorman from Sean Mann. It's a great call and a lot easier to master than the short reed.

Let me know if you need anything else.

Kirk Sherbine
 
Well lets see...

1 - M295 Mallardtone - single reed
1 - M5 Mallardtone - single reed
1 - Illinois River Valley Goose call model CGF-05 - single reed
1 - Faulk Goose short call - single reed can't remember the model number

and one from our own Dave "Shady" Larsen but the wife won't let me take it to the blind. It proudly sits on the fireplace mantel!

Ed L.
 
My lanyard changes from time to time....but the staples are - Primos pintail wistle, Zink Power Hen, Foiles SMH, dog wistle. The other loop flops back and forth from a RNT original acrylic, Gaston straight barrel, RNT Daisy Cutter, and a foiles SMM.
 
I seem to be able to use the cheaper Faulks and Mallard tone calls the best followed by various Hadels calls. Every once in a while I splurge on an expensive call and I have a hard time calling without it barking or something, so I usually go back the $10.00 Faulks like I have used since the sixties.
 
I usually have a couple Haydels and a Faulks if it isn't swelled up from my spit. I also have my Bob Furia Mystery Wood call on there. I can't call good enough to warrant an expensive call as most I've heard can't either. The indian I hunt with at Walpole Island uses a Haydel..10-15 bucks anywhere...and is the best caller I've ever heard. It's not the call...it's the caller.
 
I'm with you Lee. A highball or two and a chuckle here and there but mostly QUACK!! I'm still using the same Mallardtone I got as a birthday present when I was 12. As it would have it I discovered my barrel has a split in it last week. I was doing a search this morning for old calls hoping to find a replacement. I found out that the tools and dies have been purchased by a group in Pine Bluff, AR so I ordered a set of replacement reeds and a new M5 and M295. I've always liked the wooden barreled calls and I've never been able to get an acrylic to sound anything remotely like a duck at least to my ears! In the potholes they're just loud, brassy and they echo to much.
 
I agree with Lee, you got to be a damned good caller to get your hundred bucks worth out of a top dollar call. Personally, my favorites are a Haydel Dr-85 and a very similar wood version with a dark gray stopper that doesn't have a name on it. Two of the best calls on the market and both are less than $20 a piece. The other two I carry are a Delta Waterfowl - Buck Gardner as a spare when the other's get all soggy, and a Primos Model 813 whistle/grunt. The only goose call I can do any good on is an old Big River Long Honker. I also have a Pure Duck but haven't gotten good enough on it to warrent losing it in the marsh.

Last season was my most productive - ever - and I rarely used any calls. Than again, only 10% were puddle ducks and only two of those were mallards.
 
Pete, like you last season was my most productive ever and it had nothing to do with duck calling. We just set up where birds wanted to go, 95% puddle ducks btw. My dog retrieved either 108 or 118 ducks without loosing one cripple! And some people say field trial dogs are to wild to hunt with.

Anyway I loved my Haydel Dr-85 but my pup chewed it up last year. I got my first Haydel after taking part in an improptu duck calling contest one night at a Field trial campout/barbeque. A lot of the real good callers were using those clear plastic Haydels and I got my Dr-85 right after that.
 
I'll have to go against the grain with you guys, as I have RNT, Echo, Grounds and Saunders on my lanyard. I figure they aren't that expensive since I can burn $100 in gas in a couple of hunting trips. When you price out decoys, boats and all the other gear, the 'high' priced calls don't seem too bad.

You can get a high end wood call for $70 that you might pass on to your son or daughter.
 
Thanks for the replies, I asked that question with only entry level knowledge of calls. Most of my calls came off of ebay( the wait is worth the reward). My duck hunting career started with a joke, but it quickly became an obsession. My wifes dad found a duck commander and i got it as a gift. his theory was i hunted everything else might as well hunt ducks. I guess i am cheap because not a call on my string is over 30 bucks. I do have a tim grounds super mag Abs plastic 54.00 but it stays in a drawer cause i even hurt my own ears. This will be the first year i will really be able to get ducky. 2 back sugeries banked me last yr. I did troop and hunt geese in Jan. really interested in advice anyone could give on gear and such to a beginner. your experience may save me alot of money and time. Those puddle boats you guys have are awesome. Gheenoe's are popular here, but i like being different. Oh yeah it's nice to meet you all.
 
Leslie

I'm new to the sport as well, dabbled in it a few times never really got serious until recently. So as a novice I've stuck to the cheaper calls, all haydels so far DR-85, VR-00, MP-90 and W81. Their instructional CD is good too. Can't wait to hit the marshes this fall 60 days to go. And seeing that I'm only an hour away from the Bay of Fundy I'm thinking hard about the sea duck possibilities as well.

Bill G.
 
I too bought a Pure Duck call off the suggestions of this site. Loved it. Used it about a dozen times and the first time I took it apart to clean, the inner barrel was cracked in two. Was probably that way since it was purchased. I called Keith several times and emailed him looking for some product support. It is 9 months later and I haven't heard a word back

I would not purchase a pure Duck call due to the total lack of product support. $125 wasted.

Mark W
 
Watkins call, some green pintail/woodie/drake call thingy, a black acrylic single reed of some sort, and an orange whistle. On the other one a big river goose call.
 
One of these. I wish I could find somewhere to get good sets of reasonably priced call guts. I put a cheap metal tone board in mine and play around with trimming a mylar reed 'til it sounds decent. Could never see dropping huge bucks on a call - but then again people think I'm nuts to hunt over the decoys I make. To each his own.

Pecancalls 003.jpg

I think this is Lee's call:

Harkerwood.jpg
 
There are a lot of good calls out there. For me a custom wood call peaks my interest. Nothing against acrylic, becasue they do sound good, but I like the look and feel of wood. Cocobola, Afrincan Blackwood, and numerous other exotic hardwoods tickle my fancy. Jim Chamberlin a participant of this site makes some really nice calls. It along with a Rich-n-tone usually adorn my lanyard.

checkered1.jpg

http://www.chamberlincalls.com/
 
But when I blow it, it scares the ducks. In fact, I have several other calls and they all scare the ducks for some reason.


The best one on my lanyard is an old Olt that I took the reed out of...When I say, "Pass me a sandwich" thru it, it makes my buddies laugh.
 
I have a couple of Duck Commanders and a pair of Big River goose calls that I keep in my bag. Also a Big River wood duck whistle. I still carry the Herters side blower goose call (looks like a pipe) that was passed down from my grandfather when I was 8. Mostly I use for ducks a call called the Illusion. It's plastic and only about three inches long, but is probably one of the best $20 I've spent on hunting. It has a nice raspy sound and you can bring it down to a whisper for close work, but it doesn't blow out when you want the volume. As for geese, I use my mouth as much as a call. Not as good as when I was a kid, but you never are once your voice changes. I'm trying to teach my 6 year old now.
 
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