Favorite Duck Calls

Cleaning up and starting to blow my calls to get my lungs into shape for the upcoming season. My favorite call is a cocobolo Hunter's Specialty double reed that was tuned by a friend that won a few AL State Duck calling championships. I own many calls from many different companies, but I always come back to this old one.

What's your go-to duck call?

The Buck Gardner I learned how to call on while riding down the road always has a spot on my lanyard. I like the Echo Meathanger a lot too

I like wooden calls for the most part. My go to is actually 2 different calls depending on reaction. An old 80s made Swan Creek call I think it is or at least it looks like. Bought in Huntsville from the guy that made it. It’s soft and squeals a little at the end. Original reds still in it. Usually hit the old Southern Game timber call. I usually have a Roy Rhodes cocobola which Id almost bet Echo designed there calls after. A Maurillo wooden 6-1 is also there.

No telling how many I have but most would be older and off beat. Like Grover Knowles and Alvin Taylor

Drake whistle. I don’t blow calls much on Jackson county wma’s. My favorite is when the idiots across from me are blowing hail calls at ringnecks lmao

I would be interested in buying an Alvin Taylor from you if you ever want to get rid of one. Let me know.

I have a pile of calls and some very nice acrylic and wooden custom calls. Somehow, the dang Haydel DR-85 always seems to be the call I grab.

Several in the bag of tricks. And all of this has to do with how they are tuned. You need to be able to tune your own call otherwise you have a worthless piece of plastic or wood hanging around your neck.

For a soft call I like an Echo Timber Single Reed. They have always made a solid call. I have several wood and Acrylic models and I swap them around.

For a louder call I have an R&T Original that Butch made for me probably 30+ years ago and I can't say it is any better than any other call but it will ring out. I have an Echo Boss and several other R&T calls but that particular call is just a good one. I also have a DC Mondo that is a little different in how you have to blow it but it will kill some ducks if you need to change up the sound. An Olt Cutdown is in the bag of tricks as well.

And then there is a Reelfoot Call. That's what I use to get ducks attention way out. There is no replacement for a metal reed call for distance or in the wind. It has both a louder sound but also a much more clear sound at that volume. Meaning it still has a raspy duck sound at a very loud volume. Much louder than an Arkansas style call with the squealing high ball at the same volume level. You can quack with the Reelfoot and across open ground you can hear it for LONG way. The sole purpose there is getting a duck ok to look over and notice your spread.

I also use a Drake Mallard call, Pintail Whistle and a Gadwall call just as much as a mallard duck call.

Original R&T from early 80s WAS my favorite call until barrel came loose one morning and lost reed and cork. Damn at the hundreds of ducks I have killed over it.

I have a Carlson's Volochoke that stays on my lanyard. I used to make it ring but not anymore. Had a coccobola call Carlson made for me special but it got stolen out of my truck.

Got a custom from a guy in Kentucky back 20 years ago called "let 'em lite". Got a goose call from him too. Got one hybrid that my Son made from two different calls, single reed, sounds pretty good up close but you can blow it out easy so I use it swamps.

My Son has I bet 20 different calls and some he made in shop at school. He is good on a call, no doubt.

Other then the cane calls my grandfather made me,the Haydell DR-85 and DR85vt is the only calls I’ve ever used. I have to tune them to my style of calling.

In the blind I have an Echo XLT that I love. Also another Echo wood that sounds great. When I used to do competition calling I blew an Echo BOSS. I also blow a custom call made by great friend Josh Raggio. Y’all can check him out at www.raggiocustomcalls.com or on Facebook. He makes an amazing call.

Dr. B

I’ll check his calls out

I’ve always wanted one of these. They’ve really shot up in price though.

http://www.heidelbauer.com/duck-calls.html

Holy chit! They better land in the blind for that cost.

Completely Gaston Custom calls....David is my best friend but makes an awful fine call. If not, I wouldn't have 2 Top 10 finishes in the World Champiionship at Stuttgart. Josh makes a really nice call...and very artistic with his work.
More good calls out there today than ever. But there are Also a lot of wannabee callmakers who turn a barrel and stick a $4 poly business end from a well known call maker in and call it "custom"...NOT!

Turkey calls are also a dime a dozen. At least pot calls are.

I’d read about Gaston calls before and this stirred my memory of Mr Taylor. We hunted with Danny and Butch and their gang in Clarendon. We’d go by and see Mr Taylor and Mr Knowles most trips we made over. Thanks for reminding of him I’ve not been able to find my Taylor call for a few years now.

We used to go the calling championship every year early 90s and so.

Great times.

Mr Alvin was spicy wasn't he! Grover made a fancier call the Mr Taylor did though. Mr Alvins calls took very little air to blow. You ever hit Stinson's Liquor Store in Clarendon? Jim was not only the mayor but also tried his hand at callmaking.

This x2. Nothing I have ever blown comes close to anything Uncle David makes.

Yes he was. I forget what he said about my ability to use a call but it was funny and then having him help me run one. I think I was too aggressive with it or something like that. Every time we went back he did say I was improving. Grover was more subtle and laid back and complementary with my calling. He helped pick calls that worked with my calling style.
I’m thinking we did visit Stinson's and bought shot shells there if it is the one I think it is. I drove a red Amigo at that time and was seen all over that area for a few years. LOL

Last week of the season we used to go with Danny, Butch and their friends, camping in houseboats up river. Usually 6 or 7 houseboats and 15 to 20 guys in and out hunting and running yo-yos.

Really great times with lifelong friends.

I’m not the greatest caller for ducks but can hold my own on the goose calls and the guys I’m usually with are top notch on the duck calls. Calls on my lanyard for ducks are an echo meat hanger and a Lars hybrid and an antique wooden whistle. My goose calls are a riceland speck winglock honker call and ya-ya adult snow call. I had several rnt calls from butch I used for years but trying to keep them tuned was more trouble than I felt necessary. I use my whistle more and anything or soft quacks for what I do

Mr Taylor had one Rich-n-Tone call in his shop!! Carter do you remember what it was doing? Located to the right of the door as you walked in!

That seems familiar but I really don’t recall.

I want to say door stop but I’m just not positive.

We used to hunt some of RNTs ground if we had too. If there was no others birds in the area except there. Lots of pintails in the feels and butch wouldn’t throw the door waiting on the mallards.

Well in Arkansas if it ain't a mallard it ain't a duck right? Alvin had fashioned it into a toilet paper holder!

Back in those days greenheads were king still are but it was very prevalent then. Nothing like green tree mallards but those field pintails are cool too. We actually had about 200 pintail work a large timber hole we were in. The fields were locked up and the timber wasn’t far from it. They acted like they were coming in but sailed that last swing.

I kinda remember the RNT call thing but not exactly. Seems like he made a snide comment about RNT calls. Butch and Danny and the gang used Alvin and Grovers calls which led me to them.

My buddy Shan is friend with chick majors grandson. He was using chicks jigs to make calls one year but I never got one.
We were there when The Echo team won and made a name for themselves. Never owned one of their calls but they are good calls.

Dad always blew a "Hambone" call made by Mr. Amaden in Lonoke, Arkansas (home to the Remington ammunition plant).

He still has several and I have a couple. I guess he got them in the 1960s and 70s. The reed was, or is (still original) hard and it took some doing to make it run. I never could get the sound right. I'm not a good caller.

Clem if you throw a mylar reed in that Hambone it will run. The old reed material is all plastic. If you're ever this way bring it wtih you and I'lll put you one in there.

Thanks, JayHook! Hope y'all are doing well down yonder.

Calls are just like anything else, it’s all a matter of preference beyond a certain point. I’ve got a Rich n Tone that butch made for my dad and I while we watched in the mid 90s. Pretty good sounding call, engraved and dated by Butch, teal color, I’m sure it’s worth a pretty penny. RNTs have never been my favorite hunting call because I lock them up bad.

I’ve had a bunch of favorite hunting calls over the years. An echo XLT acrylic probably held that spot the longest.

I will say this. There’s nothing a double reed can do, that a single reed cant do better in the right hands.

I bought a one of those new Yentzens when they first came out. I do like it but it is different to run. I have some cut downs that are aggressive and guaranteed to flare field birds.

To me calls are way less effective than they were 15 plus years ago. Birds get hammered and call shy pretty quick it seems.

I’ve used a good bit of odds and end calls on a budget ever since I started hunting, for some reason I have always grabbed my old wood barrel “The Mule” from Duck Commander. Something about that thing Is just hard to beat.

How do you get involved with duck calling competitions in AL, I’ve never heard of it here in the state. I’ve seen the turkey calling comps for years but thought duck calling comps were a treat for the boys to the north up in Arkansas

I remember hearing my dad and his friends saying this about 40 years ago. LOL.



Alabama's duck calling championship has been going on for 50 years. It has fallen on tough times the last few years due to lack of interest from callers, other things attracting attention, etc. Typical stuff.

It has bounced around from Northport in the early 90s at Woods 'n Water, to Huntsville in late 90s as part of a summer outdoors show, to Mark's in B'ham after that. I don't know where it is held now. In 2018 it was held at the Tennessee Valley Hunting & Fishing show at the VBC. The show wasn't held this summer.

State Duck C'ship on the BookFace -- https://www.facebook.com/pages/cate...e-Duck-Calling-Contest-1544382869110253/


Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce has contacts for all the state and region events. You could contact the Alabama director to find info:

http://www.stuttgartarkansas.org/qualifying-contests.html

Blake if you are seriously interested in competition calling you will have to obtain a competition quality call. DC may be good for hunting but won't run the competition routine of a mainstreet calling contest.

Hard rubber olt

Whoooeee, man that's old school right there for sure. Good one.