I hate to beat a dead horse here, guys, but I have a question about duck calls for Southeast Texas. Here's my dilemma....

When I read the forum posts or magazine articles, everyone talks about just needing a whistle call in this area and to use it sparingly at that. However.....

When I went out hunting, EVERYBODY within hearing range was using a regular 'quack quack' duck call. When I've ridden in friends' cars who duck hunt, they have about 75 different types of calls hanging from the rear view mirror.

Anybody have any comments...to call or not to call? Thanks.

75 is a lot of calls, and the heat inside the pickup will ruin all 75 of the calls hanging from the rear view mirror!!
Just my

Get you a whistle.

The ones with 75 calls advertising them on their mirror probably cant even use them. Get a whistle and a call learn to use both. Cant hurt.

i also live in southeast texas and on my lanyard i have a mallard hen call, a primos whistle, a gadwall call, a woodduck call and a teal call. i use the mallard call prob 65% of the time on hunts, i use the Gadwall call 25% of the time and the whistle the other 10%.

as far as the teal call, i really only use the teal call during early teal season... and the woodducks call, i only blow it when i see woodies flying and half the time the dont respond to it, but sometime is just gets them to circle a lil closer for the death blow.

but if i only had to have 2 calls, it would be a mallard hen call and the DC gadwall call cuz it be taken part and you can use the whistle its made with.

in this area the key thing i have noticed about calling is this, you have to learn when to call and when to shut up.... half those guys that you talk bout hear blowing those mallards calls, dont know when to shut up. by the time ducks get to us they have heard alot of different calls blown out them, most of them prob suck too. remember, down here less is more.

where about in SETX do you live?

Thanks for the responses....I've been hunting public lands north and east of Houston. First year hunting and it's been quite an experience. Managed to take down a few teal and some woodies thanks in large part to the posts on this forum. Usually solo hunting and I've learned volumes just being out in the marshes...it's great to learn from the posts, but there seems to be no substitute for just getting out there in the mud and the muck. Looking forward to second split.

Sounds like you are on the right track!!!

A well blown mallard call will rarely do harm, and usually help, especially with directing the birds into the spread. Well timed calling at certain parts of the bird's circle will set them up properly to swing into the decoys from downwind.

On the other hand, you probably have not heard or seen anyone use a mallarrd call correctly, they are abused! And in that capacity, the call would decoy more ducks if it was shoved 6 inches into the mud.

Keep up the reading, get a CCC volochoke with the DVD ( http://www.carlsoncalls.com/volo.html ), and experiment.

X2

For years I never even owned a duck call. I always went with a bunch of people and they did the calling. I didnt really care enough back then to even learn...I didnt have the interest really or feel the need. Fast forward to when I really started loving to duck hunt. I went on my first solo hunt and brought nothing but a whistle. I was on public and ended up with a couple of GWT. Not an awesome hunt but for public two birds isnt terrible.

I have a few calls now but to this day I think calling is generally overrated. The guys that have been doing it for a long time know the balance between knowing when to call and when not too. I think the biggest problem new hunters have is that they overcall and they end up flaring ducks.

Location is always going to be the number one factor...then concealment, then decoys....and then way down on that list calling.

I make a call that will give you both. Visit my website
www.wingstopper.com If you have any questions contact me.
HUNT WITH THE CALL THAT HAS IT ALL!!!!

Hpd, I hunt just south of Houston and have 3 duck calls. A regular "quack" call, teal, and whistle. I use the whistle the most followed closely by the teal. My regular one rarely gets used. Contrary to what you see on tv most of the time less calling is better. A couple quacks or peeps is just fine. Let me know when you're ready and we'll drive to the coast one morning and avoid lines.

you will never find out what works and what doesn't work if you don't blow a call at 'em.

Well if you have no friends and solo hunt only I guess that's true. If not being a student in the blind and hunting with those more experienced can really be educational. Trail and error is always going to work but I'd rather piggy back off others that have already made the mistakes and made the adjustments.

What I am saying is, if you just sit back and listen your entire life, you will never be able to do it yourself.

I can't play a guitar but I can listen to one all day long.

The whole point of this forum is supposed to be about sharing experiences to make us all better hunters.

Obviously I could go out and try each of the hundreds of calls on the market and figure out which one works, but I figured (correctly) that some guys here would be more than willing to share their experience and to them I am grateful.

I also figured (correctly) that the same guys who jump on newbies about making small tactical errors on the posts would also have some unhelpful, sophomoric comments for me.

Ducks in South Texas aren't exactly the most "callable" ducks out there. Blow a mallard call at the puddle ducks but don't expect too much, they wise up pretty quick. In all honesty if you want to make some racket when the ducks are working a whistle might be best down there. A whistle prolly wont hurt anything but a mallard call could at times. But the key to working ducks down there is to be where they want to be.

You might turn some ducks down there from time to time with a call but for the most part the are gonna do what they are gonna do. Put out a nice decoy spread where they want to be and you will do fine with or without the calling.

1. Be where they want to be.
2. Use your decoys to get them to go where you want them to go.
3. If they haven't see the spread or are flying away, then call at their butts to turn them. If they're already looking at you or once they see you, shut up and let the decoys bring them in.

Learned that from the best there is.


Disclaimer: I'm not the Pied Piper of ducks, I just watch the guys who are.

HUH???

But you are THE GENERAL!!!

Exactly. The General does not call ducks. Ducks call The General.

Man this place is hardcore!!

Well played, sir!

Exactly

People that say calling is overrated usually cant call, just like the guy that says its not about the kill usually cant shoot. And the guy that doesnt get that jacked up feeling when their feet are down and about to land, well he has no soul!!

It all goes together and you take out the calling,,,, well then your just dove hunting over the water.

Run your call and see what works for you.

Good luck

Wow, Jeff. That was unusually nice coming from you.

I expected more along the lines of...

"Blow the call if you want to, and shoot them in the face!"

Trying this being nice thing out

I expected something along the lines of "Sport and/or Junior, I have been calling ducks since you were knee high to a short sheep. How do you think we were killing ducks back in the 80's and 90's? With no call? (And then something about a Marina Mallard and a cracker.)"