Goose Calls

FishSticks

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This is the year my friends and I start doing some field hunting. That means I need to start learning how to call geese. Does anyone have a short reed they can recommend? I am looking for something that is:
1. Relatively easy to learn - going to practice on the drive to and from work most of the spring/summer
2. Somewhat affordable
3. Functional in ND weather (won't freeze up)

Any help is greatly appreciated. Bonus points awarded for anyone that can recommend a good duck call too (need to upgrade)
 


KDM

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I began hunting geese about 5 years ago and still use the original call I started with. A $20 primose goose flute. I've sworn to myself several times to get one of those expensive call, but can't bring myself to drop the clams when the geese keep coming into my spread with the flute. My advice would be to get a flute and see what happens before dropping a hundo or more on something you may not like or be able to manipulate to get the sound you want. Good Luck!!
 

Fly Carpin

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For learning the basic mechanics on a short reed you could start cheap, say a Buck Gardner Canada Hammer or a polycarb Zink/Grounds/etc. More important than call brand is learning how to use it. Crawl before walking. Walk before running. Big mistake a lot of guys make is buying a short reed and trying to double cluck and spit note before learning the basics. Scott Threinen has a really good DVD and CD series that walks you through the steps (Bad Grammar). Practice until you wear out a reed. Then replace it and practice some more.

But for brands it's all personal taste. Do you want easy blowing with minimal back pressure for lots of fast notes? A little harder to blow call with a long barrel for maximum volume? I run a Grounds Pro Super Mag for max volume and a tiger maple Foiles (scumbag of a human but I love the call) Market Hunter for its warmer mellow tone
 
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Duckslayer100

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Spend the $60 and get a Tim Grounds Poly Carb Super Mag. It will be the last call you ever own, and it sounds amazing. I still own mine and use it often, although I got all uppity and decided to buy acrylic stuff so that I could shoot more bands and kill more birds :::

Then, keep that call in you car/truck in a shadowy place where it won't overheat and practice every single day you drive to and from work. I was going to college in GF and went home to the Twin Cities often. I did a lot of driving with a knee on the wheel and two hands on my goose call.

You can probably download a CD, but I got Bad Grammer and really liked it. Took a TON of practice, but it was worth it.
 

snow

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Must a agree,might be the easiest,least expensive canada goose call to use,"The flute",back in the 70-'s and 80's our calls sounded like someone killing a cat rather than a goose,I bought a Big River back in the mid 80's (wood),1st call that sounded like a goose! Then came a champion caller (Tim Gesch) that modified a olts 50 flute,1st time we herd double clucking on a call,over the years I/we still bring out our Big River call hunting great/lesser canadas,it has a nice deep sound and really easy to use.BTW don't get hung up on calling to fast or double clucking as a rookie,hell if ya sit back and listen to a field full of honkers you'll find out that they don't make a hellofa lot of noise let alone double cluck in the fall,must be a mating deal in the spring,all the clucking and double clucking,not so much in the fall,but some guyz still crank off the double clucks and all kinds of sounds figuring they think they can sound like a flock or some such thing.

Practice your greeting,long range call,working birds a steady cluck/honk works well for canada's,wary birds will sometime decoy best with no calling as they approach,let the birds tell what they want,a good spread,concealment and flagging are sometimes your best bet as long as everyone in the spread does'nt peek or move their gun around before the birds drop they're landing gear.

Just a few thoughts~

Over the years I picked up a few short reed calls, zink and grounds build great calls,late season when birds are migrating and been shot at alot, we found that a different sounding call helps alot,pitch and volume and a sound that everyone within a 100 miles does'nt have that call for us is the grounds triple crown in wood,man does that call have volume,kelly powers won the world championship with that call,hand tuned with broke in guts in every call they sell but its on the spendy side.

Another plus with the flute is you can work it with one hand wilst the other is on your shotgun....
 
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aron

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Buy a polycarbonate call to start. I've been a fan of the Tim Grounds calls. As mentioned earlier, the Bad Grammer cd and dvd are a great place to start.
 

TedRoost

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I was going to put this on the classifieds one of these days but I have Like New a Zink ATM duck call orange swirl, Zink Moneymaker Goose call interference green, and another acrylic DU duck call. A northern flight neoprene lanyard holds at least 8 calls. Both Zinks come with case, bands, and DVDs. As well as the Bad Grammar DVD. I was looking to get $250 shipped around $350 retail. I have rarely used these calls and left them at home. My wife thanks her lucky stars my tongue was meant for something other than blowing calls.
 

bigv

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take a look at lych mob calls. I've had several different calls and now use those. They are really easy to learn and sound great.
 

1gdhntr

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Do not buy "Poly Carb" shit. They are cheaper, yes, but they are harder to learn on and may crack in the cold conditions. I used to go to goose calling competitions and have tried many many different brands. Zink is my go to call. I have every Zink call....yes, I have a problem. However, Zink learned from Tim Grounds. I got a Tim Grounds Super Mag a couple years ago and LOVE it. The sound is much more crisp to me and takes less air. I would not waste your money on Poly Carb shit....I tried them too. They require much more air to work and you have a harder time learning double clucks on them. This is just my 2 cents so take it for what it is worth.

Whatever call you buy, make sure to buy "Bad Grammer" DvD or CD. Don't learn from a friend, don't try to learn yourself, don't worry about the internet, buy the Bad Grammer. best instructional video out there. My 6 year old son learned from it and is getting pretty dang good.

Also, don't try to learn anything other than the cluck for at least the 1st month. master the cluck and the rest will follow.

good luck and look forward to cupped wings!
 

Duckslayer100

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Um no. Just because a call is poly does not mean it is harder to blow. That is completely and utterly untrue. If you had a poly call and had a hard time blowing it, chances are it wasn't tuned right.

I have a poly TG Super Mag and an acrylic Super Mag and other than the latter being slightly easier to blow because of the shaved reed and a teeny bit crisper, they are the same freaking call. Hell, you could buy a poly call, get a shafed reed, and you would have a call that runs and sounds 95 percent of it's acrylic counterpart.

It's true that poly may crack. But acrylic is brittle as hell and will shatter if you drop it on concrete. I guess I'd rather be out $60 for a chipped poly than $150 for a spendy acrylic.

And if you're really hung up on poly, try an acetal Apostle from C&S. Damn dear bullet proof $60 from a Minnesota call maker who is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. http://store-cscustomcalls.com/goose-calls/apostle/
 


Kurtr

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Now that my kid is old enough i used to live and die for waterfowl we are going to hit it hard this year. I need another excuse to spend money like i need a whole in my head but might have to try one of the high end calls it is hard for me to get away form my big river flute as i have killed lots of geese with it. I think my killing has more to do with location than my calling though
 

Tillerman2095

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In 1998 I started using Wing Lock Calls made by Rick Perry. I have tried other calls but always went back to Wing Lock. Rick is a really good guy. I've called him about replacement reeds and he's supplied me with replacements every time I've asked. He'll send not just one reed but multiple. He even replaced my maple wood short reed after 10 years of use. All I have on my lanyard is Wing Lock and more of my friends are using them also.
 

dsharp83

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for the early local birds I like to use a flute call , keep the calls short and can get that great low honk sound
 

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