# Bill Saunders' Red Zone



## Hair Trigger Gun Dogs (May 5, 2007)

I just picked up a Saunders Red Zone. It basically has the great qualities of the Traffic (speed, ease of use, acuracy, etc) but it is lower in pitch. It also has great volume and it DOES have quite a range of pitch. No way will I give up the Traffic, but for the early season big honkers, I think this will replace my Pro Super Mag. Anyone else think as highly of Saunders' calls as I do? It seemes like all I hear about is Zink and Foiles. I really think the highest of Bill's calls. Anyway... I just thought I'd give a shout out for Saunders' quality. Let me know your opinions. Thanks...


----------



## universitywaterfowler (Jul 15, 2007)

I hear so many people say they want a deeper call, the deeper calls sound better, thats more of a goosey sound etc...
I want to know why all these people think you need a deep call for early honkers. I get that your shooting geese that are 10 12 15 pounds, but I have never in my 13 years of hunting found a deeper call to work better than my little man does. I have wanted to try a traffic for some time now, problem is finding one in acrylic, no one carries them. 
I have gone off on a little bit of a rant here, however its a valid point, seems to me the lower calls, super mag, SMH, etc... draw the people better, while the higher calls, little man, traffic, etc... draw the geese better.
As far as the red zone goes, I don't need a deeper call, from what I know and even when I talk to people these higher pitched calls are working better in every aspect of the hunt. 
However I would like to know what you think of the call as far as contest quality goes. I want to get into contests more next year, so I gotta start looking for calls in that area.


----------



## universitywaterfowler (Jul 15, 2007)

And that isn't directed at you Hair Trigger, its not meant to be an attack, its really that I sell calls, so I run in to this all the time. Would like to know if anyone has actually used something like the traffic, and found that their deeper calls draw geese better. I love to hear good things about Bills calls, as I am really looking into that traffic.
:beer:


----------



## diver_sniper (Sep 6, 2004)

The Red Zone is a really nice call. So is the Traffic.

Here's my advice. Stay with your higher pitched calls during the early season. Geese aren't call shy yet and can hear them better. Later in the season geese start to turn more so into contest judges, thats when the lower calls and the tricky sounds come into play.

As far as calls themselves being higher and lower, you can get just about any call to be high pitched. That's not hard to do. It's getting a short call like a Traffic or an SS-2 to sound mellow that becomes difficult. The Traffic does however do a better job of being high pitched than a Super Mag or a SMH tuned to be high.


----------



## roostbuster (Oct 19, 2005)

if you sound like a goose, it doesn't matter if you think you sound like you weigh 4 lbs. or 20 lbs., you'll kill geese.


----------



## Blue Plate (Jul 31, 2006)

Really . . . . I use my Little Giant a lot during this early season. The big honks just ate it up. I'm going to use it the entire season.


----------



## Hair Trigger Gun Dogs (May 5, 2007)

All great comments here... First and foremost, I agree that high pitch calling excites geese. I was just posting to express my satisfaction with the Red Zone. The Traffic is still my "go-to" call. The rapid high pitched double clucks kill birds. (It's my favorite aspect of the Traffic) I will also say that I plan to use my Red Zone to create that deeper goosy sound. I think it is just nice to have a couple quality calls that cover multiple needs. I posted primarily to brag up Bill Saunders' calls becuase I am finding that I will be using his calls exclusively this year after test driving a number of other calls. Regarding contest calling, I believe Saunders geared The Red Zone call for contests because of its range. I am not a contest caller and do not know the most recent successful styles that are winning. I would like to try contest calling after polishing a few calling sounds and I am sure the Traffic and/ espescially the Red Zone are more than enough call to compete with.


----------



## diver_sniper (Sep 6, 2004)

Blue Plate said:


> Really . . . . I use my Little Giant a lot during this early season. The big honks just ate it up. I'm going to use it the entire season.


Same here.


----------



## universitywaterfowler (Jul 15, 2007)

Well then I will have to try out the Red Zone too. 
Tuning a call to be higher pitch is possible, and actually very easy to do, but believe me, a deep call tuned to be high pitch is no where near as good in sound quality, and worksmanship as a call that is made to be high pitched.
I currently have a little man and a super mag on my lanyard, you will find that most people will run lanyards like this, just so you can do what the geese want.
IF AT ALL POSSIBLE: SOMEONE SHOULD POST SOME SOUND CLIPS OF THE RED ZONE. Idk if you can hair trigger, but if you can then please do.


----------



## HATCHETMAN (Mar 15, 2007)

Purchase a call that has a mid-range tone, and after it's broken in you can choke it down and growl into it for the deeper goosy sound, or open it up and eliminate the growl for the lesser pitch, or get good enough and do both in the same riff.....problem solved. 8)


----------



## universitywaterfowler (Jul 15, 2007)

I can't reply to that and you know why.
I will say, we got a real thang in, now when I first tried this call a while back it really didn't strike me as anything special. However I blew this one quite a bit, trying to sell it, and for a short call it had a mean low, however a really high pitch cackler top when I did as Hatchetman stated.
Needless to say it was the mean low that sold this call, to the second guy that came up to my counter. He didn't even try it, just heard what I did and bought it. 
So I guess I will say props to Tim on a call that speaks for itself.


----------



## roostbuster (Oct 19, 2005)

Bill Saunders has gotten worked in every major contest. The West coast guys think they're good because they can win contests out west. But when they call in the Midwest or out east they get worked everytime.

So, what does that say about them?


----------



## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

diver_sniper said:


> As far as calls themselves being higher and lower, you can get just about any call to be high pitched. That's not hard to do. It's getting a short call like a Traffic or an SS-2 to sound mellow that becomes difficult. The Traffic does however do a better job of being high pitched than a Super Mag or a SMH tuned to be high.


The SS-2 is the longer one, SS-1 is the shorter one. Have you tried blowing one yet? One I blew in scheels was very easy to get low on and made my decision to order one from nodak. Just got it today, its tuned a little different. You can get low on it still just not as well as the one I tried in scheels, I'm kind of nervous to start messing with the tune because the thing still rocks as it is.

Now the traffic, hell I haven't been able to get low on one of those, maybe I suck though.


----------



## universitywaterfowler (Jul 15, 2007)

Different locations equals different judges equals different judging equals bias to a certain regional sound equals gotta be smart enough to switch routines to the region your going to be in, find out what the judges normally like.
Or have fun, meet some great people, advance your calling and then it's all good.


----------



## roostbuster (Oct 19, 2005)

universitywaterfowler said:


> Different locations equals different judges equals different judging equals bias to a certain regional sound equals gotta be smart enough to switch routines to the region your going to be in, find out what the judges normally like.
> Or have fun, meet some great people, advance your calling and then it's all good.


Or it means they just can't measure up to midwest callers....which is why they truly can't win.

West coast callers are weak. They have ZERO titles to back them up on a national standpoint.


----------



## roostbuster (Oct 19, 2005)

BTW, before you judge me as being biased...take a look at west coast callers records in contests east of the Missouri river...

...you can say what you want, but the results are on paper. They SUCKED!


----------



## universitywaterfowler (Jul 15, 2007)

Oh I'm not saying your wrong, 90% of the people over there are Mexican, and I haven't ever seen a Mexican hunt. Its easy to see why this region produces some of the best callers, hunters, people, smartest, most intelligenteresterest, and evidently we are cocky... 
So many hunters, so many birds, plenty of contests, isn't much else to do here. :beer: 
Cali has its beautiful women NoDak has waterfowl.


----------



## roostbuster (Oct 19, 2005)

But, you'd think that a "call expert" working the call counter at Cabela's in EGF, MN would know these simple facts now would't you...Brett, wouldn't you?

Wannabe.

BTW Brett, how many calling contests have you won? You try to sit there and tell people what calls to buy, but what the hell do you know? You've probably never even called in a contest let alone won one.

Prove me wrong Brett, prove me wrong...you poser...


----------



## diver_sniper (Sep 6, 2004)

USAlx50 said:


> diver_sniper said:
> 
> 
> > As far as calls themselves being higher and lower, you can get just about any call to be high pitched. That's not hard to do. It's getting a short call like a Traffic or an SS-2 to sound mellow that becomes difficult. The Traffic does however do a better job of being high pitched than a Super Mag or a SMH tuned to be high.
> ...


You are right my friend, I got that mixed up. They need to give them names that aren't almost the exact same so it's easier to keep track of. 

Here's the neat thing about the SS-1 and the SS-2. They are completely interchangeable. So if you decide to buy both of them, the barrels and the inserts are designed to fit into each other. So if you get a real nice tune job on the short one and decide you want to hear what it sounds like a little deeper, you can just throw the longer barrel on it and go to town. I haven't tried this much with other calls, I'm sure they are probably the same way, but I just thought that was kind of nifty.


----------



## diver_sniper (Sep 6, 2004)

Oh, and yes I have blown both the SS-1 and SS-2. They were both really nice. I'd say the Buck Gardner equivalent of the Traffic and the Red Zone. There are so many awesome calls out there today, rarely do I ever pick up a call I've never blown before and say, "Wow, that call sucks!" It makes it so hard to decide when the funds are available to buy another one 8)


----------



## universitywaterfowler (Jul 15, 2007)

Never claim to be the best, ask me and I wont even say I am good, decent sure... I don't tell people what calls to buy, I just recommend certain calls, and if you ask the people, I take out one of just about every call and let them try it, or try it myself when they ask me to. 
Lol and working at cabelas doesn't give any credit what so ever to my calling ability, I know that, and I am pretty sure everyone else does too.
Only done a few contests as I have stated previously. Gotta get back into it though.
Still improving, winning a contest isn't important to me, however if I get the time to practice up I can finish strong.


----------



## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

diver_sniper said:


> Oh, and yes I have blown both the SS-1 and SS-2. They were both really nice. I'd say the Buck Gardner equivalent of the Traffic and the Red Zone. There are so many awesome calls out there today, rarely do I ever pick up a call I've never blown before and say, "Wow, that call sucks!" It makes it so hard to decide when the funds are available to buy another one 8)


i agree.

I could get way more range out of the SS-1 then the traffic, maybe it is how they're tuned... I just found out that they have the same guts.


----------



## Hair Trigger Gun Dogs (May 5, 2007)

roost buster, what is your contest calling history/ awards/ etc. ? You sound like you don't like the Saunders calls at all? What is your contest call of choice?


----------



## SDwaterfowler (Mar 2, 2006)

I blow a red zone and it is my go to call. I would also recommend you pick up a set of Bill's broken in orange guts for $25. These are very nice guts.


----------



## diver_sniper (Sep 6, 2004)

This whole deal about spending extra money on broken in guts seems silly to me. There are two ways you can avoid doing this all together.

Number one, just blow your call a lot.

Number two, tape your call to a vacuum cleaner hose and leave it on low for a few hours... How do you they they get them "broken in"?


----------



## SDwaterfowler (Mar 2, 2006)

diver_sniper said:


> How do you they they get them "broken in"?


These guts are a molded replica of the guts that Bill himself has been blowing for many years. Vacuum cleaners don't break guts in the way I like and you go through a LOT of reeds getting to that point. I blow my calls 30-60 minutes a day and it would still take me several years to get my guts broken in to the point of Bill's guts.


----------



## Hair Trigger Gun Dogs (May 5, 2007)

I'm still waiting for a reply from ROOSTBUSTER about his opinions of contest calls. Where are you... What is your contest history? Why don't you like Saunders' calls? What is your preffered contest call? I love hearing your OPINIONATED responses... It's what made Howered Stern famous!!!! Please post your reply....


----------



## universitywaterfowler (Jul 15, 2007)

He disappeared when things started getting serious.
Seems he has some friends on here that think hes good, so hey props on that, hopefully he will stop by the store and chat.
:beer:


----------



## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

Man, we should get a Nodakoutdoors calling contest organized. We could run it at the scheel's in Bismarck for Nodakoutdoors members only. It will decide who is the best on the site and where everyone ranks. If you don't show up, you can't talk about being better than anyone...ever!!! I guess it doesn't really matter much since the two best callers in the country (roostbuster and Universitywaterfowler) are gone, but in the future it would kinda be cool.


----------



## diver_sniper (Sep 6, 2004)

That's a good idea. NodakOutdoors calling contests. That would be something kind of cool to do next summer some time.


----------



## featherduster (Feb 8, 2008)

universitywaterfowler said:


> Oh I'm not saying your wrong, 90% of the people over there are Mexican, and I haven't ever seen a Mexican hunt. Its easy to see why this region produces some of the best callers, hunters, people, smartest, most intelligenteresterest, and evidently we are cocky...
> So many hunters, so many birds, plenty of contests, isn't much else to do here. :beer:
> Cali has its beautiful women NoDak has waterfowl.


 :******: 
You and roostbuster make me sick. You guys both give all of us hunters a bad name with your weak *** stereotypes. Can you make a broader statement than saying 90% of the people in the west are mexican and none of them hunt? Then roostbuster claims the ones that do hunt suck at it! I am from the west and I am half mexican, one of the only who lives in a town of 75,000 caucasions. I have been hunting for 23 years and I will school any of your sorry mid-west ***** at any type of hunting with one hand behind my back, a pack of wolves gnawing on my leg and a grizzly crapping down my neck!

What a bunch of flat-landers, poor bastards probably would wet themselves if they actually had to hunt on a real mountain.


----------



## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

featherduster said:


> universitywaterfowler said:
> 
> 
> > Oh I'm not saying your wrong, 90% of the people over there are Mexican, and I haven't ever seen a Mexican hunt. Its easy to see why this region produces some of the best callers, hunters, people, smartest, most intelligenteresterest, and evidently we are cocky...
> ...


 :lol: :lol: I'm scared of hills and mountains. Please, teach us. Everyone knows it is damn hard to kill honkers. They truly are a wiley, elusive creature. In fact, I'm going to have to buy some of those dropzones or DSD's that you manly mountain men use to trick these clever animals.

By the way, nobody here liked university waterfowler either. No reason to be angry at the rest of us because he was "special."


----------



## blhunter3 (May 5, 2007)

Everybody keeps talking about breaking there calls in. Is that really that important? How do you break calls in?


----------



## featherduster (Feb 8, 2008)

USAlx50 said:


> featherduster said:
> 
> 
> > universitywaterfowler said:
> ...


Sorry man, I was specifically talking to those two monkeys. I hope I didn't offend anyone with my rant but I have never seen a more disgusting portrayal of racism and stereotyping. We have to stick together as hunters to keep punks like this from ruining our name. We are all in it together


----------



## bandman (Feb 13, 2006)

Do you blow featherduster or is that just a handle of yours?


----------



## featherduster (Feb 8, 2008)

bandman said:


> Do you blow featherduster or is that just a handle of yours?


That's just a handle. I Blow a LM-1 and I just got a Foiles SMH but I am seriously considering a Red Zone too!


----------



## bandman (Feb 13, 2006)

featherduster said:


> That's just a handle. I Blow a LM-1 and I just got a Foiles SMH but I am seriously considering a Red Zone too!


Ic, Ic. Definitely some solid calls. You should also try a FD sometime if you get a chance.


----------

