# Callin Ducks



## Goose Huntin' Machine (May 8, 2005)

Howdy all. I am 22, and I have been calling for 12 years now (no, really). I asked for my first duck call for my 10th birthday and began calling the next season. In any case, I consider myself much better than average but I do have one problem...I CANNT do that damned feeding chuckle!

I do not know what it is....I just cannot say "Ticka, ticka, ticka..." fast enough into the call, I guess. In any case...does anyone have any advice?

Thanks y'all.

Jeff Given


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## just ducky (Apr 27, 2005)

Goose Huntin' Machine said:


> Howdy all. I am 22, and I have been calling for 12 years now (no, really).....I consider myself much better than average...


And modest too! :laugh: But back to your question...my advice...forget the feeding chuckle. I can do it well, but hardly ever use it. I get a kick out of guys using this call in the field because it's a waste of time...my opinion. Just think about this for a second...you're a duck...you're flying around in a November blizzard, or even a clear day with a breeze, and you're 200 yds. out cruisin' along with your buds. Do you honestly think that that duck is going to hear a soft feeding chuckle? Not a chance. Or better yet, go sit in a park or a refuge and listen to live ducks. Sure, there is some feeding chuckling going on. But again, if you're cruisin around up on the wind, you're not going to hear it. Quit watching the Saturday morning cable outdoor shows that show them using the feeding chuckle...a waste of good air. I've been chasin' and callin' ducks longer than you've been alive  and I can probably count on one hand the times I've used the feeding chuckle. Practice your high ball, your come-back, and a simple greeeting quack, which are all much more useful. And more importantly, learn WHEN AND WHEN NOT to call. Biggest mistake I've seen year after year is overcalling, especially when they're locked on your dekes. Put the call away and get the gun up :wink:


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## Goose Huntin' Machine (May 8, 2005)

just ducky said:


> Goose Huntin' Machine said:
> 
> 
> > Howdy all. I am 22, and I have been calling for 12 years now (no, really).....I consider myself much better than average...
> ...


Ya know...I almost deleted that figuring someone was gonna bust my balls over it :wink: The guy that manages our flooded timber club, who is like a father to me, was the state champion years back, and his son (who is also like a dad to me) was Jr. state champion something like 3 years in a row. I grew up learning to call from them, so I have some amount of experience with it all 

But, in any case... I would like to use the feeding chuckle when the birds are working the decoys but still not within range...or at least my range (come from flooded timber in Southern California where 15 yard shots are the norm....when lead was legal we shot ducks with .410s)

Something that is not hard, loud call....something soft and reassuring. I hunt in Nor. California in flooded rice fields, so the ducks are definitely there eatting.

Thanks a lot for your response!

Jeff Given


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## Dave K. (Aug 28, 2003)

A lot of it comes from your throat. Try not to rely on saying "ticka" into the call so much. Saying "thuck" and/or "cook" into the call has worked well for me.

Jsut my two cents :thumb:


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## bratlabs (Mar 11, 2005)

I use the feeder chuckle more then any other call. Just Ducky, you can do all the high balls and comebacks you want and kill some birds, but youre limiting yourself if you cant do the soft calls also. On calm clear days you would be surprised how much a duck can hear, so if you hit them with a loud call more then likely theyre gonna flair. The only time I wouldnt feeder chuckle is on big water.


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## Level3 (Mar 20, 2005)

I also like the feeder chuckle as a confidance call when you have one or two ducks swinging and there are seveal following in behind them.

Regarding how to make the feeder call, I tend to use "dugga, dugga" or "digga, digga" in hunting situations (I might also just use the "ga, ga" sound you hear at the end of the previous words). Actual feeding ducks tend to make short and vocalizations that alter pitch and volume. So putting 3 or four of the sounds together and opening or closing your hand can make the sound of differnt ducks.

Using "Ticka, Ticka" generally leads to the "rolling" feeder call, which you'll hear in comp calling, but is not made by ducks. It's a cool call, but I find it not as effective as the above call for hunting. The two instructional cds I used to learn both calls were "Buck Gardner" and RNT duck calling instructions (the advanced calling techniques). My $.02


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## stoegerman (May 11, 2005)

I do the ticka ticka tuga tuga goo.
I really like using shook shook shook shook cook cook shook shook.

I have noticably more looks from the second sequence.


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## The Dogger (Oct 17, 2003)

GH machine- Im confused about you stating you are an above average caller with resources to state champion duck callers and are on here asking how to do a feeding chuckle? The best way to teach someone a call is to actually be there in person. If you cant get it by now with the help of your state champ buddies, I dont think your ever gonna get it. Unless they never told you tic-a-tic-a-tic-a. Good luck with this one.


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## just ducky (Apr 27, 2005)

bratlabs said:


> I use the feeder chuckle more then any other call. Just Ducky, you can do all the high balls and comebacks you want and kill some birds, but youre limiting yourself if you cant do the soft calls also. On calm clear days you would be surprised how much a duck can hear, so if you hit them with a loud call more then likely theyre gonna flair. The only time I wouldnt feeder chuckle is on big water.


Yep, I agree that it really depends upon where you hunt. The feeding chuckle may be well suited for small, intimate areas. I hunt a lot in bigger water or state managed areas with a lot of competition. Quite often it sounds like a barnyard when a flock of birds comes within eyesight with all of the calling. So instead of a feeding chuckle, I often use a simple, relaxed quack as a confidence call, much like you hear the natural birds make when they're in a content group of birds on the water. Especially when every other hunter within a mile is using a feeding chuckle. Quite often being "different" in some fashion is the ticket to success in highly competitive areas.

Now when I come to ND each year, I sometimes think I could blow a kazoo and bring birds in. Obviously kidding...but really not that much  You just can't imagine the difference in hunting out there where you have tons of space, and very few hunters. As bad as you in ND believe the "crowding" is getting, trust me that you haven't seen anything until you spend a typical day on one of our "famed" waterfowl areas like Lake St. Clair or Saginaw Bay. We have some great days, but it's nothing like you have out there on a regular basis. We have smaller out of the way areas to hunt too, but the population base is so much greater in the midwest that you just naturally have more competition. Also you get a ton more birds nesting and passing through your area than we do in the great lakes. Appreciate what you have there :wink: Sorry I got off the topic.


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## Choclab (Nov 19, 2004)

I have to agree with The Dogger on this one. Why would anyone need to ask for help with resources like that. Makes me wonder.


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## Goose Huntin' Machine (May 8, 2005)

The Dogger said:


> GH machine- Im confused about you stating you are an above average caller with resources to state champion duck callers and are on here asking how to do a feeding chuckle? The best way to teach someone a call is to actually be there in person. If you cant get it by now with the help of your state champ buddies, I dont think your ever gonna get it. Unless they never told you tic-a-tic-a-tic-a. Good luck with this one.


Ohh no...Iverson has told me ticka-ticka, ticka as well as my buddies.
It works for them, so they use it.

I know there are still a fair amount of people, like myself, that cannot do it, so I did not know if there were people here that said something else...or had any hints at it.

I guess the only reason I made reference to my buddies was to insure everyone I was not some slap dick that cannot call period.

So...I guess this is it...I just cannot say, "Ticka, ticka, ticka" fast enough and consistant enough, Crap.

Jeff


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## Goose Huntin' Machine (May 8, 2005)

Choclab said:


> I have to agree with The Dogger on this one. Why would anyone need to ask for help with resources like that. Makes me wonder.


Hope you are not assuming, or wondering, that I am a liar? I mean, you can if you want, but what does that gain me? Respect? A holier than thou placard because I know some people? I think not. Read into the post as you wish, but just because someone has resources does not mean they cannot ask others for their opinions/advice. Not everyone, including my friends, knows everything.

As I noted in the post right above this one, the "ticka ticka" works for them, so they use it. I was wondering if there was anyone out here that may have not been able to do the feeding call with a "ticka ticka" and used something different. Obviously they know something my resources know because I have gotton multiple responses as to what to say into the call for a feeding chuckle.

So, if you have any advise to post, I'll gladly take it. If you posted just to make a comment, I guess that will work too. Thanks anyways.

Jeff


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## Drew Willemsen (Sep 29, 2003)

eue kant evn spel kalifornia wright, how kan eue blow a duk kall? no just jokin, but still, if you have those guys at hand that obvioulsy know how to talk to ducks, why don't you sit down with them a few more times and just keep tryin at it :beer: good luck!


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## oatsboy (Mar 29, 2005)

ghm.i pray your brain is not wired like mine.years of strugling with cadence phrases made me sound terrible and took away from my overall hunting experiance.time with a call and the ability to accurately reproduce the rythem and pitch in my mind ultimitley and to this day maigically transfer those sounds to the call.
i havent used a cadence phrase for any mouth call in 30 years.
ghm if this dosnt help you at least with a reply like mine and the obvious fact i cant spell, should give thes guys someone else to pick on.
hear the bird
be the bird :2cents:


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## just ducky (Apr 27, 2005)

oatsboy said:


> hear the bird...be the bird


  Classic quote oatsboy! Glad to see there are some other Caddyshack lovers around.

And to Goose Hunter, don't take offense to the comments. It's all good natured. Now you just have to practice that tongue movement for the feeding chuckle. I have one thought on practicing the tongue movement, but if I posted it I'd get booted off the site eace:


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## Canada_Hunter (Mar 21, 2004)




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## purepower (Sep 11, 2004)

i use it all the time when we are hunting...... but for that case i bought a shaker call so that i can do the feeding chuckle and do some low tone quakes........i still say get a shaker itll get the job done.


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## Murf's Mallard (May 20, 2005)

Goose Huntin' Machine,

I had the same problem years ago that you are now experiencing. There are two issues when it comes to executing the feeder call. The first is the tongue motion (usually not quick enough) and the second is the air volume required to make it sound good (while moving your tongue fast enough).

My advice would be to choose a set of words such as the famous TICKA, TICKA, TICKA (I personally use DUCKA, DUCKA, DUCKA) and practice saying those as fast as you can. When you learn to say them fast enough, a stranger will not be able to tell what you are saying. After you accoplish that, you will need your call to practice pushing the required air at the same time you are saying your chosen words. It will be very frustrating for a while, but with practice you can do it. It took me a little more than 2 years to learn, and I don't even think about it now, it just happens.

If you need any more help, e-mail me and we'll see what we can do!

Murf's Mallard


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## Goose Huntin' Machine (May 8, 2005)

Holy Hell, Murf...we're right down the street from eachother (well, the 99 anyways).

Last season I hunted a rice field West side of Sutter Refuge, South of Oswald. My field was up against the levy. That field will be out of rotation for a few years...but I'll have another field somewhere.

Where did you hunt?

To everyone else, thanks for the help...and the confidence!

Jeff Given


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## Murf's Mallard (May 20, 2005)

Goose Huntin' Machine,

How are you doing? The last couple of years I hunted at Oswald Rd. and Bolton Rd. which is just before you turn off on the gravel road to the Sutter Refuge. A Close friend of mine and his buddies buy a blind there every year, and always ask me to hunt with them. Mike Shannon owns the club, theres a couple of small rice dryers, a shop and a little house right there on the corner of Oswald and Bolton Road.

Just before, during and after duck season is my busy time so I don't get to hunt as much as I would like, but still manage to get out a few times. Like I said earlier, if you need some more help with that feeding chuckle or anything else concerning duck calls give me a call, I'd be glad to help and if nothing else shoot the sh#* with you. :beer:

*Murf's Mallard*


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## Goose Huntin' Machine (May 8, 2005)

Murfs...

Sounds good. I will definitely take you up on that! Where are you located in YC? Do you know the owners of Argo? I went to school with Blair, the son, and do a lot of hunting with him.

Jeff Given


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## Murf's Mallard (May 20, 2005)

Jeff,

I don't know the Argo folks personally but have chit chatted with them at prior events over the years, like at the International Sportsman's Exposition and Ducks Unlimited / California Waterfowl Dinners. They seem like good people.

We are located across highway 20 just about a mile north of their shop.

*Murf*


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

This sounds a lot like Ron The Con!!!! He has MOnte and I to listen to and he still can't call worth a damn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol: :lol:


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## Quack Addict (Oct 12, 2003)

GHM,
I've only been hunting and calling ducks now for about 8 years. I have a call in my truck at all times and I am usually working with it every day on the way to work. Enough B.S. I got the ticka ticka thing down pretty good,but last year I listened to The Duck Commander's "Duckology 101". He stated that the ticka ticka thing is more for competition callers. He says the actual feeding chuckle really has no cadence or rythym. I would have to beleive him because I went to the park and a refuge and listened. There really is no specific rythym. I would try to get a copy of Duckology 101 and listen to it religiously. This may ease some of your frustration.

Good luck and I hope this will help.


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## saveaduckkillaskybuster (May 29, 2005)

Goose Huntin' Machine said:


> Howdy all. I am 22, and I have been calling for 12 years now (no, really). I asked for my first duck call for my 10th birthday and began calling the next season. In any case, I consider myself much better than average but I do have one problem...I CANNT do that damned feeding chuckle!
> 
> I do not know what it is....I just cannot say "Ticka, ticka, ticka..." fast enough into the call, I guess. In any case...does anyone have any advice?
> 
> ...


listen to the ducks, the only time you hear ducks chuckle is when they are fly-n. throw that tika-toka stuff out the window


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