# help on calls for a new-be



## clenjb (Sep 20, 2003)

I've hunted ducks before, but this is my first year to geese. I also feel fortunate in that my wife is buying me a dozen goose decoy's for my b-day next week. The help I need at the moment is with in calls. I have tinkered with trying to learn to use goose calls for 2 years and keep having problems withthem and end up giving them to my kids to play with. With one call the two parts ended up getting stuck together and I couldn't clean it out. The second is a Primos flute beginer call with a ribbed hose thing on the end that is supposed to help the beginner work it easier. This second one though seems to be very limited in sound and I have not been able to get it to do greeting calls. I have read all of the postings on selecting a goose call, but they seem to always end up discussing calls that are $100 or over. I am a graduate student with a good wife and three kids, so my budget is limited to probably around $25-$30. Any suggestions on an affordable call that I can learn and grow with and that will produce the calls I need? Any suggestions you could give would be appreciated! I am also very willing and open to suggestions and help in developing this skill. My wife would probably appreciate it too, because she has been enduring all my efforts in trying to learn this, which has been long and not very successfull so far.


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## Robert A. Langager (Feb 22, 2002)

Big River Long Honker. It is a flute call, and runs around $25. It is easy to blow and you can make a lot of sounds with it. Now, as some will tell you, I am not an expert. But, it is the honker call I like.


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## MRN (Apr 1, 2002)

I'll second the Big River long honker - it's cheap and is the easiest to make the cluck sound you need. I think the wood ones sound better than the plastic ones, but you can kill geese with either. Perhaps Fleet-farm has them the cheapest?

Other calls let you make lots of different sounds, but the LH is good for the basic cluck. Just listen to the birds and try your best to cluck how they do.

M.


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## clenjb (Sep 20, 2003)

Thanks for the suggestion. One more question about this. A lot of talk on the discussion board talks about flutes vs. short reeds. I'm not questioning your suggestion(s), I'm really grateful for them, but it seems that in the discussions people recommend the short reeds, even though they are supposedly more difficult to learn. Should I start with a short reed and get the work over with? Could someone shed some light on this for me?


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## NEgoosebuster (Sep 23, 2003)

If I were you, I would bite the bullet and get a short reed. It is easier to learn, in my opinion, if you haven't learned on a flute yet. They are a little more expensive than what you are looking to spend, although you can get a good one for around 50 dollars. (Tim Grounds "Half Breed", and Foiles "Meat Grinder" are some good ones for the money) In my experience, in short reed calls, you get what you pay for, so you may even want to consider getting a higher end call such as a Zink or Foiles or Grounds acrylic. One of my hunting buds bought a Meat Grinder and had an easier time learning on my Strait Meat Honker than on his polycarb call. It took me just about a year to get pretty good on a short reed, but it is the best thing I have done for my goose hunting. Good luck whatever you get-
NEgoosebuster


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## black dog (Sep 8, 2003)

NEgoosebuster said:


> If I were you, I would bite the bullet and get a short reed. They are a little more expensive than what you are looking to spend, although you can get a good one for around 50 dollars. (Tim Grounds "Half Breed", and Foiles "Meat Grinder" are some good ones for the money) In my experience, in short reed calls, you get what you pay for, so you may even want to consider getting a higher end call such as a Zink or Foiles or Grounds acrylic. It took me just about a year to get pretty good on a short reed, but it is the best thing I have done for my goose hunting. Good luck whatever you get-
> NEgoosebuster


This is very good advice. A few years ago, I didn't have the $ to go short reed and I stayed with a flute (also a Big River) and this past summer I attended a calling competition...needless to say, I was hooked on short reeds after that day. There are subtle differences between some of the top call makers- and any one of them can sell you a world class call. It will come down to preference...

If you scout around, you will always find a guy selling a top notch short reed. Just this week, I bought a Zink SR1 - barely blown, with the tape for $95- Its a great call, and the instruction tape is pretty detailed.

My preference is with the Foiles SMH- I just find it a bit easier to blow- You can buy a used SMH for $100 to $125 depending on condition. All calls can be sent back to the maker for tuning, new reeds or guts...and the outsides don't seem to really wear out.

Going with the Short Reed is a commitment. You will need to practice- and its not something you can just buy and do. If you don't go with Zink and his tape, the Shawn Stahl Honker tonk instruction video was immensely helpful for me. After about 8 hours, I could sound fairly decent. After about 2 weeks, I could do most of the calls- and after about 3 weeks, I could do them consistently enough to hit the field.

It all comes down to your desire to get em in close. Its been worthwhile for me and its fun as hell. My wife hates it, so I practice when she's gone and in the car on the way to work.

Good luck-


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## MRN (Apr 1, 2002)

If grad school is still anything like it was 15 years ago, I'd go with a flute and buy a winter boot for each of the kids - splurge on some Raman noodles...

I use a short reed, they sound great, but I doubt I'll bag any more birds solely because of the call. I think you gotta have a whole lot of experience watching and hunting geese before the difference between flute and SR makes a smidgen of difference.

You get what you pay for with new a autoloader, hand painted dekes, and the Porche SUV, but whats the goal? To "do it" or to "have it"?

M.


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## gandergrinder (Mar 10, 2002)

MRN,
With a Porshe you get to "have it" and the Porshe may also allow you to "do it" more too. The girls like to see their reflections in your car and that makes them want to "do it" more. At least thats what I saw on MTV Cribs one night. I've never been able to test the theory.


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## MRN (Apr 1, 2002)

GG,

Ah, to be young and have real goals...
The paint is plenty shiney on the '78 Honda Civic for a girl to see herself.
The dents might make her look a little deformed, but hey, nothing a few drinks won't cure.

M.


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## clenjb (Sep 20, 2003)

I was browsing through scheels yesterday and stumbled across a knight & hale combo package that was a short reed with an extension thing that supposedly made the short reed into a flute. As a short reed it seemed pretty easy to use, but it was only $20 which sent up my red flag for gimmicks. Have any of you seen this combo package? what do you think?
By the By - Thanks for the help!


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## Old Hunter (Mar 8, 2002)

Clenjb I would stay away from any thing with extension tubes or flexable ends. IMO these things are gimicks. The varying of the sounds should be done with your hands , backpressure and air injection not a flexable or changeable end. good luck


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## clenjb (Sep 20, 2003)

Ok guys, I got the big river long honker goose call for my b-day the other day. The problem I now have is that I have seen these with casette tapes to teach you how to use them, but mine didn't come with one. I've checked the internet to see if big river had a website I could order one through, but no luck. Any suggestions on what to do to learn how to work this thing?


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## shawn114 (Aug 22, 2003)

does anyone have any input on the short reed slammer from hunters specialtys.


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## gandergrinder (Mar 10, 2002)

I went and tried out a G force from Heartland calls. Its a $100 bucks for the call and I think it is worth every penny. I tried it for a little while and could do anything on it that I can do on my Foiles SMH. Heartland has really stepped up there calls. In my opinion they are a really good call for the money.


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