# goose call for idiots



## Kelly Hannan (Jan 9, 2007)

what type, not brand of call is the easiest to blow. I don't need to make every call, maybe just the basics for now. I purchased a short reed and have tried to practice until I and everyone else in the house have a headache. I have listened to the instructional cd 3 times, searched the interenet, listened to every teaching tip vidoe clip I can find. If you need Goose control on your property I could do that. If you want to get Geese within a mile of you, don't call me. Help


----------



## cut'em (Oct 23, 2004)

My Advice to you you would be; Buy the Bad Grammer DVD and a top line $200.00 call. Don't learn bad habits on a cheap call. I tried that. I bought a Tim grounds Triple Crown and couldn't be happier. I need not buy another call!


----------



## Kelly Hannan (Jan 9, 2007)

thanks for the advice, but I won't be buying any $200 call


----------



## gamberc (Mar 10, 2008)

hate to say it but you dont need a 200 dollar call to make you sound good, yea there nice but no need, zink makes very nice shortreeds for a resonable price, All shortreeds are essentially the same wether its 30 dolalrs or 200 dollars. Just keep practicing, although a group of calls you might want to stay away from imo is knight hale i hate those things but to each his own i guess.


----------



## Kelly Hannan (Jan 9, 2007)

so your telling me to stay with a short reed, not a flute


----------



## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

You can do easy honks and stuff with flutes right away without practice, but if you want to be effective at actually working geese with one it is going to take practice as well. What CD have you been listening to and what call did you buy? Bad grammar or Honker talk are the way to go for learning a short reed.

Two reasonably priced calls that would be easy to learn the bare basics (honk, cluck, moan) IMO are the Feather Duster crop duster, or the foiles Meat grinder. I think both these calls run in the 50-70$ range.


----------



## Kelly Hannan (Jan 9, 2007)

I bought a Buck Gardner Goose Hammer II, it came with an instructional cd. I also have been on the interenet at every site I could find with tips


----------



## diver_sniper (Sep 6, 2004)

Like Brody said, learning the short reed takes a lot of work. And to be perfectly honest, there isn't much for an alternative that sounds anywhere near as good. You could go with a flute, which would be fine, there's nothing wrong with flutes, but they do limit the range of sounds you're able to reach.

The call you bought is an alright learning call. Spending 40-70 bucks on a call one step up the ladder wouldn't be a bad idea either. For the most part all of them are going to be equally difficult to learn on.

The two best videos to go with, like already said, are Bad Grammar and Honker Talk. Either one will do the job. The key is to make sure you use the pause and rewind buttons when you need to so you can try out what you just saw as you watch it.

Learning to goose call is neither easy nor free. It takes a lot of practice and it can be very very frustrating at times. And because of this learning curve you're doing yourself a big favor by getting yourself a good call to work with, and good material to learn from. You've in luck though, because you're starting down this road right at the end of season, so you have a full off season to work on it. If you keep yourself focused there's no reason you shouldn't be more than ready to have your call in the field next Fall.


----------



## Kelly Hannan (Jan 9, 2007)

thanks for the confidence, I ordered a flute. Maybe it will help, maybe it won't. Patience, practice, and I need to stick with it. I can call Turkey, Deer and Coyoes, so I think I can call geese. Time will tell


----------



## diver_sniper (Sep 6, 2004)

One warning about mixing flutes and short reeds. It's not a good idea to try and learn both of them at the same time. They are blown in completely opposite ways, so the risk of forming bad or backwards habits is a lot higher. My advice would be to pick one that you're going to learn and stick with it. Later on, and I mean much later, probably a year or so, try the other one. I don't mean to sound too rigid or discouraging, just don't want to see you shooting yourself in the foot.


----------



## Kelly Hannan (Jan 9, 2007)

I understand what your saying. At this point in time I don't intend to learn both. I have had several experienced hunters tell me the flute is easier to start on. I will progress into the short reed later. Thanks


----------



## cut'em (Oct 23, 2004)

Don't do it! Skip the flute. Short reed it you'll be better off in the end. I did the same thing your doing now and regrete time wasted! If your stuck on a flute, pm me your address and I'll send you my barely used Sean Mann Eastern Shoreman in camo pattern for free. It just sits in my garage.


----------



## Old Hunter (Mar 8, 2002)

Kelly listen to cut'em. If your at all serious about goose hunting drop that flute.Your taking the easy way out. Trying to switch to short reed after learning flute will set you back. You will probubly never learn the short reed. You do not need an expensive call. There are many good realitivly cheap calls. You have plenty of time until next year.


----------



## Kelly Hannan (Jan 9, 2007)

I understand, and after this weekend I think my season is about over anyway. I didn't see a single goose. The Geese must be migrating on. Thanks for all the help and I will keep trying


----------



## Kelly Hannan (Jan 9, 2007)

I just ordered the Bad Grammar DVD. I will take my time watch it and pratice. Think I will hang up the shotgun for this season and start getting serious about killing coyotes.


----------



## ronball09 (Feb 21, 2009)

Kelly Hannan said:


> I understand, and after this weekend I think my season is about over anyway. I didn't see a single goose. The Geese must be migrating on. Thanks for all the help and I will keep trying


Hello Kelly,

I have face the same problem with geese, I have Lake front property I want to safe my property by prevent them. Please help me. How can I stop them?

Can that Bad Grammar DVD program really work?


----------



## Kelly Hannan (Jan 9, 2007)

it will help teach you to properly call geese. but that won't rid your property of geese


----------



## Cudda25 (Jan 16, 2008)

only $30 i believe and its called The Goose Whisperer. Its made by rick perry of Winglock calls here in illinois. Its wood and its short and honestly anyone truely anyone could blow it. thats what i started out on before i switched to arcylic short reed...trust me on this one


----------



## Take'em7 (Feb 22, 2009)

$60 for TG Poly carb.

I though like some acrylic and my hand.


----------



## Buck25 (Mar 27, 2008)

Nobody just picks up a short reed and know how to blow it in an hour...You just gotta practice alot. And you probably think that your never gonna get it but if you blow the call enough it will start to come and you will be able to honk.

As soon as you can honk your short reed your already better off then if you had a flute.. and you have a lot of room to improve.

I personally wouldn't waste my time with a flute...PLEASE DONT DO IT! 

oyeah and i second the Tim Grounds Poly carb


----------



## BirdHunter5 (Jan 9, 2009)

When I started I used a Feather Duster it works great


----------



## Kelly Hannan (Jan 9, 2007)

just to clear things up, I bought a flute, it's junk. I stayed with the Goose Hammer II. I can make most of the sounds correctly, maybe not at the right time. I may purchase a different short reed when it gets closer to season time. Maybe it's me, but I think the Hammer II is too loud. I get Geese close then they flare off. If I stop calling when they get close, sometimes they come a little closer, other times it's like they loose interest and fly away. We are getting better, still practicing, and looking forward to next season.

Thanks everyone for all the help


----------



## Matt Jones (Mar 6, 2002)

Mouth call...it's free and easy to use. You just have to hit them with the highs and the lows.


----------



## Kelly Hannan (Jan 9, 2007)

Matt that sounds interesting, I would like more details.


----------



## Brad from ND (Jan 23, 2007)

Stick with the short reed. I just switched from a flute in September. I blew a flute for 15 years and I tell you what, a short reed can really be frustrating to learn after doing the opposite for so long. After 6 months of practicing daily, I finally feel confident in taking them to the field. My advice would be to go to your sporting goods store and try a bunch out. You may find another call that blows easier for you and will speed up your learning curve. I think I've bought 9 different short reeds since I started. I'm now running all Death Row Calls. Find what works best for you. That TG poly Super Mag is a great sounding call for $60. RNT makes a cocobola goose call for about $50 that sounds pretty good, too, if tuned right.


----------



## Buck25 (Mar 27, 2008)

People are always telling beginners to go to the store and try out a bunch of calls...IMO these calls are very often out of tune..the calls that i own and blow sound nothing like they sound in the store. I feel like you could go into a store and blow 15 money maker goose calls for instance, and they could all sound differently!
What are your thoughts on this?


----------



## Brad from ND (Jan 23, 2007)

I agree but maybe one of those 15 sounds exactly the way he likes. A lot of it just comes from the feel in your hands too. I like the way a super mag sounds but to me the inserts aren't big enough around to fit my big hands. I'll never be able to blow that call as well as one that does fit.


----------



## Buck25 (Mar 27, 2008)

I do agree with the feel of it in your hands. I like a short call with a larger sized insert. 
What i'm trying to say i guess is don't always judge every call because you blew it at the store one time; its more how the call is tuned then how the call actually sounds. IMO ofcourse


----------



## Matt Jones (Mar 6, 2002)

Buck25 said:


> People are always telling beginners to go to the store and try out a bunch of calls...IMO these calls are very often out of tune...


The real problem isn't the calls. It's that you have a bunch of people who can't call trying to pick out 'the best call' for them. It'd be like having a 12 year old going car shopping. It's kind of hard to differentiate between the subtle nuances in how a car handles when you've never driven one.

That's why I think the best route to go when you start is to buy a call and stick with it until you know what you're doing. There's so many people who are constantly switching calls looking for the one that suits them best thinking a different call is going to make them a lot better...when all they really need is practice. Let's be honest, when it comes to short reeds there's not that much difference. A guy isn't going to pick up a money maker and completely suck on it, and then pick up a super mag and sound like a world champion. He might be used to one more than the other but he's going to be able to call well on either one.


----------



## blue geese (Apr 1, 2008)

the bad grammer dvd helps alot. i recommend geting it.


----------



## BigQuacker (Jan 21, 2004)

I learned on a flute and got good at that before moving to a short reed, the flute to me seems easier to blow, I got the Buck Gardner flute and it worked for me when I started out. I think the flutes produce a better laydown call then the short reeds, yet short reeds have a louder hail call, so I use both while working birds.


----------



## Buck25 (Mar 27, 2008)

BigQuacker said:


> I learned on a flute and got good at that before moving to a short reed, the flute to me seems easier to blow, I got the Buck Gardner flute and it worked for me when I started out. I think the flutes produce a better laydown call then the short reeds, yet short reeds have a louder hail call, so I use both while working birds.


short read goose calls sound better and are way more versatile then flutes from hail calls to lay down calls and everything inbetween. Beginners like flutes because they are easy to blow and short reeds take practice.


----------



## BBD25 (Nov 28, 2007)

Buck25 said:


> BigQuacker said:
> 
> 
> > I learned on a flute and got good at that before moving to a short reed, the flute to me seems easier to blow, I got the Buck Gardner flute and it worked for me when I started out. I think the flutes produce a better laydown call then the short reeds, yet short reeds have a louder hail call, so I use both while working birds.
> ...


i agree with you. however, thats his opinion. if he likes the flute, then by all means carry it with you. its all about what works for you. not what your buddy has.


----------



## Kelly Hannan (Jan 9, 2007)

that is exactly the problem, the guy down the street has this call and he kills geese, gotta have one of those. Well it may or may not be the best call. There really isn't a best call, get the one you like and practice untill you get good with it.

I do think My Hammer II sounds good, but I think it is too loud, or I haven't figured out how to lower the volume.


----------



## Buck25 (Mar 27, 2008)

> Let's be honest, when it comes to short reeds there's not that much difference. A guy isn't going to pick up a money maker and completely suck on it, and then pick up a super mag and sound like a world champion.


very true.

kelly, your right you can learn to lower the volume of the call by using more back pressure with your hands and tongue, it just takes practice.


----------



## Brad from ND (Jan 23, 2007)

You can always make a loud call soft. But you can't make a soft call loud.


----------



## Kelly Hannan (Jan 9, 2007)

will have to try that to lower volume.

I just switched to more moans and murmurs when they get close. Would like to be able to cluck at them without spooking them.

Keep in mind I have only been at this a short time. I feel I have progressed alot since I started. Only hunted a dozen or so times and we killed a few, saw alot. Had a couple land in our spread(awesome), and had alot within range that should have died. I think my gun barrel must be bent, LOL


----------

