# Should i get a new call...or not?



## Quacker Wacker (Oct 12, 2006)

I have a H.S. Slammer short reed call that i bought because i was short on money at the time and i just walked in bought a call and left. Now i am wondering if i should get a better call. What do u guys think? Should i keep my slammer and get some tapes or a video and practice to get better at using it or should i buy a call such as a sr-1 paralyzer that i have been looking at then practice on that? Thanks for the help!


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

My advise is to get a good starter call and then work with it. Learn how to use that one call and make all the goose sounds.

Now with that being said after you get comfortable and can make all the goose sounds needed the u can upgrade or get another call.

So with out knowing too much of your experience as a goose caller or hunter. I would recommend sticking with the call u have and practice, practice and practice. Then use that call for a couple of years until you feel you need to up grade in calls.

I have the SR-1 and it is a good call.

Chuck


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## diver_sniper (Sep 6, 2004)

I answered yes to this question before I even clicked on the topic to see what was inside. I would get 3, maybe even 5 more calls.

I'm kidding. Honestly, getting a different call or not is all up to you, you will be able to learn on either one, there's no real problem there. When you break it down, a short reed is a short reed. As long as you don't tamper with the way it's tuned up, you will be able to learn on just about anything. However, if you do decide to get another one, you MUST pick one of them, and ONLY use that one while you learn. Just like everyone who has ever learned to blow a short reed, I'm sure you're going to want to learn quickly. And if you elect to jump back and forth from call to call you are going to slow your learning pace down a lot.

As far as how to learn. There are two things that will greatly help you out. The best thing would be to find a buddy who knows how to blow, have him teach you some of the basics. Take it in baby steps. Don't try to figure out the honk, cluck, and moan all on the first day. Learn and get a consistant handle one one chunk at a time. The second best thing you can do is to get some of the movies out there. I like them better than the tapes just because you can see what you need to do. Sometimes half the battle is learning what to do with your hands, not your air.

And like I said, baby steps. No matter how you do it, don't take on more than you can handle. Spend a half an hour just honking. Then a half hour just clucking. Then 15 minutes mixing them together. Learn to do it fast and slow.

Don't worry about having a string full of expensive calls until you are able to use them. It's never too impresive to meet a guy with a grand worth of calls around his neck who can't make them sound like anything.


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## muddy river (Jan 16, 2007)

I had a nice call and decided to buy a better one because I thought I'd be better on it. I bought the Bay Country Call "Shore Thing" by John Taylor. He's the most recent winner of the World Champion of Champions goose calling contest. Paid $155. I like the call but I really don't sound any different on it than the one I already had. Now I'm kinda regretting buying it. No offense to the call maker. It's a great call. Just make sure you're 100% sure you want to buy the call before you purchase it is the only advice I can give you. Otherwise you're stuck with an expensive call that you need to turn around and sell on ebay for a loss. :eyeroll:


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## hunter121390 (Nov 7, 2006)

i have an H.S. slammer also. up until this year it was my favorite call. it was so easy for me to blow. i could make all the sounds right out of the package. ive been working with the buck gardner canada hammer 2, and ive got it almost down pat. ive been using those two calls for the past 2 years and have not had any problems


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

I'm assuming the Slammer is a lot like the C. Hammer II...both great poly calls and easy to blow.

How is your confidence in the call? If you're confident and killing geese, buying more calls isn't as important....and be careful, once you start buying multiple you'll turn into a call junky quick. I spent a lot of time hanging around the bad crowd....sleeping in gutters to pay for my call addiction....then I went on the 10-step program and I only blow a couple calls now. 

The more calls I blow and use, the more I find they're all VERY close to the same. THE most important part is your ability, the call itself comes second.

If you haven't already, buy an instructional video if you haven't already. I've always considered Honker Talk the bible myself.

Good luck.


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## hunter121390 (Nov 7, 2006)

ya ive gotten pretty good with both calls and ive killed plenty of geese, although i could kill more if the limit was higher then 2 a day here in wisconsin. they are quite similar. i found the H.S. Slammer easier to blow then the canada hammer 2. it took me a long time to get used to canada hammer 2. i just couldnt figure it out. then i started using my hands and hand motions more, and i got it down pretty good now. although the weird thing is, i bought the one i have, and my dad bought the same canada hammer 2, and they sound completely different, and we cant get my dads in tune. i need to work with it more. right now i have those two calls and a cheap goose flute. moneys tight for me so i dont really have money to buy expensive calls, but the three i have i like, im not really sure of the flute's name ill have to check it out. i could call on the flute good right away, but flutes are also easier to blow. what i need to get is some new decoys,or paint to fix up mine. there so worn down and the paint is chipped up and off too. o well. i need a gun first


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## diver_sniper (Sep 6, 2004)

muddy river said:


> I had a nice call and decided to buy a better one because I thought I'd be better on it. I bought the Bay Country Call "Shore Thing" by John Taylor. He's the most recent winner of the World Champion of Champions goose calling contest. Paid $155. I like the call but I really don't sound any different on it than the one I already had. Now I'm kinda regretting buying it. No offense to the call maker. It's a great call. Just make sure you're 100% sure you want to buy the call before you purchase it is the only advice I can give you. Otherwise you're stuck with an expensive call that you need to turn around and sell on ebay for a loss. :eyeroll:


Two things. One, no need to regret buying it. The calls are all similar. Spending 150 bucks on one doesn't mean it's going to do anything magical and dump geese right at your feet. Once you've blown them long eough you start to notice the differences. Just keep working with it.

Second thing. John Tayor didn't win the World. His calls took 1st and 3rd, but he wasn't blowing them. Unless your talking about the Champion of Champions, which is a different contest. I can't remember off the top of my head who won that one. I guess it coulda been John. I think he kind of backed off of the contest thing.

Chris called it though. If you really get into these things it's like acrylic crack. You will wind up broke. And you will still want more. Bible is a good word to reference Honker Talk to as well. That was my guiding light. I think a lot of the other guys on here would say the same thing.


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## Blue Plate (Jul 31, 2006)

I've tried them all and I think the most hyed calls are the hardest to blow. It's funny to me all the guys out there pimping Zink calls. Anyway, goose calls are mostly the same it's small differences that make them stick out. The first thing I look for is how easy is the call to blow? Usually, I will tune them light so they are high piched but can still get low with the right amount of back pressure.

A friend of mine is a call maker, I tried his calls with different sets of guts: clucker, H&S, flyway X and Zink . . it made the same call sound a bit different.


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

A guy can never have too many calls.

If money is tight, get a Winglock Short Reed or a Heartland X-Out. I said it before, but I like the X-Out so much, I have one on each of my lanyards, including my primary with all my high end calls.

You can also often pick up a deal on the Classifieds. Guys try calls and sell the ones that don't fit their style all the time....


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## sodakhunter13 (Feb 2, 2007)

Im fairly new to a short reed as well but I notice a huge difference between a poly call and an acrylic call. However I completely agree you should learn to blow the poly and get all of the sounds down before you go and spend 100-150 on a call. I started out on a Zink poly power clucker and now have the Money Maker. I did the same with duck calls, started on a Primos Yo Sista and now I have two Power Hens.


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## ndwaterfowler (May 22, 2005)

I always tell people to start out on something that's good but inexpensive. A canada hammer or call in the $30 or less price range is a good place to start. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!! Once you get comfortable with the call and feel confident that you can make the sounds you want, when you want then I would look at stepping up but only if you feel the need to. At that point, I would suggest going to your local sporting goods store----Cabela's, Scheel's, Gander, etc... and trying out a bunch of different calls, maybe even do this multiple times. Once you find one that you are satisfied with, go for it and PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE some more! Just my input for what it's worth.

Chris


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## Honker Hunter 1 (Jun 24, 2007)

I have $20.00 calls and $100.00+ calls and they all work.

If you can blow a $20.00 short reed the call you can blow a $100.00 short reed call.
If you can't blow a $20.00 short reed call you won't be able to blow a $100.00 call either.

Get some tapes and practice :beer:


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## finhunter (Sep 20, 2006)

i bought my hs slammer last summer, over the summer i practice and when the hunting season start here finland i get some geese. Well thei are greylag goose, we hawe canadagoose olso but last season i dont see enyone in the field where i hunt.

i have guestons..
Du u people use difrent call when u hunt goose field and water?

And if somebody can give some advice how make pond right!

Thank u


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

finhunter said:


> i bought my hs slammer last summer, over the summer i practice and when the hunting season start here finland i get some geese. Well thei are greylag goose, we hawe canadagoose olso but last season i dont see enyone in the field where i hunt.
> 
> i have guestons..
> Du u people use difrent call when u hunt goose field and water?
> ...


I don't hunt water much for geese, but when I do I like to use a softer call as the water really projects the sound. So I put my acrylics away around water and just use wood, which gives a more mellow tone. That's just me though, a lot of guys like to call em loud and hard over water.


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## PJ (Oct 1, 2002)

A lot of guys go old skool and blow flutes when they hunt over water. I just bring along my dad because he still rocks the Big River.


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## Blue Plate (Jul 31, 2006)

On water I still us acrylics, it's loud but I don't call as much. When the geese set-up I only will murmur or moan with a few clucks.


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## universitywaterfowler (Jul 15, 2007)

HERES WHAT YOU DO: Call or talk to the head guys at the call factories. Fred Zink, Jeff Foiles etc... they are more than happy to work with you. My FIRST short reed was a Straight Meat Honker, Jeff grabbed it out of my hands when i tried it at first tuned it, threw it back at me said letter rip, I blew the call without ever blowing one before, got it to cluck and honk, looked at my dad he said its yours and we bought a straight meat mallard to boot. This was all about 7 or 8 years ago, you'll find no one can give you better advice or make you a better call then these guys when they customize them for you.  I talk to Jeff every year at the Game Fair he's awesome, a little more pre-occupied nowadays but big Sean can help too. Same goes for zink, Sean Mann, Buck and Barney, I've talked to them all many of times. Be aggressive when your using a short reed, blow the call don't let it blow you. :sniper:


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