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The Lesson One Sunday on the way to the club I decided that things needed to change. It was time to give some lessons. Hopefully you can learn something from the experiences of my hunting buddies. Lesson #1 As with most morning hunts, you have an initial rush of birds that are in the decoys before you can react. This morning wasn't any different. We shot a few and scared a few more. After the initial rush was over we settled into the blind and waited for birds. Off in the distance we could just make out a flock of mallards headed toward us. We watched the birds with growing anticipation as they got closer and closer. It's awesome when they fly straight in like they were on a string. At about 100 yards I reached for the blind cover while seeing visions of a slaughter fest. But, that's when it happened. One of my buddies, we'll call him Jimbo the cat molester (Jim for short), raised his call to his lips and let out what I think was a greeting call, but sounded more like cats in the grips of love. I knew right then that those birds were lost. Right on cue, they turned tail and gained altitude like they were trying to catch the space shuttle. I shook my head, relaxed the grip on my shotgun, backed away from the blind cover and decided this would be the perfect time for a "lesson". I started the lesson by asking Jimbo "why did you call to those birds?" Jim replied "so they would land in the decoys!" Unfortunately, Jim was suffering from an ailment that a lot of duck hunters suffer from: Calling because you think you have to. There's a huge misconception that without calling, your spread will look unrealistic to ducks. Let me tell you: That isn't the case. There are times to call to ducks and there are times to shut up. Let's review a couple of these: SHUT UP: If birds are doing what you want them to do then shut up. If they circle and look like they are going to land: SHUT UP! If everyone in your county is highballing to every duck that flies by: SHUT UP! If ducks are flying right at you: SHUT UP! This may sound like novice information to some of you, but I see it time and time again every year. Waterfowlers call to hear themselves call. I can understand. We spend big money buying expensive calls, spend countless hours learning to make nice ducky sounds and want nothing more than to make sweet music with it. That's great as long as you are calling at the right time. Sometimes no calling is the most effective calling you can do! TIMES TO CALL: Tips and tails ladies, tips and tails. The only time I call to birds is when I am looking directly at a wing tip or their tail. If I see tips then I work finesse calling. Greeting calls, feed chuckles, single quacks, lonesome hen. If I see tails then I hit them with the come back. And hit them hard. NOT loud, just excitedly hard! If they spin around and start back toward the decoys: Read prior rule. Lesson #2 At one point during the morning I had departed the blind to retrieve a bird that folded in the corn. While out of the blind a group of birds cleared the tree line and headed for the decoys. Jim, being the astute student that he is, SHUT UP! The birds approached and made the obligatory circle. Jim took that to mean it was time to call. I might have to agree with him. Jim let out a couple of single quacks that sounded fairly good and kept the attention of the birds. On the second pass he gave his best rendition of a comeback call. Problem was it came out totally garbled, run together and didn't sound like ducks. Once again the birds left the area in a hurry! After retrieving the bird and returning to the blind I asked Jim to make a couple of single quacks. He did and they passed muster as ducky sounds. I then asked him to blow his comeback call. He turned red quicker than a 10 year old with a nudy magazine. He told me "I can't do a comeback call". When asked why he tried a comeback if he can't do one he replied "That's what they do in the videos and I figured it was the only way to make them turn". PROBLEM: Most average callers want to emulate what they see and hear on hunting videos and TV shows. I think it is admirable and all of us should strive to become the best callers we can be. But, remember, the guys on the videos are professionals. They are hired or sponsored because they are experts in the field of calling. They have spent countless years practicing their craft and are damn good. Practice along with them at home. If you can do it at home, then try it while hunting. But, if you can't blow a comeback call at home, DON'T TRY IT IN THE BLIND! SOLUTION: The old analogy of duck hunting being like golf fits here. When you go to the driving range you should be focused on your swing. Working out the kinks that make that ball do the things you want it to do. When you get on the course you don't want to think about your swing, you just want to flow. Same goes here. The place to practice your calling is in your car on the way to work, in the living room when your wife watches chic flicks (not recommended) or when your buddy passes out in the tent. If you're in the blind and there isn't someone who is an accomplished caller, then you need to stick to what you know. If you can only make single quacks, then make single quacks. If you can make a feed chuckle, then throw in a feed chuckle. Mix the two if you can do it. But DON'T do something that is out of your comfort zone. You will kill way more ducks sounding ducky with single quacks then you will attempting something you can't do and sounding like love stricken cats. If you're not an accomplished caller please don't take these comments as being disrespectful. They definitely were NOT intended that way. Take Jimbo's experiences as an example of what not to do, and more importantly, as a motivator to practice your calling. Practice enough and someday it could be you who is giving the lesson. I'll let you know what we work on next week. Who knows, maybe they'll teach me something new! David "DD" Miller www.ddcalls.com |
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