What are your go to calls, and what should be mine?

[Aaron Hitchins]

I'm starting up calling and i am curious as to which calls I should be able to make (for both ducks and geese), when i should use them, and what should be my go-to call. If anyone has a chart that shows what everything means that would be great, as i've seen it for turkeys but never ducks or geese. What calls to get attention, what calls for finishing etc. etc.. Any help would be appreciated,

Aaron

[Keath Wetovick]

Since i got my acrylic SR-1 its my go to call for canada's, but a wood call is a nice call for finishing geese though.

[Jason Connellee]

Zink Little Man. Great call.

[Mike Bard]

For geese I like the Zink Little Man or Zink RH-1 as an all purpose call. They are both a little higher pitched than a lot of calls and are very fast.

Sorry I misunderstood at first too... for geese, initially you should learn some basic clucks and moans. You can do a lot with these just by changing your volume or speed. If the geese are far off you want to be loud and then as they approach I typically get softer and slower on the calling. If they begin to peel off I get loud and pick up the speed. I think that the best thing to do is listne to real geese and try to copy them the Zink cd is great for that. An good instructional cd that I like is the Breakthrough II cd by Steve Smith.

I'm not much of a duck caller but as far as volume and speed, the same holds true.

Good luck

[Jeremy McIntyre]

I also use the Zink LM-1 like Mike and Jason. It's a very responsive call. For the ducks the Power Hen is my go to call.

[Scott Turpen]

The way I read your question you're asking which notes and sounds to make at different times. I'll offer my advice on geese because ducks are diff ballgame and would take a little bit longer to explain.

When geese are a long way off the best call is a flag. Then you worry about the call. If the geese are a long way off then a good loud high pitch note works best because it will travel the farthest. Just something to get there attention. Now if they have turned toward you then you can go to diff pitch notes by manipulating your hands. As they get closer you should get faster only if they are calling back, if they are quiet then just maons and few clucks is needed unless they slide off then get on them. When they get in closer then you get fast if you haven't already. DO WHAT THE GEESE DO. If they try and sit down long get on them hard and flag. One tip though, if it is cloudy don't flag when they are real close. As far as a go to call there isn't one just have several diff notes that you can make in case the ones you offered them don't work.

I would recommend getting some instructional CD's and video's to explain all the diff calls ducks and geese make. Some good videos are Fred Zinks "Ancient Art of Paralyzing". It's offered in duck and goose as well as Shawn Stahl's Honker Talk. As far as CD's there is a ton of them Zink has "Canada's Gone Wild" and "Mallards Gone Wild" (both Zink CD's have actual recordings of birds and what better teacher than the real thing) Dave Smith has one for geese, and for ducks another good one is by Keith Allen the Refugeman. Get as many as you can the more the better. If you don't want to buy that many I have let several people borrow mine(I still haven't got back either :rolleyes: ) and I'm sure someone will be glad to let you borrow some. Good luck and I hope helped in someway.

[njhonker]

#1 lanyard...Foiles Strait Meat Honker bourbon and water, Foiles SMH Cocobolo w/smoke insert, Foiles High Plains Honker neon, Foiles Market Hunter wood

#2 lanyard...Foiles SMH Shawn Stahl model, Foiles SMH Green diamondwood with comp insert, Foiles High Plains Honker in Max4, Foiles Meatgrinder in Wetlands camo, Foiles Market Hunter black & white acrylic

[njhonker]

Aaron,
sorry, I misunderstood your post.....well...yes, Zink's Cd and video are very good for understanding what calls to make and how to make them in a hunting situation. Also, Jeff Foiles' new DVD..Calling Geese 2.0 has excellent info on that also and also has footage of geese in a hunting situation and it explains what calls to make and when......good luck.

[Aaron Hitchins]

I guess i didnt explain well enough... like should i know clucks moans comebacks etc. etc... thanks TN hunter and nj honker for figuring it out,

Aaron

[njhonker]

my favorite calls depend on the situation....

sometimes fast double clucks...
sometimes soft seductive clucks with moans...

just depends on the situation....sometimes silence is the best call...

[Brett Beinke]

For new callers, both duck and geese, learn soft natural calls first. Too many duck callers try to ring it and too many goose callers try to go waaaaay to fast. Learn thier calm content talk then work you way into more aggressive calling. Go to areas that hold birds and listen to them. If you do not have these areas available get Zinks Canadas Gone Wild and Mallards Gone Wild cd's. Reading birds is very important and that is tough to do without learning to watch birds and how they react to noises. Slowly work your calling into natural sounds and stick with what you can do well. I do not know how to answer your what call to do when because every bird is a little different and if you do not know how to read them you might be spooking them!

[Chris Holleger]

On my Lanyard I have...

Zink MoneyMaker
Zink LM-1
Zink Paralyzer XR-2

The LM-1 as well as The Money Maker is a great call and the XR-2 is pure duck.

[Max4Gooser]

I am in agreement with NJHonker on all accounts. The Foiles DVDis excellent, and will teach you a lot.

[Scott Moates]

Aaron,

You just need to find which call you are comfortable with and learn to watch the ducks and geese to see what calls they respond to best.

[imported_Derek Rambo]

Zink LM-1......Freddie will have to totally out do himself before he comes up with a better one than this!
Zink Power Hen.....awesome!

[Robb Nicolay]

Can't beat the Lm-1 for geese and the power hen for ducks. If you need help talkin the talk, I would suggest Zink Calls Video Ancient art of Paralyzing. Freddie takes you step by step what sounds to use and when.

[Richnkwack]

Try lots of calls! But for ducks and geese, the Zink audio CDs, "Canadas Gone Crazy" and "Mallards Gone Crazy" are must haves. They show you what you need to sound like. Hope this helps.

-Mark Wood

[Jason Campbell]

On my lanyard:

RNT Acrylic Speck (high pitch)
RNT Poly Speck (Low pitch, raspy)

RNT Daisy Cutter (Black Acrylic)
RNT New Old Style (Cocobola)

Like Scott Moates said, use what works best for you.

[Doug Steinke]

Ducks - Zink Power Hen
Canucks - I5KLR

[JEDJR]

Geese-RNT Black acrylic Speck
Ducks-RNT Black acrylic short barrell