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Any duck hunters? Have a ??

Hands down, my duck calls of choice are Lynch Mob calls

Pat,

I've hunted ducks and geese passionately since I was twelve years old. That's 56 years ago. I've taken an unbelievable number of ducks and geese since then.

Iverson for a duck call, 'though knowing how to use a call is far more important than the brand.

I refuse to use mechanical spinning decoys because I'm old fashioned and to me, that technology is not at all how I want to hunt. For me, spinning duck decoys are little different than hunting deer or elk on a high fence operation.

I do a lot of Duck hunting in CT. First my favorite calls now are RNT. Spinning wing decoys work sometimes. If you're hunting big water, like the CT river or around long island sound, having a big spread with the Mojo's etc work well. The smaller water like say Cromwell or small creeks and ponds, Leave the spinning wing decoys at home and use just a couple of dekes or none at all. Usually the smaller places that attract ducks, the ducks want in anyway and putting out decoys sometimes spooks them. Having a big spread with the mojos on the side of the ct river will often get the ducks flying up or down river to at least take a swing by for a look

I think having at least one spinner can help them commit. Having a motorized feeder making waves also helps. I like a call with medium resistance...if you have a chance to go to an outdoor show and demo some, it might help you find one that works best for you.

Good luck, Pat!

Pat, I duck hunt quite a bit and have to carry all my decoys several miles at the most, so I've never brought the MOJO with me. a buddy of mine has one, and I can't really tell that it has any affect; there's usually enough breeze to move the regular deeks around a bit. I usually have a small spread with a dozen or so at the most and have never really liked the huge spreads. I've had a bunch of different calls, anywhere from a $15 Primos call to a $150 call I won at a DU dinner a few years ago. I don't think calls matter a ton and don't over call! Movement in the blind is key; I've killed many ducks sitting in the open at a pic-nick table and they'll deek in. Also, get a Labrador and teach them to retrieve decoys so you don't need to wear waders (I hate getting decoys!). Get a Drahthaar if you want a killing, blood trailing machine, but they aren't dumb enough to get decoys. They make great retrievers if it's not too cold.

NVA, I have only been hunting for about 28 years. A friend of mine is probably close to you at 56 years and he has every duck stamp since he started in a display case. I save mine now, but I regret throwing so many away thinking they were garbage.

"........ 'though knowing how to use a call is far more important than the brand."

I agree 100% Kyle. The duck club I was in was founded by two brothers and when I hunted there they were in their 70's. The oldest brother was a classic Illinois River waterman, and he could call ducks like no one else I've ever seen. His call of choice was just a regular old P.S Olt. But like you say, it's the caller, not the call.

I hunted a lot of waterfowl for about 25 years, until it got SOOO bad around here for anything but geese that I decided to devote the time I was spending on the waterfowl to more deer hunting.

I used a lot of calls, but the one I liked the best was my Duck Commander Cut Down Mag for hi-balling and getting the attention of high or distant birds. For the in-close stuff I used a Thompson.

The best call and decoy is a bucket of corn. :)

LOL shuteye...you bet.

Agree with the over calling and the spinning wing decoy not being necessary. We use them now and then but I can't prove they actually make a difference, if the birds are going to come in, they seem to come in whether we use them or not. My advice is not to bother. Get a dozen decoys, use the dozen on big water and 2 or 3 in small potholes.

A good easy to blow mallard call is the Haydel's DR 85. They are like $20. Some of the best duck hunters I have ever met use them.

http://haydels.com/product/dr-85-double-reed-mallard/

After spending many days/seasons on the wetlands, I noticed if there were swans in the nearby vicinity the ducks would commit easier (at least to me it seemed easier). So I took a couple Magnum goose decoys and painted them to look like the swans we have here in MI, and I would set them 50-75 yards upwind of our spread. I honestly believe that helped much more than it hurt.

Given our short archery deer seasons in SK I do a lot of duck hunting before and after. When we hunt birds up here they aren't nearly as educated as once they get down south so I'm not sure if my calling is good or if the birds just don't know any better. MOJO style decoys, in my opinion, are the most important piece of our entire spread. Birds see them from a long ways off and once they get close they really help to direct traffic into the landing area. I'd never leave the house without them.

the birds get totally educated to the mojo's by the time they get down in the Missouri part of the Mississippi flyway. the best hunting of the year is just getting started in our southern zone and run through Christmas. The ducks are finally moving down and we have some nasty weather coming in this weekend maybe.

Knowing how and when to use a call is infinitely more important than brand. I always have a single reed and a double reed mallard call on my lanyard. Also a pintail whistle and a goose call. I'm not a big fan of spinning wing decoys but I like to have some movement in the decoys. If the wind is not blowing I us a simple jerk string rig. My main tip is to hunt in a good area! On a good day in the green timber in southeast Arkansas all this calling and decoy stuff is just fluff. When the mallards are dropping in like rain all you need to do is look for the greenheads and be careful to not shoot over your limit!!! If I had to choose between duck or deer hunting only for the rest of my life I would choose to go on to heaven, because there I know I'll be able to hunt both!!! Good luck!

Mojos work but last week we had more groups come in after shutting them off. They get wise to them.

Haydel's redleg mallard call has killed a lot of ducks for me over the years and is relatively cheap. I was a guide for quite a few years and ran RNT, Foiles, Echo, Zink calls, etc. but when I needed ducks feet down I always went back to my redleg!

Mojo decoys have a place and time. They work really well on early season ducks and young of the year ducks. As the season progresses they are less effective. The exception to that being if your sons hunt ducks in grain or feed fields. The mojo is flat out poison on ducks in grain/feed fields. Motion in your decoys can be critical, there are some great motion decoys out there now.

The best advice I can give is to learn how to hide, learn how and when to call, and learn how to set up your decoys for certain situations based upon wind direction and the layout of your marsh/pond/slough.

I've also liked the Haydells calls.

Henry Dierker is my neighbor and his daddy let me bowhunt on the property to kill my first buck with bow and arrow. Henry has a great place to hunt ducks and geese and people come from all over the USA to hunt there. Check it out. He uses some of the flopping wing decoys.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8BuNcl9vec

Im a du life sponsor and have hunted ducks for over fifty years.. there is no magic call any more than a magic clarinet or piano. It takes years to be good usually and hunting with a good caller makes thing go a lot quicker. I can blow a three dollar call. Double reeds blow easier and more mistake proof. When to call and how loud is the key. Generally speaking windy days loud calm days lower. If they come shut up. The electric flappers can help early but they are so over used they are mot what they once were particularly late season when they wont finish or land wide. If u use one get some you can shut on or off remotly. Higdon has a neat intermittent spouter flapper which is great. Hope this helps.

The haydell double reed is a real soft call and my favorite finisher

If you do a single reed and want to high ball find a competition caller and they can show you takes a lot of precisè breath control not to squeal or over blow it.

One last thing avoid rapidly spaced single quacks they are an alarm call usually made by a mallard hen chased by my lab.

Five doctors went duck hunting one day. Included in the group were a GP, a pediatrician, a psychiatrist, a surgeon and a pathologist. After a time, a bird came winging overhead. The first to react was the GP who raised his shotgun, but then hesitated. "I'm not quite sure it's a duck," he said, "I think that I will have to get a second opinion." And of course by that time, the bird was long gone. Another bird appeared in the sky thereafter. This time, the pediatrician drew a bead on it. He too, however, was unsure if it was really a duck in his sights and besides, it might have babies. "I'll have to do some more investigations," he muttered, as the creature made good its escape. Next to spy a bird flying was the sharp-eyed psychiatrist. Shotgun shouldered, he was more certain of his intended prey's identity. "Now, I know it's a duck, but does it know it's a duck?" The fortunate bird disappeared while the fellow wrestled with this dilemma. Finally, a fourth fowl sped past and this time the surgeon's weapon pointed skywards. BOOM!! The surgeon lowered his smoking gun and turned nonchalantly to the pathologist beside him. "Go see if that was a duck, will you?"

Spinning duck decoys? That's like cheating... almost like going with an outfitter or something. ;>) Good luck with the new venture Pat. I am no help, but I do know you will want a full pocket book when you start to hunt waterfowl.

Yep. That's what you do in the duck blind when it's slow....jokes and stories. Some of the best days of my life spent doing that. Even a blue bird day with no ducks flying closer to the ground than 10,000 feet can be memorable beyond belief.

I've learned some really good tips and techniques from kids that got "hooked" on hunting AND fishing. They're unbiased, try things, and have an open mind. Most of them operate on a shoe-string budget too. And that's right up my alley. ;-)

They usually excel in the classroom of the outdoors.

Yep, I like hunting and fishing with kids. They've taught me a lot.

Have fun.

I know what you mean Joey.

What I like the most is when I see one of the kids grow up to be a far better hunter and outdoorsman than I will ever be......I know quite of bunch of them and they have taught me more than I have taught them and ultimately taken me on more and better hunts than I ever took them on as a kid.

You truly reap what you sow....

"Yep. That's what you do in the duck blind when it's slow....jokes and stories."

And don't forget the sure fire way to make ducks appear when you haven't seen a one all day.........step outside the blind to tap a kidney and DON'T TAKE YOUR SHOTGUN!!!

Works every time!

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