It was 28 years ago this November when I first experienced mallards settling into decoys. They were poorly converted styrofoam planters purchased at the local flea market on an 18-year-old’s budget. I went several times that season and never cut a feather.
A year later I was more prepared. I had spent some time shooting skeet and had purchased a duck call. I had no idea how to use it, but I had it, a Faulks WA-33. I acquired an instructional cassette tape and worked on my skills. One morning my brother-in-law and I were stalking ducks when we jumped two wood ducks. One of us dropped one of them; the other kept going. I reached for my call. I laid into it, trying to mimic the sounds I had been practicing. Lo and behold, that duck turned around and came back over the trees. I have heard for 27 years, “You can’t call wood ducks.” Indeed.
Since then I have worked on being proficient with duck, turkey and deer calls. Now that I make and sell calls, I always ask, “What kind of call do you use?” Too often, people tell me, “I don’t do much calling. I never learned.” I guess it stirs me to teach, because the ability is in everyone, and usually people want to learn new skills. You can learn the basics in no time.
There are payoffs to learning to call wild game. To name a few:
- There is simply no greater pleasure in hunting than actually interacting with your prey, calling it in and “making something happen.” I will never forget that morning when I turned that woodie around for my brother-in-law. Nor will I forget the first time I knew a buck came to my grunts, head up, looking to see who was in his territory. My 12-year-old daughter grunted in her first deer just last night, and although she asked me to take the shot, not feeling comfortable with the distance, we knew that doe had come in to her grunting.
- When nothing is happening, calling can change that. And when it does, you know your hard work and practice paid off.
- You might be the only one who can call! If your buddies know you are a decent caller, guess who gets invited to go.
- We sacrifice sleep, time, money and energy to hunt. The perfect finish is to proficiently call your game. No football team is complete without a good kicker for that last-minute field goal. So, when the decoys have been placed, the dog is tucked away and the wind is so strong that pass shooting is impossible, change the game by turning those birds with some good calling.
Tim Rupard is the owner and call maker for Rais~A~Ruckus Game Calls. Check out their instructional videos on YouTube by searching Raisaruckus. View and purchase custom, handmade calls by calling (770) 262-9962 or visiting www.raisaruckus.com. Like Rais~A~Ruckus on Facebook.
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