Waterfowl
In the fall of 2010, I decided that my list of hobbies wasn’t quite long enough. I mean, right now the only activities I have going on are 3-Gun, USPSA, IDPA, Sporting Clays, Reloading for all the above, hunting whitetail deer, turkeys, rabbits, squirrels, coyotes and crows, working on my MBA, a full-time job of course, and my wife and I have our first baby on the way. So, with so much free time on my hands, I wisely went on my first duck hunt. Of course, this didn’t turn out to be the boring, bone-chilling, come home empty-handed cluster that it could’ve been, oh no. It turns out we slayed ‘em, and unfortunately I am now thoroughly hooked on waterfowl hunting. So, after a few months of driving my wife and everyone else nuts by playing various duck calls like a kazoo, I can quack (kind of). The photo is my new lanyard, from MuddyDog Outdoors. Top left is a Primos HonkyTonk short reed goose call. Below that is a Reactor double reed duck call from Buck Gardner. Top right is a Double Nasty double reed duck call, also from Buck Gardner and below that is a Strait Suzy double reed duck call from Foiles Migrators. I’d have to say that the Strait Suzy is the easiest to blow, and I think it sounds the best. The Buck Gardner calls sound very good, but it takes a bit more practice to get them to sound right (not that I have yet). Duck hunting, for those who don’t know, is an expensive hobby. There’s decoys, calls, steel shot, waders, layout blinds, and all sorts of expensive props you’ll need to play. The good part is, if you have friends who hunt waterfowl, chances are that they will have lots of gear. The bad part is, the pity hunts run out quick, and you stop getting invited if you have nothing to contribute. Once I learned this, I figured I’d better at least learn to call so I might get invited more often. A few $50.00 calls are a lot cheaper than 6 dozen decoys, or feeding a Lab for the next 15 years. So, I’m working on it, getting a little less terrible all the time. If you hunt waterfowl, and especially if you have tips for beginning callers, let me know.
