Top Rated Single Reed Duck Call for 2011:

When it comes to range of sounds and ability to turn a duck call into a finely tuned instrument there is really only one way to go – and that is the single reed call.  Just about every manufacturer makes a single reed duck call these days, and for any experienced duck hunter a single reed is almost always a staple on their lanyard.  When looking across the duck call landscape there are many great single reed calls on the market today.  However, for my money I am going with the Rich n Tone Daisy Cutter.  Sure it isn’t a new call, and many around the duck hunting world are sure to have one already on their lanyard.  Well worth the money.  I would get it in acrylic due to the high volume of acrylic calls.

Top Rated Double Reed Duck Call for 2011:

When it comes to finding an easy to blow call you would be hard pressed to find a call that is easier to blow well than a double reed call.  For this reason I suggest it for nearly all beginning duck hunters, and knowingly give up the high end volume of single reeds calls.  The problem lies in the reeds sticking together when it gets cold and wet (a pretty common occurrence in the duck blind!), so you need to select one that minimizes that risk.  For me it comes down to one of the staples of the double reed world, the Zink XR-2 paralzyer duck call.  The sticking from the reeds hasn’t happened to me and I love the ease of blowing and the straight “ducky” sound that this call exudes.

When it comes time to find the best duck calls for sale on the market today it would be in your best interest to take into consideration the two calls listed above.  Both will set you back a little bit in terms of cost, but the years of great use and results will make up for it.

I want to throw in a side note here and give you a run down of the ducks that are commonly encountered when diver duck hunting: Canvas Backs, Read Heads, Greater and Lesser Scaup, Buffle Heads, Golden Eyes, Ruddy Ducks, and Ring Necks.

In my research I found that divers have two basic noises that they make-a purr type sound and a bark/growl type of sound. Neither of these sounds is heard very often nor are they very loud when they are heard. Most of the time these two noises are used to by the ducks to show contentment in where they are (the purr), or as tools for attracting a mate (the bark/growl).

When my brother, my dad, and I first got into duck hunting we bought one of just about every type of call we could find, so that we would be ready to call at any birds we might encounter while hunting. One of the calls we bought was a DJ Illinois River Valley K11 diver duck call. It took a while to master but with that call, the purr and the bark resemble a real duck’s noises quite well. The purr noise is made by rolling your tongue the same way you would for a pintail whistle; once you can roll your tongue and get a consistent purr, cut it into short spurts. The bark is made with a short “Hoot” type of sound where the note starts off loud and crisp.

In my experience, diver duck calls are not effective in turning ducks toward your spread at long distance. For those birds I would recommend flagging or having motion decoys to get their attention. The diver duck call can come in handy when you have birds that are short stopping on the outside edge of your decoys. When birds look like they are about to land outside of your kill zone, one or two quick barks and/or purrs can be just what the ducks needed to hear to finish right in front of you.

This post brought to you by Nick Kirby, he's a great kid who loves to talk about duck calls, duck hunting waders, and everything in between relating to duck hunting.   Here is his bio:

My Name is Nick Kirby, I was raised, and still live in South Carolina. I have been called by God to a life in His ministry; I am currently serving as a youth minister in a local church. I have only been hunting waterfowl for 3 full seasons, but have learned and grown by leaps and bounds each year. My younger brother and I are constantly seeking to learn new water and new spots for hunting Geese and ducks. Recently I started my own blog, journalofawaterfowler.blogspot.com, where I write of my good and bad days chasing waterfowl. I am excited to have the opportunity to share on this website some of my insights and knowledge, most of what I have learned has come the hard way (not doing it right the first time). I hope that you all are able to gain a little something from what I have to share in my coming posts.

Now, for these vintage calls we aren't talking about the Rich N Tone Daisy Cutter (although perhaps the prototypes would be worth something).  Let's take a look at what sort of vintage duck calls are out there:

Iverson Vintage Duck Calls

OLD PINTAIL SPRIG WHISTLE DUCK CALL IVERSON    US $39.00

EV IVERSON DUCK CALL 1950S SUITABLE FOR ANY COLLECTION OR USE    US $200.00

While still in production, Iverson duck calls was started in the 1940's by E.V. Iverson.  Born in the prairie pothole region of North Dakota, Iverson would go on to craft some of the best calls ever made.  Iverson is known for making all of his calls by hand and using the best of treated hard woods such as Rosewood, briar and teak as well as the fairly common cocobolo.

P.S. Olt Vintage Duck Calls

VINTAGE PSOLT Model 200 DUCK CALL PEKIN ILL    US $15.50

VINTAGE PS OLT PRESENTATION DUCK CALL USED    US $29.00

PS OLT DUCK CALL CO ADVERTISING COIN PURSE OLD MINT    US $39.00

P S Olt Duck Call Model No D 2 Keyhole    US $43.00

PS OLT Sonderman 66 Duck Call Pekin Illinois Decoy Goose    US $49.95

VINTAGE PS OLT Reg DUCK CALL MODEL No D 2    US $21.50

Herters Vintage Duck Calls

HERTERS WORLD FAMOUS VIT GLUDO DUCK CALL    US $75.00

HERTERS WORLD FAMOUS INDIAN GLUDO DUCK CALL IN BOX    US $85.00

VINTAGE HERTERS DUCK CALL PINTAIL WHISTLE HUNTING    US $24.99

1940S HERTERS LIFETIME CROW DUCK CALL BLUE BOX MODEL    US $40.00

Vintage 1950s HERTERS Minnesota Duck Goose Call Leather Pouch    US $24.99

VINTAGE HERTERS WASECA MINN CALL DUCK DECOY HUNTING CALL GOOSE    US $20.50

Charles Perdew Vintage Duck Calls

CHARLES PERDEW CROW DUCK TURKEY CALL NICE    US $100.00

VINTAGE PATD 1909 CHARLES H PERDEW HENRYILL DUCK CALL    US $76.00

ANTIQUE WOOD DUCK CALL CHARLES H PERDEW VERY OLD WORKS WELL    US $80.00

Antique Wood Duck Call CHARLES H PERDEW ESTATE FIND    US $129.41

When it comes to vintage duck calls I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Charles Perdew calls.  Born in the river region of Illinois, Perdew hand carved duck calls and decoys and is well known for his attention to detail.

FA Allen Vintage Duck Calls

Larger FAAllen Vintage Wood Duck Game Call Monmouth IL Illinois    US $35.07

Smaller FAAllen Vintage Wood Duck Game Call Monmouth IL Illinois    US $25.79

THE FUNDAMENTALS OF DUCK CALL OPERATION KEITH ALLEN CD NEW    US $5.00

FA Allen is considered the pioneer of the modern duck call, and given the fact that he passed away at the beginning of the 20th century his calls can be hard to come by.  Credited with inventing the barrel and straight tone board that had a curved reed, Allen is recognized as being one of the first people to ever commercially sell duck calls.

Ken Martin Vintage Duck Calls

Ken Martin Duck Call Lemont ILL    US $175.00

Ken Martin Duck Call    US $60.75

Nice Old Vintage Ken Martin Hand Made Tuned Duck Call Box    US $14.51

Ken Martin Horse Shoe Lake Goose Call BOX INSTRUCTIONS PRICE LIST    US $26.00

As can be seen, there are a lot of great vintage duck calls to choose from and given what you want you can find a great one to match your collection.

Or perhaps you are into making your own calls.  I have a cousin in law that makes beautiful wood barrels that he has been putting acrylic inserts into.  They look great and sound very good, and he is not a grizzled duck call making veteran.  He is great at wood working for sure, so that looks of his call are very pleasing to the eye.  The great part about the acrylic inserts is that they are available in many color shades and can be mixed and matched with many calls to make a call very pleasing for the eye as well as good in the blind.

For those that are really into having their calls customized buying an acrylic insert and either buying yourself a custom barrel, paying someone to make you one or making one yourself.  This can add a great looking call that is the envy of your hunting buddies.

Popular colors include clear, smoke, blue, pearl white, amber, black and many others.  You can mix and match as you see fit.  Loud to make those ducks take notice from across the marsh with the range to make just about any sound, acrylic is really the top material you can get for a duck call. The material also is extremely durable against all the elements that you are likely to see in the duck blind.  Buying your own acrylic insert for your duck call is something that every serious duck hunter should look into.

This is a perfect time to take out your duck whistle and give it a shot.  My personal favorite is the drake mallard quack, which is more of a soft buzzing noise.  It works wonders on those call shy ducks.  For teal a few peeps will turn them on a dime where a mallard call will keep them on their merry way.  Sometimes it pays to put away your duck calls for a moment and try a different approach.

Do you use a duck whistle in your duck hunting?

BUCK GARDNER 6 AND 1 WHISTLE DUCK CALL    US $9.77

Buck Gardner 6 N 1 Duck Whistle Call    US $9.95

BUCK GARDNER THE SYSTEM DUCK CALL COMBO KIT MALLARD W WHISTLE    US $17.99

Buck Gardner Mallard Magic Whistle Duck Call SYSTEM    US $24.95

To begin with, we must separate out duck calls into single reed and double reed. A single reed call is a very versatile call that can run the gamut of sounds and ranges, but it more difficult to master. Especially for a beginner a single reed call might not be the best choice. The double reed duck call has two reeds and therefore lacks the range of a single reed, but makes up for that in terms of being much easier to blow and master. Double reeds are generally softer than single reeds which is great for calling in close quarters.

Another aspect is what material is the call made out of. The two most common high quality materials is wood and acrylic. You will also find a fair amount of poly calls as well, but in general I have found them to lack the sound you are looking for. The key difference in materials is that acrylic calls can be much louder and carry much further than wood duck calls. This is especially important when considering what type of hunting you will be doing. In an open space you want a loud call and should gravitate towards an acrylic duck call. Another key aspect is that acrylic has less variance in sound over the temperature ranges you would expect to see in a duck blind. Wood expands and contracts to a much greater degree leading to different sounds depending on the air temperature.

Personally, if I were to pick a perfect duck set up it would be two calls. A single reed meant to reach out and grab them, in which case I would choose a Rnt Daisy Cutter duck call. I would couple that with a double reed meant to work the close in birds, and that would be Fred Zink XR-2 Paralyzer duck call. Both would be in acrylic due to the wide array of temperatures I hunt in.

Again, by "meat duck call" I mean it is made for the sole purpose of getting ducks to commit and give quality shots while duck hunting. Basically, this call is meant to sound like a live duck.

So what sets apart the XR-2? Well first off, it is a double reed duck call. Why is a double reed important? Generally speaking they are easier to blow well and pretty much eliminates sticking of the reed, which can occur with single reeds. They are generally softer in sound than their acrylic single reed brethren, and work great for those in close ducks. The feeding chatter call sounds great on the XR-2.

So who should be in the market for a double reed call such as the Zink XR-2? I think this is a great first call beginning hunters due to it being a double reed and being easier to blow a quality quack with it. I would also recommend for those experienced hunters to use in combination with their favorite single reed. Many of my hunting partners have the XR-2 paired with a single reed like the RnT Daisy Cutter to reach the full spectrum of calls required in any given situation.

I hope that explains the reasoning behind choosing a Zink Paralyzer XR-2 to add to your lanyard.

So what do I mean by "meat" call?  I mean this call isn't meant to win a calling contest, it is made for the sole purpose of getting ducks in your face for high quality shots.  Plain and simple, a "meat" call will sound like a duck.

So let's talk specifics on the RnT Daisy Cutter.  First off, from their site, the Daisy Cutter has "a higher reed set along with a wider bore to give it a more demanding presence".  So let's dig into that a little bit.  That just means that this call can get really loud if need be to attract those far off ducks.

I should also mention that this call is a single reed duck call.  In general, the single reed calls are more difficult to blow, but have a much wider range and generally can produce superior calls than a double reed call.

I have a hunting buddy that has a Daisy Cutter and I have seen him call ducks in from great distances to right in your face.  If used correctly, this is a very good call.

I'd give it a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5!

****½ (4.5/5)

Hope that sheds a little light into the reasons a person would be in the market for a RnT Daisy Cutter call.

Custom RNT Original Signed By Butch Duck Call NOT Daisy Cutter    US $105.00

RNT RICH N TONE DAISY CUTTER TIMBER HAWG SINGLE REED DUCK CALL COCOBOLO WOOD NEW    US $79.99

RNT RICH N TONE DAISY CUTTER MONDO ACRYLIC SINGLE REED DUCK CALL BOOTS ON NEW    US $134.99

RNT RICH N TONE DAISY CUTTER EL DIABLO ACRYLIC SINGLE REED DUCK CALL BLACK NEW    US $134.99

RNT RICH N TONE DAISY CUTTER TIMBER HAWG ACRYLIC DUCK CALL IVORY NEW    US $134.99

RNT Rich N Tone Daisy Cutter Full Scoll Hedge Duck Call    US $99.99

RNT Rich N Tone Daisy Cutter duck call 2nd Generation Old style toneboard    US $202.50

RNT RICH N TONE DAISY CUTTER TIMBER HAWG ACRYLIC DUCK CALL BOOTS ON NEW    US $134.99

Rich N Tone RNT old style Daisy Cutter    US $200.00

RNT RICH N TONE DAISY CUTTER SINGLE REED ACRYLIC DUCK CALL PEARL BLACK NEW    US $134.99

Using the high quality  acrylic duck calls of today a hunter can make many soft gentle calls of a mallard.  My favorite call is the low pitched duck quack.  I use a duck whistle to make this sound - it is very easy to do and very productive.

After duck hunting season begins and the ducks have been shot at for several days or weeks they become wary of all of loud duck calls.  Being quiet can be your next secret weapon to have more productive duck hunts.

The debate continues what material is best when buying a goose call or duck call: acrylic vs. wood. My personal choice is wood for many reasons including look and feel, but each material type has its advantages and disadvantages. There is a reason that all of the world champion goose and duck callers use acrylic calls. First and foremost acrylic calls are loud - the birds can hear you from long distances. Second, they are really fast at changing tones and pitch. The champion callers sound like a whole flock of geese when done right. Last, importantly for people in cold weather states, the acrylic calls dont seem to freeze up.

I personally use wooden calls for other reasons. The wood calls have a much different look and feel. Getting older I enjoy the rustic look of the wood calls. I like wood calls for other performance related reasons as well. The wood calls can make much softer tones and much more raspy tones. When making a sound of a Canada Goose or Drake Mallard, I like the soft raspy tones the best.

The reality is both are great materials for calls. It really boils down to feel, so make sure to demo a few at the shop before going out in the field