# New to duck calls



## Barb (Jan 21, 2019)

This probably sounds like a dumb question but how can a person make a decent duck call without knowing how to tune it or without even being a duck hunter? I'd like to make some for a boat show coming up next month. Any input would be very much appreciated. Thanks :)


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## The100road (Jan 21, 2019)

I’m in the same boat when In comes to duck calls Barb. 

Lots and lots of YouTube videos. Haha. 

And feedback from free calls I have given out to duckhunters to test.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## rocky1 (Jan 21, 2019)

It's relatively simple...

- Order Duck Call parts w/instructions - http://www.thogamecallsstore.com/ 
- Read instructions on building Duck Calls - https://thogamecallsforums.com/ 
- Turn several Duck Calls 
- Give Duck Calls to neighborhood kids 
- When lots of Ducks show up in the backyard, you know you got it right! 
- In the meantime, all the neighbors are going to be beating the paint off your door screaming about the noisy ass toys you gave their younguns! 
- You better get started, not much time for the R&D squad to call them in if the boat show is on next month!! 



The THO Gamecalls website is a great place to start Barb. Store has lots of parts for game calls of all nature, and most, if not all, come with instructions on turning and tuning the call at hand. The THO Forum has many many talented call turners and they can answer a great many questions. BUT... Expecting to go from thinking about it, to selling a sack full of worthy calls at a show next month, is a pretty lofty goal. Even if you were to find the sweet spot in a duck call today, not every call you turn behaves the same; the learning curve in what adjustments to make, to find that sweet spot every time, has to be negotiated. 

If this show is something that's done every year, I'd start building a few duck calls, find an avid duck hunter or two to give a call, and get their opinions and input; make a call that works and sounds good, and shoot for calls to sell at next year's show. Rushing out there throwing a call together that doesn't call ducks, isn't going to pay booth rent.

Reactions: Agree 1 | Great Post 3 | Funny 1


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## FLQuacker (Jan 21, 2019)

Buy Echo inserts...hard to turn a bad barrel. 2 of these flared on top of decoys this morning....chirpn on one from THO

Reactions: Like 3 | Thank You! 1 | Agree 2 | Informative 1


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## gman2431 (Jan 21, 2019)

Agree with buying inserts from echo. At the end of day you will need someone who knows how to operate a call use it and see what sounds ya get.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 2


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## Barb (Jan 21, 2019)

Thanks a lot everyone! Thank goodness the duck calls aren't the only thing I'll be making for the show. And yes, making a few to give out for feedback is a very good idea. I'd hate to get a bad rep for making crappy ones. Time to get started on ordering and research :)

Reactions: Like 2


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## Ray D (Jan 21, 2019)

FLQuacker said:


> Buy Echo inserts...hard to turn a bad barrel. 2 of these flared on top of decoys this morning....chirpn on one from THO
> 
> View attachment 159318



Awesome. Gotta love the taste of wood ducks. How’s your season been? It’s been pretty slow here in my neck of Florida.


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## FLQuacker (Jan 21, 2019)

We had more flying around us this morning than I've seen in a long while..enough to guess, most were migratory. There's just so much flooded timber it's hard to find any concentrations. We hunt this place 1 time a year, last week only. It's a great pick me up for the end of the season :)

Reactions: Like 1


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## rocky1 (Jan 21, 2019)

Barb said:


> Thanks a lot everyone! Thank goodness the duck calls aren't the only thing I'll be making for the show. And yes, making a few to give out for feedback is a very good idea. I'd hate to get a bad rep for making crappy ones. Time to get started on ordering and research :)



Good luck at the show! Be sure to ask everyone you visit with what their favorite duck to hunt is? What different species they hunt? Then you can tweak and tune a little closer.


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## Barb (Jan 22, 2019)

rocky1 said:


> Good luck at the show! Be sure to ask everyone you visit with what their favorite duck to hunt is? What different species they hunt? Then you can tweak and tune a little closer.


Awesome suggestions!


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## chanser123 (Jan 22, 2019)

In my honest opinion, it is very hard or darn near impossible to learn to make a duck call (with your own insert anyways) without learning to properly blow on first. Most ppl in cases like yours, where you just want to make a couple and don't know how to tune them, will use an echo insert and simply plug it into a barrel you have made with a 5/8 hole. They come pre tuned, its just plug and play. I have been hunting all my life and when I started to tackle my own calls, I wanted to learn to make my own insert. Two years later I was finally happy with a sound I had created from my own toneboard. Even then, I am always working and tweaking things to try and make it sound even better. with duck call tuning, the width of a hair cut off the reed can make a huge difference in the sound a call makes. Same can be said with one last swipe of the sand paper. There are so many tiny variables in making a call sound good that it can be very frustrating to do sometimes, and impossible without properly knowing how to blow a call. From what I have read above, Im guessing echo inserts would be what you would be looking for. Happy turning!

Reactions: Like 2 | Agree 4 | Great Post 1


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## Barb (Jan 23, 2019)

chanser123 said:


> In my honest opinion, it is very hard or darn near impossible to learn to make a duck call (with your own insert anyways) without learning to properly blow on first. Most ppl in cases like yours, where you just want to make a couple and don't know how to tune them, will use an echo insert and simply plug it into a barrel you have made with a 5/8 hole. They come pre tuned, its just plug and play. I have been hunting all my life and when I started to tackle my own calls, I wanted to learn to make my own insert. Two years later I was finally happy with a sound I had created from my own toneboard. Even then, I am always working and tweaking things to try and make it sound even better. with duck call tuning, the width of a hair cut off the reed can make a huge difference in the sound a call makes. Same can be said with one last swipe of the sand paper. There are so many tiny variables in making a call sound good that it can be very frustrating to do sometimes, and impossible without properly knowing how to blow a call. From what I have read above, Im guessing echo inserts would be what you would be looking for. Happy turning!


I totally agree. After I posted this question and read everyone’s opinion, I dived into a bit more research and decided that if I’m going to do this then I’m definitely going to need to start with Echo polycarbonate inserts at the very least. I’d still like to find a couple of duck hunters to test drive them but I think that’s a good starting point. Thank you very much for your input.


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## TurkeyHunter (Jan 24, 2019)

Barb - My oldest son and my brother-in-Law both duck hunt so I was like what the heck. I purchased some Echo inserts and then turned the barrel from some spalted walnut. For the band I used some 1" copper couplers and cut it to about 3/8" wide. Here is a couple of photos of them next to a buck Gardner Double Nasty. When I blow them I would be hard pressed to guess which is which.

Reactions: Like 2


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## CWS (Jan 24, 2019)

Nice Work!


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## Barb (Jan 24, 2019)

TurkeyHunter said:


> Barb - My oldest son and my brother-in-Law both duck hunt so I was like what the heck. I purchased some Echo inserts and then turned the barrel from some spalted walnut. For the band I used some 1" copper couplers and cut it to about 3/8" wide. Here is a couple of photos of them next to a buck Gardner Double Nasty. When I blow them I would be hard pressed to guess which is which.
> 
> View attachment 159508
> 
> ...


Very nice work indeed! And thanks for the encouragement. I'm definitely going to go that route to start.


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## Barb (Jan 25, 2019)

rocky1 said:


> Good luck at the show! Be sure to ask everyone you visit with what their favorite duck to hunt is? What different species they hunt? Then you can tweak and tune a little closer.


Thanks again Rocky! You always give great advice. :)

Reactions: Agree 1


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