Duck call

A duck call may refer to either the process by which a hunter lures waterfowl, or the actual tool which he or she uses to do so. Early duck call tools were basic woodwind instruments, while later innovations are constructed of rubber and plastic, and allow the hunter to adjust the volume and tone of the calls.

As a tool, a duck call is like a traditional whistle made to emulate the sound of a duck. Early duck calls were simple woodwind instruments with a barrel, a sounding board and a reed. Hunters would grunt into the call while saying "hut", "wuit", or "kak". With the improvement of calls and calling techniques the best callers do not use their voice to perform their techniques.

The two most common high quality duck call materials are wood and acrylic. The key difference between wood and acrylic duck calls is that acrylic calls are much louder and carry much further than wood duck calls. This is important for different types of duck hunting. Acrylic calls are preferred in large, open spaces for a call to reach out and find the ducks. When hunting in timber or swampy area, a wood call is preferable. Another key difference is that acrylic is known to show less sound variance over the temperature ranges expected in a duck blind.

Wood expands and contracts with the changing temperature and humidity levels. It is still the preferred call, as it is more time consuming to manufacture and design. However decorative duck calls can be quite elaborate and expensive.

Before the mass production and popularization of duck calls hunters used their own voices (mouth calling) or used call ducks or duck decoys. This dates back to 1678, but it is believed that the use of call ducks originated in the Far East. Hunters would feed wild tame ducks and trap them, using their calls to attract wildfowl.

Non-patent duck calls may have been made as early as 1850, but the first patent was awarded to Elam Fisher in 1870. In 1863, Fred Allen had created external duck calls, but did not have a patent. Allen’s calls were barrel calls with straight tone boards and curved reeds. His most unusual call was the “Allen Nickel-Plated Duck Caller” which was made of metal but froze to the hunters’ lips and had to be re-made using wood. Fisher was famous for the production of his Tongue Pincher Duck Calls which were made of two pieces of curved wood facing each other with a metal reed sandwiched between them and a holding device (usually a band) holding it all together. Tongue Pinchers had limited tone range and often cut the hunters’ tongues and mouths. Fred Allen was the first to sell his duck calls commercially and began advertisements in 1880. David Fuller was the first to receive the patent for the goose call in 1885 and impacted the duck hunting world in 1903 with his combination goose/duck call. This call had a screw that retracted from inside the barrel which changed the sounds that were produced. In the early 1890s a blacksmith by the name of Victor Glodo Jr. began producing duck calls, he is credited with the barrel shape, his signature copper reeds and using the “duck wing” checkered pattern. Glodo Jr.’s most well-known production is the Reelfoot Lake Style duck call.

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Wikipedia