Trying to advise someone on what to buy in a duck call is very difficult because until you learn how to blow a call, it will never sound right regardless of how good the call is. On the other hand if it is a poor call,a novice will never learn on it because they are typically very difficult to blow and get the proper sounds.The mark of a good call is one that does not require a lot of air to get the volume,is easy to control up a down the scales, and will do all the various calls, ie chuckle, high ball, ,single quacks, and does not seize up when wet. Cost is not always a factor but only a seasoned caller can tell whether a call is easy to blow and can do the job.
The key to blowing a call is NOT to blow it like a party horn using your cheeks but to exhale from your diaphragm and control the sound with your tongue against the roof of your mouth.The quacks in all of the calls are individual and not slurred together. If you say the words,"Hut" or "Hoot" it will give you an idea where the air comes from, and the "T" part comes from the tongue against the roof of the mouth. After that it's just practice to control the volume,length, and pitch of the call, up and down the scale.
Getting help from a good caller "in the flesh" is the best bet.
A good CD will definitely help also.
Calling is an essential part of duck hunting. Turning a flock at long range and working them into the decoys is what it's all about. Yikes!! 6 months until October...
