Duck Calls
A duck call is a tool you have to learn, and the call that sounds best in the parking lot is rarely the one that finishes birds. What matters is whether you can run it quietly on a still morning and still reach a flock that is two fields out.
Our duck calls come from Zink and Hunter's Specialties, covering single reed for hunters who want control, double reed for an easier learning curve, and whistles for the pintail and wigeon sounds that finish a spread.
Single reed, double reed, or whistle
- Single reed, for range and control. Harder to run and worth the practice. The Zink ATM is a proven timber and open-water call.
- Easier to run. The Zink PH-2 is forgiving on air pressure, which makes it the one to hand a new hunter.
- Custom acrylic sound. The Zink Custom Hunter gives you a crisper top end when you need to reach out.
- Finishing sounds. A drake mallard whistle covers pintail, wigeon, and drake mallard chatter, and it is the call that closes birds when the hen calling has stopped working.
Calling less usually works better
Most hunters call too much and too loud. Use volume to get attention from a distance, then back off to feed chuckles and soft quacks once birds turn. If they are working, stay quiet. Swap reeds at the start of each season and rinse the call after a wet day, since a swollen or dirty reed changes the pitch enough to sound wrong to birds that have heard it all before.
Build the rest of the setup with duck decoys and goose calls, and check dates in our Missouri duck season guide.