Feeling a Little Giddy

[The Hermit]

An HBC friend and hunting buddy took me duck hunting last week. One of his other HBC friends lent me a layout blind! THANKS BOYS!! It was my first time and I had a freaking BLAST! LOL Damn addictive personality, must have TOYS!!! ... still consuming many waking hours thinking about getting out again in a couple days! Ha

So couple newbie questions.

CALLS - What are the differences in quality/type of sounds between single, double, and 1 1/2 reed calls? What do I need for a starter set? Mallard, Teal, ???

I went into WWS on Boxing Day and they were out of stock on all the duck calls except the $140 ones behind the glass case ... that is out of my budget for sure! What should I expect to spend?

DECOYS - How many in a reasonable set? Types? Brand? I don't want to have to baby them so flocked precious decoys are probably not for me.

BOAT or BLIND? My neck seized up for a couple days after our hunt from laying at an unusual angle so am thinking about a different style blind or using netting or whatever available on the shore? Any advise welcome with thanks in advance.

[lorneparker1]

CALLS - What are the differences in quality/type of sounds between single, double, and 1 1/2 reed calls? What do I need for a starter set? Mallard, Teal, ???.

Never heard of a 1 1/2 reed call. Double reeds are definitely more forgiving but most lack the range of a single. My suggestion get a double and a good instructional cd/dvd .Get a hen mallard call. Something mid range will work. $50-$80 range. A drake whistle is usually about $10 and not a bad investment.



I went into WWS on Boxing Day and they were out of stock on all the duck calls except the $140 ones behind the glass case ... that is out of my budget for sure! What should I expect to spend?

See above. $140 is not out of your budget... I see the gear you sell, its all relative! It always kills me when I see people spend $2k on a rifle, $500 on a back pack, $500 in bas layers, and $1500 on optics yet a $100 on a duck call is outrageous! lol



DECOYS - How many in a reasonable set? Types? Brand? I don't want to have to baby them so flocked precious decoys are probably not for me.

a few dozen will be a good start. There aren't a lot of shitty brands anymore, so what ever is on sale I guess. The more you decide you want to become a water fowler then you can start worrying about high end decoys. But... get a robo duck. RO better yet watch cabelas and get 2 baby mojos for $89 when they go on sale.



BOAT or BLIND? My neck seized up for a couple days after our hunt from laying at an unusual angle so am thinking about a different style blind or using netting or whatever available on the shore? Any advise welcome with thanks in advance.

Both. But if you have to choose where are you hunting mostly? water or land? I hunt from both and to be honest if I didnt own a boat I wouldn't kill any less birds I don't think. That said, if I didn't own a layout ( or 3) I wouldn't kill as many that is forsure. Learn to hunt from a layout. If its comfortable get a pillow. It is the most effective all round hide in the game.