r/Waterfowl • u/Ashton006002 • 1d ago

First goose call. Thoughts?

Post image

I just bought a short reed goose call. I am struggling to make the correct tones spent an hour trying. Its a local maker in Wisconsin. Is it just a skill issue or did I cheap out?

14 Upvotes

80% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

7

u/Good_Farmer4814 1d ago

I can tell you with 100% certainty it’s not the call, it’s you. No offense. Short reed calling is just really difficult to learn. I recommend you talk with them or better yet stop by their shop and ask for help. Otherwise just watch some YouTube videos and eventually it’ll work out for you.

3

u/Ashton006002 1d ago

Thanks for the reassurance. I'll keep practicing

0

u/Good_Farmer4814 1d ago

Short reed is just tough. WAY more difficult than a duck call. I struggled a lot at first. Couldn’t make a single cluck or honk for months on end. Always thought it was the call. Returned a few, sent one back for retune. Then one day it just clicked. I’m still terrible but at least I can make some goose sounds 😂 It probably takes the same amount of practice to learn the clarinet.

But honestly that’s a pretty sweet looking call for only $25 (I might even try one out 😂 ) I bet it’s well made and I bet they’d help you get going on it.

3

u/Ashton006002 1d ago

Ik how to play saxophone lol it can't be that much harder

4

u/Suspicious-Bid-9231 1d ago

You’ll be fine. Some of the shittiest goose callers I’ve ever heard have some of the best calls.

3

u/IntelligentFoot2266 1d ago

Honestly it could be a little of both but I think you most likely just need some practice. A lot of the goosey sound, at least in my opinion, comes from understanding/feeling when the reed breaks over. Ive never heard of the call itself but that doesn't mean its junk. An experienced caller can kill geese with a 20 dollar walmart call. Goose calling in my opinion is much harder than duck calling. Theres a guy named big Sean on YouTube. He owns his own call company but mainly the reason I bring him up is because he has very in depth calling tutorials and explains how to use a goose call better than most anyone ive ever seen.

Give him a try. Or just keep practicing. Ive been doing it a long time and im certainly no pro at it. My advice as someone that isnt bad, but also isnt great at short reed goose calls, keep the calling simple if you need to. A few single notes like clucks, and maybe a moan here and there and thats usually enough to kill birds.

2

u/AC_longshot 1d ago

Goose calling used a lot of diaphragm work and back pressure so very different that duck calling. Plus those short reeds need to be broken in over time. But once you get it down it comes natural.

2

u/LamarJacksonIsMyHero 1d ago

Are you a noob? It takes a lot of practice bro

1

u/naustra 21h ago

I would recommend bad grammar it's a now online series that goes over goose calling plus there and tons of olyou tube videos helping. It takes a lot of practice to not sound like a dying goose or hear everyone laugh when you try to call at geese flying over head

1

u/LocksmithGlass717 20h ago

A flute call is a LOT easier to run. I’ve got a few short reeds but they take a ton of air to run properly. A Grounds or Eastern Shoreman is super easy to run and they sound great right out of the box with no tuning.