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Duck calls are just like the vintage wind instruments, all you need to do is play them right! Force air through the mouthpiece of the instrument and vibrations, sounds will be produced. However, hunters suffer a lot making the perfect duck call because it is highly sensitive!
So, today, we will discuss different parts of a duck call. If you know the ins and outs of an instrument, it makes it easy for you to use it! That’s what we will do today!
Let us know about the basic parts of the duck call so that you can make the perfect sound like a pro hunter!
Components of a Duck Call
Check out the five basic components of a duck call and know about how they work. There are other parts of a duck call too. However, these basic parts are a must for novice hunters.
- Barrel
- Insert
- Reed
- Tone Board
- Wedge
Barrel
If you know about duck calls, you already know about the barrel. This is one of the most important components of a duck call. The hollow body of the call is called a barrel. This is where the caller blows.
To make it easy, let’s say that the barrel is a tube or cylinder and can be made of metal, hard rubber, wood, or plastic. The barrels of a dick call acts as sound emitter and handle. As a duck call maker, you can mold this piece artistically.
The length of this piece along with the hardness of the construction material will have a positive or negative effect on the sound it makes. But if you want, you can design the outer part the way you want. There are usually 5-8 bore through the center of the duck call.
As a result, it can easily hold the Insert and the Tone Board and then emit the sound from the other part of the call. For barrels, you can easily get your hand on a block or cylindrical wood piece. These are known as Blank. Usually, you have to do it on a lathe. If you use turning tools, the lathe will turn the blank. It will also hold them against the blank so that it can shape it perfectly!
Insert
On the contrary, the insert of the duck call usually fit tight inside the barrel. When it comes to inserts, all the plugs, butt pieces, stoppers, and lugs are included in it. In short, the business end of a duck call is called an insert.
There is a reed that is secured in the place against the tone board. If air is forced under the reed, it helps in vibrates. The reed is made of hard rubber, metal, or plastic. If you are a newbie, you might need time to make the vibration perfect.
But for the experienced people, the vibration will sound like a mallard hen, yes you heard right! As we have already told you, it is the end where the duck sound is produced; you can never keep the area blocked. As a hunter, all you have to do is make sounds like OAK, WUIT, or HUT for making a single quack. If you want to make a feeling call, you have to repeat TIKI-TAKA or DUGA-DUGA.
Reed
Reed is a flexible wafer which is thin and vibrates inside the barrel of a call so that it can imitate the sounds of different games. This is also known as the tongue. The construction material of the reed is metal, hard rubber, or plastic.
The length of the reed will tell you about the sound and the amount of air you need for making the sound. If you go for single reed calls, it will give you the most note variance. On the contrary, if you rely on multi-reed calls they will be limited in their range of notes. In most cases, multi-reeds will vibrate against each other. It helps in regulating the number of notes the call makes.
Tone Board
This is a part of the stopper of the duck call. This part of the stopper usually included the tone channel. On this, the reed rests. For this, it is also called tone block or soundboard. It is a part of the insert and it can hold the reed. With the help of this, you can easily master the greeting calls, feed calls, comeback calls, hail calls, and pleading calls. For whistling calls like a mallard, pintail or widgeon will be easier if you have the perfect tone board.
Wedge
The piece that wedges inside the barrel and holds the reed in the right place is called a wedge. However, you can place the wedge of the duck call in any place of the reed. According to the place, the duck call will make sounds.
If you are a newbie, the best place for you to start is aligning the front wedge with the edges of the reed start to taper. In some duck calls, there are lines on the tone board for marking where the wedge can go. If you want to raise the pitch of the call, you have to shorten the reed. For this, you must place the wedge close to the front part of the tone board. This makes the sound deeper. If you position the wedge far from the front part of the tone board, the opposite will happen.
More: How to Blow a Goose Call – Everything You Need to Know!
Things that Affect the Sound:
There are specific things of a duck call that affects the sound. After you know about the parts, you have to know about these too so that you can keep your eyes on those parts to make the right duck call.
- The reed flexibility.
- The position of the end part of the reed to the starting part of the voice through the channel.
- The reed thickness and length.
- The curvature of the reed fogs (when they start approaching the voice through the channel).
- The voice length through the channel.
Wrap Up
So, you have already learned about the different components of a duck call. Now, you can easily learn about this in detail and make your duck call at home without any help! How do you make your duck call? What are the basics that no duck call maker should forget? Share your experiences with us and comment below!
