# Why should I carry a mallard call?



## BigTrucks4Life (Apr 4, 2013)

I have been hunting for about 4 years now. I am still new and learning every year and I have only killed one mallard. It was one that happened to stay around. My question is should I learn and practice calling for mallards in georgia and why do so many people do it? I mostly kill wood ducks but that is what I am trying to kill so my lanyard has a wood duck call around my neck.  It seems to me that alot of people always practice with mallards and why not use other calls for birds that are more abundant in georgia? I am just trying to see if I am missing something. Killer Elite says I do not need one so does jase robertson, if you have sometime watch the video.


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## rnelson5 (Apr 4, 2013)

You will get a million opinions on this but the only mallard call i carry anymore is a whistle and that is mainly for the versatility of it being able to sound like multiple species. Only one duck sounds like a mallard so i am not going to blow a mallard call at every species that comes by. My number one rule to duck hunting is hunt where the birds want to be and then there is not a big need for calling. I am not saying that it doesnt work but that is just my opinion.


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## Fat Albert (Apr 4, 2013)

I tried that thar callin'. When crows began to circle I figured it wasn't workin for me like it did for the Robertson boys.


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## Headsortails (Apr 4, 2013)

To show everyone on the lake that you are a newbie,


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## GSURugger (Apr 4, 2013)

It makes you look super cool


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## across the river (Apr 4, 2013)

BigTrucks4Life said:


> I have been hunting for about 4 years now. I am still new and learning every year and I have only killed one mallard. It was one that happened to stay around. My question is should I learn and practice calling for mallards in georgia and why do so many people do it? I mostly kill wood ducks but that is what I am trying to kill so my lanyard has a wood duck call around my neck.  It seems to me that alot of people always practice with mallards and why not use other calls for birds that are more abundant in georgia? I am just trying to see if I am missing something. Killer Elite says I do not need one so does jase robertson, if you have sometime watch the video.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkdgzQhORvs



There is a big difference between hunting in Georgia and hunting in a state that is actually in a flyway.   The number of bird that migrate through Georgia (and the Atlantic flyway in general) is very very small compared to the number of birds that fly through a state in the Mississippi or Central Flyway.   When you hunt in a flyway your are often hunting birds that are actually migrating through the area.  Many clubs and parcels of land are hunted everyday (or at least most days) of the season.  The birds you shoot are flying through from Missouri,  Iowa, or Illinois and you are calling at them to get there attention.  You can get skunked all morning and then have the weather change and limit out in an hour around lunch because a large number of birds came through the area on a front. Those birds weren't there yesterday.  Sometimes they can be in the stratosphere and you call at them to try to get them to take a closer look.  Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. In Georgia, the vast majority of the time you are hunting birds that have been in the area for at least a couple of days.  Call at them all you want, but they are going to the spot they want to be in and have been in the last couple of days.  As was stated above, find the spot they want to be in and hunt them when the come back to it.  In Georgia you are basically  hunting a particular group of birds that has been hanging in a spot, where in the flyway so many birds are migrating through you can be in a good area and call in some birds to kill just based on the sheer numbers alone.   This is a long answer to say that there aren't enough birds (mallards or otherwise) migrating through Georgia to make a call useful.   If you just sit on a lake or river and hope to call in birds that are migrating over you are in for a lot of long mornings.  The overwhelming majority of birds killed in Georgia are killed by people who hunt where the birds want to be, not the guys who are "good callers."


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## waddler (Apr 4, 2013)

In Ga and Fla, the only regular use of a Mallard call that can be of any dependable value, is the short truncated quack to a diving duck. I have actually called a Black Duck with a Mallard call on the Apalachee River in a swamp that is now Lake Oconee, ONCE!! 

If you can find a place with Mallards using, it of course would work, but those places are rare and most of the time the birds are predestined for the spot, call or no call.


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## emusmacker (Apr 5, 2013)

Yes mallard calls will work in Ga.  true we don't get the number of puddlers that other states do. But gadwall, mallards, and black ducks can be called in with a mallard call. 

yea i know the "experts" will tell you differently, but trust me, I've turned gadwalls with a mallard call. Worked and watched mallards work to calls here in Ga. So yes, practice and you still gotta be where the birds want to be


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## king killer delete (Apr 5, 2013)

Do they work on Emus to? Yea I carry a Mallard call to remind me of my youth growing up in the Mississippi Delta. Save your money and buy a wood duck call. You boys that are buying all them high dollar calls and buying all those duck bands off ebay  who have them hanging around there neck have been watching to much Duck Commander. Yea Emu can kill a few on the big lakes up in north and middle Georgia. But for most folks it aint worth the money when all we shoot for the most part in this state is Wood ducks and divers.LOL/LOL/LOL/LOL/LOL/Say it aint so.


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## Headsortails (Apr 5, 2013)

I learned to use a mallard call in the 60's and 70's when there were many many mallards in Georgia and North Florida. I still have my old 0lt in the bag and when I get a chance to use it, it works.


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## The Crowe (Apr 5, 2013)

well just cause the duck dynasty show wonder how many newbs will be out there with us i have already seen a few last year with there new calls


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## Fat Albert (Apr 5, 2013)

I've never even seen a group of mallards worked in. Pretty much the only thing I've seen has been the woodies. But man o man they can sure get your blood pumping when you are standing knee deep in swamp mud and they are whistling through the trees!


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## fishndinty (Apr 5, 2013)

Wood ducks will respond to mallard calls as well.  I think they are worth it to have one even in GA, as another option to try to turn ducks.

I have had best luck with wood ducks responding to individual quacks, rather than a mallard greeting or comeback call.


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## king killer delete (Apr 5, 2013)

Calling any duck is all about understanding how to read ducks. All those boys that stage call may be great at making the sounds. But the real test is what happens in the blind. Does not matter where or what kind of ducks you hunt. You got to understand whats working and what is not. Sometimes if you are shooting mallards a good high ball will run them out of the state. I have seen divers work on a mallard call and a whistle. I use a diver call on the big water( salt water). I use a Haydel wood duck call and I was big fan of the faulks wood duck call. But for the most part a mallard call is like a Drake jacket and a meat ball shooter. Its not about duck hunting its how you look at the boat ramp and the Waffle House before and after the hunt. Oh by the way I got two Drake Jackets ,Three Columbia Quad parkas and a Final Aproach jacket. The reason I got all those is that in my old age I am good at geting wet. Not as a status symbol. I will say this a 300 dollar call and a bunch of duck bands you bought off Ebay does not make you a duck hunter. Hard work , scouting and understanding the ducks you hunt is the real deal.


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## king killer delete (Apr 5, 2013)

*Woodys will respond to a mallard call if they have heard one.*



fishndinty said:


> Wood ducks will respond to mallard calls as well.  I think they are worth it to have one even in GA, as another option to try to turn ducks.
> 
> I have had best luck with wood ducks responding to individual quacks, rather than a mallard greeting or comeback call.


 Down here most wood ducks are lke the duck hunters they have never seen a mallard. Now up in Ohio its a different story. Woodys in the Mississippi fly way will respond to a mallard call. Down here the only mallards that people see do not get here until March or they are corn fed pets that flew off sombodys pond.  Its like our Canada geese are  about 98 percent local birds that do not fly north in the spring.  But you are right they will respond to a mallard call.


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## emusmacker (Apr 5, 2013)

Killer we hunted together before, and I heard you calling a mallard call. Why?  was you trying to look good.   I will say this, I know it's not the 80's and we don't have the mallards here like before, but when I find a group I want to be prepared. also we killed alot of grays up here, and yes they respond to a mallard call.  I don't try to impress anyone, you should know that. I don't give a rip what anyone thinks of my gun, clothing, calls, or ability to call. I hunt and kill ducks.  And I will keep my mallard call on my lanyard.

I was a couple seasons ago on an afternoon river hunt. We were after some geese, but knew mallards use the river some. I was with 2 guys that makes calls, well we saw some mallards, and they began calling their mallard calls and brought em into range.  we didn't have any mallrd dekes, only geese, but the ducks wanted to check out the other mallards they heard.  Hard to convince me that a wood duck whistle would have worked on those mallards.


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## RB8782 (Apr 5, 2013)

Not all the bands in Georgia have been bought...just saying...


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## emusmacker (Apr 5, 2013)

My band came from a goose leg.


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## king killer delete (Apr 5, 2013)

*your right I have some goose bands that came from GA*



RB8782 said:


> Not all the bands in Georgia have been bought...just saying...


 Wood ducks get bands to and even divers get them. But we are talking about mallard calls.


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## king killer delete (Apr 5, 2013)

*They work on emus to.*



emusmacker said:


> Killer we hunted together before, and I heard you calling a mallard call. Why?  was you trying to look good.   I will say this, I know it's not the 80's and we don't have the mallards here like before, but when I find a group I want to be prepared. also we killed alot of grays up here, and yes they respond to a mallard call.  I don't try to impress anyone, you should know that. I don't give a rip what anyone thinks of my gun, clothing, calls, or ability to call. I hunt and kill ducks.  And I will keep my mallard call on my lanyard.
> 
> I was a couple seasons ago on an afternoon river hunt. We were after some geese, but knew mallards use the river some. I was with 2 guys that makes calls, well we saw some mallards, and they began calling their mallard calls and brought em into range.  we didn't have any mallrd dekes, only geese, but the ducks wanted to check out the other mallards they heard.  Hard to convince me that a wood duck whistle would have worked on those mallards.


 You kill allot more mallards than most cause you hunt the hill. But you know that on the coast we don't have the puddle ducks you got on the hill. I killed 47 green heads on the hill one year in 1987. But that does not happen to most of the folks in GA. Like I said a mallard call reminds me of my youth in the Mississippi and it does make me look good at the ramp and I need anything that will make me look good. LOL/LOL/LOL/LOL.


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## rnelson5 (Apr 5, 2013)

killer elite said:


> You kill allot more mallards than most cause you hunt the hill. But you know that on the coast we don't have the puddle ducks you got on the hill. I killed 47 green heads on the hill one year in 1987. But that does not happen to most of the folks in GA. Like I said a mallard call reminds me of my youth in the Mississippi and it does make me look good at the ramp and I need anything that will make me look good. LOL/LOL/LOL/LOL.


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## clent586 (Apr 6, 2013)

Wow............


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## Turkey Trax (Apr 6, 2013)

clent586 said:


> Wow............



Clent, that's my line. 

But yes, I agree. Wow....


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## emusmacker (Apr 6, 2013)

X2 Clent and Turkey Trax


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## Big Tip (Apr 10, 2013)

Learning how to blow a single reed is part of waterfowlin imo.  If you ain't got mallards.  Go find some.  You'll like it.  Killed more mallards in GA than MS last year.  A lot more.


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## joey1919 (Apr 10, 2013)

mallard call weighs about 3 ounces, not having one while two that you didn't expect to see fly past you ain't worth the saved weight. i hunt arkansas mostly but when i head out in ga the calls dont come off my lanyard. 

for the first years of my duck hunting career i killed and saw nothing but wood ducks, one day at the river i saw a pair high, they weren't woodducks. i picked up a whistle, one that i had never needed before but had bought and practiced with. birds circled three times and came to sit down. BangBang....two dead pintails. probably never happen again but those two birds are worth the 8 bucks i spent on that whistle. better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.


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## duckkillerclyde (Apr 19, 2013)

call lots of scaup with mallard call if you know how to do it.  


Who would want to shoot a mallard when there's scaup?


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## king killer delete (Apr 20, 2013)

*I got a diver call that  i  use.*

I  carry a mallard call to look good. Cause we  aint got no mallards in this part of Georgia unless they are some ones pet.


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## Millcreekfarms (Jun 24, 2013)

Their are alot of pets useing the big swamp at the water treatment plant then in january its full of mallards and of course you cant hunt there


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## jandr1 (Jun 24, 2013)

I have a whistle,2 mallard calls,a woodie call,and a goose call(plus the bands not bought on ebay).I'd say just keep those four calls so you are always prepared and pretty much any duck or waterfowl feels comfortable around mallards or realy any duck. From what I've seen in GA, ducks don't have to many places on big water to feed on so if passing ducks see ducks or hear a mallard feeding call they will assume their is food for them to eat and will work right in.


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## 01Foreman400 (Jun 24, 2013)

The only call I carry are goose calls.


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## Boudreaux (Jun 24, 2013)

You need to blow a mallard call because there are tens of thousands made every year by various manufacturers and those people have families to feed, too.


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## king killer delete (Jun 24, 2013)

*Boudreaux*



Boudreaux said:


> You need to blow a mallard call because there are tens of thousands made every year by various manufacturers and those people have families to feed, too.


 If we were only at home.


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## king killer delete (Jun 24, 2013)

*Just  like the*



Millcreekfarms said:


> Their are alot of pets useing the big swamp at the water treatment plant then in january its full of mallards and of course you cant hunt there


Savannah National Wildlife Refuge in Feb.


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## Coach Reynolds (Jun 25, 2013)

Because its fun. Because its duck hunting. Because we can. Do we over call? Do we not call when we should? Sure to both. Look hunting is supposed to be fun. Enjoy it. I take my 2 mallard calls with me all season. On the swamp I hunt we only saw one group of mallards once towards the end of the season. But having my mallard call handy paid off for us at that moment (trust me, I am no duck caller). Call and enjoy it but also be mindful of other hunters around you. Hey and put out some wood duck boxes after a hunt. It'll pay off!!!


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## Headsortails (Jun 26, 2013)

Any fresh water gives the opportunity for mallards, blacks or gadwalls, all of which will come to a mallard call. The hail and the feeding chuckle are easy to master and they work. Anyone who can say "ticka" more than once can call mallards. My Olt has rode with me for forty years and still brings them in.


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## ThunderRoad (Jun 26, 2013)

Headsortails said:


> Any fresh water gives the opportunity for mallards, blacks or gadwalls, all of which will come to a mallard call. The hail and the feeding chuckle are easy to master and they work. Anyone who can say "ticka" more than once can call mallards. My Olt has rode with me for forty years and still brings them in.



Its not you that can call, its the OLT. I'd give up a kidney before I give up my old rubber olt modified by Clent Hughes.


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## king killer delete (Jun 27, 2013)

*P.S. Olt*



ThunderRoad said:


> Its not you that can call, its the OLT. I'd give up a kidney before I give up my old rubber olt modified by Clent Hughes.


Is what I blew before I ever heard of Duck commander, Hadel or RNT. I wish I had every OLT I ever owned.


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## Superstalker89 (Jun 29, 2013)

I was on oliver fishing Thursday and heard some local mallards off in the distance... I hit my call and they came in 10 secs later soon as they realized no other ducks were there they were gone. I might have lower the population of bread eaters out there this season!


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## basspro2232 (Aug 19, 2013)

Im going to compare this to keeping TP in your truck...its not everyday that you have to take dump while your in the woods....but when the time comes, you are prepared my friends...beside the point i rarely hunt in GA...i hunt in SEMO and that is why i carry a mallard call/speck/whistle etc....


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## GADAWGS (Aug 19, 2013)

I have hunted all over this state. There are mallards in GA that are not pet ducks, more than most people realize. Never seen any in southeast GA, but northwest GA has a bunch. There are a lot of resident mallards ( not to be confused with tamies, there is a difference). A mallard call is essential to have in those areas. If you learn to use it right, it can also be used to replicate the "bark" of a gadwall, or the grunt of a diver duck


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## trophyslayer (Aug 19, 2013)

So you can be like this guy!


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## GADAWGS (Aug 19, 2013)

Doggone if I cant stand to hear someone make that kind of racket. I have seen ducks get hit by a truck, yet they NEVER made that awful racket. Ive watched these so called "duck call experts" flare more ducks with that noise than if they had just stood up and waved an orange flag. I have run more than one person out of my booth at shows for trying to do that. Now I just tell them straight up, if you try to do a hail call, I hope you get a hernia


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## RB8782 (Aug 19, 2013)

you have to hail so they can hear you


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## ghadarits (Aug 20, 2013)

I carry a Mallard call because every year I get into some. With that being said some years I get into way more than others. Last year I shot at four green heads all season and they were all in the same day. In 2009 for whatever reason we were covered in them and I killed more green heads than woodies that year but 2009 was the exception for me by a long shot.


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