The sounds I can make on my duck and goose calls are mediocre compared to many. For decades, I've watched competition quality callers and marveled at their ability to make a duck or goose call ring out like a finely tuned musical instrument. In fact, duck and goose calls are musical instruments, so learning to make the right sounds takes time and practice to master.

Knowing when to call and when not to call is an important skill.

I'm proud that I've mastered the basic sounds on a duck and goose call. Still, I'm no rock star when it comes to making sweet duck and goose music. It has taken most of my hunting career for me to realize I'm not cut out to be a calling champion. Ironically, it took almost as long for me to figure out I didn't need such refined skills to consistently kill ducks and geese.

It never hurts to be a whiz kid on the ole duck or goose call, but the ability to make the right sounds is only part of the picture. The little-known calling skills that lure birds in close enough for the kill are not just about blowing the right notes or series of notes.

Successfully using a call to attract waterfowl requires a more subtle understanding of the birds themselves and how they respond to others of their kind. It's not enough to know the sounds birds make, a successful hunter needs to understand the big picture of luring birds in close.

Timing is Critical
Being successful with a duck or goose call in the field isn't as much about the sound quality as it is about making the right sounds at the right time. Timing, as they say, is everything. Knowing when to call and when to wait quietly is perhaps the most overlooked skill required to fool waterfowl into going feet down.

Consider an example: Hunting conditions are perfect. There is a steady wind, a little nip in the air and a lot of birds trading around. You spot a passing mallard near your blind, but before you can grab a call, the bird has passed by and is now directly downwind and heading away fast. You hit the bird with a pleading comeback call, but in order for the bird to comply, it has to turn around and fly straight into a biting wind. What are the chances the mallard is going to put forth the energy needed to fly straight into the wind and land in your spread?

The answer is most birds aren't going to cooperate unless it's easy to do so. Waterfowl are like every other creature on Earth, in that they are looking for the course of least resistance. Give a bird an opportunity to avoid you and that is exactly what's going to happen. Waterfowl don't have a death wish and they are not like puppets on a string just because a guy can play sweet hen music on his favorite duck call.

The best time to hit a duck or goose with a calling sequence is when the bird or birds are at a bit of a distance, but approaching. When a duck is out 200 to 300 yards and coming in your general direction is the ideal time to get the bird's attention.

Let's say you hit an approaching mallard with a few quacks and it responds by flying directly toward you. You have likely done all of the calling required to get the bird into shotgun range. Hitting the duck with friendly sounds at the right time is more important than the sounds used or the quality of those sounds.