OLD DUCK CALL LIKE FINE WINE

Like the man once said about art, “I am no expert but I know what I like.” Duck calling is much like that too.  There are a dozen different schools of thought on how hard to blow, how to range the call, what calls to make, etc.  You can attend dozens of calling contests and find them different.  There are the guys who call just for calling contests.  There are also those who like to imitate the call of wild birds.

Years of attending contests and working with them have produced an acquaintance with many of the call makers, large and small, that produce the best calls. Mostly they seem to prefer action and volume in the presentations.

There is another approach to duck calls, that of the collector. Waterfowl calling history is rich with interesting characters and their experiences in the field.

It is the latter that led this writer to explore the Sure-Shot Yentzen Duck Call. Any call that has been around since 1959 surely has something going for it.

George Yentzen was a duck hunter from Texas. A baker by trade, he cut black walnut duck calls on a band saw.  He and a partner James Fernandez designed and patented the first double reed duck call.  They bound the reeds together with rivets.  These and a triple reed call dominated calling contests for the next 20 years.

The reed system better controls reed vibration within the tube. It avoids the tiny squeak that sometimes comes with blowing too hard in anticipation of birds coming in with dependable performance.

Once the patent ran out, other game call makers came out with similar double reed calls. Today Sure-Shot makes their duck calls with that same double reed design and issues a lifetime guarantee.  The call is a delightful combination of classic styling with attention to tradition and innovation of the founder.

At the recent Southeastern Outdoor Writers Association (SEOPA) meeting I was introduced to the Yentzen call by a rep from Sure Shot Game Calls. He explained that the reeds do not freeze up in the cold.  Easily blown, it emits a great sound with no squeaks.  He then, and other since, promised that it performs reliably and consistently under all sort of conditions.

The call is a mallard and black duck call. To entice these birds you have to sound like a duck.  It is that simple.  With the call you can do the quack, the feed call, the comeback call and hail call.  These are the four basic calls of mallard hunting.

The styling of this call, it dependability and over 50-year tradition make it like a fine wine. Use it but cherish it as well.