I am having a hard time getting used to hand calling. I keep trying to put out air from the diaphragm as well as gargle/grunt/growl/etc but I find it to be difficult to get the air to come out right. I think I'm doing it right then I realize that my cheeks are puffing out. I know people put out words when blowing into duck and turkey calls, are their any keywords you find helpful when using your calls?
On top of that when I do the gargle, the tone coming out of the call isn't always consistent. It seems to roll, like the air is hitting the hard palate of my mouth on the exhale. What is the best way to practice with this?
I have Bob's hand calling CD which is great but I'm much more of a visuals kinda guy, I need to see exactly how the hands should be in relationship to the call. I've checked out damn near every video I can find on YouTube but there are more misses than hits (not unless Bob decides to start making YouTube instructional guides -which would be wonderful).
The other issue is knowing when the call is actually tuned or not. It always feels a tad too high pitched or too raspy. Any tips on tuning? Like how do you know what is "just right"?
Sorry for all the questions, just starting to get a bit frustrated with this.
Thanks, Feathers
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"...Does that make setting up crow decoys attempted murder?"
Yup, I'm going to follow this post myself. I've tried to work my calls like Darell Gibson but I just can't keep up... It's like my calls lets to much air through them.
I'm having similar issues. What has helped most is to make sure my lungs are filled all the way up before I start. That allows me to consistently put out the volume of air needed to run the call. If my lungs get down to half full my consistency falls apart.
Gurgling doesn't work for me. To hard on my throat. Try making a sound like your imitating an ape. That tends to naturally make your voice lower and will give it a slight rumble. This is the only way I am able to call for hours while hunting. Granted my foxpro does the heavy lifting but I like to do come here calls, recognition calls and fun & frolic calls with it running.
Using a hand call to call crows is an art. It takes plenty of time and dedication, if it were easy every one would be good. That being said it is very rewarding once you get the hang of it seeing birds coming to you're calling. Learning to use a crow call is like learning how to talk you take it one baby step at a time. The first thing you need to do is practice on learning just one good squak out of the call forget the calling sequences for now. Once you can have one consistent squak (that sounds like a real crow) every time you blow that call you will at that point start to put calling sequences together.
Keep your thumb and fore finger wrapped around the barrel of your hand call two thirds down the call. This would be towards the other end of the call from the mouthpiece. Your other three fingers can be used to create high sounds and muted sounds as the air flows down the barrel of the call when you are using it.
You can call like a pro and never have your cheeks puffed out like a blow fish! If your throat feels a little raw you are on the right track, after time goes by your body will adjust to this over time.
When I was starting out it took me roughly a year of practice before I could call crows with a hand call. You just have to stick with it. Good calling requires feel, timing and observation in the field how the birds react to your calling.
