Widgeons and mallard calls

MD

MD

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
13   0   0
Saw a couple high flying ducks today and despite my usual lack of success calling, using a Buck Gardner Double Nasty, a couple of widgeons circled around several times and then came right into the decoys.

Then as they came in for a landing with cupped wings, applying my carefully learned, long-practised and finely tuned conservation skills I managed to miss them with all three shots.

I was surprised the way they responded to the mallard call.

I've got numerous other calls, like a vintage P.S. Olt, a Haydel DR 85, a Primos Original Wench and an expensive Troy Talker acrylic, but whenever I've had success, it is with that Double Nasty.
 
Last edited:
Many species will respond to a mallard call especially if they are used to being in the company of them. Widgeons are no exception. Widgeons themselves make a "peep" type sound and they like to flock with other ducks in big mixed species flocks. Around here it is very common to see them sitting on sloughs mixed in closely with pintails, gadwalls and mixed divers like canvasback, redheads and scaup. We see a few each year mixed in with flights of mallards or pintails coming into the decoys hunting fields but they mostly stick to water.
And the Double Nasty is an easy to use great sounding inexpensive call. I had one for a few seasons a number of years ago and liked it. I gave it to a young kid who was interested in learning to hunt.
 
Last edited:
MD, I really like your conservation skills.
Calling them in to see if they are Drakes or Hens and if they have enough meat on their bones .
Then when it is time to shoot you shoot to just scare them off as they didnt meet your Trophy criteria.
Olts work for me and less is usually more...calling less that is for these well seasoned birds.
With this minor cold snap here near the marsh ...the flats will be ok, but when the thaw comes the fields with left over squash and pumpkins will be fantastic.
Van der Zalm Fantastic !!!! ;)
 
Widgeons respond very well to mallard calls, as do woodies, teal, blacks, even many divers, like bluebills, redheads etc...
 
the spank said:
Many species will respond to a mallard call especially if they are used to being in the company of them. Widgeons are no exception. Widgeons themselves make a "peep" type sound and they like to flock with other ducks in big mixed species flocks. Around here it is very common to see them sitting on sloughs mixed in closely with pintails, gadwalls and mixed divers like canvasback, redheads and scaup. We see a few each year mixed in with flights of mallards or pintails coming into the decoys hunting fields but they mostly stick to water.
And the Double Nasty is an easy to use great sounding inexpensive call. I had one for a few seasons a number of years ago and liked it. I gave it to a young kid who was interested in learning to hunt.
Click to expand...

Here on the West Coast the widgeons are in huge flocks of thousands of birds along the shore of a wide sandy bay we hunt and some smaller flocks land in masses in fields.

They'll come and buzz my mallard decoys by the dozen and land in them sometimes. I usually pass on them, and wait for mallards, but yesterday was just a no-mallard day.

I was in a field yesterday. Down on the beach there are pintails by the thousand too but my wife doesn't like eating them so I pass.
 
Last edited:
Since moving to the prairies I rarely pull the trigger on any duck that isn't a mallard. They have to be plumed out or close to it to get me to shoot at them if they aren't a mallard. In the video I posted in the waterfowl thread there is one clip where you can see me start to swing on a drake pintail then swing off to a drake mallard instead. I noticed the pintail didn't have a full sprig so I passed. I'd already shot one earlier in the season and when I picked it up it only had about a 2" sprig so didn't see any point in shooting another the same. If he'd had a full sprig I'd have punched it and had it mounted in a flying pose.
This was the one that I had shot earlier in the season. Close but not quite there...
 

Attachments

  • D6FD1EB5-50A1-4242-BA4F-8C613D00B590.jpg
    D6FD1EB5-50A1-4242-BA4F-8C613D00B590.jpg
    98.7 KB · Views: 134
As mentioned, wigeons respond well to mallard calls. I have a whistle call that I like using when I see teal and wigeon flying and it works awesome. While I do my best to fill my limits on mallards and woodies, I wont pass up an opportunity to shoot a wigeon. They pluck very easily and are very tasty stuffed in the oven. I harvested a female wigeon that was flying with some mallards fairly late in the season and had some beautiful fat on it. It was spectacular hot out the oven!

I saw a group of pintails this year for the first time in over a decade. I had the gun up and ready to shoot, but decided not to because for a split second I hadn’t identified what the bird was. When I had it figured out, I was looking at the ass end of the group and decided to let them fly. Had they circled back, I would have taken them, but they were content to land in the water on the opposite side of the swamp
 
the spank said:
And the Double Nasty is an easy to use great sounding inexpensive call. I had one for a few seasons a number of years ago and liked it. I gave it to a young kid who was interested in learning to hunt.
Click to expand...

I see there is a Buck Gardner Double Nasty and a Double Nasty II call. Any substantial difference in them or a preference over one or the other?
 
Chas said:
I see there is a Buck Gardner Double Nasty and a Double Nasty II call. Any substantial difference in them or a preference over one or the other?
Click to expand...

It's been years 7 or 8 seasons since I had a double nasty and haven't followed the call makers much of late so really could not tell you an honest review on the double nasty 2 as I don't have the experience with them. I use a duck call very rarely. Ducks are not very vocal in the early stages of hunting season and I find a call is best left in the pocket most times. Once December comes the birds are starting to pair up again and start to become vocal. This is the time of year(winter months) when they respond well to calling. In September and October I find they come in better to our goose decoys and seem to respond to hearing goose calls much better than their own kind. At least that seems to be the rule early on. One thing I NEVER do is highball....ducks do not highball! Contest callers highball and most calling instructional DVD's are geared to teaching you contest calling and contest calling routines. Contest callers highball to show to the judges their control of the call, that is all it is for...PERIOD. If and when I call, I call the way I have heard the birds calling and to a very minimal amount. Just enough to get their interest then I let the decoys do the work. In my opinion the best duck calling team ever is a spinning wing decoy and a hunter who tucks his duck call in his pocket.
 
Hey MD, not a duck call reply, but what are you seeing for birds in the marsh and fields you shoot?
Thought about it while driving home past some semi flooded fields.
Seen some Pintails, Widgeon, Mallards and had to double back when I spotted what appeared to be a Gadwall.
The melting pumpkins are only attracting crows right now ...those pumpkins should also be well fermented and any birds eating them should be getting a pleasant early Christmas buzz.
Wind is about to pick up tonight and prolly tomorrow too , but tides in the marsh are going to be pretty high and a West wind will keep them higher.
Rob
 
FLHTCUI said:
Hey MD, not a duck call reply, but what are you seeing for birds in the marsh and fields you shoot?
Thought about it while driving home past some semi flooded fields.
Seen some Pintails, Widgeon, Mallards and had to double back when I spotted what appeared to be a Gadwall.
The melting pumpkins are only attracting crows right now ...those pumpkins should also be well fermented and any birds eating them should be getting a pleasant early Christmas buzz.
Wind is about to pick up tonight and prolly tomorrow too , but tides in the marsh are going to be pretty high and a West wind will keep them higher.
Rob
Click to expand...

One field where the farmer left a small stand of corn where it gets really flooded had hundreds of birds after the heavy heavy rains earlier, but now that they've drained they just aren't hanging there any more. I went anyway this week and in four hours got a widgeon and two mallards, but it was a long wait. Going Sunday I think. Should be wet again.
 
kGkSDdbl.jpg
Think I'm starting to become Obsessed and I've fixed up and given away a bunch ,but some sigh :)
 
Without a doubt RNT daisy cutter have 3 ,but as far as goose my old 1970's OLT goose has the best sound even better than my big honker "flute":)
 
I enjoy hunting & shooting wigeons... lots around here and in the central interior of BC. I have wigeon dekes that I mix with the mallards about 50/50, since it represents a more natural flock composition ... not that it really makes much of a difference, especially early in the season. Wigeons WILL respond to a wigeon call. The hens make a raspy quack, but the drakes have a wheezy whistle. Decades ago I found a child's cheap toy whistle and realised it sounded very close to a drake wigeon. I extracted the ball and have used it very effectively over the years to draw in wigeon when they were unconvinced by the standard hen mallard call.
 
Hello BGB if you look in that mess just below the yellow tag Z#1 there is a green calll,that is a widgeon whistler and works great on them and conversely on Mallards late in the season.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom