Duck Call Maintenance 101

One thing that often times gets over looked is keeping your calls clean, ready for use, and looking good. Many waterfowlers forget about call maintenance during the season, that is until they are working that big flock of mallards and their call sticks. These days calls come in all sorts of colors and aren’t cheap by any means, so it’s a good idea to protect your investment. Below I’ve put together a few tips to help you keep your calls in good working order and looking like new. In this Article I am using a Zink® Calls PH-2 Double reed for reference.

Cleaning Your Calls-

Things like dirt, chewing tobacco, and drinks with sugar can cause calls to stick or operate inefficiently.
Simply rinsing your call with running water from a sink will remove most debris from the call. Separate the calls barrel and insert and flush with lukewarm water. Any residue in the mouthpiece can be wiped out with a clean cloth. The insert is also flushed the same way and you can gently lift the reed(s) to allow the water to rinse them out. I like to blow the excess water out of the insert by blowing backwards into the insert. Set each piece aside to air dry and reassemble. It’s a good idea to do this after every hunt.

Washing out the Call..

©Erik Nilsson, Zink Calls®

While you have your calls apart for cleaning, inspect the reeds for delamination/blistering and replace as needed. O-rings should be kept lubed to keep them from cracking. I like to use white Vaseline from a small tube found at any pharmacy store. Just place a small dab on the O-rings and use your finger to wipe around the O-rings. Damaged O-rings should be replaced as soon as possible. Both reeds and O-rings are available from your call’s manufacturer and O-rings can be purchased at a local home improvement center, if you know the correct thickness needed.

If your call sticks while hunting, a quick fix in the field is to run a dollar bill between the reeds to remove any debris that has been lodged between or under the reed(s).

Whether you like to use a cork or rubber wedge, they should be inspected as well while you are cleaning your call, as a loose wedge will make a call fall out of tune quickly. If the reed(s) are sloppy then its time to replace the wedge for a tighter fit. In many cases, contest callers replace wedges each week to maintain the tightness and tonal quality of the call.

In order to check the reeds and wedge, carefully remove the wedge and reed(s) from the tone board. Do not pull the reeds in an upward motion, as you will bend them and subsequently damage them. Once they are removed check them for defects, and prepare to re-nistall them or put new ones in place. New wedges, especially cork, should be slightly chewed on to wet them and allow them to be placed into the tone board with ease. Be careful not to use too large of a wedge, as it will put too much stress on the tab of the tone board and could result in damage. Replace the new wedge and reeds back into the tone board, seating them all the way in. If you find your call needs a new reed or wedge, it's best to contact the call manufacture for replacement wedges and reeds.

Most call manufactures now have added metal bands into the design of their calls. These bands can be brought back to life with a fine metal polishing cream, the one I like is MAAS, which can be found at Wal-Mart or a similar store. Simply use a cotton cloth, dab a small portion onto the cloth and work it around the band. Re-apply as needed, buff with the cloth and you will have a band looking new again.

Also, most call manufactures use high quality lacquers or varnish to seal the wood from moisture and provide a protective finish on the call. The finish on a wooden call can be additionaly protected by using a small amount of funiture paste wax. Its best to keep the call assembled so not to get any wax on the inside of the call or toneboard itself. Dab a small amount on a clean cloth and work freely around the call. Buff with a clean part of the cloth and that will help keep the wood looking new longer.

One last important tip is to never leave your calls in a vehicle when its hot out, this could damage the call itself and change to sound it produces or make it so you can not get the call apart.

Good hunting and keep those calls sounding and looking good!

Next month we will discuss how to tune a duck call