Goose Call Recommendations for a Less Experienced Caller

[Apatrickson]

Hi everyone, I didn't see a specific thread posted for this but if there is I would love to be directed to it. I am asking about goose calls, specifically specklebelly calls. I have been told from some sources that long reeds are better and from other sources that short reeds are better. I do not have tons of experience with goose calls except for a Sean Mann Express snow goose call which I have been starting to get better with this last season. I would really like to get a decent quality specklebelly call for the fall, and don't mind spending a bit of money but probably not more then $150. I guess my question is what do you guys prefer when it comes to short reed versus long and what kind of difference you find it makes. I am also interested in your recommendations for said calls. Thanks for your time

[tikka250]

In the nice call market I know redbone calls are one of the best ones out there as far as reviews go. I personally like my custom one from Lund custom calls but I'm not the world's best speck caller to know for sure.

[Hunter Trav]

x2 for Redbone calls. They are great to deal with, and when I bought my speck call from them they made a custom audio file for me to teach me how to use it based on the experience I already had with a short reed honker call. I don't know if they still do that or not though. I also bought one of their snow goose calls but haven't practised enough with it to say I'm proficient with it yet.

[Pixel Shooter]

Long reeds are easier for newbies to call and for it to break over. Short reed takes more air, but find much nicer tones and louder. Easier to learn to blow short reed lying on your back. Easier to control your diaphragm and will get faster results if that makes sense. Question is poly carbonate or acrylic. Acrylic is more expensive. Would probably start off poly until you’re ready to spend more money lol. Won’t find acrylics under $150. Maybe US $’s lol
Big fan of Riceland. I luv my Tim Grounds speck calls and easier to blow than many

[Apatrickson]

Awesome, thankyou all for your suggestions. I am excited to look into each and put them to work in the coming seasons

[Apatrickson]

Originally Posted by Pixel Shooter

Long reeds are easier for newbies to call and for it to break over. Short reed takes more air, but find much nicer tones and louder. Easier to learn to blow short reed lying on your back. Easier to control your diaphragm and will get faster results if that makes sense. Question is poly carbonate or acrylic. Acrylic is more expensive. Would probably start off poly until you’re ready to spend more money lol. Won’t find acrylics under $150. Maybe US $’s lol
Big fan of Riceland. I luv my Tim Grounds speck calls and easier to blow than many

Is the Tim Grounds speck call a long reed? I went to their website and did not find a description with details of the call. Will continue to research but figured I would ask someone who would know

[CBintheNorth]

Originally Posted by Apatrickson

Is the Tim Grounds speck call a long reed? I went to their website and did not find a description with details of the call. Will continue to research but figured I would ask someone who would know

The Super Speck is a short reed.
I have a Grounds G-Overhauler (Canada call) and it is a great call. Super easy to blow and very fast. I haven't blown the Super Speck myself, but have heard it, and it's awesome. Very pricey though.
I started with a Sean Mann Poly speck call. Great to start with as it's super easy to blow, but not very versatile. Outgrew it quickly.
If I was to do it all over again I would start with the best calls that I could possibly muster to afford.
I did the cheap route when I first started with Canada calls and to be honest, that was a mistake. I quickly realized that I outgrew the limitations of lesser quality calls rather quickly. You will too, especially if you can already blow a short reed.
The sounds you can get with a high quality, well tuned acrylic will be head and shoulders above any poly call they sell at Cabelas. I find a good quality speck call will have lots of scratch without a lot of voice inflection. The crack and volume you get out of an acrylic is a definite bonus for calling specks, I find.

I bought a Slayer acrylic speck call at the Sportsman show this year and it's fairly decent. Paid $120 for that one.
I might order a Vendetta in the future (well priced) but will likely regret not putting that money towards a Super Speck.
All the following calls will unfortunately be harder to blow than your Sean Mann.
The quality speck calls I have heard (in person and sound files) I would recommend (best to worst):
TG Super Speck
Elite
Vendetta
Riceland
Red bone
Slayer

[BuckCuller]

What ever call you go with, buy two. I spit like crazy when I’m calling and have to clean the spit out constantly.
If one fouls up I can quickly switch to the other.
Most modern short reed calls are pretty easy to use.
I do like my Zink call.

[Apatrickson]

Thankyou all so much. These are some awesome suggestions and I am super excited to try some of them out. Your experience is super helpful