Legacy of the American Duck Call
groove being perhaps a quarter of an inch wide and of the same depth. The tongue is simply a very thin piece of sheet copper or brass, which should be hammered to increase its elasticity; it should be about two and a half inches long and from three-eights to half an inch wide. At one end, which should also be thinner than
Shooting Canvasbacks From A Blind
the other, the corners should be rounded. The tongue is then placed over the grooved half, the round end nearly to the extreme smaller end of the plug, and the tongue completely covering the groove. The other half of the plug should be shortened about an inch and a half from its smaller end, and then being placed on the grooved part, thus holding the tongue fast, both should be pushed firmly into the tube. By blowing in the other end of the tube, the call is produced; the tone, degree of fineness, and so on, of which is regulated by the shortened half of the plug—moving it in or out as a finer and sharper or lower and coarser note is required.” On reading this, Bob Christensen, author of Duck Calls of Illinois, remarked, “These instructions describe the construction of the early all-metal F. A. Allen calls if you were to remove the metal bell portion of the call. It would seem that Allen, or some other early call maker, added this metal retaining sleeve so the reed, wedge, and tone board could be assembled before being inserted into the barrel.” This early reference would lend some -4-
Guts of the F.A. Allen Duck Call
credence to the theory that duck calls were around for quite sometime before they were available on a commercial basis. Exactly how long is still open to debate. Perhaps researchers should look toward Louisiana or other southern states where bamboo cane can be found for further information. Another early written reference, Forest and Stream, November 28, 1878, was from “R. T..... M.. of Ithaca, New York,” who stated, “The duck calls sold in the stores are very good indeed for calling black ducks and mallards, and also teal, if you are in a locality where these species have been in the habit of feeding together.” In American Game Bird Shooting, 1882, John Mortimer Murphy remarked, “Others who are not so highly gifted [at mouth-calling] in imitative power use squawkers, but, unless they have some experience, they are more likely to scare the birds away than to bring them within range. One of the best callers is made of a tube of bamboo, about seven or eight inches long, which has a short tongue of brass at one end