# Call help !



## Rick Howard (Feb 25, 2012)

The calls showed up Saturday. I was not able to try them until yesterday. I had to go out of town for an engagement party, for some friends, over the weekend. My wife assured me that no one there would want to hear them.... so she made me leave them home. I am really liking the cat crack and the crack howler but I am having trouble with the dog crack. I am struggling to get it to howl. I can get a rabbit and deer distress but... I feel like I am having to put an extraordinary amount of air though it. Also I feel like the reed is stiff. I am confused... I expected the howler would have given me more trouble because of the bigger air channel. Does anyone have any suggestions? Do I just need to practice more? Should I trim the reed and make it a little thinner or would that ruin it?

A little background... I have only been using open reed calls for a year now. I only had hand calls and closed reed prior. These crack calls are my second "set" of open reed calls. I have been using the primos hot dog and little dog. I still struggle with the primos hot dog. It just comes out really raspy. I feel like I have the basics down and my technique is good. Breathing from the diaphragm, not biting down on the reed but pressing lightly with my lips, and holding the call at a 45 degree angle. I am proficient getting mouse squeaks, bird distress, rabbit distress, deer distress, pup distress, fox distress, ki-yi, interrogation howls, invitation howls, challenge howls, pup howls, female whimpers, barks, and yips from the combination of the lil dog calls. I can get decent howls from the hot dog if I go farther down the tone board.

I guess my question is this... Is it me or the call? My first thought is that it is me. The fact that I was able to use the larger howler and struggled with the smaller one is contrary to my previous experience which has made me question the call. The fact that I have limited experience and this is only the second "set" of calls that I have attempted makes me question what I am doing.

Another note... The Crack Calls look fantastic. They were really good about getting them out quickly and they even refunded me some shipping that was mistakenly over paid.

I Posted this twice... Once in reply to another topic "Crack" that I started but felt like I should throw it out there as its own topic also.


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## Hellbilly1373 (May 12, 2012)

I had a similar experience when I started practicing calling. My first howler was small in size andwhile I could get some good sounds out of it, I felt that my actual howling was terrible. I watched videos, and practiced till my mouth hurt. Then I got a bigger horn howler, and wow! By having more to hold in my hand I was able to move the call upwards as I called in the same way a yote moves his head when he howls. It made a big difference, and when I grabbed the small howler again I was able to make it work on the first try. I also use my teeth lightly on the reed as well, I feel that I get a better tone that way. Hope this helps out. Good luck.


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## Rick Howard (Feb 25, 2012)

Thank you Hellbilly. I suppose I should have updated this a long time ago. I contacted Crack Calls and they sent me some new reed mylar and the problem was solved.


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