Getting in tune with waterfowl to hunt them takes time and simplicity, says Avery Outdoors pro-staffer Wayne Radcliffe. “Waterfowl hunting seems simple to me now. I don’t mean there isn’t a lot to it. It’s just that when you do something long enough, it seems simple,” Radcliffe says in an interview with American Hunter, where he shares six tips to get in tune with waterfowl.

ducks-Photo-by-Ohio-DNR-e1385092768505

The Call: Every duck hunter should have a double-reed duck call that ‘sounds ducky.’ For geese [Radcliffe] says to start with a flute call and a short-reed call and ‘talk to other hunters where you go. You can start learning to use these calls by listening to recordings, but go and hear the real thing down at a local marsh or pond in a public park. Finally, go to an outdoor show and seek out the guys in the booths selling duck calls. He says, “They’ll diagnose you pretty fast for the small price of a new call.”

What’s Radcliffe’s top tip for getting in tune with waterfowl?

Photos: New York Department of Environmental Conservation (top); Ohio Department of Natural Resources (above)