One of the fringe benefits of starting your own little duck hunting web site is getting to correspond with other duck hunters from across the nation and a few foreign countries as well! From time to time interesting questions are sent to me that I think may be of general interest to all duck hunters. This question from P. Hickerson in Hendersonville, Tennessee is the first such e-mail that I wanted to share. Mr. Hickerson writes:

Why in some of your reviews do you comment about the cork in a duck call? Is the cork really that important? Is there a good way to replace the cork and reed and still get the call to sound the same as before you took it apart?

Although it seems like an insignificant item given the price of an acrylic duck call these days, the cork in a call is important. The cork is typically the only thing that holds the reed up off the tone channel. Actually, its usually not really pure cork, but rather cork blended with rubber. A good tight cork fit against the reed gives you that quick, crisp, snappy sound from your call. When the cork goes flat from too many cycles of moisture saturation and subsequent drying out, the sound of your call can go flat, too. There are only so many “wet/dry” cycles that a cork can withstand before it starts to loose its shape. The cork then completely dries out and looses its ability to spring back and hold the reed tight against the tone board. Proper maintenance of the cork is vital to keep any premium duck call operating at the high levels of efficiency designed into them by the manufacturer.

How do you know when you need to change out your cork?

I have always thought that the first sign of a call in need of “cork help” is a call that slowly starts loosing the “built-in rasp” and going flat. Many other accomplished callers believe that an old worn out cork allows the call to “shatter” on the top end. Also, if you can slide the reed out of your call and the cork starts to slide out with the reed, this is a sure sign of a worn out cork.

In order to get further input from a call maker on this issue, I contacted Ron Pharr of www.gastoncustomcalls.com, who advised, “There are many criteria when determining to change your cork. I first look for a change in the pitch of the call, maybe a little less crispness or flat notes. I check to see if the cork has actually changed in thickness from being wet and drying out, this process will make the cork fit loose in the cork slot. The looseness will change the pitch because it is not holding the reed properly in place.

“A good tip is that if you are in the duck blind where cork is not available take the cork and chew on it endways to thicken it up and add moisture. This should revive it enough till after the days hunt,” Pharr said. “I hunt about 45 days a season but again it can depend on the number of days you personally hunt and how you store your call after hunting. Never store a call in a hot environment or direct sunlight as this will make the cork very dry and brittle over time. A call bag is a great place to store calls after the hunt. I personally change my cork about twice a season, once right before opening day and once about the middle of the season when I feel my tone may have fallen off just a bit.”

There are many hunters who also believe that a dry cork will cause a call to stick. Thus, they believe it is necessary to change their corks frequently to keep their calls from sticking. One contest caller that I have corresponded with will change his cork the minute his call starts to stick.

To get another viewpoint on the “sticking issue,” I checked with master call maker Dr. D.D. Hull of Doc Calls. According to Doc Hull, a cork is not usually the culprit when a call sticks.

“Sticking is usually more related to surface tension between whatever moisture collects under the reed and remains on the sound surface and the undersurface of the reed,” Doc says. “A correctly fitted wedge cork will not need replacing nearly as often as
some people think.  However, a new wedge will cause the reed to be a little bit more elevated especially if the cork is pretty tight.”

Doc believes this will help somewhat if the call is sticking. However, Doc also says that, “If the cork is too tight, the value of the sound is affected.” So, a little care with your cork goes a long way.

So I have decided that I need to change my cork. Where do I find new cork material?

A little known fact is that the thickness of the cork used in duck calls varies from maker to maker. That means that the easiest place to find cork for a given call is often the manufacturer who made the call. That way you know that you will always get cork of the right thickness and hardness for optimal sound quality. The only problem with this approach is that a few cork wedges will normally cost you five bucks from the manufacturer. If you don’t want to deal directly with the manufacturer, you can order most of the common thicknesses or cork on-line at www.hutproducts.com. You can also find replacement cork by going to an auto parts store and asking for McCord cork gasket material. This gasket cork comes in a few different thicknesses. Most call makers use the 3/16” thickness, based on my conversations with call makers and competition callers.


Now that I have my replacement cork, how do I change it out?

The first thing to keep in mind when fooling with corks and reeds is that you want the call to go back together exactly the same way with the same sound as before. Therefore, before you get too wild with your cork and reed, mark the location of the reed with a permanent marker. You do this by simply drawing a line by dragging the marker along the edge of the cork, providing a reference point as to exactly where the reed was located in relation to the cork. This will help you make sure you get the call back together in such a way as to give you the exact sound that you had before. Be careful not to kink the reed when you take it out or put it back into the call.

After you have marked the location of the reed, go ahead and very gently slide the reed out of the call. Then carefully remove the cork. Now you can put the reed back into place in the call. Be sure that the reed is centered on the tone board, and the back end of the reed is flush with the back of the cork slot. Use your thumb to hold the reed in place while you start to push your uncut piece of new cork all the way back into the cork slot.

Most folks have found that it is almost impossible to get a dry cork to go into a call. It is much easier to cut a small piece slightly wider than the cork slot and then wet the cork for a minute to make it soft and easier to fit. Then trim the edges with a razor blade by cutting from the mouth end of the cork slot. Be sure to cut towards the trumpet end of the insert. Cutting in this direction makes sure that the cork will not move on you. Be very careful in this process not to apply so much pressure trying to seat the cork that you break off the top piece of the cork slot. If you do that, the game is over. The cork wedge does not have to be “ultra tight” but it does need to be tight enough that the reed will lock into place and not have any give or move around.

Now that I have changed the cork, what do I do?

First be sure that the reed is in the same position that it was before you changed out the cork. This will take care of giving you the proper sound. Next, it may take a little blowing on the call for the new cork to “settle in” and give you the best sound with your call. That is why many competition callers try to change their corks at least two days prior to a contest. This gives the reed time to “take the proper set,” as one champion caller has described it to me.

Hopefully, this little dissertation on corks and cork replacement will be of some use to you in the future. Please keep your e-mails coming this way. I appreciate each one of them that I receive. I will try to pick a good one out each month to answer, in conjunction with the Waterfowl Review Field Staff and any experts in the area that care to assist us with the more technical information. Thanks again for stopping in at WaterfowlReview.com!