in timber or swampy area, a wood call is preferable. Another key difference is that acrylic is known to show less sound variance over the temperature ranges expected in a duck blind. Wood expands and contracts with the changing temperature and humidity levels. It is still the preferred call, as it is more time-consuming to manufacture and design. However, decorative duck calls can be quite elaborate and expensive. History Before the mass production and popularization of duck calls, hunters used their own voices (mouth calling) or used call ducks or duck decoys. This dates back to 1678, but it is believed that the use of call ducks originated in the Far East. Hunters would feed wild tame ducks and trap them, using their calls to attract wildfowl. Non-patent duck calls may have been made as early as 1850, but the first patent was awarded to Elam Fisher in 1870. In 1863, Fred Allen had created external duck calls, but did not have a patent. Allen's calls were barrel calls with straight tone boards and curved reeds. His most unusual call was the “Allen Nickel-Plated Duck Caller” which was made of metal but froze to the hunters' lips and had to be re-made using wood. Fisher was famous for the production of his Tongue Pincher Duck Calls which were made of two pieces of curved wood facing each other with a metal reed sandwiched between them and a holding device (usually a band) holding it all together. Tongue Pinchers had limited tone range and often cut the hunters' tongues and mouths. Fred Allen was the first to sell his duck calls commercially and began advertisements in 1880. David Fuller was the first to receive the patent for the goose call in 1885 and impacted the duck hunting world in 1903 with his combination goose/duck call. This call had a screw that retracted from inside the barrel which changed the sounds that were produced. In the early 1890s a blacksmith by the name of Victor Glodo Jr. began producing duck calls, he is credited with the barrel shape, his signature copper reeds and using the “duck wing” checkered pattern. Glodo Jr.'s most well-known production is the Reelfoot Lake Style duck call. From 1900-1910 many modifications were made to duck calls such as; the straight tone boards were replaced with curved ones, wedges were replaced with groove and cork locking systems, and there