A game call is a hunting pipe for luring birds. A good game call gives out a high, gentle and clear whistle, somewhat cold in timbre and flexible in intonation. This sound is achieved when game calls are made from bird feathers or bones. While it is possible that the inhabitants of Idnakar used game calls made of feathers, only bone ones have survived to this day. Modern hunters prefer game calls made from natural materials, but also use ones made of metal and plastic.
Hunting has always been important for people living in forests. The ancient inhabitants of Idnakar were skilled hunters. They hunted beavers, elk, reindeer, squirrels, hares, roe deer, as well as predators: martens, wolves, bears, wolverines and foxes.
A bow was the main hunting weapon. Bone plates, parts of quivers, a bone shield to protect the wrist during shooting, and arrowheads of various shapes, including blunt ones, so as not to damage valuable skins, have been preserved.
Udmurt hunters also used spears and darts. They had a designated tool for each type of bird and animal: wooden traps for stoats, minks and otters, heavy steel traps for wolves, foxes and wolverines, and bird snares.
People of Idnakar also hunted birds. The archaeological finds, made on the territory of the hillfort, include many bones of wild ducks, as well as remains of goshawks, eagle owls, snowy owls, willow grouses, black storks, as well as bones of wood, black and hazel grouses.
Some game calls, which have spent a thousand years buried in the ground, are still in working order and can produce the same whistle. Idnakar game calls were made from thighbones of sable or marten — the worst enemies of hazel grouse. Hunters hid behind a tree and, using a game call, made a sound similar to the whistle of a female hazel grouse. It was important to remain inconspicuous and have a lot of patience.
After some time, male hazel grouses began to gather nearby and sit on the trees. While modern hunters with a firearm could simply hit the bird, Prikamye hunters waited for it to fly closer and shot it with an arrow.
