Any duck hunters /out/ there?

I'm thinking about getting into duck hunting this fall. I can afford to buy the neccessary equipment (shotgun, waders, jacket, other clothing, decoys, calls, am I missing anything?). According to google there seems to be a lots of public duck hunting land in my state (Arkansas). Also I know I need to get hunters ed/license and that's not a problem.

I'm concerned about calling, because I heard that ducks can hear if even a couple notes are off and will get spooked. I'm also concerned about running into other hunters on public land because I really don't know what I'm talking about. Also I don't really have anybody to teach me or go with me. I went with a friend a couple times but that was back in high school.

Any help or advice could be much appreciated.

>tl;dr help/advice for a guy getting into duck hunting alone