"Turkey Call Review"

Playing with and learning how to use and master different turkey calls is almost as much fun as hunting itself I learned how to use a turkey call at a very young age as you can imagine being brought up in my household. I used to watch my father practice using an instructional 45 record and box call. My father would let me practice too when he was there to supervise. I would also sneak into his room when lie was at work grab his record and box call, then would practice away. As a kid (and still ) I always imitated the sounds of birds and animals. Irritated with my sounds, my mother would ask. "why are you always making weird noises? If you want to make noise. join the band like other children!" I did take her advise, I joined the band and played trumpet (I still made the "weird" noises too). I never made it as a famous musician, but the animal sounds on the other hand ... Here we are!

There are many calls on today's market and they all, for the most part do a good job of sounding like a turkey. So which one , two or three suits your needs best? And why are there so many different styles of calls if they all make the same sounds? The answer to both questions is that different calls are made for different situations you encounter in the woods. It is best to shop for calls that fit your own hunting needs. Some calls tend to be louder than others making them better for long range calling. but too loud for close in calling. Some make soft, subtle sounds while others excel in adverse weather conditions when most others fail. Now you know why veteran turkey hunters walk into the woods looking like the game call isle at Jay's Sporting Goods!

I believe that the pushbutton box call is arguably one of the best, if not the best for hunters of all skill levels for several reasons. It is small enough to fit into a pocket, it makes mistake free notes with only the movement of one finger, it is very user friendly (a call you can buy, now, and learn to use in minutes). Some pushbutton calls mount on the gun barrel allowing the hunter to keep his/her hands on the gun. Other pushbutton calls actually have a volume control on them which is a huge plus to the hunter. This feature will virtually eliminate gobbler -hang ups", The volume control also allows this call to excel at long and short ranges. wind or no wind. I believe this is a call that turkey, hunters of all skill levels should have in their arsenal.

I still use the "old box call". It has more than sentimental value to me. I use it a lot on windy days and for long range calling. Although with practice you can get it to make soft tones, it still takes up both hands and creates too much movement for short range calling. There are still times when the box call cleans house though. and many veterans I know use these calls exclusively with much success. Once you become familiar with, and master a certain call, it's sometimes hard to try something new. The down side is that the gobbler may not like the sound of that particular call on this day, then what do you do? It is always a good idea to keep at least two different sounding calls on hand.

People who have come on my guided hunts have often seen me using a slate, or slate type call. When used with an acrylic striker (peg). I find these to be the best foul weather calls. The acrylic striker allows these calls to work when wet. With practice, slate calls are capable of making very realistic turkey sounds. especially soft tree yelps, clucks. and purrs. I don't use these calls if hunting by myself because they too take Lip both of my hands and create movement. I use slate calls very often when calling for another hunter, I will usually set up about 40 yards behind the hunter and out of sight of the turkey when using this call. This call does require some practice before you become efficient enough to use it mistake free in a hunting situation, but once mastered, this is one of the deadliest calls available. You can find these calls made of slate, glass, and aluminum. The state to my ear is the most authentic sounding of the three. The glass with the same sized pot will be deeper in tone sounding like an older boss hen, while the aluminum call is capable of higher pitched young Jenny tones. I do however carry all three with me when I go into the woods.

Last but not least we come to the mouth diaphragm call. Cursed by some, praised by others. These are perhaps the most difficult to master. Yet. in the mouth of an experienced caller,, it is capable of making the truest sounds of all the calls. These calls require no hands to operate and are not affected by any weather conditions (although the flu can greatly cut down their effectiveness). I use these in both calling contests and woods. Diaphragm calls come in different styles to create different tones. A call with multi reeds and deep cuts will make the sounds of an old boss hen, while calls with no cuts will make clear. higher pitched sounds of the young hen. The single reed is the easiest to blow and the easiest to learn on. Many beginners make the mistake of picking up just any call off of the store shelf without knowing any better, and in most cases, end up with a call that is too advanced for them. They try it once, and in many cases, give up never to try a diaphragm call again. I usually carry a double reed with small cuts for my young hen sounds. and a quad reed with a -V' cut for my older boss hen call. The quad "V" is my favorite, I believe it produces the perfect amount of rasp and tone. The key to mastering a diaphragm call is knowing what words out of your mouth will create the desired turkey sounds. This is where an instructional cassette tape will help you. The down side to a diaphragm call is that it is sometimes hard to make very soft and subtle tones. However, used in combination with a pushbutton box, this deadly duo is hard to beat.

The best advise I can give on learning to use turkey calls is to learn and master one at a time. It is better to go into the woods using one call great, than using two calls fair. You do not have to be a great caller to call in a turkey, just one who knows when and how much to call. You should strive to make mistake free notes, but more importantly, call softly, and only enough to keep the gobbler coming. A very common mistake that turkey hunters make is calling too loud. This is what causes a gobbler to hang up out of gun range most of the time. We tend to to judge how loud to call based on our own inferior hearing. The hearing of a turkey is 4X better than ours. Keep that in mind!

Last year I was at a hunting trade show demonstrating a volume controlled push-button call to a gentleman. When I showed him the higher volume setting. lie exclaimed, "it's not loud enough". I explained that it was very loud, it was just that we were at a loud show, and that things are much different in the quiet woods. As the gentleman walked off firmly believing his words, I could already foresee, as if peering into a crystal ball, this poor man's turkey hunt. I could see him calling out loudly with his call (too loud for the quiet woods) yet he had a gobbler answering and coming in. His heart was beating a mile a minute as he gave out another call. The gobbler double gobbled and walked closer to his pending doom. The hunter could now see the fanning gobbler 80 yards away. he gave out another loud call and the gobbler gobbled some more but this time he stayed out at 80 yards and just strutted. The hunter called out again', and again trying desperately to entice the gobbler in closer. The gobbler would occasionally gobble, but would just stay out there and strut. Finally the gobbler. not seeing this loud lien which he thought should be ten feet away by the sounds of it, finally grew suspicious and left. As the hunter left the woods scratching his head, I was left wondering as I gazed into this crystal ball, how long would it take this poor fellow to catch on. I felt bad for him because he felt the thrill that turkey hunters get when that majestic bird answers them. He just didn't have the experience under his belt. I knew what he was going through because I've been there too, but I learned. Had the hunter lowered his volume and pointed the call in the opposite direction making the gobbler think that the sound came from beyond the hunters stand, he would've had a good chance of bringing that gobbler in. A good rule to remember is to keep it soft, and keep it short. Call out just enough to keep the bird interested.

Most new hunters start off by purchasing one call that fits their particular needs, then they buy another and another, then they have two of each. Before long they are seasoned veterans needing a vest (with a seat cushion) to put all of their calls in. If they are like me.. they also need a brand new utility vehicle to put the vest in. At least I thought it was a good excuse to tell the wife, It made good sense to me. Try it, who knows? Well I don't know about the truck, but I bet she could sure use a new turkey call for her birthday complete with an instructional cassette tape that you could borrow all of the time, Good Luck!