Home Forums Birds & Dogs Turkey Hunting New Guy,need recommendations on calls

I want to start key hunting this year. I need recommendations on turkey calls.

Spend a few bucks on a custom call or two. I prefer pot calls aka "slate" type calls. Oak Ridge Custom Calls makes a great pot call. His Mad Hen 1 is really nice and easy to run crystal call. David Halloran also make a nice pot call, his Crystal Mistress is a popular one.

I collect calls but for hunting my go to calls are made by Paul Meek of Paul Meek Outdoors. He makes a scratch box that is awesome and you would think I was lying if I told you how many Toms I have taken with it. He does make quite a few custom calls and his hunting calls will fit any situation.

Take the time to learn how to use a diaphragm mouth call. They're not that hard to learn, you just need to put in time practicing. The real benefit of using one is that it leaves both hands free to handle the gun. Allows you to make some soft calls when a gobbler is close without them seeing any movement.

Best thing for a new turkey hunter is to find an good veteran turkey hunter to take you hunting a few times. Learn from him on movement, setups, and calls. Knowing when to call ,how much to call, and when not to call may be more important than being able to make the perfect hen call. If possible stay uphill of Tom.
Box call, slate call, mouth diaphragm to get started is all you might need. --- Web

When I started, I used pot calls until I could really run mouthcalls.

Now I carry a couple custom pot calls, one a Cherrywood slate, and a maple glass call
I also have an aluminum pot call

I carry a bunch of strykers, but use a tulip and a polymer ones the most.

I also have a custom box call that I have tubed to make very, very soft tree clucks, and that is all I use it for.

I also have a "wallet" full of mouth calls, stretched different ways with different reed counts

A good wood owl hooter, and a crow call are also necessities

Pm me if your interested in some very, very good custom calls at a decent price


I don't make them but staff for the company

Go to the call makers section at the OldGobbler turkey hunting site. Custom turkey calls are addictive... be careful.

All of the above plus my 2 cents. Buy a few different mouth calls and learn to use them. You won't like all of them and you will learn real quick what you like and what you dont. I like double reed double frame calls cause the reeds don't stick together and they last longer I also can do more with them. I use a tube call a lot, not many guys use a tube call. I love pot calls for the ease of use. A good loud box is a good locator call. A slate is a good soft finesse type call. Custom calls are great but to get started on the cheap knight and hale, hs strut or quaker boy are all good calls for the money.

Just buy a little of everything and play around with them. Listen to live turkeys or recordings of live turkeys and try to make the same sounds. It ain't rocket science, if I can do it anyone can.

Thank you for the replies.

Since you are just starting, I wouldn't go the custom call route. A Lynch Foolproof box call, a decent slate, and a mouth call or two would be a good start. As you decide what you like, then do the custom. I use to use Preston Pittman mouth calls, but the quality doesn't seem to be the same. I started using Houndstooth Game Calls mouth calls last year. I love them. Good luck and practice.

N2---nailed it. I can't make the diaphragm sound good. I use the box call for these Colorado Merriams. When I go to KS for eastern a they seem to like the slate.

Look at Down and Dirty friction calls, they are some of the best sounding calls on the market. I have a preference for the slate for finishing and glass for a loud "contact" call.

Every turkey hunter (beginner or experienced) should have a Lynch box call in his bag of tricks. they just work.

its that call in the middle of these.

I make pot calls and just started making my own box calls, and I've been on pro staffs. My suggestions for a fellow just starting out would be as follows:

1) A Quaker Boy Easy Yelper-- cheap, easy to use, good sound. I still keep mine handy for close-in clucking and purring and such coupled with a mouth call or my voice.
2) For a box call, I'm currently enamored with the work of Al Shoemaker, http://www.sscustomcalls.com/ . Contact Al and tell him what you're up to. He'll send you a field grade box you'll be using the rest of your life.
If you want to stick with a production call, I can still recommend the Quaker Boy Grand Old Master.
3) Pot calls -- I'm fond of slate, slate over glass and most recently added copper to my goto list. For strikers, I am fond of hickory, purple heart, and dymondwood. Check out this place:
http://customsawing.com/STRIKERS.html for some good strikers.
The also sell the parts for making your own strikers and calls.

I'm not an expert in the subtleties of mouth calls, since I do a fair job of calling with just my voice. However, I usually look for deals online that will get me several at a time for $3/call. You'll want to start with a clear sound single reed for learning and then work into the more exotic multi-diaphragmed raspy calls.



Having said all that, the most important thing is getting out and learning how to call. You need to get among the turkeys and have them teach you. Get out and start scouting and listen to turkeys at flydown. If you can't get out, listen to my podcasts (see my signature for the link) or check out Mike Battey's CD's:

http://www.wildtalker.com/WildTalker_Game_Calls/Spittin_Feathers_CD.html

Ya know

1) find what you like best. Which call can you play best? Box? Mouth?Pot?

Buy used ones on ebay or cheapest ones you can get to find out what that is. Dont jump to custom call right now. I use exclusively mass produced calls, less the $15.

2) once you find it, learn how to play it well. Not perfect, turks dont care about perfection, cause Ive heard some seriously bad real turkeys make alot of horrendous calls over the years.

Learn to be a consistent as you can as often as you can when you call. Practice practice practice. Treat pot calls like a bullseye. High around the edges, mid tones toward middle, and low tones toward center. Its like a musical instrument almost..

3) be gentle when conditioning calls- less is more. If its a pot Find the best striker for your hunting weather and surface. Some strikers can play anything, some less. Some play in damp weather, some dont.

The goal is the find a call and a striker that can make music every time, (if your gonna use a pot call). Sometimes you can have a gud pot, but bad striker. And vicee versee

One time I lost my favorite striker, I went and looked for it for two hours and back in another day, but couldn't locate it. Was devastated. A right tool is a pleasure to work with, as anybody that has worked wood knows. Bought 4 new strikers; only break glass in case of emergency

4) learn dinosaur "small talk". Single yelps, gentle purrs, whines, putts. Called in flocks just by making dinosaur chit chat, like girls at the beauty parlor.
Later on Learn to string chit chat together with strings of yelps coming in and out of both on command.


HUNT. prepare yourself mentally for being made an ass out of, there is a quick learning curve to Dinosaur hunting. Remember the lessons.

You may shoot the first bird that presents itself the first time. The young guys are most eager. I like to toy with them and look for the old guys.


To recap:

Find whats easiest to play
Learn to handle it well
Hunt. Laugh at being bested, and remember the lessons.

Lets Have fun out there. Its fun, dammit!
The call is like an egg, hold it like an egg.

David Halloron Crystal Mistress is really good.

I think box calls are the easiest to master. Pots are next easier. Diaphragms will take time and lots of practice.

I also agree that cheap production calls are definitely the place to start. Once you figure out the game, then consider customs. Even then, I use some of my old Lynch and Quaker Boys more than my customs.

Year after year, I would never be without a diaphragm and a good box call. Simply put, they have worked for years and will continue to be successful...

Love the Merriam's most of all.

Beautiful birds, there.

I'm a big fan of Lonzo Game Calls. This Eastern and a few Osceolas were fans too. For 50 bucks, can't beat the birds eye maple slate

Thanks for all the replies.

That is one Boss Tom, Billy. Very nice.

I dont believe there is a way to age Toms (correct me of I remember wrong) but the length of those primary fan feathers, and the secondary tail feathers also being long, not light and fuzzy, and having fully visible black accents, from what ive examined over the years says hes of decent age.

Beauty of a photo too.

You be lookin like Manny Puig from The Savage Wild hunting program.

Thanks, got him on my south GA lease. Excited for spring. I think Puig is tryin to look like me.

You can definitely get bogged down in the choices that are out there.

I can highly recommend hunting with someone who is an experienced turkey hunter. What you do, and how you set up is as important as the calling I've found out.

I have a friend who is obsessed with making perfect turkey sounds and it's just not that critical in my opinion, just listen to real turkeys.

I have had many calls, none extremely expensive, but decent calls that I have settled on for my needs.


Cody Slate pot style call.(good for low sweet or raspy sounds)

Cody Glass (this call makes the best sounds to me, can make it raspy or crystal clear)

MAD Super Aluminator 2(aluminum call with an acrylic striker,can use it to locate, because it will get very loud, I use this one a lot on damp or rainy days)

A good box call, Lynch Foolproof is good, as are others. It gets damp and wet a lot here in south Alabama and I bought a Woods Wise Mystic Wet Hen box call with a black lid that has a no chalk feature and will play wet. It doesn't sound good to me, but I have watched numerous gobblers die with the sound of that call the last thing they heard. We started calling it the black box of death.

For locator calls. In the morning I just use my own voice to owl hoot, later in the morning I may use a crow call, or the box call to locate birds.

I am no good with mouth calls but have found a few that I can at least make a turkey like sound with and keep one in my mouth when a bird is coming in. If they hang up and just need a little more coaxing then I use the mouth call.

Most experienced turkey hunters won't use a push button call, but the last birds I called in came to one. It was the only call I had gotten out that morning for my son to use and the birds sneaked up on me. I like the ones that don't need chalk, again because of the usually damp weather in my area.

We can use decoys in Alabama and I have been using a Dave Smith Decoy upright hen along with a Funky Chicken Jake and have had good luck. I have also had good luck with the cheap foam decoys.

None of these calls are very expensive and they just plain work for me.

The next question is which shells to use, 3 inch, 3 1/2 inch, lead, copper plated, hevi shot, #4's, 5's, 6's, 12 gauge or 20 gauge, which choke tube?

When you have one gobble in your face, you'll be hooked.

Bob.

IMO, I would recommend starting out the way I did way back when.... Get a Lynch Box Call, a Slate Call with an extra waterproof striker, crow call and owl hooter. Then have a friend show you how to run the calls or watch some video (not available when I started).
You can run the box call in a plastic bag if it rains, and you can dry your slate call with a bic lighter in the field.
Once you decide you like the sport then branch out to air operated calls and custom friction calls. If you are like most of us you will eventually collect more calls than you can use, but that's part of the fun.
A lot of success in turkey hunting is woodsman ship which you learn by the seat of your pants in the field.
The biggest tip I can give you is don't fall in love with your calling. IMO for most situations, subtle calling is better.

Get on lovettwilliams.com and get the full set of CDs. Knowing what to say and when to say it is far more important than the caller you use. Killing turkeys usually does not require very much calling here in the Southeast, if you know how to set up and truly talk turkey. If I were starting out I'd get just one good pot call and learn it very well.

As for which call, try https://www.facebook.com/CHAMPIONSCGC/ Get a call and watch his videos on how to play them.

Since you are new with it, I will also recommend you get a copy of Kenny Morgan's books. You can get the new one and a reprint of the old one https://www.facebook.com/TurkeyCallers

Getting those CDs and books will put you very far ahead. I'd rather have that knowledge and have to do my calling with a blade of grass or piece of river cane than have the best call and be without the knowledge.

Sound advice ruralite.

Ive listened a couple of those tapes. Good stuff!

If you're just starting off find a decent slate call, a few different strikers, learn to diaphragm call and buy a pack of em and maybe a locator call.

Get to learn the calls, your strengths and weakness and what you are best with. I have a Lynch fool-proof but rarely touch it.

Then focus on scouting, decoy set up and your game plan. Stay safe and good luck!

I make and sell a custom call. It's a scratchbox. Here's the text of an email I got last week from a guy in Texas who bought one:


In a later email he said he was going to order a couple more. Trouble is, I don't have any in stock right now. I'm selling them faster than I can make them. I'm hoping to have about 20 finished by the end of the week, but they could sell at an event where I'm speaking Saturday night.

Maybe I need to raise the price.

Steve.

Everydayhunter, do you have a picture?

I sold out last weekend and am working to make more. The body of the call is Zebrawood, Cherry or Maple. Right now I'm finishing up calls with a Zebrawood body and soundboards in Cedar, Walnut, Sassafras or Butternut. After the Zebrawood is sold I'll be making them only with a Cherry or Maple body, and mostly with a Cedar soundboard.

Here's the page on my website that describes them: http://www.everydayhunter.com/turkeycall.htm

Steve.

BKS

Calling is only about 10 to MAYBE 15% of turkey hunting. Don't get all caught up in different turkey calls when you are just starting out. Once you gain some experience, THEN you will be able to make a better decision about calls. Between now and then, do your home work. FIND WHERE THE TURKEYS ARE. The best way to succeed at turkey hunting is to hunt where there are turkeys.

Get out and walk woods roads looking for droppings, scratching's, dusting spots, dropped feathers, and tracks. Look for tracks in sandy ditches beside dirt roads in the woods. Look in the sand or mud along the sides of small streams. Look for turkeys in fields next to wood to lots as you drive along.

Once you have located an area where YOU KNOW turkey's are located, THEN become very familiar with it. Learn every stream, road and briar patch so that when you are in there and you hear a gobbler, you KNOW about where he is and how to approach him. If you try to slip up on a gobbler in the dark or early morning without knowing the territory, you are going to scare him off the roost.

Once you slip in to about 100 yards or so, stop and set up there.(Get your back against a tree larger than you are. Get your mask and gloves on. Get out your call(s) and place them within easy reach. Check your gun and make sure it is ready.) Then make several yelps with a common box call. It does not have to be fancy and just about any of the commercial calls will do to begin with. They are easy to use and difficult to screw up calling with them. Once a gobbler answers you, he knows within shotgun range where you are because HE KNOWS the territory too.

If you are confident in your calling, continue to call. If not, then clucks will do because he CAN HEAR YOU if he has already answered at least once. Be patient and stay alert. They don't always come straight in and sometimes there is more than one turkey that will come and they may or may not gobble at all.

Your woods craft and hunting skills are more important than calling, so don't get caught up in all the "toys" that are available to turkey hunters. Kill a couple of turkeys with basic gear first and then you can go to the toy store better prepared to make good decisions.

All the best to you.

Ragnar73--- spot on

I disagree with the others that you need a custom call. I've had about every call imaginable, and used to carry them all.

Now I carry a few diaphram calls in my pocket, and I have a belt holder that holds two slat/pot calls and two strikers. So, that's what I carry. I have a Drury Outdoors aluminum "slate" call that's real high pitched and cuts the wind. I also have a Primos glass that I can call real soft with.

Where I WOULD spend the extra money on is a striker. I have a few different ones and they ALL make a different sound on each call. You'll learn from experience what you and the birds like in your hunting area. The only way you'll figure that out is to hunt.... So go hunt.

Here is one of the pot calls I





Same bird, but with a very, very happy client

Check out chain reaction game calls. Tom is a top notch guy and provides one heck of a call. Prices are very reasonable. Currently stationed away from home and he has set up shop to keep production going. Amazing workmanship to say the least

Primos the Super Freak Crystal slate call is one of my favorite calls. Would be pretty easy to use for someone just starting out. You get some good raspy sounding hen yelps pretty easily.

Congrats and welcome to the 10th Legion. Good luck this spring.

Unless you hire a guide and hunt on property managed for turkeys, anyone lacking hunting and woods craft skills who thinks they can buy a fancy call, a fancy shotgun, fancy camo, fancy decoys, and go out in the woods and kill turkeys is in for a big shock. But the advertising guys on Madison Avenue and custom call makers will have you believe that crap if you listen to them. Turkey hunting is a learned skill. If you want to kill turkeys, you have to learn how to do it and you don't do it with all the crap Madison Avenue or custom call makers want to sell you. You do it with skill gained from being the woods long enough, observing, listening, and learning and they can't sell you that. If they could, anyone and everyone could kill turkeys with no problem.