Hey guys, I know this is a "Chevy vs Ford" kinda question, but what calls y'all like best? I just shot my first gobbler on a private ranch with a guide (notice I didn't say "hunt" anywhere...) and think I could really get into this.

I've played around with diaphragm calls before, and would like to know which of those you guys like. Also box and slate call preferences. Figured I'd pick up a couple to start practicing/playing with at home.

Thanks!

I use a box call every year, have since I was young

Diaphragm - Hooks Calls...

Pot & Peg - Andy Kaiser and Wendell Rye...

Box - Tim Bullock, Al and Josh Shoemaker, and Jerry White...

With that said there are many excellent craftsmen making some really great calls. Do a little looking around over at the Old Gobbler forum and buy what turns you on from one of the many makers with a good reputation and following of satisfied users. Look out, turkey hunting is addicting!

Gobbler Down pot calls - very well made, and tuned.

Their website: http://www.gobblerdown.com/

I collect calls (around 300) and have some of the calls made by the guys above which are great call makers. By and large though my favorite call maker is Paul Meek of paulmeekoutdoors. He got me using his scratch box about a dozen years ago and it beats anything I have ever used for finishing a bird or one within a couple hundred yards. He also designed one for me as we have to do a lot of long range calling out here we call the Terminator. Check out his web site.

up close and personal the Diaphragm call , Close but not in sight the Slate , if the bird is at a distant then i like the loudness of the Box Call

I use Cane Creek diaphragm calls. I'll usually buy 3 or 4 of the CC pros or Mr. Deaths and carry the 2 that sound the best.

Past 2 years I've used a box and slate call from Al and Josh Shoemaker ( SS Custom Calls ) I really like them both.

Also use a David Halloran Crystal Mistress. Probably called more birds in with that one than any other I've had.

I see you are from TX. I would suggest a box call, TX is open country & I think the box call carries the sound better. That's what I use in Colorado for the merriams. I like the "Grand Old Master" from Quaker Boy. Lynch also make a good box call.

I have a lynch box call, and its very effective, carries far.

I have a couple of Lynches andt hey are real good calls but I like the Paul Meek Terminator as it carries a little farther with a slightly higher pitch to get them coming back to you. Its actually a smaller paddle box.

I carry a dozen mouth calls, 4 each of 3 different styles, A double reed with the latex tension "centered and cut with a v notch, is very easy to get low raspy yelps and purrs. A double reed tensioned tothe right and sort of "w" cut on that side. Very high pitched and great for cutting, and a double reed with no cut.

I also carry two box calls, each tuned slightly different

A glass pot, a slate pot and an aluminum pot also ride in my vest. As well as a "gobble" call, and a variety of locators

All but the gobble call are custom made by Bettis Custom Calls

Final Roost are my favorite mouth calls. I make my own pots, but were I going with any of the well known makers, I'd choose slate for a new hunter. When you get that mastered, aluminum is a good place to be.

I like the one I make.

It's a scratchbox. Most scratchbox calls are very quiet. This one can be very quiet, or as loud as most box calls because I figured out a way to put two sound chambers inside.

I make them with Cherry or Maple bodies. I got the wood from my uncle's farm. A few are in Zebrawood (shown at right), which I bought while I was in the prototype stage. The soundboards (which correspond to the lip of a box call) are either cedar (which gives a softer sound) or walnut (which gives a brighter, sharper sound). Except that I don't have any walnut with a Zebrawood body.

The striker board (which corresponds to the lid of the box call) is African rubberwood. I like it because it has a nice, even grain that's slightly open, so it takes the chalk very well. Find out more at www.EverydayHunter.com.

This is the only call I've used for the last 4 or 5 years, and This call has been deadly for me. Can't wait to get out to reel in another gobbler with it in two weeks.

Steve.

Not a great turkey caller at all, but my favorite mouth call is the HS Strut Cutt'n 2.5. It has enough rasp to give it an edge and is still easy to use.

Learning on a slate call now.

Should get a box call fired back up, too.

My grandfather made a few scratch box calls. One of them would be "just right".

check out enticer turkey calls . I have lots of calls , some custom , but this guy makes lots of different models including a line that work awesome when wet .They range from 35 to 45 dollars and so you are getting custom call quality and sound for the price you pay for walmart calls . Dont see how he produces them at that price . Been using them for 2 years and pretty much leave the others at home now .

I see a lot of stores like Cabela's selling electronic turkey calls, nowadays. I didn't think that was Legal to use???

In many states (maybe most) electronic turkey calls are not legal. In states where they may not be used for hunting, they are promoted as being for instructional purposes.

Steve.

I asked about box calls on the form here last year and someone said Paul Meeks, i got on line and then called and ordered one of his calls A Very nice man took time to explain his calls, got the call in about a week I was in line as he had a few to build for others , got the call sounded great, and called in 3 Jakes took one on the last day! in 2 weeks Ill try it again!

A turkey vest full of calls is to a turkey hunter what a tackle box full of bait and tackle is to a fisher man. Somedays fish are biting on one thing and other days it's something else; same with turkeys. I currently carry a pot and peg call with 2 strikers, half a dozen mouth calls, a crow call, an owl call, and a box call in my vest.

There are a million makers of high quality custom calls. Just peruse the forum on a turkey hunting website and you'll see some recommended names. IMO some custom calls are superior to the commercially manufactured offerings, and some aren't. You generally get what you pay for. See if a proshop in your area can put you on a good custom call. Most can.

As far as manufactured calls go, I would recommend woodhaven or primos. Some sound better than others these are just the ones I like, and woodhaven is manufactured in my home state so I like to patronize them when possible.

Buy a bunch of different stuff and see what you can make sound like a turkey. Imitate turkey hens not turkey hunters calling like turkey hens. You can find videos of hen chatter on youtube. I like to hit up big box stores after turkey season and buy the leftover stock when it goes on clearance.

Box calls are probably the easiest to run. For a cheap box that sounds decent I would recommend the primos box cutter. I also like the woodhaven real hen but its more expensive.

That said I'm far from an expert so the advice is worth what you pay for it.

I'll second what Diogenes says. There are a lot of great custom call makers out there and one day, you'll likely own several if you keep hunting turkeys (You will. It's an addiction like none other.)

But for a beginner, go buy a $20 Primos pot call and a couple of decent mouth calls for $5-8 each. Hooks, Headcrusher, Woodhaven, Preston Pittman, just to name a few. If you're not hunting high pressured, public land birds, you can kill a lot of turkeys with nothing more. Calling skills are only about 10% of successful turkey hunting. I have an uncle that has been hunting turkeys successfully for 40 years, and he owns one call, a Lynch's box call.

Yeah. I know a lot of old timers (and I agree) that swear it's more about woodsman ship, scouting, and knowing your property more than anything else, but the call manufacturers can't sell common sense can they? Magazine writers have to have something to talk about, camo manufacturers have to have they latest greatest whiz bang patterns, and call makers need to tell you all about the new 6 reed triple raspy turkey kryptonite mouth call.

I've killed many turkey without uttering a peep
Scouting is the number 1 call in my arsenal

If you buy a mouth call, and have trouble with it, don't give up on mouth calls; try another, and it may fit you better. Also, if you are having trouble with gagging, or trapping air, consider trimming the tape, ever so slightly at a time, to see if that helps. Lots of good calls out there, like folks are saying; part of the fun is getting a new call and learning how to use it.

I use a Lynch box call and a assortment of slate, synthetic & glass pot calls made by a guy here in Missouri. I use a mouth call only when up close and my hands are holding the shotgun. I can yelp and do a basic kee kee run with a mouth call but that's it. I am so impressed with the ability of so many guys that can use a mouth call better than they can use a cell phone. I can't, so I limit my mistakes. I can cut, purr, yelp, or anything else with a slate or box call and then once I have them getting close I just shut up and wait with my shotgun. If I need them to pop up that head or move just a bit then I use the mouth call, otherwise I stay silent and wait for the shot. It's what works for me and I am a call challenged guy. Better to under call than over call every time.

I don't use a mouth call at all. Wasn't it Ben Lee who said, if you want to win a contest use a mouth call but if you want to kill a bird use a friction call and he was the best there ever was.