Cheap calls vs expensive calls

[Cut N Run]

I didn't know of any custom call makers (and there weren't so many around here) when I started turkey hunting. I learned to get the best sounds possible out of the production calls I owned.  I also learned from an old time turkey hunter not to fall in love with the sounds I was making from my turkey calls.  Less was more, to keep 'em guessing, and to leave the turkeys wanting more.  I'm sure that plenty of birds walked away because I wasn't talking a lot, but a lot of gobblers died trying to find the "new" hen they heard.

I have a few custom calls that sound great, but my "go to" box call is still a production call. It just sounds good.  I bought some others exactly like it and most didn't have the same tonal quality, so the inferior ones got sold or given away. I make enough of the right sounds out of that production box to get a gobbler's attention and get him coming my way.  Some of why it works well is the confidence I have in it from past successes.  The better you can get any call to sound, the more success you're liable to have in it.  You're definitely more likely to get better sound quality from a custom call simply because they're not mass produced and the maker cares about what they produce.  It is not about quantity, it is about quality with custom makers.

Jim

[catman529]

Depends on what call and what maker and how well you can use the call...I call in most of my birds with home made calls that didn't cost anything so I can't offer much input on the expensive custom calls. Except that some of them sound really good to my ears.


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[MK M GOBL]

Like most I have both and I carry a $$$ and a $$ call in my turkey pack. My go to call is a Cody World Class Slate that I have had for over 20 years and have killed birds and birds and birds with. My other call is a very inexpensive aluminum call that I'll take out when I want to throw the switch-up at a bird, sounds so different than the slate.

I always say I look at performance not pretty

I do buy some collector "pretty" calls but they are for the wall not the woods...

MK M GOBL

[HFultzjr]

Last year was an especially tough year in PA.
Lots of non co-operative birds.
If a bird doesn't want to play......he isn't going to play!
Good call, bad call, yelling at them, etc........................LOL
Some birds just don't want to play.

[Illnoize]

I've used both and find that some custom calls are better made, but many production calls will do the job very well. I let the birds decide. I've used calls that are custom ,high dollar, works of art that sound great to me. But get no response from the birds. I've also used cheap horrible sounding calls to me , that bring toms in running. I find myself using more of my production calls over the custom jobs.

[Strutr]

Some of the worst turkey calling I've ever heard in the woods came from real wild turkeys so I don't put too much stock in the school of thought that you need to have a custom call.  Then, consider the fact that far more turkeys are lured in with production calls.  My advice is to buy some calls (production, custom, or homemade) that you think sound good and, above all, learn how to play them well. 

Nothing at all against expensive custom calls but I sincerely doubt the turkeys can discern the difference between a well-made custom versus a well-made production model.  IMHO, custom calls made from exotic woods and other unique materials with fine finishes are works of art made to appeal to the buyer/owner.  The fact that they are beautiful and also functional is why some feel they are worth the expense.     

[Chris O]

I use a little of everything I only recently started buying some custom calls.And the biggest reason is that I don't want to have the same call as 10 other guys that I compete against.I also have some production calls that I would not want to be with out also.One is a 25 year old M.A.D. Slate call that still sounds good to me and I have confidence in.The other is a Quaker boy trough call that you can buy today. I don't like the Quaker boy in the rain though.My dad's go to call is a 35 year old Lynch foolproof box call that has been glued back together a couple times,but he has killed a lot of turkeys with it.If you can afford it I would buy a custom call off of one of the call makers on this site that you keep hearing good things about and I bet you will always be happy with your purchase. I plan on buying more calls from some of the guys on here because I am addicted to great looking and great sounding calls and there a lot worse things to spend your money on.Just remember that if you find the right turkey it's easy to call them in.

[LaLongbeard]

No matter if the call came from Walmart or is an expensive custom it's the man operating the call. You have to practice until proficient and a lot of people think you can buy that with an expensive call.

[Dr Juice]

No matter if the call came from Walmart or is an expensive custom it's the man operating the call. You have to practice until proficient and a lot of people think you can buy that with an expensive call.

^^^This

[shaman]

I've hunted turkeys for closing in on 40 years.  I've been a pro-staffer for a call company.  I've manufactured my own calls for over a decade.

All turkey calls are primarily manufactured to attract turkey hunters and not turkeys. That goes for mine as well as anyone else's.  General Mattis said it best: "The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears."  It ain't the call that counts.

When I decided to make my own box calls, I asked around and found a highly touted custom call maker.  I told him to create a call that was ideal for the conditions I hunted.  He sent me the call, and I not only hunted with it, but I studied it at great length.  It was a nice call.  I'm not going to give specifics.  I bought some material, not nearly as fine as this custom call, and tried to make a box call as best I could.  I've hunted with both calls extensively since, and the Shamanic MK I box has brought in several gobblers, and the expensive custom call has so far brought in nary a one. 

I don't clam  to be a genius turkey hunter. I don't claim the custom call was a dud.  I'm just saying it ain't the price of the call that brings in the gobs.

I've been making pot calls for over a decade now.  I started off just making them for my family and friends.  It was an easy way to get off the hook for Christmas and birthday gifts for a while.   For my own personal use, I found it was cheaper to DIY and experiment with various materials. A few years in, I fell in with a fellow who was manufacturing some really revolutionary designs, and he wanted me to come on board as a pro-staffer. Frankly, his top-of-the-line calls were much better than mine, and I treasure them.  However, I can just as easily go out with my $5 pot calls and call in a gob.   

[falltoms]

No matter if the call came from Walmart or is an expensive custom it's the man operating the call. You have to practice until proficient and a lot of people think you can buy that with an expensive call.
[/quote.  ]       X2"

[fallhnt]

A well conditioned cheap call will call birds and won't hurt that bad if lost or damaged.

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[jims]

If shot a heck of a lot of toms using diaphragms.  Both hands are free and they are pretty darn inexpensive.  If I loose one....no big deal.  I do a lot of run and gun hunting so it's nice not having to haul around a bunch of calls, strikers, etc.  I have one call ready in my mouth while hiking and another in a pocket.  You can get a great diaphragm call for around $10 and a top of the line diaphragm for around $15!  It took some time to get rid of the gag reflex and figure out how to use a diaphragm.  I've learned how to do a bunch of different turkey calls.  YouTube was a great source figuring out how it's done....saved me a lot of time and frustration.  I bought a couple pot calls when I first starting turkey hunting....and they now stay in my truck!

[southern_leo]

Some people have made some good points about cheap calls and it's more the hunter than the call. I agree to a point. First, yes the hunter must absolutely understand how to run a call properly before anything else. Secondly some cheap calls may work, but I would argue true effectiveness, and honestly it's all anecdotal which ever side of the argument you fall on. To call a hot lonely 2 year old you could probably yell HEN OVER HERE loud enough and he will come. I'd say most any turkey call will pull a really hot bird. Now if you start pursuing mature long beards or public land pressured birds then i think realism counts. I say spend time in the woods and listen to really hens, then play some different calls and compare. To me a good custom pot usually is more consistent with real hens. There are also some really good production pots too. But many production calls don't have THAT sound or the ear hit we like to listen for. So bottom line is a proficient hunter maybe able to get it done with a cheap call, but I'll bet a proficient hunter with a good call consistently kills more birds. Again I think all of our arguments are anecdotal and everyone has different experiences and stories but this is my opinion. If I'm spending money, time, and gas to go hunting even if it helps me 10% I want to prepare myself for success. So even if I don't kill a bird I know I at least gave it my best effort.

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[outdoors]

One time ,I was walkin and calling and I walked up on a hunter that was sitting and calling
And I thought that was the worst sounding turkey I'v ever ever  herd and ended up being
A hunter , we talked for a while, and I ask what call he was using, all he said was , store
Bought and he has taking a lot of turkeys with. ..........