For conversation, what's your preference in pitch, lower pitch of a mature hen or higher pitch of a younger hen? How about clearer versus more raspy? I personally think a well tuned custom box call sounds more like a real hen than any other call. However I use boxes, mouth calls, pots, and scratch boxes. If using a box, what's your preferred wood combo for both mature hen sound and a younger hen sound? Thanks in advance for your responses!
Generally speaking I don't think it really matters that much because hens make all those different sounds you're talking about. But I have found that some of the calls I have just seem to get more of a response from gobblers than others. The thing is I don't see any common link between those calls. Some are high pitched and clear, a couple raspy, and at least one I own sounds pretty bad to my ear but is very, very effective in the field, go figure.
It's all about the builder and tuning of the calls and what your ears prefer in sound ... IMO ...
Its more about the gobbler, if hes in the mood any sound will work, if hes not no sound will work.
Talk to the builder and they should be able to tune a call with one side for different sounds. My biggest advice is to play several calls and find that hen in your head sound. I'm convinced when you find a call that sounds like what you think it should sound like, you'll be more confident and get a better response from birds. There is always those calls that sound like nothing you think a turkey should that seem to work, but those are harder to find.
Why not both
Sound does matter and if a turkey is not in the mood , that call or sound he hasn't heard can trigger a gobble ... IMO... That's one of the reasons for changing up your calling during the year and not walk around sounding like the same hen.. I try to not sound like all the other guys in the woods and present something different to those moody gobblers ...
I like old raspy with a slow yawk
It's really all about your gobbler. Find the pitch that fires him up, the rest is history. Some guys like the loud girls at the bar, others pick-up and take home the quiet ones........
I like a clear front end with a two pack a day rasp at the back end. I've seem to get more responses with the raspier calls then I do with the high pitched calls. I got more responses When using the fiddle boxes then I did with the pot calls this past season. Although I did have a few good days with the snakewood over sassafras preacherman box and a buster tulip crystal over red slate pot
I agree with "ol Bob" & "Tom007" it's what ever sounds good to the Gobbler. With that said, in my area, I've had more responses from an older/deeper sounding hen than a younger higher pitched hen. Maybe it's just confidence in the calls, but I prefer slate(grey/green) over a glass or any metal surface call.
Whatever caller one uses, I believe that one who sounds like a resident hen will enjoy more success than one who merely calls.