I have always bought my turkey calls from Walmart or Cabelas etc. Usually Hunters Specialties or Primos, maybe a Quaker boy here or there. These calls have served me well over the years. I know if it's not broke don't fix it. But I would like to get a good custom box call as well as a pot call. I have an ol mama hen and the field champion box call from Hunters Specialties. As for pot calls I have the Hunters Specialties ringzone slate and the world champion triple glass. I have always been fond of slate. I have tried glass but keep going back to slate. And I have never tried ceramic or aluminum. What is the best all around surface type? This year I picked up a woodhaven call from Cabelas and it it my new favorite mouth call. It is the Billy Yargus signature double reed. This might be a stupid question, but are custom calls any better than your standard general store turkey calls? Thanks for any input!
My .02, is custom calls are more consistent and QC means more to the builder.
Some factory calls sound pretty good but for the most part they won't compare to a good custom call. Ceramic is a pretty versatile surface as it can do soft calls like a slate and still get high pitched like a glass/crystal. That said, more often than not I reach for my aluminum calls. Lon Trice, James Witmer and Darrin Dawkins are among my favorite aluminums. Lon Trice also makes a great ceramic. For the money, the Dawkins plastic pot calls are hard to beat.
I would get a David Halloran ceramic surface pot, they are very easy to run. I would also get a box call from David Halloran.
If you want a dang fine sounding ceramic , get one from stumpy right here.
Quote from: Jfgonzales on April 12, 2019, 02:22:47 PM
I have always bought my turkey calls from Walmart or Cabelas etc. Usually Hunters Specialties or Primos, maybe a Quaker boy here or there. These calls have served me well over the years. I know if it's not broke don't fix it. But I would like to get a good custom box call as well as a pot call. I have an ol mama hen and the field champion box call from Hunters Specialties. As for pot calls I have the Hunters Specialties ringzone slate and the world champion triple glass. I have always been fond of slate. I have tried glass but keep going back to slate. And I have never tried ceramic or aluminum. What is the best all around surface type? This year I picked up a woodhaven call from Cabelas and it it my new favorite mouth call. It is the Billy Yargus signature double reed. This might be a stupid question, but are custom calls any better than your standard general store turkey calls? Thanks for any input!
I have only been into custom calls for 3 years now I am addicted. I got into them so I would have an edge over a lot of my competition by having calls that they don't because they would buy there calls at the same places you did. You don't have to buy a bunch of calls like I did but I would buy the best of a couple different styles of calls that you can afford and see what you think. I think you would be happy
Yes, well-designed and made custom calls are better. It isn't to say they're better at actually killing than a well-tuned factory call, but you will get truer sound and easier play. I do believe having a custom call makes a difference on hard pressured birds because you can do more with one.
As for which is the best type, you really have to try them in person to see what suits you. Then you get to see which of what suited you the turkeys prefer.
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