Starting a new thread on this for the spring 2020 season.
I started the 2019 thread last year the day after breaking my shoulder on our opening day, only hunted one day out of state last year.
I haven't hunted a great number of days yet this year 5 in total but I am having a great season so far 2 Osceloas and 1 South Carolina longbeard to date.
Birds have liked an older 2008 Darrin Dawkins walnut grey slate with a black locust striker and a Saddler Mcgraw slate purr pot with his long birch striker (been yelping on that pot with a two finger hold slow rolling the striker like Marlin Watkins uses on his coaxer call). Also have had a bird gobble to TJ Johnson walnut/poplar box that I finished with the Dawkins slate.
Adding Paul Durham Koa green slate and Clay Townsend canarywood glass had birds gobble to both call last weekend.
So far this year
Pots-
Cody world class slate
Roberts cedar green (these 2 always get a spot in my vest/bag)
watkins "coaxer" call
Boxes-
Watkins hop horn/min pop
Trumpets-
Buice LV with hen bone mp
if you like a "pocket" slate/jet slate definitely check out Marlin Watkins' Coaxer call. great little
slate that really got good response.
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Wendell Lancaster walnut /Spalted holly box and A Paul Hicks double sider stoned aluminum / slate in a in a Padauk pot with a dymond wood striker .
The call I get the most response from is the key key run in the house, it annoys the heck out of my wife and the dog ain't real thrilled about it either.
My killers this year are Marlin Walnut /yellowheart fiddle box, TJ Johnson walnut /poplar, Buster red slate and Jim Shelley ceramic .. My Clay Townsend persimmon top snakewood striker..
My killers this year are the Gooserbat OSS (2 Kills) and Gooserbat BGS (1 kill)
Pot: HS Strut Triple Glass with wood striker
Mouth: HS Strut Raspy Old Hen
I am not much of a collector and I kinda just stick with what worked in the past. I do want a Gooserbat mouthcall though (or three).
So far, Richard Hudson hen box. Snakewood over teak.
So far Buster ceramic 2 sider, watkins walnut/mineral poplar fiddle and Cody world class slate
Richard Hudson Snakewood over English Walnut and Billy Buice Lignum Vitae with Madagascar Rosewood flat mouth piece. Also A Woodhaven Ninja Hammer mouth call.
Trumpets: KP cocuswood, Prudhomme Ironwood, and Billy Buice 5-1/2" LV with Ivory 3
My first day is one week from today. Carrying Brad Roberts Bronzed glass, Brad Roberts Aluminum, and Shannon pushbutton. Finish call, Woodhaven hornet mouth call. Will let you know what works....
Brad Roberts sycamores glass over glass. Probly the most realistic call I own
Same as last year. Primos Greenleaf mouth call with turkey track cut.
Cane creek Mr. Death and a Jimmy Schaffer blue mahoe crystal over slate.
Frank Kruer Bloodwood over Black Limba short box, OG Gabon Ebony pushpin, Hooks Executioner II mouth call.
Buice ironwood and Watkins fiddle paddle serviceberry over eastern red cedar
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So far it's been the crystal mistress pot and witches fiddle scratchbox. I'm only a week in the season though. Only hens have responded so far, had a half hour back and forth conversation with one this morning. The gobblers have been tight beaked.
Lonnie Mabry slate in walnut pot and a scratch box I made in February of this year. It has a cedar body with a butternut soundboard.
So far in two all day sits and one 3/4 sit my Primos tripple stacked aluminum frame worked best for long range and my HS Strut Wold Champion Gold synthetic slate for medium to close worked as always best.
I'll let ya know when our season comes in.
Season started strong with the TJ Johnson Fiddlebox in Padauk over butternut. However, Scott Witter's Ipe over Butternut and Jimmy Schaffer's Mad Hen 1 have really worked well over the past few days. Called in 4 longbeards with them over the past two days.
Only a week in the season, but there has been a lot of gobbling to a red slate in curly maple from Nathan Taylor according to my Dad.
Lynch Fool proof box, Cody Woodsman glass, DDS, and a Hooks persuader mouth call.
In Colorado you only get one tag, and I killed a turkey at sunrise on my second day hunting so I had a fairly small sample of calls this year. The first day I actually called in the same turkey with my Buice Koa trumpet, but didn't get a clear shot. The next morning I went back and he was roosted one ridge over. I called a few times to let him know I was there. When I pulled out my Lonnie Snead Raspy Boss Hen he almost fell out of the tree gobbling back. Once he started my way he hung up a couple of hundred yards away in the valley bottom, but my Buice Ironwood got him moving again. My dad still has a tag, so hopefully I will get to call one in for him before the season ends.
My micarta aluminum and a Gooserbat mouth call.
Paul Hicks purple slate
Busters red slate
Season's still got a month left,, im waiting for a big bird,,have expensive box calls but the call they have loved this year is a old scratched Billy White 'Hustlin Hen' I paid $60 for on the swapboard.
Scratch box: Lonnie Gilbert
Diaphragm: Hooks Persuader
Box call: Primos Heart Breaker
Oddly, I do not really care for that Primos call... It refuses to purr, and is not a versatile call... But it is often one of two box calls in my vest, cause it so consistently generates a response.
My 2 hottest calls per the gobblers are as follows;
* Gunzy stabilized redwood burl, w/ glass over anodized alum.
* Sinclare 3.25" red cedar, w/ glass over copper.
My diaphram call & a Fulkerson box
None yet.
Richard Hudson Hen Box - Dymond Wood over Limba
My push pins hands down.
Despite toting many different calls many different mornings...
I took my 2020 season birds with the following two calls.
"GS-1"(maple- glass/purpleheart) by Andy Kaiser (best spurs to date)
Osage- glass/slate by Buster Halford
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John Dangerfield MCO trumpet and a .004 over 025 2-reed ghost cut I made myself.
Lonnie Mabry Aluminum.
I carried my usual 2 pots and a Preacherman slate. But by far the most I used and had the best luck with was a Marlin Watkins Fiddle Box Mineral Poplar and Hop Horn Beam. The birds absolutely loved that box for the last 2 seasons. This year I also used a Jeff McKamey Mineral Poplar and Bloodwood long box. Those were the 2 calls I used pretty much exclusively. Bubba
Mark Cunningham (footballer) two sider crystal and slate on the back slate side with a Bill Lyman walnut striker.
Unfortunate I didn't have a lot of conversations with gobblers this year but I did have more hens talk to me than ever before. My wingbone call seemed to be the trick for getting hens talking.
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Preacherman Walnut over Cedar continues to be the best call for the past 3 seasons.
April 2020
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April 2019
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49912843061_b400763f6a_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2j3CniF)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49912843766_d1e6f24e6e_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2j3CnvQ)
Schaffer walnut slate, but most response of all was my diaphragms from Bill Martin(perrytrails)
Clay Townsend glass pot...killer!
Quote from: GobbleGitr on May 24, 2020, 06:33:11 PM
Clay Townsend glass pot...killer!
When I look back over the whole season now that it is over Clay's canarywood glass call over slate got more birds to gobble than anything else in my vest.
There were days that was the only call in my vest that would draw a gobble and when hunting with some great turkey hunters and callers nothing else would draw a response.
That call has replaced some other glass calls in my vest that I thought would never be replaced by another call.
His glass calls are definitely the real deal killers!
Early season (more aggressive): David Halloran Metal Mouth II pot
Mid and late season (dialed back): Ralph Permar Jordan Yelper
Called 3 in this year with my cheapest pot call, Primos Hensanity with a Woodhaven Hickory striker.
Hooks Exc ll and K&H Moonshiner
Get em gobbling and on there way with my bloodwood over black limba short box and finish them up with a Martin diaphragm.
1st ....... (by a big margin) Gooserbat Heckler
2nd ...... Tony Quarino paddle caller
3rd ...... Hally Caller Professional Series walnut slate
Steve Mann longbox
Bad year, not one reply from anything and I had out everything I own at one time or another. Many people here in NY saying much the same.
Quote from: Sir-diealot on May 31, 2020, 05:05:56 PM
Bad year, not one reply from anything and I had out everything I own at one time or another. Many people here in NY saying much thec same.
Sorry to hear that Steve, I went back home (NY) 5th day of the season and hunted six days and heard no birds and seen one hen. Have had bad seasons up there but that was the worst down here in Pa. wasn't a whole lot better but atleast seen and heard some.
Quote from: Beards and Hooks on May 31, 2020, 05:37:29 PM
Quote from: Sir-diealot on May 31, 2020, 05:05:56 PM
Bad year, not one reply from anything and I had out everything I own at one time or another. Many people here in NY saying much thec same.
Sorry to hear that Steve, I went back home (NY) 5th day of the season and hunted six days and heard no birds and seen one hen. Have had bad seasons up there but that was the worst down here in Pa. wasn't a whole lot better but atleast seen and heard some.
From what I have read here and in other forums/media it has been bad all over the Northeast. I saw one right in shooting distance from where I was set up as I was leaving.
Quote from: Sir-diealot on May 31, 2020, 07:19:17 PM
Quote from: Beards and Hooks on May 31, 2020, 05:37:29 PM
Quote from: Sir-diealot on May 31, 2020, 05:05:56 PM
Bad year, not one reply from anything and I had out everything I own at one time or another. Many people here in NY saying much thec same.
Sorry to hear that Steve, I went back home (NY) 5th day of the season and hunted six days and heard no birds and seen one hen. Have had bad seasons up there but that was the worst down here in Pa. wasn't a whole lot better but atleast seen and heard some.
From what I have read here and in other forums/media it has been bad all over the Northeast. I saw one right in shooting distance from where I was set up as I was leaving.
That s a shame but silver lining hopefully he makes it till next year for you.
Quote from: Beards and Hooks on May 31, 2020, 09:05:47 PM
Quote from: Sir-diealot on May 31, 2020, 07:19:17 PM
Quote from: Beards and Hooks on May 31, 2020, 05:37:29 PM
Quote from: Sir-diealot on May 31, 2020, 05:05:56 PM
Bad year, not one reply from anything and I had out everything I own at one time or another. Many people here in NY saying much thec same.
Sorry to hear that Steve, I went back home (NY) 5th day of the season and hunted six days and heard no birds and seen one hen. Have had bad seasons up there but that was the worst down here in Pa. wasn't a whole lot better but atleast seen and heard some.
From what I have read here and in other forums/media it has been bad all over the Northeast. I saw one right in shooting distance from where I was set up as I was leaving.
That s a shame but silver lining hopefully he makes it till next year for you.
I hope so. Time for bed, I am falling asleep at PC have a good night.
I bet I went out 15-20 times this year hunted all over western New York 6 different counties didn't hear one gobble. Weird season for sure.
TJ's all walnut fiddle
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Quote from: Adirondacks89 on June 01, 2020, 07:17:06 PM
I bet I went out 15-20 times this year hunted all over western New York 6 different counties didn't hear one gobble. Weird season for sure.
At least we were out there though. :D
All in all, Nathan Taylor's Red slate proved to be the only call that brought in birds for my father, and I split the difference between a Black Slate by Nathan, Jimmy Schaffer's Canarywood laminate Aluminum and a Josh Farley Small Talk.
Mouth calls are always my primary call and all I ran this season were 2 batwings, a Del crow hotness and Halloran natural born killer
Pot call it doesn't seem to matter what I buy each season nothing out produces the twisted sister for me
Box calls my primary carry is a Terry Baker bloodwood/butternut but we had a lot of wind this year and I had some good outings with an SS yellowheart/mineral poplar that simply screams
Scratch box the only one I ran all year was an SS holly/figured walnut with purpleheart striker - some of the best turkey sounds I can make come from this thing and it always seems to work well on high pressure beards that get blasted with loud boxes and poor mouth calling all season.
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1. Olin Humphries Laminated Ceramic and slate on bottom with Fred Cox Ipe striker
2. Albert Paul persimmon/sassafras box
3. Cody World Class slate w/Cody striker
I'll add really used in no order but these are the calls that got toms to come in and check me out. My friend used Halloran Purpleheart/Cedar box and a Halloran Crystal Mistress.
Shannon Kelly Gaboon Ebony pushbutton
Mike Lapp Pushbutton
Brad Roberts Blue Mahoe Bronzed Glass
Quaker Boy Old Boss Hen mouth call to finish...
Enticer aluminum with a Halloran hickory striker.