Wanting to get another box call soon and wanting to see what y'all think.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
TJ Johnson or Marlin Watkins. They can come up with whatever tone your looking for from clear to super raspy.
My two favorite boxes for sure are by TJ Johnson and Marlin Watkins. TJs box is mineral poplar and hopbornbeam, Marlins is mora and sassafras. Both have a killing sound. TJs box is the more versatile of the two though, there's at least three different hens in that box. Young and clear all the way down to old and raspy.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
How are people contacting TJ?
Quote from: packmule on April 30, 2020, 11:03:56 AM
How are people contacting TJ?
His number I have if you want it
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
That would be great thanks. Can you pm me?
Mine is definitely my Watkins's ironwood/ blue mahoe.
This year I got a Josh Farley small talk box call and it sounds great. Got it in a few months. Highly recommend.
Lots of great calls out there. Can't go wrong with Scott Witter, TJ Johnson and Marlin Watkins.
Bloodwood over butternut fiddle by Marlin
Bloodwood or yellowheart with black limba box, purpleheart with cedar box or bloodwood with poplar box. Any reputable call maker will take good care of you.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200430/0cbdadac42fff2e1a99f59663963f4b5.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hard to beat an all walnut short box.
I think the surest combo is walnut over butternut
Quote from: Happy hooker on April 30, 2020, 04:24:27 PM
I think the surest combo is walnut over butternut
Just got a fiddlebox from Marlin in that combo.
Quote from: MDTOM84 on April 30, 2020, 03:26:45 PM
Bloodwood over butternut fiddle by Marlin
Best combo by far in my opinion. Also Ipe over butternut. Flat kills turkeys.
Marlin, Mora over walnut and walnut over mineral poplar , but i still have several good ones from him. TJ , walnut over poplar, yellowheart over sycamore and i still have several good ones. All the boxes i have are hunting boxes form these 2 great call builders .
Watkins hophorn over mineral pop
Close second is TJ walnut over red cedar
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote from: Spring Creek Calls on April 30, 2020, 03:31:11 PM
Bloodwood or yellowheart with black limba box, purpleheart with cedar box or bloodwood with poplar box. Any reputable call maker will take good care of you.
You are suppose to say Bloodwood over Red Cedar!! Lol :turkey2:
Quote from: btomlin on April 30, 2020, 08:06:26 PM
Quote from: Spring Creek Calls on April 30, 2020, 03:31:11 PM
Bloodwood or yellowheart with black limba box, purpleheart with cedar box or bloodwood with poplar box. Any reputable call maker will take good care of you.
You are suppose to say Bloodwood over Red Cedar!! Lol :turkey2:
Yup, that one ranks right up there. Hope it treats you well!
Quote from: Spring Creek Calls on April 30, 2020, 08:20:16 PM
Quote from: btomlin on April 30, 2020, 08:06:26 PM
Quote from: Spring Creek Calls on April 30, 2020, 03:31:11 PM
Bloodwood or yellowheart with black limba box, purpleheart with cedar box or bloodwood with poplar box. Any reputable call maker will take good care of you.
You are suppose to say Bloodwood over Red Cedar!! Lol :turkey2:
Yup, that one ranks right up there. Hope it treats you well!
I'm sure it will kill plenty! They will get to hear it in the morning
Quote from: btomlin on April 30, 2020, 08:06:26 PM
Quote from: Spring Creek Calls on April 30, 2020, 03:31:11 PM
Bloodwood or yellowheart with black limba box, purpleheart with cedar box or bloodwood with poplar box. Any reputable call maker will take good care of you.
You are suppose to say Bloodwood over Red Cedar!! Lol :turkey2:
I have one of those on the way to my front door as we speak!
Bloodwood/Butternut, I have one from a guy named Terry Baker I can no longer track down but it's fantastic sounding
Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
This thread is worthless without pictures. Blah blah this combo, blah blah that combo. Show them - would love to see all these fiddle combos.
One of the best of the best longbox combos is osage over butternut from Billy Bush.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/7820/47134643132_2ab32f184b_w.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2eP8nfU)
Quote from: wchadw on April 30, 2020, 07:41:08 PM
Watkins hophorn over mineral pop
Close second is TJ walnut over red cedar
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Ok. Here's a picture (https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200501/14ff2603ca4e0f0b1fd57a3080e60e42.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote from: wchadw on May 01, 2020, 01:49:02 PM
Ok. Here's a picture
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Nice - How would you describe the walnut over cedar? Young hen, raspy hen, etc? That cedar fiddle is really sharp.
Quote from: paboxcall on May 01, 2020, 02:17:01 PM
Quote from: wchadw on May 01, 2020, 01:49:02 PM
Ok. Here's a picture
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Nice - How would you describe the walnut over cedar? Young hen, raspy hen, etc? That cedar fiddle is really sharp.
It's pretty raspy. All my cedar boxes are pretty raspy. I would say young raspy on the walnut over cedar. I have a tj purpleheart over cedar that's old nasty raspy
Marlin hop over mineral pop is clearer old hen. Just a little rasp
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Preferred the fiddlebox at first, but really enjoyed this misfit this year, bloodwood/beech(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200501/e07f990e02913faf828e16522105c277.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Quote from: OldSwamper on May 01, 2020, 03:24:54 PM
Preferred the fiddlebox at first, but really enjoyed this misfit this year, bloodwood/beech(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200501/e07f990e02913faf828e16522105c277.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That's a beauty!
Darin Dawkins,,walnut over mahogany,,has a consistent guarantee of quality off the work bench every time.
I love Marlins fiddle boxes and I rotate several, favorite is probably Walnut over Mineral Poplar. But, the most realistic sounding call I own is an Albert Paul pocket call in Snakewood over Holly. That thing spits feathers on both sides.
I'd like to get Tj's number if somebody could pm me that
Quote from: tlh2865 on May 03, 2020, 09:32:18 AM
I'd like to get Tj's number if somebody could pm me that
He's on Facebook. If you message him, he'll get back to you quickly.
If someone has Mr. Watkins contact information please pm me.
There are a lot of makers I'll tote and I'll say that the combo depends greatly on what wood that maker has at his/her disposal at the time. I asked McKamey at Twisting Creek Calls to make me a walnut lid on a box not all that long ago and he refused. He said he wasn't happy with the walnut he had, that the grain was too loose, but that he had some wonderful mora he'd suggest. That's a good call maker IMO. Let them tell you what the best wood they have at the time is and what it might pair with. All that said, my favorite combo has always been walnut over mineralized poplar, and I've always preferred short boxes. All in all, I love a walnut lid.
Also, for what it's worth I was talking to Albert Paul recently about combo preferences and he said his favorites were mahogany/walnut, poplar/walnut, and red cedar/walnut. He said he always carries two when he hunts and the way that he decides on the two for that day is he plays all three and sees which two are running best that morning and those are the two he totes. I think that's pretty wise.
Quote from: SwampRooster17 on April 30, 2020, 04:01:58 PM
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200430/0cbdadac42fff2e1a99f59663963f4b5.jpg)
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Thats my vote right there ! Light as a feather , way lighter than most of his other boxes and Pure Posion in my hands . !!
Quote from: TauntoHawk on May 01, 2020, 10:10:29 AM
Bloodwood/Butternut, I have one from a guy named Terry Baker I can no longer track down but it's fantastic sounding
Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
Terry makes a great call and probably doesn't get as much recognition as he should. I have a bloodwood and cherry call that is top shelf, both sound and build quality.
Quote from: Spring Creek Calls on June 14, 2020, 07:56:05 AM
Quote from: TauntoHawk on May 01, 2020, 10:10:29 AM
Bloodwood/Butternut, I have one from a guy named Terry Baker I can no longer track down but it's fantastic sounding
Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
Terry makes a great call and probably doesn't get as much recognition as he should. I have a bloodwood and cherry call that is top shelf, both sound and build quality.
Mike I believe you got that from me in one of our trades correct, I wanna say for a Matt van Cise call? I purchased that call on ebay originally of its the same butternut/cherry I acquired there.
I pray that Terry is healthy and still chasing birds each spring, I tracked down his phone number once, got ahold of him and had a great long conversation he said he only built 50 or less calls a year but agreed to build me 4 short boxes although it might take a while. I checked back about a year later and they didn't have lids yet as he hadn't been building much due to a family member with health issues. Next time I called to check in the number no longer worked and I never did find any other way to get ahold of him. I just hope all is well but never came across anyone with a contact for him.
Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
Halloran Ebony and Poplar
Quote from: TauntoHawk on June 14, 2020, 09:35:35 AM
Quote from: Spring Creek Calls on June 14, 2020, 07:56:05 AM
Quote from: TauntoHawk on May 01, 2020, 10:10:29 AM
Bloodwood/Butternut, I have one from a guy named Terry Baker I can no longer track down but it's fantastic sounding
Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
Terry makes a great call and probably doesn't get as much recognition as he should. I have a bloodwood and cherry call that is top shelf, both sound and build quality.
Mike I believe you got that from me in one of our trades correct, I wanna say for a Matt van Cise call? I purchased that call on ebay originally of its the same butternut/cherry I acquired there.
I pray that Terry is healthy and still chasing birds each spring, I tracked down his phone number once, got ahold of him and had a great long conversation he said he only built 50 or less calls a year but agreed to build me 4 short boxes although it might take a while. I checked back about a year later and they didn't have lids yet as he hadn't been building much due to a family member with health issues. Next time I called to check in the number no longer worked and I never did find any other way to get ahold of him. I just hope all is well but never came across anyone with a contact for him.
Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk
You are most likely right on the trade, I'm pretty sure that's how I acquired it. I saw that Terry entered a call in the 2020 Nationals in the Decorative Division (2nd place) so he's still making a few.