Recent posts

#31

General Forum / Re: Trumpets???

Last post by GregGwaltney - January 03, 2026, 11:44:49 AM

Sounds like some really good discussions for Unicoi, lol.

The one thing you can garner from watching (and listening) to accomplished callers, is how little effort they put into it...the "less is more" factor.

We're kind of getting into the calling technique and away from the original "what is the allure of trumpets (yelpers) on turkeys?"

IMHO, I think it is inherently built into the call. There's something about the sound produced that turkeys just like. I base that solely on my experience and not what someone else said. When I go turkey hunting, I take my "A Game". I don't carry anything because of the "coolness" factor or historic significance or the degree of difficulty and over the years, yelpers have gone from on the team, but sitting the bench to designated hitter to lead off AND clean up. They earned those spots. And that's coming from someone who was a contest caller with mouth and pot calls for several years in the late 80's, early 90's.

One other thing I will give my opinion on. Everyone marvels at the great callers that really draw that rasp. It does sound cool and realistic. I love it and have learned it....but, again, IMHO, turkeys don't care one iota whether it's raspy or clear or in between.

See y'all at Unicoi, lol!!!

Very true Tony. Frankly, I have killed a lot more turkeys with clear calling (whatever call style I used), maybe that is because I had early success and tended to go that route more often? In any event, I use a trumpet for the enjoyment/challenge, don't even care if it "works the best", although I do believe it is plenty good....Hope to see you guys at Unicoi.

#32

General Forum / Re: TSS prices will go up soon

Last post by Tail Feathers - January 03, 2026, 11:32:32 AM

I replaced a red dot, and tightened another that I found loose last year.
Gonna hurt a little more to shoot those final sight in shots this year.  Gotta happen tho.

#33

General Forum / Re: callmaking contest where??...

Last post by Greg Massey - January 03, 2026, 11:18:26 AM

Kevin Rouse has posted the winners on his Facebook page .. 2026 Keystone C

#34

General Forum / Re: callmaking contest where??...

Last post by EZ - January 03, 2026, 10:58:41 AM

I'm not on FB, but I found this:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/148282192332743/

#35

General Forum / callmaking contest where???

Last post by doublespurs21 - January 03, 2026, 10:24:49 AM

what happen to the callmaking contest that they had in the beginning  of the new year??
can not find anything  about  the great lakes contest or the ohio buckeye challenge.
i know about the NWTF  in nashville that is coming up.

#36

General Forum / Re: Trumpets???

Last post by EZ - January 03, 2026, 10:23:24 AM

Sounds like some really good discussions for Unicoi, lol.

The one thing you can garner from watching (and listening) to accomplished callers, is how little effort they put into it...the "less is more" factor.

We're kind of getting into the calling technique and away from the original "what is the allure of trumpets (yelpers) on turkeys?"

IMHO, I think it is inherently built into the call. There's something about the sound produced that turkeys just like. I base that solely on my experience and not what someone else said. When I go turkey hunting, I take my "A Game". I don't carry anything because of the "coolness" factor or historic significance or the degree of difficulty and over the years, yelpers have gone from on the team, but sitting the bench to designated hitter to lead off AND clean up. They earned those spots. And that's coming from someone who was a contest caller with mouth and pot calls for several years in the late 80's, early 90's.

One other thing I will give my opinion on. Everyone marvels at the great callers that really draw that rasp. It does sound cool and realistic. I love it and have learned it....but, again, IMHO, turkeys don't care one iota whether it's raspy or clear or in between.

See y'all at Unicoi, lol!!!

#37

Turkey Pot Call & Strikers Classifieds / Re: WTS- Strikers

Last post by Yelper - January 03, 2026, 10:19:06 AM

up

#38

Turkey Hunting Tips ,Strategies & Methods / Re: Favorite Vests?

Last post by davisd9 - January 03, 2026, 10:12:56 AM

I have the Sitka and love it. It fits my needs. The Easy Rider by Ol Tom was great, but I hatted that magnetic seat and that it swallowed me at 6' 200#. Great layout though, it copied the limb hanger.


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#39

Turkey Call Classifieds / Re: Last Bocote crow call

Last post by davisd9 - January 03, 2026, 10:11:29 AM

Pretty call, have heard great things about the crow calls.


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#40

General Forum / Re: Trumpets???

Last post by davisd9 - January 03, 2026, 09:56:35 AM

Yes, I agree. I listen to hen recordings and hens in the wild as much as possible. Most of the time I am practicing, I am trying to mimic a real hen in a sound file. I was actually just comparing my most recent recording of me calling on a trumpet to a recording of a wild hen realier today... I need more practice!

However, unfortunately I havent found  any videos of wild turkey hens offering  tips and tricks on how to make a trumpet call sound more like a real wild hen. Thats typically when i turn to videos of people running trumpet calls. Just watching and listening with the hopes of seeing or hearing somthing that helps me mimmic that real hen better. I also just really enjoy hearing people call well on a trumpet call. Its like watching a skilled musician play their instrument. For me, the trumpet is just for fun.

Additionally, I am well aware that my trumpet calling doesnt sound all that realistic. Hence the position i have held in earlier posts on this thread. Also why i typically prefer a mouth call for realism in situations where a "short stroked yelp" might hinder my chances of calling in the turkey.

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You get no more information from watching other people sound files. Very rarely is a good caller making a vocalization then explaining what they are doing. You have to listen, then experiment on producing the sound. You can do the same with a live hen videos.


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Perhaps YOU dont get any information this way, but I have learned a lot from just observing. Explanations help, but observing subtle things like how top callers hold their hands, move their jaw, the angle that they hold the call, how their throat is moving, etc., etc., has helped shorten the learning curve for me when I transitoned to the "Farmer/Draw" calling method a couple of years ago.

I have been calling and hunting turkeys for nearly 30 years. Although I am far from an expert caller, I am better than most and trying to get better every day. Particualrly on a mouth call. I have learned a lot over the years about calling technique from watching the behavior of top callers. To suggest that there is nothing to glean from observing good callers is just nonsense.

Two things can be true at once. I believe there is value in learning calling technique from observing human callers AND from checking yourself against real hens. In fact, I recently had a pretty significant breakthrough from watching videos of a very good trumpet caller on a fb trumpet group. I came to the realization that I was drawing too much air and trying to hard to call loudly (among other small tweaks). That breakthrough likely wouldnt have come (atleast not as quickly) by just listening to a hen.

The cool thing about this game is that you dont have to watch people play turkey calls if you dont want to. I will continue to as much as possible. I think other visual learners should too. Thanks for all the advice, though! Have a good one.

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Create a backend to your yelp and you are well on your way. What you have breaking into a strong backend will be great. Then start working on the nuances within the yelp and that is when life starts happening. Nuances are tough and create a frustrating plateau at times. Good luck on your quest, a caller from a quality builder has the ability, we are the weak link.


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