The cold, hard facts about turkey calls...

[callmakerman]

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True statements for sure but at the end of the day I love owning custom calls built by other craftsman. I say this as I sit on my couch running a few Marlin Watkins calls to decide which one goes to the woods tomorrow to end the season. Ebony/cedar wins.

[3bailey3]

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Good luck Mr. Lyman

[Forked lighting]

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Been hunting turkeys for 50 years have over a hundred calls of all kinds high dollar, some of the best sounding calls i have are just cheap calls by major company's just because they are high dollar doesn't automatically make them a great call an looking at them doesn't mean anything you got to run them to see if they are anygood ,but like everybody else said if don't know how to call an when to use the right series of calls it want make any difference


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[GobbleNut]

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Very well stated SteelerFan!
2 things I have learned:
You can't call in a gobbler that isn't there.
If a gobbler really doesn't want to play....he isn't going to play.

Glad to see this bumped back up to the top,...a subject well worth more discussion.
I agree,...excellent original post, SteelerFan.
In the "things learned" category, the two mentioned by HFultzjr are right on the money, as well.  Here's a couple more to add to that list:
1---Although they all speak the same language, turkeys have many different voices.  They don't all sound the same, and anytime we are calling to them, we are basically trying to replicate one (or more) of the many voices that may be present in a turkey flock.  The voice we decide to replicate may or may not be the one that a gobbler will be attracted to.
2---The sound that a gobbler will respond to is sometimes very different from that which WE think he will respond to.  Using different calls with different sounding "voices",...as well as different calling strategies,...can be an effective tactic in changing a gobbler's attitude.  Not only that, but sometimes really odd-ball calling tactics will work,...even when we can't imagine they would.  I would never recommend starting out with off-sounding calls or odd-ball calling tactics, but I have personally witnessed sounds and tactics work, when all else had failed, that I would never have dreamed would work, turn a gobbler on and have him come to the call. 

[stinkpickle]

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...Although they all speak the same language, turkeys have many different voices.  They don't all sound the same, and anytime we are calling to them, we are basically trying to replicate one (or more) of the many voices that may be present in a turkey flock.  The voice we decide to replicate may or may not be the one that a gobbler will be attracted to...

Bingo!  The worst sounding calls (and best) I've ever heard have come from actual birds.

[falltoms]

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These two posts, pretty much sums it all up

[Turkeyman]

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When it comes to a call although call A may sound better than call B there are more important factors. E.g. the person running it knows what he wants to say and how to say it. Like cadence, note length and note separation. As an example this spring I went down to my son's place 100 miles away to take my grandson out. Well, like an idiot, I forgot my vest at home with all my calls. However my son had a horrible sounding pot call so off we went. A now deceased longbeard  didn't care.

[EZ]

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When it comes to a call although call A may sound better than call B there are more important factors. E.g. the person running it knows what he wants to say and how to say it. Like cadence, note length and note separation. As an example this spring I went down to my son's place 100 miles away to take my grandson out. Well, like an idiot, I forgot my vest at home with all my calls. However my son had a horrible sounding pot call so off we went. A now deceased longbeard  didn't care.

Well said. Also, your setup can and will have as much to do with how well a bird responds (or doesn't) to your calls.
As far as a turkey that doesn't want to play.....his mind can be changed....sometimes.

[g8rvet]

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A buddy of mine got a high dollar duck call.  We actually laughed at him when he called with it.  He did not sound like any duck I have ever heard.   I have killed many many ducks in 2 states and Canada with him blowing that call.  I think my call sounds more realistic than his, but he brings them to the gun as good or better than I do.  Him and I do 99% of the calling when we kill over 300 birds in 11 days every year we hunt Canada.  hard to argue with results.

I was about to get up and give one of the lease members a piece of my mind for calling like a wild man and moving in to the section of the lease I had my peg hung on while I had a gobbler on the limb right in front of me.  He was calling like crazy and it sounded just plain bad.  As I looked over my shoulder, it was a hen.  She went to the bird after flying up in a tree over my head and raising a ruckus for over 10 minutes.  Never saw the Tom. 

[The Cohutta Strutter]

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I think the ferry operator in the outlaw josey wales pretty much had it right. A turkey hunter should have on their person their best and worst sounding calls and be able to play them with equal enthusiasm,lol.

[mtns2hunt]

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Gosh, I cannot believe that there are finally honest posts on Turkey calls. Custom calls are nice but there is no special magic to them and some are real duds that should end up on ebay. As in real estate its all about location, location in turkey hunting. Throw in a smattering of woodsman ship and you are ready to go. The road to successful turkey hunting is really experience. Hunt often and hard any where you can even if its with a cheap Wal mart call and you will find success. IMO

[outdoors]

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WHAT A.    TOPIC

S OOOOOOO. TRUE. ..
BETTER IS NOT ALWAYS GOOD
BAD IS SOMETIMES EVEN BETTER ...

[mtns2hunt]

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WHAT A.    TOPIC

S OOOOOOO. TRUE. ..
BETTER IS NOT ALWAYS GOOD
BAD IS SOMETIMES EVEN BETTER ...

LOL 

[Yoder409]

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Good read and LOTS of good points made !!!!

I just LOVE me a good, custom-made boxcall !!!  But because of the craftsmanship in woodworking involved..........not always necessarily because of the sound.  I have quite a handful of mass-produced boxes that just run and sound freakin' AWESOME........ true boxcall afficianados would laugh.

My signature line is something I have been asserting for the last 30 years or so............

"The good Lord ain't made a gobbler I can't kill.  I just gotta be there at the right time on the day he wants to die."

Sounds like a pretty brassy claim, maybe.  But a wild turkey gobbler can be the most frustrating critter you have ever tried to hunt, OR............. he can be the dumbest thing you ever saw.  And he can be BOTH on the same day........   Kinda ties into the calling him in with a "rusty gate hinge" thing mentioned before.  I you are WHERE you need to be, WHEN you need to be there, it won't matter if you are running a $2000 original Neil Cost or if you are running something you got off clearance at Walmart for $6.

[mtns2hunt]

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I will say one thing about custom calls to my knowledge they are mostly made in the USA. I have wondered how a chinaman tunes a call for a wild turkey.