Best “Native” Wood for Boxes and Pots

[AppalachianHollers]

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I probably need to get over it (especially if I get a long box), but a part of me really wants to run calls made of woods that are native to North America, if not the South specifically.

What can you recommend?

I’ve not really listened to, but am intrigued to find out what possibilities exist for (based on what others have said on forums) persimmon, sassafrass, black locust, and black walnut. Don’t know what else should be on my radar.

I also don’t know what make for good “native” combos, especially ones that are likely to be in a good callmaker’s repertoire.


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[Southerngobbler]

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If you got time to wait out a long waiting list call Lamar Williams. He's from Florida and i'm pretty sure he only uses domestic woods. I have a all walnut box from him and am waiting on another.

[Loyalist84]

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To my knowledge, native North American woods are exceedingly common for high quality calls. Cedar over butternut long boxes. Pot calls in cherry, walnut, cedar, maple, osage orange etc. Spoiled for choice! I've come to looking for the same selection as you are though, the idea of running calls for turkeys that are made of the same woods the birds are around is all part of the experience of being in the woods for me.

[AppalachianHollers]

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To my knowledge, native North American woods are exceedingly common for high quality calls. Cedar over butternut long boxes. Pot calls in cherry, walnut, cedar, maple, osage orange etc. Spoiled for choice! I've come to looking for the same selection as you are though, the idea of running calls for turkeys that are made of the same woods the birds are around is all part of the experience of being in the woods for me.

I was somewhat disappointed when I learned my Purpleheart (I didn’t know this wasn’t native—I was that green) over cedar box used Spanish cedar...I had been drawn to it in the first place thinking it was aromatic cedar.


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[29810434]

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Yellow Poplar works well on long and short boxes.Cypress works well on short boxes.

[paboxcall]

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Said it before that a walnut over walnut box is very hard to beat. Poplar, persimmon, osage, butternut, cedar, cherry are all excellent choices for short, mini, or long boxes.

[Greg Massey]

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Said it before that a walnut over walnut box is very hard to beat. Poplar, persimmon, osage, butternut, cedar, cherry are all excellent choices for short, mini, or long boxes.

X2 and i will add Maple and hop Hornbeam .. Hop Hornbeam over cherry is hard to beat ...

[ChesterCopperpot]

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You could fool around with walnut, poplar, cherry, cedar, osage, maple, butternut, locust, dogwood, holly lids and box combinations for the rest of your days and have calls coming out your ears that all sounded good so long as it was the right hands tuning them. Dial it down to a sound you're looking for and call a good call maker. They'll know what they've got to make it work. I do think one question that gets lost when we talk to these people is, "What wood do you have that you're really happy with right now?" We might say we want walnut over walnut and the call maker might be sitting there looking at a stack of walnut that he's not happy with the grain.

[Sir-diealot]

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I was surprised to find out Mahogany was not a native wood.

[Gog1015]

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Walnut, mineral stained poplar, Hophorn beam, cedar, butternut

[crow]

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I have an osage/sassafras and a mulberry/elm that both have a lot of turkey in them

[AppalachianHollers]

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I was surprised to find out Mahogany was not a native wood.

Evidently you can grow it in South Florida.

Source: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/mahogany/information-on-mahogany-trees.htm


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[Sir-diealot]

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I was surprised to find out Mahogany was not a native wood.

Evidently you can grow it in South Florida.

Source: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/mahogany/information-on-mahogany-trees.htm


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I will have to read that a bit later, thanks for the link.

[AppalachianHollers]

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Lord-willing and the creeks don’t rise, I’m leaning toward getting a long box at Unicoi in January (I’m intrigued, but intimidated by trumpets given the cost of even getting one I cannot evaluate b/c I haven’t yet learned how to play one).
It’ll be a very new genre of call for me, but hopefully I can find a great-sounding native wood fiddle. Will be something I can really feel like practicing with all year. Or maybe I’ll hear a sound out of a more exotic wood that I cannot get over. We’ll see. Plenty of time to make an informed choice.


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[ChesterCopperpot]

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Lord-willing and the creeks don’t rise, I’m leaning toward getting a long box at Unicoi in January (I’m intrigued, but intimidated by trumpets given the cost of even getting one I cannot evaluate b/c I haven’t yet learned how to play one).
It’ll be a very new genre of call for me, but hopefully I can find a great-sounding native wood fiddle. Will be something I can really feel like practicing with all year. Or maybe I’ll hear a sound out of a more exotic wood that I cannot get over. We’ll see. Plenty of time to make an informed choice.


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If you're wanting to get into suction calls you don't have to buy a trumpet. Make a wingbone. Buy a Jordan yelper. See how you like it. If you get to where you can work one of those it all translates to a trumpet. You can get into a yelper from a really good maker for pretty cheap. Permar still sells his original yelpers for fifty or sixty bucks. Buy one of his and you could sell it for about what you got in it if you decide suction calls aren't for you. Then if you fall in love with them find the maker who's style you love (I've always leaned toward Permar, Anthony Ellis, and Herb Hornstra, but that's just the style I like, the cleaner straighter lines).