Ok, I have tried red chalk, blue half round carpenters chalk, and an off white / tan color chalk. I don't see a big difference. Is there really one that is better?
Has to be wax free. I have used all colors as well. Primos sells a small pack of the red chalk that is pretty good. Woodhaven sells some that is white, I think it is referred to as being rain chalk. The best one that I have used is called railroad chalk. But I can't find it anywhere.
Have a good one, Bo
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Markal makes Railroad chalk. $9.99 for four pieces with free shipping.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/253868411120?epid=166575319&hash=item3b1bbc88f0:g:uucAAOSwb3lZ5XVl&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoL0rCZY0Ecv%2BhDG5ezc218WLchE%2Fwb5wpBixHiC1Ax1YobANs5I1hSW5FMeK6nVHXS1XqnBuHCPUufcX74w1e455YcCiEsaAebtz%2BlhujA%2BoG3GN%2FnqPAFADEiv4rL%2FOlQVqZUf0Xbk9EcGEk%2Fn2W17Tofqc%2FZTIhSelEevA4V2OfRUgd294XrCHMHDX%2FnpbkLkvP3lc9t0ZCp8SKAkwvAE%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR76jnL3XYQ (https://www.ebay.com/itm/253868411120?epid=166575319&hash=item3b1bbc88f0:g:uucAAOSwb3lZ5XVl&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoL0rCZY0Ecv%2BhDG5ezc218WLchE%2Fwb5wpBixHiC1Ax1YobANs5I1hSW5FMeK6nVHXS1XqnBuHCPUufcX74w1e455YcCiEsaAebtz%2BlhujA%2BoG3GN%2FnqPAFADEiv4rL%2FOlQVqZUf0Xbk9EcGEk%2Fn2W17Tofqc%2FZTIhSelEevA4V2OfRUgd294XrCHMHDX%2FnpbkLkvP3lc9t0ZCp8SKAkwvAE%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR76jnL3XYQ)
All chalk is not the same, Woodhaven doesn't make the rain chalk, rain chalk is fine, but it's not what i prefer.... The old sphere red brick chalk is about as pure a chalk as you can get. It's a more powder base, the closest thing to red brick is Primos red 3 small pieces in a plastic case. All chalks have little difference in texture and grit. The old Perfection in sphere shape in brown, is some of the best you could buy alone with the red brick, that Perfection brown has a little less powder base. White / blue are all similar but a tad different in my opinion. Dave Halloran sells a blue sphere chalk that is some of the best for blue chalk. Woodhaven sells a good white chalk. The old red brick chalk was a number 77701 Dixon chalk. Chalks with different content / powder bases cause boxes to run at different levels for tone / sound and rasp. Some people say i just use chalk and that's fine, but different ingredient makeup of chalk makes boxes run differently in how they cause friction between the box lid and rails. All of this affects the sound of a box.. You can mix chalk on the lid of a box, like red and little white and see the differences in tones and sounds. I personally look for the chalk i'm wanting to use to achieve the sound i'm wanting to create from the lid to rails. Now again, most good boxes don't need a lot of chalk to run, it all depends on the quality of the box and some combos just run extremely well.. Do a search on the forum and you can read opinions about chalk etc...
Quote from: Greg Massey on March 07, 2023, 10:22:45 AM
All chalk is not the same, Woodhaven doesn't make the rain chalk, rain chalk is fine, but it's not what i prefer.... The old sphere red brick chalk is about as pure a chalk as you can get. It's a more powder base, the closest thing to red brick is Primos red 3 small pieces in a plastic case. All chalks have little difference in texture and grit. The old Perfection in sphere shape in brown, is some of the best you could buy alone with the red brick, that Perfection brown has a little less powder base. White / blue are all similar but a tad different in my opinion. Dave Halloran sells a blue sphere chalk that is some of the best for blue chalk. Woodhaven sells a good white chalk. The old red brick chalk was a number 77701 Dixon chalk. Chalks with different content / powder bases cause boxes to run at different levels for tone / sound and rasp. Some people say i just use chalk and that's fine, but different ingredient makeup of chalk makes boxes run differently in how they cause friction between the box lid and rails. All of this affects the sound of a box.. You can mix chalk on the lid of a box, like red and little white and see the differences in tones and sounds. I personally look for the chalk i'm wanting to use to achieve the sound i'm wanting to create from the lid to rails. Now again, most good boxes don't need a lot of chalk to run, it all depends on the quality of the box and some combos just run extremely well.. Do a search on the forum and you can read opinions about chalk etc...
My gosh....turkey hunting can be made to be so complicated. :)
Quote from: RH1 on March 07, 2023, 01:52:07 PM
Quote from: Greg Massey on March 07, 2023, 10:22:45 AM
All chalk is not the same, Woodhaven doesn't make the rain chalk, rain chalk is fine, but it's not what i prefer.... The old sphere red brick chalk is about as pure a chalk as you can get. It's a more powder base, the closest thing to red brick is Primos red 3 small pieces in a plastic case. All chalks have little difference in texture and grit. The old Perfection in sphere shape in brown, is some of the best you could buy alone with the red brick, that Perfection brown has a little less powder base. White / blue are all similar but a tad different in my opinion. Dave Halloran sells a blue sphere chalk that is some of the best for blue chalk. Woodhaven sells a good white chalk. The old red brick chalk was a number 77701 Dixon chalk. Chalks with different content / powder bases cause boxes to run at different levels for tone / sound and rasp. Some people say i just use chalk and that's fine, but different ingredient makeup of chalk makes boxes run differently in how they cause friction between the box lid and rails. All of this affects the sound of a box.. You can mix chalk on the lid of a box, like red and little white and see the differences in tones and sounds. I personally look for the chalk i'm wanting to use to achieve the sound i'm wanting to create from the lid to rails. Now again, most good boxes don't need a lot of chalk to run, it all depends on the quality of the box and some combos just run extremely well.. Do a search on the forum and you can read opinions about chalk etc...
My gosh....turkey hunting can be made to be so complicated. :)
Look at it this way, you now know more than you did ... LOL...
He knows boxes, the best of advice.
Ok, just so many options and no clear winner as far as I read it. I clean my paddle, put new chalk on the tune if it is not sounding right to my ear. Maybe that's the wrong approach but the one I have been using. I was using the Primos Red chalk, but just got a 6 pack of the half moon blue carpenters chalk. It powders very easy on application and sounds good to me.
Ches.
Quote from: Ches. on March 07, 2023, 04:38:07 PM
Ok, just so many options and no clear winner as far as I read it. I clean my paddle, put new chalk on the tune if it is not sounding right to my ear. Maybe that's the wrong approach but the one I have been using. I was using the Primos Red chalk, but just got a 6 pack of the half moon blue carpenters chalk. It powders very easy on application and sounds good to me.
Ches.
Where did you get the blue chalk from?
Quote from: Ches. on March 07, 2023, 04:38:07 PM
. It powders very easy on application and sounds good to me.
Ches.
Confidence kills turkeys....not chalk colors. I'm with you.
:TooFunny: :popcorn:
I was lucky enough to get some of the red railroad chalk from a member here and on most of my calls you can sure tell the difference. I have two that just seem to work better with blue chalk ( a tongue call from Scott Hembrook and a scratch box from Lee Bowles) and the call I got from Ralph Snodgrass prefers white chalk. That red railroad chalk just seems to grip better and give a better sound to me.
Red railroad for me. It's like a lot of things, just a preference, I reckon it just does it for me.
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I can tell you for a fact that different color chalk changes the sound of a call. 100 percent. May not be night and day but does have subtle changes. I use railroad chalk. I like the results. Heck , I even have a box call that sounds phenomenal with absolutely no chalk. You put any kind of chalk on it and it sounds good but not awesome. Wipe the chalk off and it's insane.
By the way, I just recently heard of green railroad chalk, I know nothing of it though.
Blue Chalk for me.
I personally use very little chalk, so for me chalk in general isn't that important. I subscribe to the Albert Paul philosophy of chalking, " if the box plays, don't add chalk." Also, I'm a firm believer in developing and leaving angel wings so I don't scuff lids very often. I know this might be a bit outside the scope of your question and as Greg said, this has been discussed here before and it might be good to look up those opinions and information. Now, hen boxes and scratchers are a different story and I chalk them much more often. So I'm just trying to make you aware that not every box calling hunter is big into chalk. I know others use it a lot more often than I do, so that's something you'll have to decide, not only what color chalk, but necessity and frequency of use.
I use nothing but the blue half moon chalk from Halloran.
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Maybe I'm ignorant to the ways of the world...........but I use any chalk that is not of the dustless variety.
I've used white......brown......tan.......red.....blue (stick and half round).....green......maybe others. I never noticed enough difference, one to the other to amount to a hill of beans. But maybe I'm tone deaf. But, apparently the turkeys are, too, because I don't think I've ever lost out o a bird because of my chalk color.
Only time chalk color matters to me is when a maker includes a piece of chalk with the call he made. Just got a pair of boxes in the mail this past Saturday. The maker included a round cut from a stick of white chalk.......and that's what he had the boxes initially chalked with. So, I figure he must have chosen white for a reason for those particular calls. That's what I'll continue to use on those calls.
Quote from: Yoder409 on March 08, 2023, 08:41:47 AM
Maybe I'm ignorant to the ways of the world...........but I use any chalk that is not of the dustless variety.
I've used white......brown......tan.......red.....blue (stick and half round).....green......maybe others. I never noticed enough difference, one to the other to amount to a hill of beans. But maybe I'm tone deaf. But, apparently the turkeys are, too, because I don't think I've ever lost out o a bird because of my chalk color.
Only time chalk color matters to me is when a maker includes a piece of chalk with the call he made. Just got a pair of boxes in the mail this past Saturday. The maker included a round cut from a stick of white chalk.......and that's what he had the boxes initially chalked with. So, I figure he must have chosen white for a reason for those particular calls. That's what I'll continue to use on hose calls.
MY TURKEYS are color coordinated ... LOL... They like a well dressed hen... LOL..
Quote from: Trkmaster88 on March 07, 2023, 06:16:31 PM
Quote from: Ches. on March 07, 2023, 04:38:07 PM
Ok, just so many options and no clear winner as far as I read it. I clean my paddle, put new chalk on the tune if it is not sounding right to my ear. Maybe that's the wrong approach but the one I have been using. I was using the Primos Red chalk, but just got a 6 pack of the half moon blue carpenters chalk. It powders very easy on application and sounds good to me.
Ches.
Where did you get the blue chalk from?
I got it off e-bay, costs like $2 for 6 pieces and $4 for shipping. So about a buck each. I figure the guy did what I was thinking of doing and bought a big box and only needed a small amount. David Halloran sells them for $5 each, don't know what he wants for shipping, but figure it is probably the deal breaker. My Primos came with red, I just bought a purple heart over purple heart w/holly sides kit that came with tan chaulk, holloran says he likes blue the best. Hence my question.
Here.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/334636587239
Quote from: Greg Massey on March 08, 2023, 09:31:30 AM
Quote from: Yoder409 on March 08, 2023, 08:41:47 AM
Maybe I'm ignorant to the ways of the world...........but I use any chalk that is not of the dustless variety.
I've used white......brown......tan.......red.....blue (stick and half round).....green......maybe others. I never noticed enough difference, one to the other to amount to a hill of beans. But maybe I'm tone deaf. But, apparently the turkeys are, too, because I don't think I've ever lost out o a bird because of my chalk color.
Only time chalk color matters to me is when a maker includes a piece of chalk with the call he made. Just got a pair of boxes in the mail this past Saturday. The maker included a round cut from a stick of white chalk.......and that's what he had the boxes initially chalked with. So, I figure he must have chosen white for a reason for those particular calls. That's what I'll continue to use on hose calls.
MY TURKEYS are color coordinated ... LOL... They like a well dressed hen... LOL..
:TooFunny:
Quote from: Spitten and drummen on March 07, 2023, 10:33:58 PM
I can tell you for a fact that different color chalk changes the sound of a call. 100 percent. May not be night and day but does have subtle changes.
+1
A good well tuned box call should play well with no chalk at all. Every maker has their chalk preference and their call is tuned using that chalk. Different brand chalks will change the sound and tune of said call as well as different colors. Different colors have different resins used in the making of that chalk. That is the reason why different chalk line chalks clean up easier than others. I prefer red chalk on the boxes I build.
Eric
Tried the primos red chalk last year and from a functionality standpoint it worked great. Can't speak to the instrumentality or the tone variance but friction-wise, it hunted well!
Many hunters that use my calls will ask what kind of chalk they should use. I tell them either primos call chalk or sky blue sidewalk chalk. I tune with either. Then they ask how often they should chalk the call. I tell them maybe never and to keep playing surfaces clean from fingers or dirt. Chalk it when it doesn't sound like it did and do it lightly. The sidewalk chalk is always a dollar store away for the casual hunter.
Will someone please tell me how the sky blue sidewalk chalk ranks in the amount of wax or whatever it is that we don't want in it.
People can use what they want, but i will never use sidewalk chalk on my calls with the availability of better chalk. Have you ever tried to remove some of that sidewalk chalk off of concrete ... omg ....
Got ya. I have been using the primos for quite some time. I was told that the sky blue contained the least amount of wax. Thanks for your reply.
Quote from: Greg Massey on March 07, 2023, 10:22:45 AMAll chalk is not the same, Woodhaven doesn't make the rain chalk, rain chalk is fine, but it's not what i prefer.... The old sphere red brick chalk is about as pure a chalk as you can get. It's a more powder base, the closest thing to red brick is Primos red 3 small pieces in a plastic case. All chalks have little difference in texture and grit. The old Perfection in sphere shape in brown, is some of the best you could buy alone with the red brick, that Perfection brown has a little less powder base. White / blue are all similar but a tad different in my opinion. Dave Halloran sells a blue sphere chalk that is some of the best for blue chalk. Woodhaven sells a good white chalk. The old red brick chalk was a number 77701 Dixon chalk. Chalks with different content / powder bases cause boxes to run at different levels for tone / sound and rasp. Some people say i just use chalk and that's fine, but different ingredient makeup of chalk makes boxes run differently in how they cause friction between the box lid and rails. All of this affects the sound of a box.. You can mix chalk on the lid of a box, like red and little white and see the differences in tones and sounds. I personally look for the chalk i'm wanting to use to achieve the sound i'm wanting to create from the lid to rails. Now again, most good boxes don't need a lot of chalk to run, it all depends on the quality of the box and some combos just run extremely well.. Do a search on the forum and you can read opinions about chalk etc...
Ran up on this recently.
IMG_5452.jpg
Quote from: Ches. on March 07, 2023, 04:38:07 PMOk, just so many options and no clear winner as far as I read it. I clean my paddle, put new chalk on the tune if it is not sounding right to my ear. Maybe that's the wrong approach but the one I have been using. I was using the Primos Red chalk, but just got a 6 pack of the half moon blue carpenters chalk. It powders very easy on application and sounds good to me.
Ches.
There really cant be a winner it's all what your looking for to get out of a particular box. To me David Halloran blue chalk produces extreme friction, but for some of my boxes I dont want that much grip. It's all about finding combos that work well together and provide the sound your looking for
Quote from: gdc23 on May 04, 2024, 04:37:17 PMQuote from: Ches. on March 07, 2023, 04:38:07 PMOk, just so many options and no clear winner as far as I read it. I clean my paddle, put new chalk on the tune if it is not sounding right to my ear. Maybe that's the wrong approach but the one I have been using. I was using the Primos Red chalk, but just got a 6 pack of the half moon blue carpenters chalk. It powders very easy on application and sounds good to me.
Ches.
There really cant be a winner it's all what your looking for to get out of a particular box. To me David Halloran blue chalk produces extreme friction, but for some of my boxes I dont want that much grip. It's all about finding combos that work well together and provide the sound your looking for
Is the blue Halloran chalk different than the blue halfmoon carpenters chalk? Both look identical, Just wondering
I bought a gross of that Dixon red chalk some years ago. Awesome stuff. Too bad the factory burned down
Quote from: Greg Massey on March 18, 2023, 12:46:51 AMPeople can use what they want, but i will never use sidewalk chalk on my calls with the availability of better chalk. Have you ever tried to remove some of that sidewalk chalk off of concrete ... omg ....
I have to agree Greg, everything I have ever read says to avoid sidewalk chalk like the plague due to the wax or oil in it, I do not recall which. Come to think of it I had one of those Quakerboy Cloverleaf box calls back in the 90's and somebody put his kids sidewalk chalk on it after I loaned it to him, had to take fine sandpaper to that thing for days before it played right again. I had forgotten about that until now.
Quote from: bnew17 on May 08, 2024, 04:09:05 PMQuote from: gdc23 on May 04, 2024, 04:37:17 PMQuote from: Ches. on March 07, 2023, 04:38:07 PMOk, just so many options and no clear winner as far as I read it. I clean my paddle, put new chalk on the tune if it is not sounding right to my ear. Maybe that's the wrong approach but the one I have been using. I was using the Primos Red chalk, but just got a 6 pack of the half moon blue carpenters chalk. It powders very easy on application and sounds good to me.
Ches.
There really cant be a winner it's all what your looking for to get out of a particular box. To me David Halloran blue chalk produces extreme friction, but for some of my boxes I dont want that much grip. It's all about finding combos that work well together and provide the sound your looking for
Is the blue Halloran chalk different than the blue halfmoon carpenters chalk? Both look identical, Just wondering
It is the blue half moon chalk, but Im not sure what brand.
I only have been using the blue half-moon chalk on my 3 old Lynch box calls. The chalk is over 35 years old and was curious if it will be adequate for my new Spring Creek Jatoba/ Western Alder short box that I will be receiving. Haven't bought any new chalk but am all ears for what will be the best for my new short box.
Quote from: Gman on May 16, 2024, 12:43:41 PMI only have been using the blue half-moon chalk on my 3 old Lynch box calls. The chalk is over 35 years old and was curious if it will be adequate for my new Spring Creek Jatoba/ Western Alder short box that I will be receiving. Haven't bought any new chalk but am all ears for what will be the best for my new short box.
I will send a chunk of the same chalk that I use on all my calls, Dixon white. Feel free to wipe it off with a soft cloth if you choose to apply a different chalk.
Thank You, I will use the chalk that you send!