Guys, I think I've been missing the boat by not using gobbler yelping in my bag of tricks during the spring season.
I mainly use a diaphram call for everything so if there are any good suggestions on one that can make gobbler yelps better than others (or just a particular style) then I'd like to hear about it.
I can also run a pot call fairly well and a box call if I have to. What's the general consensus on which kind of call is the easiest to use for gobbler sounds?
I would say a pot call with fewer yelps paced a lot slower than hen talk would be a good way to produce some gobbler sounds. Also clucks are a good gobbler vocalization to use as well.
Would it necessarily take a different call?
What about changing up strikers on a slate pot to replicate what L. Williams calls the "bugling" quality of a gobbla yelp?
I use a loose stretched double frame that I build.
No you wouldnt have to use a different pot, and you might have to experiment with different strikers to get a different pitch or tone, but the key will be the pacing and amount of yelps produced. I have a bead blasted glass walnut pot that is good for nothing but gobbler yelps, but any friction call could be used. Just play around to get the sound your looking for. A box call played slower would also work.
deep sounding jake yelping can easily be done on a diaphragm with practice. I use an over-sized V cut 3 reed or a 2.5 or 3 reed ghost cut, with about a 1/4" stretch. But the main thing is to drop your jaw even lower than hen yelping, and use less air. When you get it right you figure it out. That's what works for me.
I would say yes, you are missing an opportunity. I have goiod success using a box call, but then I build box calls and konw where and how to find a gobbler yelp on the rails. It's deep, slow and typically no more than 3 yelps losing played.
Forgive me if someone else mentioned it and I skipped over it, but one way to use a pot call for gobbler yelps is to yelp closer to the center of the pot. It's naturally a lower pitch than out near the edge.