figured this would make for some good conversation. Guess I should clarify exactly what I'm saying, best sounding is pretty obvious, capable of making realistic turkey sounds. Performing, I would describe as the calls overall working ability and effectiveness in different applications/scenarios.
For example, mouth call ran by the right person is hard to beat sound wise but lacks certain qualities such as tone and volume that I look for, in my opinion.
I'll start it off, to me it's hard to beat a good pot call. Can do soft calling, get loud, and with proper manipulation of the striker and type of striker, can acheive any sound.
I think a guy that can run a mouth call good sounds more like a turkey then anything else. I most of the time run pot calls but this year I am using a box call more. Scoot
I will play. This is my opinion on my three favorite types.
Mouth call- can make every sound a turkey makes - the right call in the right mouth and you cannot tell it from a turkey in the woods - Great rain or shine - The biggest plus is that you can call when a turkey is 10 yds from you looking at you or just out of sight, and you don't have to move or take your hands off the gun - This makes it the most effective for close in work.
Pot call - can make every sound a turkey makes - Has a nicer pure "turkey" sound tone and pitch than a mouth or box call - Can locate better than a mouth call - Is much prettier than a mouth call - comes in lots of cool wood and playing surfaces - Makes the widest range of different sounds - not good in the rain - two hand operation make it very hard to use when a turkey is close
Box Call - can make every sound a turkey makes - Can make that box call turkey sound that the other two can't - It is harder to get real good with one but easy to make a turkey sound - comes in lots of cool wood combinations - better locator than a mouth call - not good in the rain - two hand operation makes it very hard to use when a turkey is close
Steve
Great stuff. I'll try
1- mouth call just overall the best for me. But lacks volume for windy and or rainy days.
2- box call makes up for mouth calls negatives and can do most turkey sounds.
Negative-rain or moisture.
My box call stays home if there is much of a chance of rain. Two hands to run.
3- pot call can do it all, and with the change of a striker can change identity completely. Negative is of course two hands to run, moisture, rain, cold, and I just hate the sound of a carbon striker you need at times.
That being said you'll usually see me in the woods with all three. Mouth call is no doubt number 1 for me...
OH BOY this going to be interesting. #1 for me is a scratch box. The clucks, yelps and cuts are so nice and the soft talk is crazy good. #2 is a slate call. Hard to beat for every thing but a gobble. #3 and only because I may need something to bring him a few more yards is a mouth call. I had three years that I didn't ever carry a mouth call and did fine but have since gone back to using them for the above reason.
1 trumpet. At distances you call to turkeys most often NOTHING sounds more realistic. 1a scratch box. 2 box call. 3 mouth call.
Trumpet or a wingbone.....Once you get onto them, they sound for real in the turkey woods... The response's from hens and gobblers tell the tale....It's a call, not often heard in the turkey woods, either....
Scratch boxes......They sound turkey !!! Inexpensive in comparison with friction, boat paddles, or box calls...Soft talk is KILLER as calmakerman mentioned.
Boatpaddle.....Box call on steroids.....Loud or soft, they are all turkey in the right hands....
Mouthcall.....User friendly, cost effective, hands free, and the weather doesn't matter using them...
Wet weather......Wingbone and a mouth call.....
I believe I just said this in a PM to Al at SS... inside of 100yds there's nothing I'd rather have in my hands than a Scratch box
mouth calls obviously carry the versatility and will have their place in every hunt and boxes and pots also do a lot well. I see no reason to not carry a few different calls. Most my hunts will see 2 boxes, 2 scratch boxes, 2 pot calls, and 3 mouth calls. Crow and owl for locating.
I think a diaphragm with someone wo knows what they are doing is most realistic. Next a box call can make the best yelps but not wild on the clucks and purrs. A slate does the best clucks and purrs. And I won't voice my opinion on trumpets or wing bones due to lack of experience.
A man plays best what he spends the most time practicing with, whether it be a mouth call, trumpet, box or pot. If you have negative thoughts about box calls, your not going to play them very well. Personally myself, I like the clucks on a GOOD box call. And, I understand that people have a different definition of good (see opening statement). Some peoples hear sounds better than others. Some people do not have an ear for turkey sounds! Some don't even want a clear sounding call. I've read on here were some think that box calls are only good for locating turkeys. I've read where some folks start one on one thing and switch to a different caller to finish calling him with because they don't feel comfortable calling him on in with the first call. Many of these birds just seem to vanish. You tried the mouth call and he didn't answer. You tried the box call and he didn't answer. You hit your ol' favorite pot call and he lite the woods up with gobbles. Why?? Because you gave him the sound (hen) he was looking for!!
Personally myself, 1st, I like a wingbone or trumpet, 2nd, a box call and 3rd, a pot call. I'm a little bit like ol' Quiggly, never had much use for mouth calls. That doesn't mean I can't run them though. Just never had any use for them. And they definitely have their place.....in my vest.
And, if it's raining, I'm using a wingbone, a delrin MKW trumpet or an acrylic Matt McLain trumpet and a penicle pot call from Supreme Turkey Calls with a Beard Hunter all weather striker.
For me, historically, my best sounding / best performing call has been the mouth call(s) over the past 35 years. Mainly because that is what I used 98% of the time in the woods. Now, that said - I have a renewed interest in running a lot of different calls. Started a couple years ago with upgrading pot calls.
I've toted a Penn's Woods Roger Latham box with me since 1984? I have called birds with it, and generally had it for my locator call, but that was about it. Just this year I picked up a short box from Austin Hornberger. Wow! It's fantasic! Now I've got to get one from SS too...
Because of this dang forum, I got into scratch boxes last year. Now I have one in my vest all the time. Again, blaming the forum - my most recent drug, umm, I mean call, is the trumpet. I can't wait to gain a "working" competence with it, and play that chess match with a gobbler. For me it's like fly fishing or bowhunting with a recurve - just something nostalgic & sexy about it!
:help:
my turn,for me i usually start with a pot call,if its good and dry and not alot of moisture in the air then it is usually a slate,(hard to beat a good slate),then if thats not working i will go to a mouth call,if its windy out or i still havent struck one then i might just break out an ole box call.with this said i really love collecting pot calls and hunting with them.i have sudenly got into trumpets though and my season hasnt started yet,so i may have a different routine this year.while i have not been playing with the trumpets but a couple months i do use wingbones i have made in the fall,and have killed turkeys with them,so when i got my trumpet i was already making good turkey sounds the first day,just wasnt confident and consistant on exactly what sound was liable to come out that first few days,now i am a hen turkey looking for love,a hott hen turkey and have all the confidence in the world in them.cant believe i have hunted all these years with out buying one and collecting so many pot calls.the trumpet will be first one out this year and im excited to get to try it out in the woods.a billy buice desert ironwood #3mp to be exact.i will kill a turkey with this thing.then my trusty ole regulars.oh and i have a new addiction to add to pot calls im afraid. :jackson:
#1-Scratch Box-this is something relatively new for me, but the turkeys just absolutely love these calls. for me there is nothing better for soft clucking, cutting, purring, and yelping. I also find them to be very forgiving and easy to use under pressure. Realism is unmatched to my ear.
1a- Trumpet/wingbone -- Another new call for me.....I am not proficient enough to hunt with one, but to my ear they are extremely realistic and unique sounding in the woods and I expect one to be with me from now on.
#2- Pot call - I have had so much success over the last 35 years with various pots that they will always be a favorite of mine. I will say that I am extremely picky with pots, most of the modern day pots are too screechy and thin sounding in the woods to me.
#3-Mouth Call--Funny that I put them at #3 as I have killed more turkeys with a diaphragm than any other call, nothing wrong with them either, just prefer the others these days.
So here's my game...
#1 Cody World Class Slate Call (Has ended more turkeys than any other call I have)
#2 Mouth Calls (these are usually my finishers)
#3 My locator calls run these day and night
#4 Change up #1 & #2 if need be ( have a glass and half dozen mouth calls along)
MK M GOBL
I like em all. Think they all have a place and time
When they really shine. Personal favorite though
Is a tube call. :bible:
If I could only take one type of call in the woods it would be a mouth call...
• A lot of versatility in a small space; 15 different calls with different sounds takes up a smaller amount of space than any other single call by itself.
• It can be used hands free with little motion, and is probably the best call for finishing birds when hunting alone.
• If run properly it is a very realistic call, capable of the full spectrum of turkey sounds.
Negatives of a diaphragm:
• Tough call to truly become proficient on.
• The calls stick (always at the exact wrong moment)
• I am certain I will accidently swallow one during the excitement and recoil of shooting a bird.
That being said, I have been running a box call more than a mouth call these days.
• Easiest call to sound realistic on.
• Fun to run and stress free cause they are so easy to run.
• Loud.
• The right box call seems to have the inherent value of turning birds on.
Negatives of the box:
• Poor choice with moisture.
• Takes up a lot of space in a turkey vest (especially if you want to take multiple calls).
• Most likely call to accidently make noise while walking.
• A lot of motion needed to run one, and a poor call for finishing birds (although I can run one one-handed).
I gave up on pot calls some time ago. Kept losing the little sticks.
Will probably order a scratch box as my next call as they intrigue me.
Would love to try a good trumpet call, but the cost gives me pause.
This is why I hate this site so much. It is stupid topics like this! People should be more careful what they say. There are a lot of people that read these posts and have call addictions. Now I am going to have to buy a couple really nice scratch boxes and trumpets to try. Thanks a lot guys! :character0029:
Quote from: joker on March 29, 2016, 06:21:06 AM
This is why I hate this site so much. It is stupid topics like this! People should be more careful what they say. There are a lot of people that read these posts and have call addictions. Now I am going to have to buy a couple really nice scratch boxes and trumpets to try. Thanks a lot guys! :character0029:
LOL!!!
For me it's a turpin style box call and a trumpet. Mainly because these calls are less used and I like to have calls that the birds aren't getting hammered with by other hunters. Most talk about finishing birds. It strange because I have finished a whole lot with a box. I use mouth calls , but where I hunt , the majority do too. I have my knees drawn up and the box is in my lap . Working the call with my knees concealing it has worked countless times. Most times my finishing touch is no call at all. Alot of times it may take longer than the clucking and purring , for him to come those final yards , but I find once he committs just be parient. If he is hung up and soft talk is needed , the box is sitting in my lap.
Quote from: boatpaddle on March 29, 2016, 06:36:44 AM
Quote from: joker on March 29, 2016, 06:21:06 AM
This is why I hate this site so much. It is stupid topics like this! People should be more careful what they say. There are a lot of people that read these posts and have call addictions. Now I am going to have to buy a couple really nice scratch boxes and trumpets to try. Thanks a lot guys! :character0029:
LOL!!!
X2! LOL
Quote from: joker on March 29, 2016, 06:21:06 AM
This is why I hate this site so much. It is stupid topics like this! People should be more careful what they say. There are a lot of people that read these posts and have call addictions. Now I am going to have to buy a couple really nice scratch boxes and trumpets to try. Thanks a lot guys! :character0029:
Doooo it, it'll be fun
Quote from: M Sharpe on March 28, 2016, 06:02:10 PM
A man plays best what he spends the most time practicing with, whether it be a mouth call, trumpet, box or pot. If you have negative thoughts about box calls, your not going to play them very well. Personally myself, I like the clucks on a GOOD box call. And, I understand that people have a different definition of good (see opening statement). Some peoples hear sounds better than others. Some people do not have an ear for turkey sounds! Some don't even want a clear sounding call. I've read on here were some think that box calls are only good for locating turkeys. I've read where some folks start one on one thing and switch to a different caller to finish calling him with because they don't feel comfortable calling him on in with the first call. Many of these birds just seem to vanish. You tried the mouth call and he didn't answer. You tried the box call and he didn't answer. You hit your ol' favorite pot call and he lite the woods up with gobbles. Why?? Because you gave him the sound (hen) he was looking for!!
Personally myself, 1st, I like a wingbone or trumpet, 2nd, a box call and 3rd, a pot call. I'm a little bit like ol' Quiggly, never had much use for mouth calls. That doesn't mean I can't run them though. Just never had any use for them. And they definitely have their place.....in my vest.
And, if it's raining, I'm using a wingbone, a delrin MKW trumpet or an acrylic Matt McLain trumpet and a penicle pot call from Supreme Turkey Calls with a Beard Hunter all weather striker.
Think Mark hit it on head. A lot depends on who's profecient w what
Enjoying reading the responses, it's always nice to hear another hunters experience and thoughts on a topic where honestly I don't think there is any one correct answer.
In the process of this, I also just got with Al at SS custom calls to get my first scratch box LOL
Quote from: Txag12 on March 29, 2016, 02:51:03 PM
Enjoying reading the responses, it's always nice to hear another hunters experience and thoughts on a topic where honestly I don't think there is any one correct answer.
In the process of this, I also just got with Al at SS custom calls to get my first scratch box LOL
Your right, no correct answer as others have said its a individual game. Use what you have confidence in.
And it's a sickness, as most will admit their #1 call doesn't always suit the bird they are working.
Keeps us all in search of a different sound, and broke...
I have no personal favorite, I like the varying sounds that each style of call delivers. What I believe matters most is confidence and proficiency so you can give the proper amount of inflection, feeling and realism. I will not take any style of call to the woods that I have not mastered, and I mean mastered. It took me years to get good on a trumpet, now Im a death machine, same goes for the rest...I work extremely hard on my calling ability with each.
2015 Old Gobbler contest Champions