I've never used a trumpet, trough, or a tube call. I'm curious how these stack up against other types. What type of call do you think makes the most authentic sounds a hen makes, from clucks to yelps ect.
Overall my vote goes to a diaphragm. In the right mouth.
Definitely a diaphragm, unbelievable if used by a good caller.
I'd have a hard time choosing between a diaphragm or a vibrating tongue call. Both are very realistic if used by the right person.
Quote from: Happy on April 11, 2016, 09:18:04 PM
Overall my vote goes to a diaphragm. In the right mouth.
I'm left mouthed. But I agree.
A scratchbox is very realistic to me. Especially when heard from a distance.
Imo I think a trumpet or wing bone is the most realistic at a distance , close behind it would be a turpin box. I have never been fooled by a hen that sounded like a mouthcall but have on several occasions been fooled by hens that sounded like someone trying to play a box. Just from my experience.
As someone once told me, "it's not the arrow, but the Indian". Any of these calls in the right hands, or mouth, will give excellent results! Pick one and try to perfect it.
Quote from: cowhornyelper on April 12, 2016, 03:33:38 PM
As someone once told me, "it's not the arrow, but the Indian". Any of these calls in the right hands, or mouth, will give excellent results! Pick one and try to perfect it.
Spot on right here. While I'm not spectacular with a diaphragm call, I can get the job done. Put a box in my hand, my clucks, yelps and purrs improve drastically. A good pot call can really be impressive in the hands of the right guy as well. It's all just a matter of who is using the item and how well they know it.
One of the worst turkeys that I have ever heard was a turkey. Called way to much for to long & didn't sound very good, thought for sure it was a hunter not a turkey. I have been fortunate enough to kill birds with several different calls, but my favorite is a slate call. In my opinion knowing when & how much to call is as important as the call itself.
Quote from: Triplgobble on April 13, 2016, 07:02:29 AM
One of the worst turkeys that I have ever heard was a turkey. Called way to much for to long & didn't sound very good, thought for sure it was a hunter not a turkey. I have been fortunate enough to kill birds with several different calls, but my favorite is a slate call. In my opinion knowing when & how much to call is as important as the call itself.
Obviously not if the real deal can't figure it out. Hahaha.
Scratchbox IMO best hen sounds overall...Get a good one perfect it! You will be pleased..
I think a scratch box as well....a good box and some practice will make a believer out of you. The clucks/cutting alone make it worthwhile to play one. I have had more public land birds respond to a scratch box that anything else. For me one of the biggest advantages of the scratcher is the ability to play very softly with realism....Like others have said, any call in the right hands will work.
Hard to beat a good wingbone and a good box!!
How bout the #6 your just sent me Mike :z-winnersmiley:
Diaphragm.
You mean the one with the "X" inside the bell, that I used to win the calling contest with??? It is a good'un!!
My vote is for: box call.
I used to would have said a box call because it had been one that fooled me a few years ago by a guy giving it a couple clucks a couple hundred yards behind me. Sure would liked to have known who made the call because it was the real deal. But after watching & listening to Eddie Salter & some of these guys who compete I could have my mind changed to a diaphragm call. There is some people that can flat out make them talk. I usually can pick out a mouth call every time in the woods but it's probably just people that's just not really good on one...like me. lol. Also been messing around with a Beard Hunter & some other builders' scratch boxes & those little buggers can be bad to the bone also. All in all I think it's more who's behind the call than the call itself.
As a custom box call builder one might think I favor them, but I would agree with many who have posted, box call, scratch box, diaphragm, wing bone, trumpet, etc. IMO it all comes down to who is running the call and under what conditions; early season, windy day, dense cover, open hardwoods, field, etc. I have heard real turkeys that I was convinced could NOT have been a real hen, but she was and I have heard countless hunters who run a wingbone and a scratch box and they sounded perfect to me, but then the same has occurred with a master running a mouth call.
As others have said, I think it's the caller, not the call.
Some guys can rub 2 sticks together and call a turkey.
Give those guys a "real" turkey call and they can speak turkey better than English!
Me......I still go to my box calls as my go to calls. Getting better with pot calls. Stink with mouth calls.
But other guys......man give them 2 sticks, a rock and they will kill a turkey!
As a call, the diaphragm has the most potential with the right person calling... I am not that person.
As a caller, the box call is one of the easiest calls to realistically immitate the sounds of a turkey on and sound realistic. Also, a good box call has the inherent value of making birds react... Tone, pitch, or whatever, sometimes it just seems a box call gets that reaction when other calls do not. I have made little "squeaks" and "perks" on a box call on accident that drove birds nuts... I have had the call squeaking in my holster or vest when quickly moving ot repositionon a bird, only to have the bird pick up the pace because of those incidental little noises.
Never heard a good trumpet, and have not played with a scratch box, but next season, I am going to add a good scratch box (with a couple strikers) to the arsenol next season, and would love to get my hands on a trumpet or wingbone to play with...
If I could only have one type of call in the vest it would be a diaphragm though. It remains the most versatile call, and it is often the last call I use before the trigger is pulled. Nice that it is hands and motion free, and capable of making every sound a turkey can make. Also, I can take 10 different diaphragm calls with 10 different sounds in a container that takes up less space than almost any other single call made.
Seeing videos posted on Youtube, a lot of hunters sound nothing like a turkey, and yet still kill birds. Seems like a lot of guys calling on those videos sound like seals to me, but the birds still react. I see people calling in birds and getting away with things that I do not think would ever work for me... I have also seen a couple videos with darned good hunting skills involved.
I think it is a combination of the hunter and the call. The call being the instrument and the hunter being the musician. However, you don't have to be a Jimmy Page of the hunting world to kill a gobbler. Good luck y'all.
I have the privilege to be around Easterns, 15 hens and 23 toms very often. The hens all have their own voices and each is a bit different. The cadence I believe is much the key to the realism.
I love using box calls. Just something about making the call to use to harvest that trips my trigger. That said, I am no purist, if it makes turkey talk I will play it.
I've heard hens that sound like every type of caller, I've heard every type of caller make sounds that sound like real he s
For soft, content turkey talk, nothing beats a wooden peg on a small piece of slate.
Quote from: Happy on April 11, 2016, 09:18:04 PM
Overall my vote goes to a diaphragm. In the right mouth.
+1
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