how do y'all go about "conditioning" your mouth calls when you break them out for the first time each year from last season. I always wash my under the sink before I put them back in my pouch when the season ends and just leave them in my vest. Should I be leaving them in the fridge during the off season too?
Curious how many season you either can or should get out of a mouth call
I wash mine and make sure the reeds are separated. Then I put them in a little water tight holder about the size of a skoal can with water and keep in the fridge. I can usually get 2 to 3 years out of a call.
Have always just put them in the fridge.
As cheap as they are, I buy a few every year before season, take them to work and practice for a few weeks before season. By then they are pretty sounding. During season I rotate them throughout the day,end of day the dry out in my hat then go to plastic case. End of season I rinse them in mouth wash then to the fridge. 2 years and I swap them out.
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Even before I started building calls I replaced mine each year.
I might add that a diaphragm call is a disposable product. Everything it's made from with the exception of the frame is by design disposable. Surgical tape, latex: both glove and condom rubber. Now I don't blame a guy for taking care of his calls and if you choose to keep one for years that's great but just remember that no matter how good I or anyone else builds a mouth call it's still designed to be thrown away.
Wash them well with some non alcohol mouthwash, separate the reeds and store in a cool dry place (refrigerator). Never store them in your vest or you'll come back to them and the reeds will be stuck together. You should be able to get a couple of years out of them, then replace. I normally order a few each year.
Quote from: Gooserbat on February 24, 2020, 07:50:34 PM
Even before I started building calls I replaced mine each year.
Exactly. :agreed:
Strep throat one year cut a week long spring hunt short halfway through, lost couple valuable vacation days recovering at home. Could have bought a few new calls with those insurance co-pays.
Never more than one season, and often swap them out sooner - and that's with a mouthwash rinse and separating the reeds every day after the hunt. They aren't box or pot calls, they get germy especially if you don't clean/rinse routinely.
:z-dizzy:
I don't keep them as I buy a few new mouth calls every spring and I have used the same ones(company) for a decade now.
Quote from: RiverRoost on February 24, 2020, 06:17:38 PM
Curious how many season you either can or should get out of a mouth call
2 years or so...
My favorites get replaced every year, and I might even take the old one as a spare (in a separate call holder).
I've been very unsanitary with mine them bc I just wash them with water then throw them back in my pouch and in my vest. Guess I'll mouthwash mine tonight.
Copenhagen.
One season and in the trash. I get new ones a couple of weeks before season and play with them constantly. They are broke in by season opener.
I just clean them after season and place them in small jar with lid and check them out now before season and replace if needed...
Wash mine with Listerine mouthwash and put them in the freezer with the reeds separated. I can get several years out of them or more.
I clean them after season and put them in the fridge. Some don't recover from off season storage, some do.
I had a Woodhaven Red Wasp that was great for five seasons. Most make it a couple, some just one.
I run water between the reeds and keep them in the freezer. Never any stuck reeds. I give them a Listerine bath every now and then.
I do the fridge thing but think my wife throws them away lol she gets so sick of me playing with them before season which reminds me about time to break one out
I buy new ones every year. In the past I would keep some around from one season to the next, but not anymore. When I would keep them from one season to the next, I would rinse with mouthwash, and leave them in the fridge with the reeds separated.
They're just so cheap, though, and I get to support some call makers each year, even if it's just a little, when I buy replacements. I just prefer not to have to worry about taking care of them in the off season.
Used to wash and store in fridge like others. Wife-nurse doing research finally swabbed one between the reeds and grew a culture in a dish. Blossomed into multi bacteria colonies. Pretty gross. I now toss after season and clean with alcohol dilution between hunts.
I actually like having those cultures in my mouth. I think that kind of exposure enhances the immune system, although you might get the occasional throat infection.
As to how long, I've had some of the old ones for probably 20 years, at least 15 plus. The tape is coming apart in places and the wear is quite obvious. I do keep them in the fridge in the off season. I don't think the new ones last as long though, the tape seems to fall apart easier. I suspect the tape they use has softened in the past 20 years or so.