this is a review that i just posted over on the GON forum but wanted to share my experience here as well..
well guys, i thought i would give you all a little review of my experience with Lyle and his calls.
about a month ago, i walked into a local place that sold Houndstooth calls. honestly, i thought it was one of those small brands that make a few calls and go out of business. i had never heard of them before.
so, i got to looking around and doing research and was hearing great things about his calls, so i decided to pick one up.
i first picked up the Tom Bomb. It is a double reed call that reminded me of of a double bat wing that did not come to a point in the latex. it is the first call i have seen with this particular cut, but i had a few recommendations to try it out. i picked the call up for $9 which is somewhere in the middle of the price range and popped it in my mouth.
the call looked bigger than any call i had ran before, but it felt very nice in my mouth, the tape was a little bit wide for me, so i trimmed it down and proceeded to make a few sequences of calling on it. i quickly found that the call was not super raspy. it had some rasp after it rolled over, but it wasnt too much. it had a higher pitch and was easy to get loud while still staying clear. the yelps have the cutting power to really travel a long way i feel. you could also kee kee really well with the call and it sounded great at all ranges. my final conclusion to this call was it was definitely being put in the vest. they have super construction, comfortable and easy to play. it reminded me of a cracked corn from tom teasers, but just a little more raspy and much easier for the sound to carry longer distances.
so, after trying this call, i had to have a few more. i looked around for some but i decided to wait until march 14 when Lyle was coming to a small event close to my house.
when i got to the event, i scanned through the booths seeing what all was there and happened to notice mr lyle laughing with another gentleman. throughout the day, i never once saw him turn down any customers or even not talk to a customer. he talked to nearly everyone like he knew them and was not a pushy call maker. he talked about his calls, but he did not try pushing any call on you. he would let you run any call with any striker which was awesome. talking to him personally, he was a super nice guy. he shared a few stories with me and even showed me a great little tip for getting a better sound from my pot calls.
so while talking to him, i asked about his mouth calls. i wanted something a little raspier than the tom bomb and he recommended that i try the dixie combo and the v cut 3 reed.
the dixie combo was a very nice call. it is a 3 reed that looks like a single bat wing on the right with half of a v cut on the left. it has the potential to get a high pitch out of it for a kee, but has more rasp to it than the tom bomb. the call has a fairly high pitched beginning, with a raspy roll over. it was a perfect all around call if you ask me. its super easy to run, doesnt take much air and sound phenomenal
the v cut 3 reed was the final call that i tried out. the call was much more raspy like that of an older hen. it didnt have over the top rasp, but it was raspy with some very impressive cutts and yelps.
the final thing that i bought from him was a glass over glass cherry pot call that sounds absolutely phenomenal. it has a little higher pitch to it, but has some decent rasp to is as well, especially with a dymondwood striker. i would put the call against nearly any other glass i have heard. the call has a great finish, they are all hand made. as a matter of a fact, my call still had a small piece of wood that he had to get out of one of the holes on the bottom of the call from being pulled off the lathe it was so new. Mr Lyle scratched up a couple pots to see which call i liked best and let me choose. i also go an one piece hickory striker that sounds amazing on every call i have ran it on
Houndstooth game calls are by far my favorite and my go to call. i have been happy with a few other companies and tried a good many, but the customer service, the quality and function of every call i have seen or heard from my lyle has been over the top and puts his calls at the top of my list. a stand up guy that i will certainly be doing business with in the future!
