Mouth call break in and daily warm up

[packmule]

We don't talk about mouth calls too much here.

Let's hear your thoughts on breaking in a call and warming it up each day.

You have a certain model and maker you prefer, you order 3 new calls before the season, then what?

Do you tear open a new package opening morning and hunt the new call? Play all three the week before the opener and pick your favorite to hunt?  Two weeks into the season and you've settled on a couple favorites, do you pop it in your mouth when it's time to make the first call, or keep it in your mouth 20 minutes early?

I don't use mouth calls much, but I always run a call before the season until it runs well. Seem like some calls are ready immediately while others take a couple sessions. I usually put the call in my mouth for 5 minutes or so before I need to make a call.

[Yoder409]

Another great post, Toby !!!   

You have a certain model and maker you prefer, you order 3 new calls before the season, then what?

Our own Gooserbat, all the way !!!  Heckler and DTW

Do you tear open a new package opening morning and hunt the new call? Play all three the week before the opener and pick your favorite to hunt?

I'll have 2 or 3 on hand.  One out and running.  One or two still in the package.  The one "out and running" will either be the one I used last year or a new one I've monkeyed with til it's where I like it.

  Two weeks into the season and you've settled on a couple favorites, do you pop it in your mouth when it's time to make the first call, or keep it in your mouth 20 minutes early?

I'll pop it in when I'm set up where I wanna be to work a bird from the limb.  If I'm walking, it's always in my mouth.......slid over into my cheek.

[Gooserbat]

Just make sure it's not dry or the reeds are stuck and run it. 

[GobbleNut]

Your questions require pretty complex answers in my case.   
I use mouth calls almost exclusively, if for no other reason than the simplicity involved.  I also started making my own calls many years ago so I have the luxury of running through a lot of them during a season as I see fit.  I prefer calls that I can put in my mouth and not have to do anything to warm them up in terms of getting the sound I want,...and that sound I want can vary quite a bit based on the conditions and variables that I am hunting under. 

I am pretty particular about how I want a call to sound in a specific situation, and unlike some folks, I can't always make those sounds with a single call.  Hence, I carry a number of different calls that are constructed such that they will make the sounds I want when I want them.  For instance, for aggressive calling like hard yelping and cutting, I want a call that is really crisp, somewhat raspy, and hard-edged in terms of the sounds I get out of it.  To keep that crisp sound, I can't keep the call in my mouth for long periods of time because the reeds will relax just enough to lose that crispness that I want to achieve.  If I am not going to be calling for any length of time, I will carry the call in my hand or pocket, only putting it in my mouth when I am about to call.

In other circumstances where I want to make softer, more quiet yelps and clucks, I will use different calls that I can more easily make those softer, less-hard-edged sounds with.  With those calls, it is not nearly as important that the reeds are not relaxed by keeping them in my mouth.  I also carry calls that are specific to making lesser-used sounds (for me anyway) like kee keeing, purring, gobbles, and such.

In addition, I also carry calls that have specific, and sometimes off-beat, tonal qualities with which I can mimic the occasional hens or gobblers that have "colorful" voices that we often hear in the woods.

In all cases, I have taken the time prior to the season to put together my "first-string" line-up of calls that I am planning on using.  However, I almost always have to bring some players in off the bench during the season due to long-term performance issues with the first-stringers. 

As for call designs, I use a variety.  Once again, I fit the call to the sound I want to make. If a particular call, regardless of the design, makes a particular sound I might want to replicate while hunting, I will carry that call for that specific occasion. 

Finally, for a specific call design I most commonly use, I have gravitated towards a clipped-wing, center V-cut (one might call it a W cut) in either a two-reed or three-reed call, and with the primary (top) reed thickness generally being .004 over a .003 combination.   

...And yes,...as Sam says, it is pretty important that the reeds of the call are not stuck together,...at least in my case.... 

[ChesterCopperpot]

I ain't very good on a mouth call and can't play many cuts well so that makes selection easy. I run Gooserbat Soul Sisters which are reverse combo cuts. I've noticed calls in the past did require more of a break in period but everything I've gotten from Sam runs right out of the packaging. So I've usually got the one I'm hunting and a couple more new ones stashed away with me in case something happens (i.e. I lose it or a reed tears or something) or if the sound were to fall off. I usually only use mouth calls for finishing work but as far as getting the call ready for the day I'll usually have it in my mouth for a little while on the drive. I'll hiss hard like a cat to break the reeds loose and then go through some calls till it seems to be running. At that point I store it in its case and it seems to stay moist and running the rest of the day. I know some folks use tooth picks to separate reeds for drying and storing but I've never been able to get that right. The hard hiss to break them loose seems to work for me then so long as the call doesn't dry out they tend to stay that way for the day.


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[Sir-diealot]

I have found I like Ghost Cut diaphragm calls. By Paul Hicks @ Strut Zone Game Calls I can't recall his name here, think he has Rat in this screen name.

I also like the same cut from Del Crow

I just keep using the ones from the year before and hope they don't blow out. I used to only really use them a lot when the bird got in close to get them to pop their heads up but in recent years with calls from the two I have listed above I am getting more confident with them and am using them a bit more.

[EZ]

Lots of good mouth calls out there and everyone is different in their likes and dislikes and the way their mouth is formed, so I recommend to folks to try a few different calls to find one they're comfortable with.
I've settled on calls from (Perrytrails) Billy Martin. I like the way his calls are stretched tight and stay that way.

I always try a call before I put it in my vest. You can have several of the exact same type and they will all be a little different.

Before I play a new call or one in my vest, I (gently) separate each reed and use my tongue to get saliva in between each reed.

[Happy]

If its a good call then I pop it in my mouth about 15 minutes before I plan on using it. I tend to keep anywhere from 6-12 diaphragm calls on me when hunting. I have a few standout favorites but i am comfortable with using them all.

[fmf]

I always try to keep 2 of the same call broken in, and I don't find that any calls run good for me without a lot of break in time, which if I had to guess would be about a solid hour (usually split up over a few sessions).  I soak them in mouth wash about every 3rd day, so I will wake up and the first thing that I do is take them out of the fridge and put them in a little cup of mouthwash while I'm getting ready.  On those mornings they are ready to go after that.  If it isn't a soak morning, I have a 30 minute drive to my nearest spots so I will run every call that I take with me on the drive in so that any stuck reeds are unstuck and they are ready to go.

[ssramage]

I'm pretty rough on mouth calls and will carry them year to year too. I guess I don't run them well enough to REALLY notice a difference. I usually pop them in my mouth on the way to hunt in the am, run them a minute to unstick the reeds, and then throw them in a plastic case for the day.

[Meleagris gallopavo]

After a couple of years of trying a lot of different makes and models I narrowed things down to one mouth call maker which I only get certain cuts from. I have several of the same make and model so I can rotate them out.  I stick with the cuts I run the best which varies from caller to caller.

Biggest thing I do before I run a brand new mouth call is rinse it before running it.  I run it first unbent, then I may take it out and bend it a little and run it again and bend it again until I feel like I'm wasting my time and it's as good as I can get it.  After I use them I put them in water and Listerine for maybe a day or less, rinse them well in water, dry them off some and put plastic tooth pics between the reeds until I'm ready to use them again. 

[compton30]

I have a call in my mouth as soon as I fire up the truck during turkey season. I can't run a call with a chew of snuff in my mouth so it acts as a substitute during season. Nothing worse than putting a fresh pinch of snuff in only to hear a bird gobble a minute later.

As far as breaking in a call, it depends on the call and what I want it to sound like. They're only going to loosen with time so for a hard cutting, loud, raspy yelper it might be a brand new call. Generally I just use the one I've been running.

[CMBOSTC]

I have a call in my mouth as soon as I fire up the truck during turkey season. I can't run a call with a chew of snuff in my mouth so it acts as a substitute during season. Nothing worse than putting a fresh pinch of snuff in only to hear a bird gobble a minute later.

As far as breaking in a call, it depends on the call and what I want it to sound like. They're only going to loosen with time so for a hard cutting, loud, raspy yelper it might be a brand new call. Generally I just use the one I've been running.

I dipped Copenhagen snuff for 20+ years, I hear ya about putting in a fresh dip to then hear a gobbler fire off. Go to pouches, it'll change your life... lol!

[gergg]

I don't even use mouth calls these days, but when I did, I would put them in a cup of very warm water for 5-10 minutes while I was making coffee....that seemed to break open reeds pretty good and never had issues with them coming apart either.

[Mathews.1]

I keep mine in a container with mouthwash in it in the refrigerator. There good and moist when your ready to use them. I can get a couple years use out of them.