Why don't you make your own mouth calls?

[Premier Turkey Calls]

Do you or don't you make your own mouth calls? If you don't, what is holding you back? Time, no jigs are available at a fair price, no interest, no knowledge of how to, etc. Just curious why people don't.

[Mossyguy]

I don't go after them enough to justify making them. I guess it would be different if I traveled a lot to hunt.

[GobbleNut]

Yes, I make my own mouth calls and have been doing so for about fifteen years or so now. Quite honestly, I am a bit surprised that more people aren't making their own calls considering the difference in cost of making them compared to buying them...not to mention that being able to customize your own calls will probably make the average mouth-call user a much better caller.

My guess as to why more folks don't make their own calls is just the lack of interest in using mouth calls, in general.  It's obviously way easier to just stick with friction calling devices...and for most turkey hunters, the calls they can make with those friction calls are much better than they are capable of with mouth calls. In addition, the learning curve for using mouth calls...and becoming proficient at it...is much greater than that for friction calls. I think that discourages a lot of people.

With the advances made in friction calls over the last few decades and the increased realism that has been perfected with them, the only real reason to use mouth calls is the advantage one has in those "close encounter" situations where movement...or lack thereof...becomes a factor. 

Then again, some of us are just "mouth call junkies" and are always looking for that "holy grail" of mouth calls. Personally, as we speak, I have about 200 calls sitting around on my call-making desk...all of which I am confident I could take to the woods and kill turkeys with. Yet, still I search for that "holy grail" mouth call that will perfectly imitate every sound a turkey makes.

...I'm still searching...   

[fmf]

I always found it to be more of a hassle than something that I enjoyed doing...But if I would have had the foresight to know that calls would be $15 in 2025 I would have never sold my press

[Bowguy]

I've been making mouth calls bout a year now. To me making calls is right up my alley. I do everything I can myself. Guys might be surprised at some of what I do but it's sorta like foreplay in a sense and it's been like that since childhood (enjoying the prep work)  Guys miss some great moments imo I'll never understand them.

[CALLM2U]

For me it's just been a cost thing.  From everything I've read, the cheap kits don't produce consistent results, and the presses are too expensive for me to justify. 

[Bowguy]

For me it's just been a cost thing.  From everything I've read, the cheap kits don't produce consistent results, and the presses are too expensive for me to justify. 

I've heard Gobblenut talk about a method without presses. I use a hand jig by feather ridge. Unbelievable how great the calls turn out without a giant investment.

[GobbleNut]

For me it's just been a cost thing.  From everything I've read, the cheap kits don't produce consistent results, and the presses are too expensive for me to justify. 

I've heard Gobblenut talk about a method without presses. I use a hand jig by feather ridge. Unbelievable how great the calls turn out without a giant investment.

Yes, I use a method that does not require the investment in a press or jig. I actual have outlined the process in the thread titled "mouth call maker kit" in the list in this forum topic. The method is certainly not as exacting as is using a press/jig but it will work just fine for anybody that would like to tinker with building mouth calls without that extra investment.

I "get" the concern about getting consistent results by using a method like mine or with one of the cheap kits (I would recommend a method like mine over one of those kits all day long). However, over time I have found that the key with mouth calls is learning how to tune each call individually to produce its best sounds. That applies to any call...whether it is a $12-$15 commercial call or a 70-cent call you make for yourself.

Here's another thing: unless you are already a top-tier, contest-level caller (which I would guess every single one of them makes their own calls), I can pretty much guarantee that you will become a better caller by spending a bit of time making your own calls. Granted, it's not for everybody, but if someone is really interested in using mouth calls to hunt, I whole-heartedly recommend getting into making calls. 

 

[Premier Turkey Calls]

For me it's just been a cost thing.  From everything I've read, the cheap kits don't produce consistent results, and the presses are too expensive for me to justify. 

If a high quality jig came along with lots of documentation on how to use it and at a fraction of the price of of a press, would you ever consider purchasing one? If no, why not?

[CALLM2U]

For me it's just been a cost thing.  From everything I've read, the cheap kits don't produce consistent results, and the presses are too expensive for me to justify. 

If a high quality jig came along with lots of documentation on how to use it and at a fraction of the price of of a press, would you ever consider purchasing one? If no, why not?

I'm always open to ideas and opportunites.  My family unianiomously agrees that I'm tighter than bark on a tree     So I doubt I fall into the normal range of the customer base you're looking towards. 

Sub $100 would certainly get my attention.  (thinking 3D printed devices)
Sub $200 would have to be a pretty slick system with very little loss of materials up front and user friendly.
Above $300 and I'm PERSONALLY not interested. 

[CALLM2U]

For me it's just been a cost thing.  From everything I've read, the cheap kits don't produce consistent results, and the presses are too expensive for me to justify. 

I've heard Gobblenut talk about a method without presses. I use a hand jig by feather ridge. Unbelievable how great the calls turn out without a giant investment.

Yes, I use a method that does not require the investment in a press or jig. I actual have outlined the process in the thread titled "mouth call maker kit" in the list in this forum topic. The method is certainly not as exacting as is using a press/jig but it will work just fine for anybody that would like to tinker with building mouth calls without that extra investment.

I "get" the concern about getting consistent results by using a method like mine or with one of the cheap kits (I would recommend a method like mine over one of those kits all day long). However, over time I have found that the key with mouth calls is learning how to tune each call individually to produce its best sounds. That applies to any call...whether it is a $12-$15 commercial call or a 70-cent call you make for yourself.

Here's another thing: unless you are already a top-tier, contest-level caller (which I would guess every single one of them makes their own calls), I can pretty much guarantee that you will become a better caller by spending a bit of time making your own calls. Granted, it's not for everybody, but if someone is really interested in using mouth calls to hunt, I whole-heartedly recommend getting into making calls. 

 

I found the thread you referenced. Very intriguing.  My wife has a couple laser engravers she uses for her business so my head is going towards ways to engrave markings for alignment and consistency.   

[GobbleNut]

For me it's just been a cost thing.  From everything I've read, the cheap kits don't produce consistent results, and the presses are too expensive for me to justify. 

If a high quality jig came along with lots of documentation on how to use it and at a fraction of the price of a press, would you ever consider purchasing one? If no, why not?

I think there are some reasonably priced jigs which may be similar to your description on the market now. I would suggest that any jig you may be considering putting on the market must have some sort of tensioning capabilities, as well as a tension meter of some sort.  That is the biggest draw-back I have personally seen with some of the current jigs...they do not provide an adequate mechanism for tensioning the reed material and with a meter for repeating a desired tension. 

[Bowguy]

Feather ridge has micrometer type marked settings. I seem to get very consistant results.
There are two that I know of. One you zero and readjust each time. I have that one. One you set it and can't go instantly back to that exact setting. It'd be quicker if say you wanted to make a whole bunch of same call, if you're making them for yourself that's prob not the case. Just be aware there are more than one type of the feather ridge. The cheaper ones I believe uses measurements by eye. Maybe not as consistent

[GobbleNut]

I found the thread you referenced. Very intriguing.  My wife has a couple laser engravers she uses for her business so my head is going towards ways to engrave markings for alignment and consistency. 

That might be just the ticket. Having a way to repeat tensioning of reeds with some level of precision would most likely be a benefit. I can't do that with my method, for sure, but haven't really tried to explore methods of achieving it. 

However, I am not certain that would aid that much in duplicating calls in that consistent reed tension is only one of several factors that influence the sound you get from a call. You also have to take into account reed spacing to a degree, and more importantly, the cuts in the reed(s) have to be to a level of precision that, quite honestly, is generally not achievable with the way most reed cuts are made...that is, with scissors and without a precise template to achieve exact reed cuts repetitively.

The fact is that extremely minute variations in tensioning, reed spacing, and especially reed cuts can make a really big difference in the sound and tonal qualities of any single mouth call. ...And that is going under the assumption that the reed materials/pieces used (latex, proph) are consistent in their composition, which I am not certain they are. 

Bottom line is that having some sort of tensioning mechanism will eliminate that single factor to a degree, but the other factors will still be in play. If you go the jigless/pressless method, however, you are at least minimizing that factor by having that mechanism in the mix. 

[Jbird22]

I make my own and it's the absolute best thing I ever did when it comes to turkey hunting/calling. The jig I use is one that I designed/3d printed/assembled. It's similar to the Pioneer hand jig. I've been able to build calls that suit my style and have made a few for friends in the mean time.