Trumpets???

[GobbleNut]

I suppose I fall into the BullTom camp regarding my opinion of the sound and realism of a trumpet...or any  other type of suction call.  From my personal experience in hearing (conservatively) many hundreds of hen turkeys in the woods, there has only been ONE time that I have heard a real hen turkey sound like a suction call to MY ears...or at least the sound of the suction calls I have heard from the great majority of hunters I have heard using one of them.  That bird was not in sight when I heard it, and I concluded that the sound was coming from someone using a trumpet/wingbone/etal. I admit I was shocked when the hen making the sound came into sight. 

On the other hand, I have heard those same hundreds of hens "out there" that sounded either like a friction call of some sort...or another form of air-operated call (mouth call/tube). I won't even get into the discussion about how, out of those hundreds of hens, the "noises" they make have varied from the classic "box-call yelp" to everything all the way down to that of a braying donkey.

Regardless of my personal opinion, however, if somebody wants to pursue becoming proficient enough with any type of suction call to regularly kill gobblers with them, more power to them. Furthermore, if that somebody has convinced themselves that they killed a particular gobbler due only to their mastery of a trumpet, then even more power to them. I admire that dedication to our pastime. However, my own opinion on the matter is that 1) I will never be convinced that a gobbler that is killed by someone using a trumpet could not have been killed by someone using another type of call, and 2) that a gobbler that did not come to that suction call someone is using would not willingly come to a hunter that chose, at that moment, to use another type of call.

In summation, a guy is much better off hitting on whatever sound/calling sequence a gobbler wants to hear at any given moment than he is swearing by any particular type of calling device (which, by the way, is curious of me to say since I use mouth calls almost exclusively  ). Yes, that preferred calling device may, in any given encounter with a gobbler, be a trumpet...or it may, in the next encounter, be the call you have that sounds like that braying donkey.   

[EZ]

Entertaining and informative.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CAB6_JNRYMI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4zZtBcQCNE

[GobbleNut]

Amazing calling by Mark Prudhomme there. For those here that can call like that on a trumpet I would suggest sticking with it in the turkey woods! 
...For the rest of us, might be wiser to stick with the easier calls to use. Personally, I am looking for the gobblers that like the "braying donkey" sound that I am really good at!   

[Zobo]

I like trumpets for plain yelps, kee kees, tree talk, clucks and squealing. I like box calls for assembly yelping and hard loud cutting, and pot calls for purrs, clucks, soft talk and cutts. So for me, I use different types of calls depending on the circumstances.
I like carrying at least one suction call, one pot call and one box call at all times. 

[Meleagris gallopavo]

I like trumpets for plain yelps, kee kees, tree talk, clucks and squealing. I like box calls for assembly yelping and hard loud cutting, and pot calls for purrs, clucks, soft talk and cutts. So for me, I use different types of calls depending on the circumstances.
I like carrying at least one suction call, one pot call and one box call at all times.

That's more along the lines of how I view calls.  I like certain ones for certain types of calling.  I always carry a suction call, a few diaphragms, and one pot call.  I have several wooden trumpets, mainly because it's my preferred way to display dense, heavy woods used for calls.  Wooden trumpets have also performed well for me in the field.  Wingbones and cane yelpers are easier to run for me to just pick up and run though.


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[EZ]

Amazing calling by Mark Prudhomme there. For those here that can call like that on a trumpet I would suggest sticking with it in the turkey woods! 
...For the rest of us, might be wiser to stick with the easier calls to use. Personally, I am looking for the gobblers that like the "braying donkey" sound that I am really good at!   

That's the thing. You don't have to be able to call like that to kill turkeys. Obviously, the more effort you put into anything pays dividends. The biggest mistake one can make with yelpers (I made it) is comparing the sound to other calls. Let the turkeys do the comparing.

[bbcoach]

Amazing calling by Mark Prudhomme there. For those here that can call like that on a trumpet I would suggest sticking with it in the turkey woods! 
...For the rest of us, might be wiser to stick with the easier calls to use. Personally, I am looking for the gobblers that like the "braying donkey" sound that I am really good at!   

That's the thing. You don't have to be able to call like that to kill turkeys. Obviously, the more effort you put into anything pays dividends. The biggest mistake one can make with yelpers (I made it) is comparing the sound to other calls. Let the turkeys do the comparing.

Exactly EZ.  Take a dozen different calls with you to the woods and let the turkeys decide.  Many limit their offerings and wonder why they can't get a GOBBLE!  Some days we all get skunked but if you only use ONE bait to catch a fish (Turkey), you will get skunked more often than not. 

[Dtrkyman]

Not trumpet related specifically but applies to the topic, a friend and I were working a bird, he responded to my friends calling immediately, I dropped back to finish the bird and I got nothing!

After a few series my friend called again and got immediately cut off, my ego was crushed, I proceeded to cycle through every mouth call I had and on the last one the bird cut me off immediately!  Ego saved...lol

The bird game in but never offered a clear shot, but obviously that bird wanted a certain pitch that was not obvious to either one of us!

We killed the stubborn joker the next day I believe?


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[Greg Massey]

Sometimes I think we miss the point in using calls / trumpets. There's a big difference in just playing calls,you better learn what sounds / tone's to make and when to make them on any call. If not you're probably running / scaring more turkeys away than you know. Regardless sometimes it doesn't matter what you do that day, you're just not going to kill that gobbler. Next day that could all change with you giving him a ride home.

If you learn one thing by using calls / trumpets included - KNOWING what calls to make and when to use them will make you a lot more successful with your calling. AS we all know setup and patience is a big part of killing a gobbler. A lot of times the right place / right time gets him killed.

So regardless, never limit your arsenal of calls in my opinion, carry several with practicing and learn to be proficient on all of them. Remember one or more bad sounds can ruin a good morning hunt and whose fault is that,I would say your.

Weather and conditions can dictate what calls to bring and use during those bad days. So AIR CALLS will always be in my arsenal of calls, along with pots and boxes. I pick my calls for what works best for me and my environment. With our season being pushed back the last 2 years everything now has pretty much greened out and I had to make changes with how I hunted along with the calls I carried. So again there are many factors with what you need and use in your areas / states while hunting. 

So again IN my opinion WHY limit yourself, the season is just so many days. It's like the person who says I only carry 2 shells, well I carry 5 or more myself, because I might miss... LOL

[crow]

I still carry and use a longbox, small slate box, scratch box, tube call, diaphragm and several yelpers.                                  Last season longboxs by Ralph Snodgrass and Billy Bush were just as hot for the gobblers I was running into as any of the yelpers.    Just how it goes sometimes

[redwad]

Some good points brought up. Everyone's experiences may vary. I remember decades ago, famed turkey biologist, Lovette Williams, studied the sounds made by turkeys and sounds made by turkey calls using equipment that measured sound wavelength. Wingbones and trumpets were nearly identical to that of real turkeys.

I think there's something to this and would love to dig into this deeper with someone who has more knowledge. One thing that is worth adding to this thread is my dogs reaction to the trumpet. His ears will twitch and he will turn his head. He will even come up to me and give me the impression that it hurts his ears. I can play a pot call or box call as loud as I want and he is so accustomed to it and he won't even acknowledge it. But a trumpet will drive him crazy. I wonder if our ears aren't hearing the trumpet to the full effect of other animals ears.

[WLT III]

Some of you all must be  hanging with the wrong type of trumpet players.
I've heard some yelper men that sound all turkey to my ear.

I've also seen success rate go up with yelpers on hard hunted public land compared to other types of calls.


But that's not stopping me from working on a lightweight call that sounds like a sack of corn being poured on the ground, I'm getting close.

That may well be true!

However, I will say that even the most highly regarded trumpet players dont sound super realistic to me. Dont get me wrong, they sound dang good and it inspires me to get better every day. I have listend to the popular sound files from these guys on repeat for years. But, compared to the most highly regarded mouth call guys, it's not even close. I think the trumpet has all the elements of realism, its just very difficult to put them together in a compelte, realistic package (if that makes any sense). The roll over isnt quite right and its very hard to get the shrill front end with a throaty, raspy, honky back end and then put it all together with the correct cadence. A handful of guys get close (I like to think myself included), but never as close as even just above average mouth callers.

Thats pretty sweet that you have a public land secret weapon! The majority of birds I hunt are on public land. Unfortunately for me, that hasnt been my experience. I have killed or almost killed birds on public that I dont believe I would have if not for the trumpet. That said, generally the realism and versatility of the mouth call wins for me. If i could only take one call to hunt heavily pressured public land birds, its gonna be a mouth call almost all of the time. Certainly open to the fact that this may change in the future.

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Respectfully, other than Mark, you Sir, are listening to the wrong players

[BullTom]

Some of you all must be  hanging with the wrong type of trumpet players.
I've heard some yelper men that sound all turkey to my ear.

I've also seen success rate go up with yelpers on hard hunted public land compared to other types of calls.


But that's not stopping me from working on a lightweight call that sounds like a sack of corn being poured on the ground, I'm getting close.

That may well be true!

However, I will say that even the most highly regarded trumpet players dont sound super realistic to me. Dont get me wrong, they sound dang good and it inspires me to get better every day. I have listend to the popular sound files from these guys on repeat for years. But, compared to the most highly regarded mouth call guys, it's not even close. I think the trumpet has all the elements of realism, its just very difficult to put them together in a compelte, realistic package (if that makes any sense). The roll over isnt quite right and its very hard to get the shrill front end with a throaty, raspy, honky back end and then put it all together with the correct cadence. A handful of guys get close (I like to think myself included), but never as close as even just above average mouth callers.

Thats pretty sweet that you have a public land secret weapon! The majority of birds I hunt are on public land. Unfortunately for me, that hasnt been my experience. I have killed or almost killed birds on public that I dont believe I would have if not for the trumpet. That said, generally the realism and versatility of the mouth call wins for me. If i could only take one call to hunt heavily pressured public land birds, its gonna be a mouth call almost all of the time. Certainly open to the fact that this may change in the future.

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Respectfully, other than Mark, you Sir, are listening to the wrong players

Who should I be listening to? Id love to hear some sound files.

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[EZ]

Who should I be listening to? Id love to hear some sound files.

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Just listen to turkeys and that "turkey in your head" and emulate that as best you can.
I've listened to some of your sound files and in my opinion, you should have no trouble piling them up.

[BullTom]

Who should I be listening to? Id love to hear some sound files.

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Just listen to turkeys and that "turkey in your head" and emulate that as best you can.
I've listened to some of your sound files and in my opinion, you should have no trouble piling them up.

EZ, I appreciate the advice and the kind words however I was asking about sound files of the "correct" trumpet players. I have exhausted every trumpet (and wild turkey) sound file that I can find on the internet ×10. If someone knows of soundfiles of trumpeters that are as good or better than Mr. Prudhomme, I would really like to give em a listen!

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