Push pins?

[Old Gobbler]

How many of you guys use push pin calls for hunting ?

[BOFF]

I have a few, but just haven't been satisfied with their sound consistency. So no, I haven't hunted with them.

Might find one I like eventually, but honestly haven't been looking for one either.


God Bless,
David B.

[TRKYHTR]

I carry one with me but honestly never hunt with it. I have called with it a few times but I can't remember when the last time was I used it.

TRKYHTR

[pappy]

I think the key to carrying a push pin is the opportunity to find a good one out of a pile of bad ones....once you find that "good" caller, then I know it would be a must in the arsenal, they aren't any harder to learn then a good box and don't take up any more room then a pot caller, so I would definitely use one if ... and this is big if... I could find someone to make one that sounds great.

[Struttinhusker]

The first turkey call I ever bought was a Lohman Yelper Plus push button at Wal-mart.  I used it a lot back then and some now, especially for clucks and purrs.  It can be operated with one hand while holding the shotgun at the ready with the other.  Unlike some others I have tried which were squeaky, high pitched, and inconsistent, this one has a rich tone.  It has a spring which adjusts the tension on the striker.  It is a call which has a different sound which is sometimes what you need.

[Houndstooth Game Calls]

I carry one sometimes when I am hunting pressured birds the last of the season I haven taken one and cleaned house with it! I remember one hunt in MS we hunted a peice of ground that was commercialy hunted and the owner let me and my stepson hunt the last weekend and he told us the hunting was bad cause they had hammered the birds all season and happened to have a pushbutton in the truck and it was tough hunting couldnt get on a turkey at day light we just set up here and there and the little pushbutton was like a key opening the door we called in 4 birds in 2 days the rest was history! I dont laugh at the pushbuttons anymore!

[paboxcall]

I do, just in the fall though.  I think a push pin is a great call for making the soft content calls of a feeding turkey.

[blacky]

I always have one with me. I have had good luck using them as a locator call by just clucking on it. I have also called in a few birds with them.

[shadetree callers]

 I recommend getting a push-pin from AJ Cassette . AJ is listed in Earl Mickel's first book and he makes some great callls . If you shop ebay at the right time , you cab buy his fancy model made from tiger maple and walnut for around $20 . You won't find a better one at that kind of price anywhere . You can call him at 724-834-7936 or email him at ajcassette@comcast.net  .

[Old Gobbler]

Well ....it looks like besides a few other die-hards I often feel like the they guy listening to a different drummer , I have been a unashamed push pin addict for a few decades , I kill plenty of hard hunted public pressured gobblers every year without fail using Push Pins, they are what I refer to as the Black Sheep of the turkey call family , I think what held it back was when several call companies started marketing it as a "learners call" and a call that had been used for 60 years at that time had a stigma labeled to it for monetary purposes   - they are tempermental and finding one that works well is a combination of luck or effort . I own a hundred push pins easy , and made that amount in my work shop trying to perfect or refine something that I will like to hunt with myself - To my knowledge almost all push pins are a derivative of the Jackson/Chalkleys made popular in the Virginia area , I think it would be appropriate to credit the design where credit is due  


Some of you may not know this but I have been making my own calls for 25+ years, in the beginning me and my father would crank out several hundred pot calls a year under our company name , it was fun and all but the only problem with selling is that it busy right when you want to focus on what you love to do best -Turkey Hunting , one or the other had to go , so instead I occasionally make my own and turkey hunt like there is no tomorrow   =

I would often use a few brands and tune them up with special modifications  , that went into buying them and replacing some or most of the components and hot rodding them for better sound -that developed into making my own  - every couple of years I would make something for personal usage - the supply of available calls has dried up , so I decided to ramp up the operation  .

This last year I spent a  kings ransom in supplies and specially made equipment, I had no other choice to make because there is no person selling this type of equipment . I make a call using what sounds best and they are build solely for hunting purposes -  many construction obstacles were confronted- one big one is the popular material used for the bottom sound board currently by most people who make push pins , it is good stuff mind you , but what if every call maker in the world had to make their pot calls out of one type of wood ?  I went about making and processing my own material , it is what I feel more consistant , it by nature is more structurally unique and has a tendency to have more back bone to it, and it can be played very soft up to very loud with the ability to lay in some very authentic cutting calls -  I have tried many , many types of woods , I have made synthetic calls , Bamboo, Cocobolo,Cherry , Maple , Walnut , Sapelle, Poplar, several types of Ebony  the list goes on and on -Ebony is a very hard to work with ,and that lent it self to several technical obstacles - They take on average a whole day sun up to sun down to crank out 1 Ebony push Pin ...if you don't break one that is .... I learned not  to make calls while I was tired , several times I have ruined calls with just a flick of the finger . I like to make mine with a slight concave up both sides and they are raspy  with a good rollover and sharp cutt to the cluck , the do a wicked Fighting Rattle

Anyways here is some of my Black Sheep calls I like so mush , these are my personal hunting calls

[chatterbox]

Very nice, Shannon. My FIL is a seasoned turkey hunter, and his go-to call in the fall is a push pin!

[drenalinld]

I have killed a few birds called in with push pins. I have fell in the rut of relying on mouth calls for convenience and less movement.

Shannon,
Those are AWESOME! I would be proud to have one of those in my vest! That's a little selfish choosing to hunt rather than make calls, don't you think? Just kidding, I would make the same choice! I do like to chase gobblers!!

[NCBigShot]

..Wow, Shannon.. I knew you were a fanatic for push-pin calls but I had no idea you were making them! Those are great looking push-pin callers my friend!

[BOFF]

Very nice!!

I have to admit I didn't know your history about making calls, Shannon.

Understand perfectly what you mean about being tired and working.

Seems to be with anything with meticulous work, even operating heavy equipment. I learned a long time ago, I'm more productive when I'm alert. I can easily mess up 4-5 hours of dozier work with 15 minutes of trying to "power through" to finish the job.


Of the six calls pictured, how many turkeys do you think (you may know exactly) have been killed by using them?

God Bless,
David B.

[Old Gobbler]

Very nice!!

I have to admit I didn't know your history about making calls, Shannon.

Understand perfectly what you mean about being tired and working.

Seems to be with anything with meticulous work, even operating heavy equipment. I learned a long time ago, I'm more productive when I'm alert. I can easily mess up 4-5 hours of dozier work with 15 minutes of trying to "power through" to finish the job.


Of the six calls pictured, how many turkeys do you think (you may know exactly) have been killed by using them?

God Bless,
David B.

Those pictured calls are brand new, and haven't been hunted yet -

I do however own one particular call I have had that has killed dozens of gobblers with it in a period of of 19 years. I carry a minimum of 4-5 push pins on me while hunting