Came across this forum while searching for tips and input about the Hale Fire. Now a member!
I picked up a Hale Fire last week for the upcoming spring season. I am new to turkey hunting (last year was first year), and I do not have any experience with any type of waterfowl calls. So this is my first venture into this type of call.
I have made progress but have a ways to go. Couple of suggestions: 1. work on the cadence and rhythm first, and go slow. Unless you have significant experience on reed calls, I think it will take some time. 2. hand placement and hand movement are far more important than the directions state. My hands are not big, so I figured I cannot position them like they do on some of the videos on youtube. As soon as I started trying different hand positions, I immediately began to get sounds that are more like gobbles.
As I practice, I keep thinking that it does not sound much like a gobble. But I came up from the basement one time and my wife commented that it sounded pretty good. I am wondering if it is one of those deals like the sound of your voice, sounds different to you than it does to others. Also, I think it will sound better from a distance.
Would like to hear from others on this.