Box call thoughts

[Spitten and drummen]

Sitting here thinking about box calls and looking at my collection , I started really studying them. Dimensions,  wood types and just comparing them. I have some box calls that I paid from 100 bucks to 200 bucks for and everything in between. Many from different makers but without their signatures you could not tell a difference with who made what. They also sound really good with different pitches as to be expected.  I want to ask all of you why one call maker will get 100 bucks for a call and another get 200 bucks for one that is basically the same as the other. Both sound great and both look and dimensions are extremely close. What is your opinion as to why one guy sells his for 100 bucks more and keeps a waiting list the same as the guy with a 100 dollar call. Just curious to everyone's thoughts on this

[Bowguy]

One guy is prob just prouder. Some will buy it just cause it's more expensive thinking it must better.
Give you example from dog world as to some guys thinking.
My buddy just won the national field championships. Pretty big deal, he's got a few dogs w over 10-12 championships as well as some highly exclusive titles.
Now guys in the know understand he's breeding to get pups, that's a perfect litter n in fact the only way to buy a dog, when the litter owner wants most. You know they were carefully bred, some of the best. The price is 800 bucks or a little less.
He has trouble selling puppies unspoken for. Some idiot in my club bred two curs, not mountain dogs, and has no trouble getting 1500. No titles, no Championships. Freakin nuts.
Nother pet peeve, Labradoodles are selling for 5 grand to yuppies in my state. It's a freakin mutt worth nothing!
Ok rant over some guys use that logic to sell/buy things.

[Smooth_Operator]

Reputation for one, supply vs demand as well. I'm sure some call makers charge less because they want the buyer to see more value in their calls as opposed to a more expensive ones out there.  On the reputation front, take Steve Mann and Lamar Williams for example. Both men studied directly under Neil Cost, so their calls are going to fetch a higher price because of it.  You're right about the calls looking and sounding similar with a great difference in price.  Take Albert Paul for instance, I have his calls as well as the two mentioned above and I enjoy his boxes just as much, and they're usually a $100 less. You'll also find those who are successful at calling contests fetch a higher price as well (obviously). Just my .02

[Bowhuntr73]

I like different! By that I mean I look for call makers with a following then I talk with them on making that call a little different than their normal designs such as adding personalization, an emblem or a different wood combo, etc. This pushes the price up but for me it is mine, built custom for me, something I will hand down to my girls. There are a lot of great call makers and more to come, for me it is just the fine details of a call that make it mine.

[Spitten and drummen]

All good answer's.  I agree with all of them. I don't mind paying for good custom calls one bit , but as mentioned Albert Paul makes a great box as well as several other guys. But other than the name , what really sets another maker apart enough to spend a 100 bucks more than Albert's other than a name. I just know I have a few of those that I would put up against say a Mann box. Not taking nothing away from any of them , but I guess just trying to figure out why such a huge price difference. I'm not trying to say a Mann box isn't worth what it's sold for , just why the big price difference. Oh and by the way , our season is winding down so I just felt like a little conversation with other turkey hunters lol.

[Marc]

I would guess that the market to a large degree dictates the price.  High price and wait list to get a call, why would a call maker sell for a lower price?

Whether or not it was worth it or not, if people were waiting in line to buy my poop, I would keep increasing the price until the demand stopped...  That is simply part of business.

Reputation plays into this to some degree, but that reputation probably has a lot to do with consistency of quality.

I actually owned, and lost a call from Paul Albert, and it was a great sounding call...  He put some personal effects on the call, and I could tell by the workmanship, that he puts some time into his calls.  It is the only call I have used that did not need chalk (or very little)...  My wife bought it for my birthday, and I lost it scouting before the season...  Kills me that I did this...

I purchased a Spring Creek call this season, and it is a nice sounding call...  Probably one of the better calls for the money.  He provided exactly what I asked for, and it is a nice sounding call...  I would give the edge to the Paul Albert call though.

I have a Primos Heartbreaker that cutts and yelps well, but is difficult to purr on...  For some reason this call consistently upsets the hens, and for that reason is always in my vest.

I have a cheap Lynch call that only works on the left side (since purchasing it).  It sounds awful to me, but it sure turns on the birds.  It does purr and cutt really well, but I do not like the yelps;  however the turkeys do.  My cheapest, ugliest call (with glue and rough edges), but I would not trade it for any other call...

Next year I am going to probably give SS calls a go, simply from the response on these forums (i.e. reputation).  I might even get a scratcher to go with it...

[TauntoHawk]

I've talked to a few call makers that have told me flat out that sometimes they have to raise their price just to curb damand that they can't deal with. Reputation, award winning, pride in a "premium" product. If people will buy them why not charge it.

There are some excellent builders that charge extremely reasonable pricing as well, those are the guys I buy a lot from because I can afford it and mix in the occasional treat of a more expensive call. I really don't want a $250 box Id be afraid to hunt it and get it lost or broken.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[WillowRidgeCalls]

Supply and demand, long wait lists, different parts on the country, wood supply, time taken away from families, greed. A lot of different reasons? Take Osage for instance, up here you can't buy it unless you have a gold wallet, down south it's a fence post!!!

[ferocious calls]

Get them for 40.00 to 75.00 here. I will put them up against any. Let your ears be your guide. 18 states reporting dead toms' last spring with them.

No matter how long the list is, we want anyone to be able to afford a great sounding box call.

[hunter22]

I am a collector but was a turkey hunter for a long time before that happened. I do not own a box call I would not take hunting. That said, I have several $50 box calls that have killed turkeys. I also have several $250 to $300 box calls that have not. It all comes down to personal preference. Most of the higher end box call makers do not make many calls a year. So it becomes a supply and demand thing. A couple of the pot call guys are also doing this. They make fewer calls, their demand goes up, and so do their prices. I was killing gobblers for years with production calls bought at Walmart before I ever saw a custom turkey call. There are a few box call guys that are popular now and their calls hold their value well. In a few cases they actually appreciate in value. But for most box calls it is very difficult to recover your initial investment.

[wvmntnhick]

I called a lot of birds with a $30 Primos box cutter. Loved it. Lost it. Replaced it with a McKinnis box ($50),  Mabry box ($60) and an SS field grade box ($67). Loaned the McKinnis to a buddy that's never used a box before. Apparently, I'm not getting it back. I've used the Mabry and SS. Both are great. Have another Mabry coming but think I'm giving it to my dad for either Christmas or birthday. Not sure though. If it has a different tone than the others, might have to try it on the birds first to see which they like better then make a decision. Lol. Supply and demand has a lot to do with it.

[Rick Howard]

Suply and demand,material cost, and Everyone values their time differently. 

Some of the little things that you might not see.  Different types of finish for instance.  some finishes are expensive and/or take a significant amount of time.  Both finishes may look the same but the call maker finds benefit in one over the other. 

Sometimes a small part of the process speeds up or slows down making a call but we are set in our method regardless of the time difference because it achieves something we desire. 

[SteelerFan]

I too have had the same thoughts, for all types of calls actually - boxes, pots, trumpets, etc. I'm not a musician, but I think I can understand the similarities. To me, a guitar is a guitar - but since my son plays, I've been exposed a little to the instrument world. I've seen guitars in the local shop from $100 - $300 and I've seen $1,000 - $3,000. Fender, Gibson, Ibanez, etc.

I think custom turkey calls are the musical instruments of the redneck world. Yes, a box call is a box call - but a really good box definitely sets itself apart with tone, quality, and "play-ability". Now, what separates the wheat from the chaff at the upper end? My guess is pure reputation and supply. If we are honest with ourselves, there's only so much that can be done to make a call sound great. Is $100 great any less than $200 great? Probably not. In most circumstances the average hunter and / or turkey won't be able to tell the difference...especially at 50 yds. But owning a call made by a true craftsman, known as one of the best in the business is often enough for us to pay the price.

There is also the issue of personal limitations. You could give me a $3,000 guitar and I promise you it won't sound any different in my hands than the $100 pawn shop special! Lol... It was mentioned in another thread on OG, and I LOVE the quote..."sometimes it's the Indian, and not the arrow". That definitely puts it in perspective - both ways!

When less than skilled craftsmen place their products in the same category as those that have achieved a stellar reputation, it is somewhat insulting to those that have achieved that status. Fortunately though, those are quickly weeded out - or at least we hope so!


Good "thought provoking" topic... 

[larry9988]

Cost is dictated by the reputation of the call maker. I have a lot of box calls and trumpets made by many makers. I have a box call that I paid $750 and a trumpet I paid $350 and I have $50 box calls and $75 trumpets that sound better than the high priced calls. Why did I pay the high price, because of who the maker was. Was that smart? Only as an investment not as a call to hunt with. I find myself wondering how the makers got their reputation as great callmakers in the first place, and I find that some of them were  pioneers in call making. It seems that many of the new callmakers are turning out the best calls ever. I also think that are many more callmakers today than there were 20 yeras ago. Call collecting, collecting books, more turkeys and turkey hunters has contributed to this increase in call making interest. Also some call makers charge more simply because they can.

[mgm1955]

As has been said, it's all about supply and demand.