Newbie wanting advice on buying first Turkey call

[NC Rich]

I think I should buy a turkey call to hunt with and since I already spent a lot of time and money on ammo and didn't get the best I could before joining this forum I thought I'd ask the experts first before ordering one.

I want a simple effective call that is a good price too. I hope to keep the price under $40.00 but I'd spend more if it is worth it in efectiveness.

It would be nice to know what 'calls' work well if it's raining or whether it's not even a good idea to hunt turkey when it's raining?

I'd prefer to stay away from 'mouth calls'. I saw my neighbor use one and it really doesn't seem like it's right for a beginner like me.

I saw this "Starter pack" for $30.00 at Cabelas - Primos® Turkey Starter Pack Turkey Call Kit.

Is it a good "starter pack" or junk?

Suggestions please?

Oh, and is a decoy a must?

[daddyduke]

I have had great success with waterproof box calls. My favorite is made by Quaker Boy. Quaker Boy calls are reasonably prices and seem to work well for budget minded hunter.

[shaman]

+1 on Quaker Boy.

Primos and HS Strut will work, but it's all stuff made somewhere besides the USA by someone who doesn't know a turkey from a tambourine.

[Marc]

I think I should buy a turkey call to hunt with and since I already spent a lot of time and money on ammo and didn't get the best I could before joining this forum I thought I'd ask the experts first before ordering one.

I want a simple effective call that is a good price too. I hope to keep the price under $40.00 but I'd spend more if it is worth it in efectiveness.

It would be nice to know what 'calls' work well if it's raining or whether it's not even a good idea to hunt turkey when it's raining?

I'd prefer to stay away from 'mouth calls'. I saw my neighbor use one and it really doesn't seem like it's right for a beginner like me.

I saw this "Starter pack" for $30.00 at Cabelas - Primos® Turkey Starter Pack Turkey Call Kit.

Is it a good "starter pack" or junk?

Suggestions please?

Oh, and is a decoy a must?

The mouth call in that starter pack is pure junk, and most of those cheap pot calls are junk (I cannot speak to the one pictured)...  In my opinion, Primos does make some good box calls (but they also make junk).

In general, friction calls can be affected by rain and moisture...  I use a baggy, or an all-weather call...  Or switch to mouth calls (which is not an option for you yet).

My feeling is that a good box call is the best and easiest call to learn on, and one of the most realistic calls out there...  Spring Creek makes a great call for a very reasonable price (about the same as you would spend on any decent commercial call).

Were I you, I would call Mike at Spring Creek calls, and tell him your situation (area you are hunting, sub-species, beginning hunter, etc.)  and take his advice and let him make you a great call for a reasonable price.

[silvestris]

I don't hunt in the rain because I don't enjoy it.  I don't use decoys because one never knows whether he bought his turkey or called him in.  I would spend whatever was necessary on a call that would sound like a turkey.  I use a pot sometimes.  I use a trumpet or a wingbone often.  I use a homemade friction caller often.  I can use a mouth caller, but seldom do.  I use a tube caller often.  I use a box occasionally.  There are many options, many are good and you should use one that you feel comfortable with.  Different situations call for different callers.

[SteelerFan]

I think Marc gave you some good advice. Message Mike here on the site @ Spring Creek Calls or browse the classifieds for one of his box calls. Dial up YouTube in search of learning how to use a box call.

It's impossible to write all the things that may help you in a single post here. Best I could say would be that you found a great site that is full of information on all things turkey & turkey hunting and calling. Read through as many threads as you can in the categories that interest you the most.   

And no, a decoy is not a "must have" item. Good luck!!

http://oldgobbler.com/Forum/index.php/topic,81348.0.html

[houagie]

Here's my opinion.  If your just going to buy and use one call this year then I would suggest glass or crystal.  Slate can be finicky depending on weather and humidity where as crystal and glass are not.  A holloran crystal mistress or twisted sister would be my recommended calls of choice.  They go for $70 which is a bit over your budget, but its a call you won't want to leave home without.

[MK M GOBL]

I have started out a lot of hunters on a Pot Call first, to me it is the easiest way to start and can produce the widest range of "calls". I always like a slate, matched with a few strikers, my favorites are a Light Hickory, Dymondwood and (One waterproof striker) Acrylic. Slate can be a bit fickle under some weather conditions and others surfaces are more "waterproof" but a lot has do with striker as well..

Starter Packs are not a "bad" way to get a few calls, they are very budget minded. My very first pot call was the Primos Battey Slate and I killed some birds with it! The version of that call is now the Ol' Betsy, in glass the Power Crystal.

There is SO much out there in custom calls it can be dizzying, and just because it is a "Custom Call" does not make it the "best" choice... I have heard some great and a lot of not so great calls (me being the judge) I always say "I buy Performance not Pretty"

You can get some great recomdations on some very reputable call makers here.

This is way beyond the "budget" but my call of choice is my CODY World Class Slate, it has been the end of more turkeys than any other call I have owned.

MK M GOBL

[NC Rich]

Wow, and thank you all very much!
I will make a list of all the suggestions and sort them as best as I can. I intend to call Spring Creek Turkey Calls today and speak with Mike if I can. I found his number online.
I went over my neighbor's yesterday evening and we also talked about turkey calls while looking at a group of turkeys in the field behind our houses. There were about 20 of 'em just strutting and pecking away. Anyway, it's not turkey season here until April 14th but it does get the blood pumping to look at them.
I know I said I want to avoid a mouth call but my neighbor suggested that I get a box call and a mouth call. He said I could practice the mouth call at home until I get it right and still hunt with the box call in the meantime. His number one reason was less movement. He explained that with a handheld call, you need to stop and put it down to free your hands and the movement will blow the hunt if one of the gobblers catches a glimpse.

[EZ]

You don't need to spend a lot of money to hunt turkeys and the learning curve can be quite long.

For me, I started out a long time ago with one call and a pocket full of shells. Hunted that way for years and just concentrated on learning the birds, their language, how to best kill one in every situation imaginable and how to effectively call on various calls.

Tips from experienced hunters are always helpful, but learning on your own is key IMHO. I don't think I could have appreciated a really good call in those early years because I really didn't know what I didn't know, lol.

It's a long, fun journey.... enjoy it!

[NC Rich]

Thanks for your input "EZ".

I need to accelerate my 'learning curve'. I'm pretty old to be starting to hunt turkey. I only started to hunt deer when I turned 60 and that was almost a decade ago.

As for the calls, I have ordered a nice Padauk and Walnut box call from Mike at Spring Creek Turkey Calls, and yesterday I ordered a Quaker Boy "Screamin' Green Nasty Old Hen".

I appreciate all the folks who responded and I hope I made some good decisions to hit the field with, thanks again to you all.

[EZ]

I need to accelerate my 'learning curve'.

LOL.... I hear ya brother. Certainly good calls there. Getting hooked up with some known turkey gurus in your area can greatly cut the learning curve, IMHO.

[Rzrbac]

This is not exactly the advice you are looking for but please consider it. A mouth call is a pretty small investment in the scheme of turkey gear. I started out with mouth calls when I was a kid because it was all I could afford. I would try one if I were you because of you learn to use it well it will become the most efficient call in your arsenal.

I would also ask you consider this or perhaps try it for a day. What if you had to hunt spring gobblers without a call?  I think hunting without a call may provide some insight to how a gobbler is going to function during the course of a spring day. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't hunt them if I couldn't call them but sometimes it's not as much the calling as it just learning turkeys.

As for pot calls and boxes, I think others have given you some good advice.

[model94]

Spring Creek Box Calls would be a great Choice. Also, the Enticer Wet one Classic or his Silver Thunder Extreme Pot Calls would be an excellent choice as well. They play well Wet or Dry. You can click on the link on this website site and check them out. Good luck this year!!

[NC Rich]

To EZ, Rzrbac, and model94:

I hear what you're all saying. I went ahead and bought the box call but will practice with the mouth call and hope I "get it".

I've been talking to my neighbor and he is giving me tips and answering some of my questions too.

I tried the glass calls in the store and I must be doing something wrong because I was struggling to get noise from them, let alone the kind of sound I think the Toms want to hear.

As a good old hunting friend of mine used to say, "There I go thinking like a turkey". Gobble gobble.

Oh, and to SteelerFan, thanks for your advice too. FWIW, I am a long time Steeler fan as well.

Thanks again. Season opens a week from Saturday, gotta go set up my blind.