How do you hold your striker?

[Sir-diealot]

Like a pencil, but with the index finger extended. This allows me to exert pressure with my thumb on the striker which can change the pitch of the call.

Any difference in the way the grain on wooden strikers work?

No difference. Also, to add to your question to spitten and drummin, the index finger is pointed straight out

Okay, thanks for answering both.

[Sir-diealot]

I don`t know, but personally I haven`t discovered the secret. I cannot make a decent sound with a pot call for love nor money and I know it isn`t the call`s fault. It`s a Crystal Mistress. Watched videos. No luck. Thank the Lord for mouth calls and SS box calls !

This may sound like a stupid question to you, but I have seen this with crystal calls. Did you agitate the surface enough/properly?

When I first got my friend into turkey hunting he went out and bought a Mad Super Crystal like I have and then complained to me on the phone that he could not get it to work, so I drove to his house and had him hand me the call and it turned out he had not agitated/conditioned the surface of the call and was playing it smooth. I got it running pretty good for him.

[bbcoach]

I don`t know, but personally I haven`t discovered the secret. I cannot make a decent sound with a pot call for love nor money and I know it isn`t the call`s fault. It`s a Crystal Mistress. Watched videos. No luck. Thank the Lord for mouth calls and SS box calls !

This may sound like a stupid question to you, but I have seen this with crystal calls. Did you agitate the surface enough/properly?

When I first got my friend into turkey hunting he went out and bought a Mad Super Crystal like I have and then complained to me on the phone that he could not get it to work, so I drove to his house and had him hand me the call and it turned out he had not agitated/conditioned the surface of the call and was playing it smooth. I got it running pretty good for him.

X2.  Had a friend that had a crystal call and he said he couldn't get a quality sound out of it.  I picked it up used the same striker and nothing.  Got him to give me a piece of rough grit sandpaper, scratched it a few times and it was all turkey.  It is ALL about friction, whether your playing crystal, glass, slate or whatever, a good scratching with scotch brite, sandpaper, drywall screen or stone will bring out the turkey in most calls and make you a MASTER potcall caller.  Make sure your striker tip is roughed up as well.

[Turkeytider]

Thanks guys, but unfortunately it's not the conditioning of the call or striker. David had roughed in a spot before he sent me the call and I roughed the end of the strikers a bit. I'm pretty sure it's something I'm doing (or not). Not giving up. Have a good friend who's also my hunting buddy who's pretty good with these things. Good excuse to get away to the camp for some yelping practice, shooting and Makers Mark in the evening!

[greencop01]

A little Makers Mark may do the trick, if not it will make practice fun !   

[Sir-diealot]

Thanks guys, but unfortunately it's not the conditioning of the call or striker. David had roughed in a spot before he sent me the call and I roughed the end of the strikers a bit. I'm pretty sure it's something I'm doing (or not). Not giving up. Have a good friend who's also my hunting buddy who's pretty good with these things. Good excuse to get away to the camp for some yelping practice, shooting and Makers Mark in the evening!

My guess then would be the angle that you are holding the striker. You may want to look into a flared striker, I have found they are a bit more forgiving. That or you are striking the bottom of the call with the top of the striker and if that is not the case it will be after the Makers Mark.

[Bolandstrutters]

However you hold the striker, it is all in the wrist, all of it.

This

[outdoors]

You can hold the striker any way YOU PLAY GOOD , sounding like a turkey

[Turkeytider]

A little Makers Mark may do the trick, if not it will make practice fun !   

Oh yeah  !  It`ll be fun, regardless of what happens with the call, believe me!  On a more serious note, I`ll be real interested to see how my friend`s strikers do as opposed to the ones that came with the call.

[Turkeytider]

Lots better!! It`s the angle of the striker. Improper angle. I`m getting a pretty good yelp and am working on the other basics. Want to get at least decent so I can get something for wet weather, Enticer most likely. About decided the " waterproof " boxes really aren`t so much.

[Sir-diealot]

Lots better!! It`s the angle of the striker. Improper angle. I`m getting a pretty good yelp and am working on the other basics. Want to get at least decent so I can get something for wet weather, Enticer most likely. About decided the " waterproof " boxes really aren`t so much.

Glad to hear you got it all worked out. I have 2 waterproof strikers I got here and love them. When I got them I said to myself "I wonder if they really work" so I took my crystal pot call and ran water over it under the faucet while playing and it did great. 

[Turkeytider]

Lots better!! It`s the angle of the striker. Improper angle. I`m getting a pretty good yelp and am working on the other basics. Want to get at least decent so I can get something for wet weather, Enticer most likely. About decided the " waterproof " boxes really aren`t so much.

Glad to hear you got it all worked out. I have 2 waterproof strikers I got here and love them. When I got them I said to myself "I wonder if they really work" so I took my crystal pot call and ran water over it under the faucet while playing and it did great.

Thank you sir. Funny what practice can do! My Crystal Mistress has gone from something I hardly could get sound out of to a point where it`ll be tough to start out next season with anything else! Purrs still aren`t very good, but I`ve got mouth calls for that so I`m not concerned.

Really do want something that`s good in the wet. Thinking about an Enticer aluminum. Would welcome any suggestions.

[Sir-diealot]

I had not been able to hunt for 17 years because of a car accident and just got back into it 2 years ago so to be honest I am probably not the best person to be directing you. As I understand it crystals work quite well but me myself if I were to go looking for anything to play in wet weather I would get something plastic or acrylic or something like that that would not be affected like wood would. You might want to start a thread asking about it. I have yet to get aluminum, copper or stainless surfaces, copper interesting me the most of the 3 for some reason.

[Turkeytider]

I had not been able to hunt for 17 years because of a car accident and just got back into it 2 years ago so to be honest I am probably not the best person to be directing you. As I understand it crystals work quite well but me myself if I were to go looking for anything to play in wet weather I would get something plastic or acrylic or something like that that would not be affected like wood would. You might want to start a thread asking about it. I have yet to get aluminum, copper or stainless surfaces, copper interesting me the most of the 3 for some reason.

Oh yeah, wouldn't get a wooden pot for wet weather. I believe Enticer wet calls are made of composites that can stand water. They sound good in the videos.

[Kylongspur88]

In 22 years of turkey hunting I've never thought about this.... I guess like I hold a pen when I write?