How many calls?

[DKG]

To start the year when it's cooler and I can use my super elite 3 vest  I like to carry lot's of calls,  I carry 2 boxes, 2 pot's, 8-12 mouth call's "all in a small fishing lure box",  1 Tube call,   

By the end of the season when its warmer " I will refrain from say HOT her in NY"  and I wanna cut down on weight and stay cooler i carry 4 mouth calls, 1 tube call, and usually 1 box call .

If you can run only 1 call and sound good on it that'll be just fine.   If you get good at other type calls your gonna naturally wanna carry them and try to work a bird with them. 

Turkey hunters are very a divers bunch, Your gonna find guy's that carry 1 call 2 shells, wear no camo and kill their limit every year,    THEN your gonna find the guy the carries more calls than MIDWEST TURKEY CALLS, wears camo everything including socks and underwear and carries camo TP,   " I lean toward's this side" find what works for you and enjoy it.

I'm in NY as well. I'll pick up some other calls and start working


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[Turkeyman]

Don't use any call that doesn't sound turkey when you run it. If you have to, find a good turkey hunter that knows what he's listening to and have him judge. Personally, I use a long box, a slate, a glass and a few diaphragms...for different tone more than anything. They're all turkey or they wouldn't be in my vest. Or if I couldn't run them right I wouldn't use them. So as far as how many calls...show me a consistently successful turkey hunter with only one call that he's perfect with and he'll kill turkeys on a regular basis.

[trkehunr93]

I carry way more than I need but flock talk has helped kill alot of gobblers over the years.

[saverx]

I turkey hunted for thirty years and only carried 1 mouth call every year. Since joining this forum, I usually carry about 15 on me with 15 more in the truck just in case. And the number is growing every year. I was late to the woods several times last year because I couldn't decide which Lonzo to take.

[Cut N Run]

I carry about what Turkey-Man does; 1 long box, a slate pot, a glass pot, and 3-4 different diaphragm calls.  I strike the birds with the long box, work them closer with one of the pots, then coax 'em in close with a mouth call. I can & have called birds with any one of those calls by itself, but the combination seems to work best for me.

I used to carry 3-4 pots, too many strikers, 2 boxes, a dozen mouth calls, and a scratch box. It didn't take too long to figure out that I just didn't need that many calls or the extra weight to get the job done.   

Jim

[Crghss]

For 15 years I carried one K&H pot call, ceramic. I killed my share of turkeys.

Couple years ago I found this site and now I carry 5 or 6. I haven't killed a turkey yet.

Go figure

[DKG]

Thanks for the input everyone. I picked up a glass call, a crow locator call and a new box call


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[EZ]

Don't use any call that doesn't sound turkey when you run it. If you have to, find a good turkey hunter that knows what he's listening to and have him judge.

Now Turkey-Man gave you some very wise advice. A good mentor is worth his weight in turkey calls!!

[Marc]

Your better off with one that your good on than 10 that you struggle with.  But at the same time if your good on 10, I'd take 6-8.

Well said...  Use the call you can use well.

I have calls I like and am comfortable with...  I carry a box call, a scratch box, and a few mouth calls.  Sometimes the woods are quiet till you pull out "that call," and then the woods light up.  Maybe that call sounds like a slutty hen that was recently tramping the woods.

If I could only take one type of call to kill a bird, it would be mouth calls.  Very versatile, but the most difficult to use well...  Currently I have a lot more fun playing a scratch box, or even a good box call.

[GobbleNut]

  Sometimes the woods are quiet till you pull out "that call," and then the woods light up.  Maybe that call sounds like a slutty hen that was recently tramping the woods.

I believe this is a bigger factor than most people realize.  Hit on the sound of a hen that the gobblers in an area recognize and all of a sudden they can get interested when they had otherwise been ignoring other calls. 

It's a good idea to pay attention to the hens you hear in an area and use a call that imitates one of the most vocal ones.   Going back into an area after the turkeys have dispersed from their morning breeding groups and imitating one of those hens you heard can sometimes be the difference in firing up one of those gobblers,...or not. 

In addition, although turkeys have different sounding "voices", there is also a median consistency of sound to be found in a lot of them.  Some hunters have calls that have keyed-in on that median sound,...and from my experience, hunters with those calls have the annoying habit of consistently calling up gobblers with them.  Those calls are often boxes or pots that the hunter can easily control the sound with little variation. 

I know a couple of guys with calls like that,...and I am pretty certain there are a few here on O.G. that have them, as well.   

[tal]

 Your wife will leave ya, your kids disown ya, and your own dog will bite ya. LOL... Just so you know.

[DKG]

Your wife will leave ya, your kids disown ya, and your own dog will bite ya. LOL... Just so you know.

Haha. Not married, no kids and my dog won't do anything, think I'm safe


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[Paulmyr]

When I 1st started a little over 30 years ago. I used to carry 3-4 pots, a couple strickers, a box, and a couple mouth calls. Since then I have become proficient at mouth calls and it's pretty much all I use. I still carry a couple pots. A glass and an aluminum that I killed my 1st bird with but they usually never come out of the vest. It's 2 mouth calls that get the work load. A clearer sounding cutting 2.5 and a medium raspy split VIII. I find if I'm not striking them with my mouth calls my pots won't do it either. I don't feel the need to carry the kitchen sink around the woods with the hopes that one might strike a gobble. Besides if I'm trying to all them calls than to strike a Tom  I'm calling to much. I can change the pitch of my mouth calls if I want to sound like more than one hen.

[richard black]

A couple calls that you are proficient with and feel confident with are enough to get the job done. Practice until you reach that comfort level. Woodsmanship is also so important in being a successful turkey hunter. You can't make up for that with a vest full of calls hoping one works. For myself, a trumpet and scratch box serve me perfectly.

[LaLongbeard]

Quality over quantity, and I mean sound. Carry only the calls your confident you can make turkey sounds on. If that's 1 or 3 so be it.