Thoughts On Favorite Calls

[StruttinGobbler3]

Since starting threads on favorite different types of pot calls and deadliest calls, one conclusion has become apparent. As fanatical turkey hunters we are all searching for that one "holy grail" turkey call that kills more gobblers than any other call on the market. Looking at all the widely varied answers as to which call kills the most, that variation proves there is no holy grail. No such thing as one call that works all the time. So, for any new turkey hunters reading this who are overwhelmed by all the choices and concerned about getting the "right" call, keep this in mind. There is no one right call. Just because you buy a call everybody else loves doesn't mean it will kill more turkeys. It's about finding a few good calls that are easy for you to run and easy to get realistic and CONSISTENT sounds out of. Then practice religiously with it. Practice with a quality call builds familiarity, familiarity builds confidence, and confidence in the woods kills gobblers. Being confident in your calling will kill more birds than any specific turkey call on the market. Don't carry a call you don't like because everybody else says it's the best. Find what fits you, and you will be more successful.


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[jtsmith3]

Very sound advice. My favorite turkey call is a Primos Box Cutter. It's the one I use the best and has worked for me.

I have more experience with duck calls though. I own dozens of them and I keep coming back to a 20 year old $15 HS Bill Collector I learned to call on. I've got it tuned they way I like it and it sounds like I want it to. Plus I have all of the confidence in the world with it.

Find the one that works for you and use it confidently.
But, don't be afraid to try new ones. We all love to buy calls.

[GobbleNut]

I like to think of turkey calling and turkey voices in terms of a "bell curve".  That is, most turkey voices fall within a certain range of tones and pitches, but there are also outliers in the extremes on either end.  It is the rare turkey call that does not fit, or cannot be made to fit, somewhere in that spectrum of sounds.

Personally, I think it is a good idea to carry calls that fit what would be called the "norm",....that is, that range of sound that the majority of turkeys fall into,...but also calls that are on either end of the spectrum.  In calling, start off within the norm, but be willing to venture outside those sounds when the need arises. 

More important than the sound of a turkey call,...that is assuming it sounds reasonably like a real turkey,...is what you say to a gobbler, when you say it, and where you say it from. 

Taking the discussion of calling a bit further, there is one element that comes into play that we rarely discuss.  That is, sounding like a hen turkey that the gobbler you are calling to recognizes.  That element can, at times, be the deciding factor on whether a gobbler comes to your calling,...or not.  Hit on that sound, wherever it might be in the spectrum of turkey voices, and it can make all the difference in the world in a gobbler's attitude about coming to you.

[Spitten and drummen]

Great post. I will add this " cadence cadence cadence". One more time "cadence" turkeys are like people. We all have different sounding voices. As stated above , people get in a rythem with their calling. Example... yelp 3 times cluck and repeat and wait. Very un natural. Turkeys are constantly talking although unless you are right on top of them , you do not hear it. Add emotion in your calling. Listen to hens on particular days. Sometimes short , fast and choppy yelping , sometimes slower with a more defined yelp. Mix it up and try to close your eyes and picture a live hen when calling. Its amazing at the difference in the way you call will change.

[hotspur]

I have had good luck with hung up toms by switching calls.

[Marc]

I have found that there are certain calls that generate a response more often than other calls....
There are calls that I simply "have fun with" or that "are fun to play," that generate a response as well.

Mouth calls are probably some of the most realistic, versatile in sound, easy to carry, and motion-free calls in the turkey hunting world.  I have probably used mouth calls to finish more birds than any other call...  One of my least favorite calls "to play with" though....

Last season, I was determined to kill a bird from start to finish with a scratcher (from Lonnie), and I was able to do so...  It added an aspect of challenge and fun that added to the hunt, and to the satisfaction of the hunt.  Started with yelps and cuts, finished with clucks and purrs...  The experience of doing so, add to the fun and excitement.

In all honesty, if I have a large population of birds available to me, I am more likely to experiment and have fun...  If the population of birds is limited and the hunting is tough, I will try and decide which call(s) will be the most effective....

[ol bob]

If you are a call maker the 'Holy Grail' is a call that someone standing in front of your table wants turkeys don't care.

[bbcoach]

All the advice, so far, is SPOT ON IMO.  1. There isn't a HOLY GRAIL call out there PERIOD! 2. Confidence is at the top of the list for a particular call.  If you don't have confidence in a call, you won't take it out of your vest or even carry it 3. Don't get hung up on just using one call or striker, change it up.  What works right now, probably won't work later in the morning or tomorrow. 4. Interact with the turkeys.  Don't just yelp 3 times and put the call away for 15 minutes.  As the guys have said, sound like a turkey.  Listen to LIVE birds and you'll hear different cadences.  5. Take their temperature.  If you are calling and a Gobbler cuts you off, then give him a little more and be excited.  If he doesn't cut you off then tone it down a little.  Each bird and situation is different.  Don't be AFRAID to change calls, cadences and excitement levels if nothing is happening.  And last but definitely not least, PRACTICE, PRACTICE and PRACTICE with every call you have.

[zelmo1]

I love these informational posts. Lots of good info here. Any call that works is the holy grail as far as I see it. I believe in cadence and tone/emotion in the call too. I use a mouth call for 75-80% of my calling. Box calls for locating and non finish work. My pots for working and finishing. Changing it up and aggravating the boss hen are my favorite tactics on "slow" birds, lol. Be safe and have fun. Al

[Tom007]

Great post. Love this info. I hunt pressured birds, lots of predators, and pre-season hunters calling them in to nothing.... In the past few years, I decided to use calls that the general hunters don't. Metal and different surface pots, troughs, and last but not least Push Pins. I have heard some very poor vocabulary hens out there. What I am finding is it is not so much what call you use, but when you use it. I hardly call at all, once I hear a gobble, I sit tight. He knows we're I am and eventually shows himself. The above mentioned cadence is important, and I think when and how often we call could be "The Holy Grail" in the sport we all enjoy. Great post my friends..

[Bullet1]

Great post

[wvmntnhick]

Excellent topic for sure. And, everyone seems to be right. I use a lot of Mike Yingling's calls when hunting here locally. They seem to do well for me. Of the mouth calls I've used in the past, anything with a "v" cut seemed to sound best to me but for whatever reason, the HS Ma Deuce seemed to produce better results and I think it sounds like crap when I run it. Having double finding it, I had Sadler McGraw make me a few. They sound just as "crappy" in use as the originals did so I have no doubt it'll call birds. (Please note I'm poking fun here. The McGraw calls are better made, I'm certain).

Back home, I seem to get responses from a Crystal Mistress and Yingling ceramic while it seems neither are very productive where I currently live. Up there, "magic!" Different birds. Different frequencies. Different days. Just...different.

The Primos Box Cutter mentioned above was quite literally my favorite call for the longest time and I wish I hadn't lost it. I swear I'd use it over the custom boxes I use now if I could find it. Was it better? Probably not. Did I have a pile of confidence in it? YES!!!  And that's the key. Find a call you've got confidence in. That's your holy grail. Why? Because it's the one you'll be using when you kill your birds.


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[Spitten and drummen]

Excellent topic for sure. And, everyone seems to be right. I use a lot of Mike Yingling's calls when hunting here locally. They seem to do well for me. Of the mouth calls I've used in the past, anything with a "v" cut seemed to sound best to me but for whatever reason, the HS Ma Deuce seemed to produce better results and I think it sounds like crap when I run it. Having double finding it, I had Sadler McGraw make me a few. They sound just as "crappy" in use as the originals did so I have no doubt it'll call birds. (Please note I'm poking fun here. The McGraw calls are better made, I'm certain).

Back home, I seem to get responses from a Crystal Mistress and Yingling ceramic while it seems neither are very productive where I currently live. Up there, "magic!" Different birds. Different frequencies. Different days. Just...different.

The Primos Box Cutter mentioned above was quite literally my favorite call for the longest time and I wish I hadn't lost it. I swear I'd use it over the custom boxes I use now if I could find it. Was it better? Probably not. Did I have a pile of confidence in it? YES!!!  And that's the key. Find a call you've got confidence in. That's your holy grail. Why? Because it's the one you'll be using when you kill your birds.


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You are spot on. I have calls that dont sound so great to me but birds like them. I seem to pull out a call , run it and say meh only to have a bird jump on it. Aint turkey hunting grand!

[Ctrize]

I think as you transition from young hunter to experience the Holy grail changes. It has gone for me from searching for that one call that sounds real to mastering a call so that it sounds real then moving on to traditional calls such as trumpet or box and being proficient with them. Regardless the infatuation with calls for some never ends.

[StruttinGobbler3]

Excellent topic for sure. And, everyone seems to be right. I use a lot of Mike Yingling's calls when hunting here locally. They seem to do well for me. Of the mouth calls I've used in the past, anything with a "v" cut seemed to sound best to me but for whatever reason, the HS Ma Deuce seemed to produce better results and I think it sounds like crap when I run it. Having double finding it, I had Sadler McGraw make me a few. They sound just as "crappy" in use as the originals did so I have no doubt it'll call birds. (Please note I'm poking fun here. The McGraw calls are better made, I'm certain).

Back home, I seem to get responses from a Crystal Mistress and Yingling ceramic while it seems neither are very productive where I currently live. Up there, "magic!" Different birds. Different frequencies. Different days. Just...different.

The Primos Box Cutter mentioned above was quite literally my favorite call for the longest time and I wish I hadn't lost it. I swear I'd use it over the custom boxes I use now if I could find it. Was it better? Probably not. Did I have a pile of confidence in it? YES!!!  And that's the key. Find a call you've got confidence in. That's your holy grail. Why? Because it's the one you'll be using when you kill your birds.


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You are spot on. I have calls that dont sound so great to me but birds like them. I seem to pull out a call , run it and say meh only to have a bird jump on it. Aint turkey hunting grand!

That's just like me and one of my hunting buddies a few years ago when we decided to start using trumpets. An older, extremely experienced turkey hunter in our area told us that a trumpet was his "secret weapon", and not to tell everybody about it but give it a try. We both started practicing with them and man, we sounded awful. We made squawks that sounded like a hen choking on a large grasshopper. But to our surprise, we killed birds with them. Multiple birds. It's crazy how these birds prefer certain sounds, or pitches, or frequencies. I'm not sure which. In my earlier days I looked for the call that I loved the sound of. Now, I search for the calls that local gobblers love the sound of.


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