Do you think box calls wear out,,life expectancy??

[Happy hooker]

Wondering if people think there's wear and tear on box calls or the sound quality deteriorates with time and use??
You've got two hard surfaces rubbing against each other and chalk is not the viscosity of oil don't you think somethings gotta give??
Rubbing two sticks together makes a fire.
Your opinins??

[paboxcall]

I think bad habits associated with off season storage are a bigger risk to longevity.

To your question, I think to a degree. For example, I have a small scratch box Bob Fulcher made me using wood from Dick Kirby's personal wood pile. The walnut sound board started to show very minor signs of wear, so its a on display now. That call means to much to risk it.

But of course a scratcher sound board is a different animal than a box call rail.

Then, I have a Snodgrass long box I've been beating the rails off for almost two decades. I run this box call hard, broadcasting over big timber. And it sounds better today than it did out of the wood shop new.

[ChesterCopperpot]

I think it would take a lot of hard use to wear out the rails on a box. I know folks touch things up from time to time. But there are plenty of folks playing old Lynch calls they've had for thirty or forty years and still killing birds. The sound certainly does change through time, though, through weather. The wood's a living breathing sort of thing. Albert Paul said he always plays his favorite three of a morning and whichever two play best he takes, but that that changes day to day, week to week. Most certainly year to year, decade to decade.

[Spitten and drummen]

No. Not in my opinion. I really think they sound better as they age. You may have to clean all the chalk off and reapply fresh every once in a while. I think alot of people actually put too much chalk on their call. It only takes a light coat. A good box call plays great without chalk. I have box calls that I have used 20 years and were close to that old already when I got them. They still sound outstanding. I have retuned them and its only been a 1/4" turn of a screw at the most one direction or the other.

[bobk]

I have callers made in the 1960's of wood that was cut prior to the Civil War.Keep them dry, remove the chalk in the off season and use a light coating of quality chalk .
To my ear the sound will improve , if any change is evident.

[ChesterCopperpot]

I have callers made in the 1960's of wood that was cut prior to the Civil War.Keep them dry, remove the chalk in the off season and use a light coating of quality chalk .
To my ear the sound will improve , if any change is evident.

I've never removed the chalk in the past but am starting to now at the advice of some folks on this forum. What purpose do you think it serves to remove the chalk?

[bobk]

Chalk will attract and hold moisture.
This is what I have been told by several Call makers.

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[Greg Massey]

They are like fine wine , they just get better with age ...

[Spitten and drummen]

They are like fine wine , they just get better with age ...

Well said.

[Tom007]

X2, they seem to get better over time.....

[Gog1015]

Important, remove the chalk! They will last a lifetime, if you don't step on them in the mad dash to get on a gobblers head!lol

Greg Massey said it best, like fine wine!

[Txag12]

Reading this, learning some new info here. Are y'all removing the chalk in the off season with anything in particular, and are you only taking it off of the lid or the rails too? I though anything on the rails was a bad idea?

[WildTigerTrout]

They are like fine wine , they just get better with age ...

This says it all.  My favorite box call is a early to mid 1970's World Champion made in Liberty Mississippi. Every year it sounds better.

[culpeper]

If made well from the start they should last decades and if you are not too hard on them, the same applies.  I would NOT recommend ever touching the edges of the sound rails, but if you want to remove the chalk from the  lid/paddle, do so lightly with a dry paper towel.   I have some I made and some from other callmakers that lost their 'edge'.  Very few, but it does happen.  It seems to happen more so to Butternut...it's soft and absorbs surrounding ambient moisture easily as well it's affected by humidity.  Try to always store your box calls in a dark closed environment, say a closet for example.

[mtns2hunt]

They should out live you provided you take care of them, remove chalk and control the climat they are stored in.