never turkey hunted - which calls

[Franco]

newbie-
 
I bought 3 HS Strut mouth call on clearance at Rural King, been practicing in my truck going to work
 
Never turkey hunted- what should I go to the woods with for calling (which calls how many).
 
 
 
 
Mouth Calls- any brands better than others, especially for the new guy
Slate Calls - which brand

[Steve_In]

clearance

One of my favorite words[:D] I like the HS calls myself. You need to rinse them off in plain tap water and keep toothpicks between the reeds. About once a week I soak them overnight in mouthwash. Get an instruction video on mouth calls too. Cody has a good CD with real turkey recordings on it and also there is a link on T&TH home page to more recordings. I have the Cody and I use it to try to imitate the hens on it.
For friction calls I reccomend a slate surface to start with. Most of the companies sell good starter sets. Slate is easy to maintain and get good sounds from. For a few dollars more you can get a custom hand crafted call. There are several call makers on this foreum if you want to go that route.
Learn to yelp, soft cluck and purr then build on that.
BTW welcome to the forum.

[kygobbler]

I got to agree with Steve_In and go with a slate call. My first was a HS and now I have it along with a Cody glass, Knight&Hale aluminum, Cane Creek glass, a box call, and a wingbone call that I made. I carry all of them because you never know exactly which sound the turkeys want to hear. Try and start simple and work your way up. When I first started I bought a couple of tapes and tried to mimic the sounds I heard, but nothing beats going out in the woods and listening.

[grizzly]

 i feel that a hunter who is just starting out can learn to use a pot and peg and be able to do basic calls in a short time that being said my advice would be to try the different types of calls to find the kind you feel comforable using then you need to practice alot [:)]wayne

[Dcoleinpa]

Listening to real hens helps I think.

[retranger]

I think this comes down to a persons preference. I personally can not get diapham calls to work. Advice given to me at the beginning was to have a good box call and a pot and peg. I now, (like most others) have several calls in my vest but the most used is the "Grand Ole Master" (quaker boy) and "The Freak" (Primos) DRB <- <- <-

[kenturkey89]

Hey Franco,

I would recommend definitely getting a good box call and a good slate call to start out with. A box call is one of the easiest calls to run and it doesn't take much practice to be able to run one of those well enough to call in a turkey. I have a Lynch Fool Proof box call and the name says it all. It's very easy to use and produces great yelps and clucks. It can be played loud or soft but I typically use my Lynch on windy days when I'm trying to really cut through the wind with my calls.

As for a slate, you can find any brand you want (Primos, HS Strut, Knight & Hale) and they all will produce quality sounds sufficient for a beginner. Slate is very user friendly and can produce virtually every call you need. I had an HS Strut slate that I loved but somehow it got a small crack in it so I had to dump it. I have crystal and glass pot calls that I love but I am going to get me another slate call but I prefer the custom calls over the factory made. You may pay $10-$15 more for a custom slate call than you would for most of your Primos, HS, and Knight & Hale slates, but they're worth that little bit extra because they produce great sounds.

As for my last tidbit. I agree with all the others that the best way to learn is to listen to the real thing. There's a link on this website that has audio recordings of all the different turkey sounds. Also, youtube has all kinds of great videos of hen talk and they also have some good hunting footage as well. Good luck to you this season!

[Bobbyparks]

Good advice all the way thru here.

I'm in the camp of bringing a number of options in.

For me: Having a good box call which is easy to learn with is good to find birds and work them. The Lynch 101 is a good easy call and you can't go wrong.

Slate and crystal are great for softening up and working birds in tighter.


Investing in a few quality calls will be worthwhile although I killed birds for 10 years with the cheapest stuff on the market. There are so many good call makers ( several here) that it's just worth looking into.


The mouth call seems to be the most difficult to become proficient at and I'd
suggest practicing with all and use what you feel best about.

the woodsman ship and decision making aspect will be very bit as important as the calling side ...they all work together.


On almost every hunt I carry a slate and crystal pot call and one or two box calls..

Finding the right striker and carrying at least a couple makes a big difference as well.

Good luck to you this year...you'll love it

Bobby

[turkaholic]

Just getting started,I would suggest a simple push button box. I have brought quite a few gobblers to the gun using that call and would still not go turkey hunting without one. It takes very little movement and is easy to use. Most people discount them because they are a basic call, but they are loosing out. Start out simple and soon you will need a wheelbarrow to carry all your calls around like the rest of us.

[shaman]

It ain't the call as much as it is the caller.

You need to be able to get inside a turkey's head and paint pictures.  That's a tall order, but it comes with an easy suggestion as to how to go about doing it: get out and listen to turkeys.  They are the best teachers.  Once you have what they are saying and how they are saying it stuck in your head, the call choice will be much easier.  You will have the sound you want to make in your head, and from that you will be able to express yourself on the call.

Starting out, I was much too worried about the call and matching my calling to what it could do.  Now I am more worried about the call in my head and bringing what's there out with the call.  Once you start listening to what's in your head, the call choice will be much easier.

Having said all that, I will now turn around and say it is hard to pick what call is going to get a turkey going on a given day.  Some guys take the kitchen sink with them and get weighed down with what's in their vests.  I deliberately don't take a vest and just carry. . . well, let's be honest:  it's a purse.    The point is it limits my choices.

Why?  Because I don't want to throw everything at a gobbler in one day looking for what he's going to respond to.  I make a few solid choices before I go out and that's going to be it.  If I strike out, I can go in for coffee and change calls.    I don't want to throw my 'A' game at him, then go to my 'B' game and so on, showing him everything I got. 

What do I take?  I take  one box.  I take 2 pot calls.  I take a push-pin call as a last resort and I take a hand full of mouth calls.  I'm also pretty fair just calling with my own voice.

If you are just starting out,  I would recommend:

Box:  Heirloom Dixie Darlin'.  I was going to say Quaker Boy Grand Ol' Master, but they don't make it anymore.

Push-Pin:  Quaker Boy Easy Yelper

Mouth:  Wing Supply usually has a sale on HS Strut mouth calls this time of year.  Stock up.  I'm also fond of Quaker Boy.

Pot calls:  Heirloom makes a bunch of nice ones, but I'm on the pro-staff of Heirloom, so I'm partial.  I will say however that their Double Barrel and Over and Under calls are phenomenal. 


One other thing:  Get the Spittin' Feathers CD's .  These have great live turkey sounds. I start riding with them in the truck this time of year .  That will get the inner turkey going inside your head.