Slate call, or shaker?

[Country boy]

I've only been turkey hunting for one year, (fall and spring) I have a box call that I think I'm pretty good at using and I was looking to add another call. I was wondering if a slate call, which can be used for many calls is the way to go. Or is it the shaker call that can only gobble?

[WillowRidgeCalls]

Since your use to using a box call, and your looking to add either a pot of shaker, your best choice would be the pot call. If your looking to gobble, most box calls will gobble good enough to do the job for you. A pot call will help you tone your calling down enough to work a bird in close whether it be a slate or glass and some alum. calls, or a ceramic call. A slate call would be the easyest of them to play for a beginner. Shakers are just for gobbling.

[Country boy]

What's the difference between slate, glass, and ceramic? Is one easier to master than the others?

[WillowRidgeCalls]

A slate is one of the easyest calls to play, for the fact that you really don't have to worry about conditioning it other that rub it down with a green scratch pad and the same with the striker tip, every once in a while. A ceramic surface is a lot like a slate, just a matter of keeping it clean. A glass surface you have to condition, and you have to condition it correctly. You have to sand it back and forth exactly the same way each time you condition it, and it requires that quite often until the glass gets a good surface cut into it. Once you get it there they play very well. An alum surface needs tobe kept very clean to play very well, some use an alcohol pad, some use a fine grit sandpaper, some use the brown scrub pads, it depends on what alum surface you have in the call.
Once you have your call conditioned, they all play about the same, some are effected by weather more than others, some will play wet and some won't. A slate surface has a bit softer sound to it, a glass surface will cover just about any call you want to make on it, an alum surface sounds good and has the most volume of them, and a ceramic surface has a very consistant sound to it. The two that are favored the most by most hunters are the slate and glass calls

[Country boy]

Good thing I made an account on here or else I would of never known the difference. I apppreciate you sharing all of this with me. Good luck this spring!

[camo_junkie0611]

How about copper? Any feedback on proper/best way to condition copper-surfaced calls? Bought me a pre-cut curly maple pot and cut me a piece of copper sheet to use for the playing surface. Call looks great but then I realized I have no idea how to properly condition copper(never used it before). My guess was that it'd be a lot like an alum call but I figured I'd better get some advice first.

'Preciate y'alls help.

[WillowRidgeCalls]

Yes copper is a lot like alum to surface, but it can be very finicky on how it wants to be surfaced and what striker you play on it. Some want to be surfaced smooth and some want a courser surface, but copper wants to play dirty and alum wants to play clean. What I mean is if you surface alum it wants to play better until it starts to glaze back up, copper is just the opposite, if you surface it, to doesn't want to play as good as it did before you resurfaced it. It some playing again to get that call playing good again. That's what I mean by they can be finicky, but they sound great.

When you condition it start off with some very fine grit emory paper, or fine steel wool to start with. You condition it just like a glass call.

[retranger]

Over the years I, like most turkey chasers, have a number of calls in their vest but I always come back to the same calls. When I first started I purchased the Quaker Boy "Grand Ole Master" and that is the call I still use the most. I have added Premo's "freak" in the frictionite surface. I use the box call to begin with and when I have a bird on the hook I use the "freak" to keep him coming (if he will) you can strap it to your leg and use it one handed. I personally can not master a mouth call although I have tried several and had instructional videos. Just won't work.

[camo_junkie0611]

Yes copper is a lot like alum to surface, but it can be very finicky on how it wants to be surfaced and what striker you play on it. Some want to be surfaced smooth and some want a courser surface, but copper wants to play dirty and alum wants to play clean. What I mean is if you surface alum it wants to play better until it starts to glaze back up, copper is just the opposite, if you surface it, to doesn't want to play as good as it did before you resurfaced it. It some playing again to get that call playing good again. That's what I mean by they can be finicky, but they sound great.

When you condition it start off with some very fine grit emory paper, or fine steel wool to start with. You condition it just like a glass call.

This is incredibly helpful information! I will give that a try. Many thanks!