Strikers

[jungroot26]

So here's another question for you guys. What's the best way of making a striker for a pot call? What size should I be making them? What woods do I use and why?

[Dixie Belle]

If you don't want to get into turning your own strikers on the lathe go to Grassy Creek Calls or some of the other suppliers, they will have everything you will need to put together strikers. The types of woods you use control pitch and rasp. Usually denser woods produce higher pitches and less rasp and ones of lower density lower pitches and more rasp. Notice I said usually. Each piece of wood is different so you have to experiment with your calls. There may be plenty of exceptions to the pattern, that is just part of it.
Ted

[WillowRidgeCalls]

What's the best way of making a striker for a pot call? What size should I be making them? What woods do I use and why?

The striker is your tuning fork in your call. You can completely change the tone, pitch, volume, and rasp, in your call by changing the striker your playing with. There are three things that play importance in strikers, the length, the weight, and what it's made from, the weight being the most important. Once you've found the correct weight striker for your calls, only then does what the striker is made from and the length come into effect the sound of a call. Length is more of a personal matter, some like long strikers, some like short, but the striker has to be the correct weight for the call to perform to it's best. What it's made out of will effect the sound of the call, as Dixie said, different woods create different sounds.
A two piece striker is the most forgiving striker, a turned striker is more difficult to make because it's harder to control the weight of the striker, unless it has a straight top so you can trim it down to get the correct weight.
It also matters on how a customer plays a call, once you know what weight striker performs the best on the call, then it depennds on how they play. If a customer play aggressively then you match a lighter striker up with the call, if they play soft handed, or lightly, then you match the call up with a bit heavier striker, that balances out to make that call play to the top of it's ability.
The fun of being a Custom Call Builder, LOL.