Turkey Calls Worth Keeping

Like many of you, I enjoy using  just about all types of turkey calls available, including my own God given vocal chords!  I collect them, enjoy them, drive my wife nuts with them and usually have one in my pocket any day of the year (doesn’t everyone carry a turkey call around?).  Over a good number of spent chasing turkeys, I have concluded that each call has its pros and cons and some are just better for certain tasks than others…thus the reason you need to own at least 47 call to be successful. 

(The following will provide you with all the evidence you need to justify buying more calls to your spouse)

The Box Call – Great for all around calling and capable of making all turkey sounds.  They also look really nice if you invest in unique types like my Table Rock Turkey Call or my Dick Turpin Box Call.  They are all easy to use and excel at yelps, clucks, purrs and gobbles.  Also, they are fun to collect!

Slate Call – this one is truly unique in its ability to produce the most awesome clucks and purrs.  They are also not bad on the yelp but with good control of the striker, you can cluck and purr like any psychotic hen in the woods or be as subtle as a feeding polt.  The problem most users have is not properly conditioning the top of the slate and muffling the sound by laying their striker hand on the call when calling.

Diaphragm – My absolute favorite for concealment, less bulk, and making all sounds of the wild turkey.  I believe the clucks, purrs, yelps and cutts these calls can produce are as good or better than the slate in the right mouth.  They can be difficult to master but once you play with them a while you get the hang of it.  Perfect for the archery as I love to cluck and purr the bird in right up until I release the arrow.  Great call but somewhat hard to share…

Wingbone Yelper -  a call that screams heritage made from the wingbones of a mature tom.   They are capable of very unique yelping and in high pressured areas can be awesome on toms.  Again, somewhat difficult to master but not too tough.  Can be made from scratch (as Hershy does) or purchased.  Another neat call to decorate and customize.  Mine was a gift from my in-laws and it was made by a native american in Arizona.  

Push Button Calls – okay yelps, clucks and purrs and OH so easy to operate.  They are handy for gun hunters as you can hold the call in your left hand while shouldering the gun (or right hand for southpaws) and shoot while still calling. 

There are a few others but these are the main instruments of music in the turkey woods.  A little time spent mastering them will go a long way in the woods.  In my opinion, calling is just one of many tools in your arsenal to hunt turkeys but when you are working an old longbears…being able to speak the proper lanquage is darn important!

Get em’ out there

Rawly