The TRUE TALKER is the best sounding grunt/bleat call you'll find in the industry! I'm having a very difficult time believing that you can't operate it? There should be no way that the reed is sticking? The only thing that I can think of is that you're trying to "blow" through the call instaed of "huff" air through it. You MUST huff air....... as if you were trying to steam up a mirror or glass with your breath! This is exactly HOW the True Talker was made to be ran. Try this and I think you will quickly see that NO other call can compete with it's instant adjustability and truly excellent tonal quality and authentic sound. You can reproduce some very amazing sounding chase and breeding scences with this call that simply can't be done with the vast majority of other calls on the market. I can honestly say that the last couple P&Y bucks that I've put arrows thru would have never presented the shot op had it not been for this outstanding call. Take some time to really learn how to use it and you'll find that it may just possibly become the most important tool in your bag of tricks.