I am not new to hunting but I am new to turkey hunting.I really want to learn how to "call in" turkeys, so my question is about calling devices. I have been told bymany peoplethat the most universal type of call is the box call. Is this the best way to go? If not, what is your opinion? I know that there are many different sounds that turkeys make, but is there a particular brand or type of call that will get me all of them with practice. I don't want to have to carry around three different calls. If box calls are the way to go, who makes the best one? I realize that these are pretty wide open questions but I am starting at square one here. Any advice on this subject would be really appreciated. Thanks
Best,
JB

Welcome to your new ADDICTION!!!!

You are right, those are open questions and you are going to get a LOT of different opinions. Like what I am bout to say, many will disagree with me. The best advice IN MY OPINION I could give you is to stay away from cheap calls. Buy you some custom calls. They may be a little more expensive, but WELL worth it in the long run. I don't mean go spend $100 on one call , that is just stupid unless its a collector call that you aren't going to hunt with.

This goes BIG time with mouth calls and box calls. Pot calls such as slate and glass, well, I really like the Knight and Hale's and they aren't custom.

YOu can also find good custom diaphram calls that are cheaper than the mass producation mouth calls at wal-mart. I am not much of a box call fan, so I will let someone else help you with that. To me, they are just too dang pretty to carry in the woods. lol

Here are a few call makes that I like:

Cane Creek (Diaphram calls)
Knight & Hale (pot calls)
Cody (pot calls)


If you go to www.wildturkeyzone.com/forum and look at the classifides a guy on there by the name of BIRDMAN makes some great mouth calls. I think he was the New Mexico state champ at some time.

Another guy on there who makes some pretty good pot calls is ALEX WILLIAMS.

check them out.

It is better to have one call that you can work well than 100 calls and barely able to make a sound with each.

I myself like Quaker Boy. Box calls are ok but I prefer the mouth call and slate. I did get a nice slate by Cody that sounds awesome. I use a triple reed by Quaker Boy (pro triple). Its all on what you get use to and make sure you have the right rythym down. The rythym is the key. Good luck to you this spring.

you could be different,like some of us, and use a wingbone...
very hard to master, but man, are they effective....
from what I've experienced and heard from others...mouth calls are loosing their effectiveness...maybe 'cuz they're the most used ?

While I'll admit when I first started Turkey huntin and the old timers would say "The box call is the easiest to run", I disagreed. I felt that the pot style caller was easier. After a few years of experience I changed my mind, hunters today tend to put limits on a box call. I am now a died in the wool box call hunter but will give my feelings on various other type callers.[/align][/align]A good box call is the easiest to achieve the most sounds of the Wild Turkey, with practice. The biggest problem is that there are very few good box calls found in department or even sporting goods stores. A good box call will give realistic Yelps, Cutts, Clucks, Purrs, Kee Kees, Kee Kee Run, Whines and subtle little peeps.I don't believean Alarm Putt is even possible from a box call.[/align][/align]While most Pot type Callers will deliver a fine Yelp, Cluckor Purr, a Cutt is often difficult to achieve. The Cutt is a very important piece of comunication amung Turkeys. Especially when trying to reverse nature and bring the Gobbler to the hen.[/align][/align]Mouth diaphragms are the least expensive but the most difficult to really master,[/align]but I would start practicing. You may have a decent Yelp by season and there's always next year so don't give up on it right away. Mouth calls are capable of any Wild Turkey vocalization with practice.[/align][/align]Tube calls are not terribly difficult to achieve a decent Yelp or Cluck but that's really all the further I ever got with one. Again it takes practice to build confidence.[/align][/align]Wing Bone and Trumpet type calls can also be very affective. I have several Trumpets but feel that the Wing Bone is easier to play. These type callers are played by smacking (for lack of a better word) your lips in a kiss type manner. A yelp will be achieved easily but Clucks and Cutts take a bit more finesse. To the best of my knowledge a Purr cannot be achieved on this type caller and you better be a good kisser or old Snood Lip wont be interested.[/align][/align]Decoys can be a bit cumbersome and I seldom use them but I primarily hunt woodlands. Rule of thumb is "Decoys in or along openings, No decoy in woodlands.[/align][/align]Don't put limits on your Turkey Huntin. What that old Gobbler liked yesterday, he may not like today. A good Turkey hunter will always be ready to change up calls or even run two calls to immolate the sounds of two or more hens. Sometimes when they'll Gobble at nuthin, you may pull the nastiest sound from your Turkey vest and he'll Hammer outa Gobble.[/align][/align]I'm sure there will be varied opinions on this but thought I'd try to help.[/align]

You ever notice how some Posts get flushed to the bottom somtimes??

I think to many miss out on too many possibilities by limiting themselves to a single call. You would be wise to invest in at least, again, at least one of every call. One particular gobbler might react to a pot call and ignore a box call while another might react to a push button box call and not a pot call and another a diaghram. Turkeys are as individual as people and you might walk by many turkeys by limiting yourself to one call...

By far the easiest call to use is the push/pull button box calls and have been responsible for many turkeys being harvested. Todays calls you can get to mount on your barrel for close calling. This calls will work but don't quite have the calling ability of a box or pot call.

Again, limiting yourself to one call will work, but you'll miss out on alot of turkeys....grab yourself several different calls and practice.

I agree with Rob.Don't limit yourself to just one type of call.Since you're just learnin,get yourself a mouth call and practice.You have lots of time before the season and you can practice with it anywhere.In the car,in the shower anywhere.Here's a tip.Everyone has their favorite brand.Not so much for the sound but mostly for the way it feels.One brand will just feel more comfortable than another so try a few.As for the friction calls they are pretty easy to catch on to.Good Luck.

I was very surprised in some of the responds untill I got to Rob's reply.

Rob and Jim are right with the advice they give. If you want to be a regular turkey killer , you can not do it with one call. You need different Tones and Pitches in the woods to mix up the sounds that Gobblers here through out the season. Here's a little peice of advice for you. I can run a Mouth call with the best of them I have run a mouth call with the Best callers in the US

and last season , my highest successfull call I used to take pictures with hunters and Gobblers was the QuakerBoy Easy Yelper, just a plain easy push button call. This call anyone can run it , and alot of hunters would not use them in the woods, but because of that I did carry one around and the gobblers kept on coming in, because they had not heard that tone in a call in the areas I hunt. This is on private land here where 3-4 maybe 5 turkey hunters have all ready taken a stab at the local birds.

I never limit myself when it comes to calls , I will always carry Glass , boxes, mouth calls, different strikers, tube call and this gives me a change of calls to work with if something just is not working.

Anyone can be a world class turkey caller on a stage , but once in the woods, its more to killing birds then just plain calling ...BT

I've killed about allof my turkeys using 2 types of calls... Pot peg calls and mouth calls... I usually finish off all my turkeys just using the mouth call... Leave my hands freeI would recomend getting a decent friction call(pot peg)... For a beginner I would recommend something easy to us like the Primos freak on the Knight Hale Sla-Tek... While hunting with the friction I would be practicing religously with the mouth call... It took me about 2 seasons before I felt confident enough to hunt with the mouth call...