I've been looking at this one at my sports store and was wondering what the pros and cons are of them.

one more question: on slate calls, what do you do with the sand paper? isn't it for the "stick" so when the end gets glazed over, you rough it up? i'm new to this calling stuff!

The Ol' Yeller is an excellent call IMO. It sounds good, and it gets the birds fired up as good as any other call if they're in the mood. Its also pretty easy to use for a beginner. The sandpaper is to keep the call roughed up.Its best to rubthe surface of the call in one direction and strike across the direction you sanded.You should also periodically use the sand paper to clean the tip of the striker. If I was to recommend one call for a beginner, that would be it. I also like the Primos Power Crystal, although that is a bit more work to get sounding good initially. Once you rough up the Power Crystal, its a pretty sweet sounding production call.

Good Luck!

i use the ol yeller but im new to slate calls to so im not sure what to tell you but seems to sound really good got a turkey to answer back to it yesterday was just messin around cause my season dont start till may 1st

The old Ol' Yeller was an excellent call, I loved it. Somehow the slate cracked on it and I decided to pick up a new one this spring. It sounds entirely different from my original call. It sounds horrible, nothing like any turkey I've ever heard. It has a tendancy to sqweek rather than make any sound remotely close to a turkey.

I'd take a look at a different call if I were you.

The Sla-Tek callis one of my favorites as well, and it rides in my turkey vest in it's very own pocket. I don't believe that you have to "ruff" up the surface of that call? A slate or glass call surface you can ruff up to maintain the sound quality, but the Ol' Yeller doesn't need to be.

the ol yeller has to be one of THE best mass produced calls ever made. ive been running mine since they came out...

regular SLATE calls i use a green scotchbright pad to scuff the surface...

the ol yeller i use the emry cloth that came with it..like maytom says it really dont need much scuffing, unless it gets wet or you touch it..

im probably at the point of washington hunter though...mine is one of the originals...and its sanded WAY down in the years ive been running it...i know its gotta be getting thin...i keep it wrapped up in a soft boonie hat trying to avoid it...man i love that call...i found one in a cherry pot i wanna pick up...i cant remember where i seen it...probably wont sound like the original...the newer ones still look the same..not sure i neve had one out of the package though...

When I was shopping for calls this year, I was torn between the Ol' Yeller and the aluminum Silver Queen. I'm by no means great with pot-and-peg calls, but I was yelping and clucking with ease with both. It seems well suited for a beginner. It was a tough decision and I ended up getting the Silver Queen.Ol' Yellersounded good, but I just wanted aluminum.

I have had Knight & Hale calls since they started selling them.

I used to have the Ol Yeller and I think it sounds very nice. Also, the sand paper is mostly for the surface of the call itself, although it is a good idea to rough the "glaze" off the striker as you said every once in a while too.