hi fellow turkey hunters...This is myfirst post...
I have been turkey hunting for 2 years now. I have had some success and i'm completely hooked on it ...Deer hunting just doesnt compare now!!!
When i'm in the woods I hear hens making this fluttering or oscillating purr. I have tried to mimic this purr with a slate call and a diaphram mouth call and have had some success by fluttering my lips with the mouth call...I have been told to roll my tongue but I just cant seem to do it..Do some models of slate calls purr better than others? Could the striker be the difference? Any advice on this subject would be greatly appreciated.THANKS

You'll have to practice, there's no way around that.

When learning to purr with a mouth call, try one that with reeds that are straight across the front. Notches and V-cuts in te latex will make it harder to get a cleaner tone.

To purr with a slate call, you'll probably have better luck with a surface that is rough and doesn't need conditioning a lot. The other part is finding a striker that works for you. You'll find that purring on a slate is about finding the right pressure. Surfaces that will generally purr well are slate, ceramic-like sla tek, some of the ploycarbomate calls (power crystal). I have a glass call that I like, but it only purrs well with certain strikers. If your striker is too soft, it won't produce a clear tone.

Box calls...just the right touch, and you can get a really sweet purr out of it.

thanks for replying,I think i will expirement with some different strikers.I have a ring zone ceramic and a power crystal call...I have never played with a real slate call.Think i will try that too...

I've used a power crystal for years and it makes great purrs and cuts really loud when locating. That being said, JoeA hit the nail on the head. Like anything else we can give good advice, but practice and the right call for you will make all the difference. I've turkey hunted since before I could tote my own gun and I still can't purr on a mouth call! LOL!! I have taken more than my fair share of longbeards though so don't get discouraged if there's a certain call you can't make. I'd rather fill my tag than swallow my call! Haha! Anyway, good luck with those turkeys and hunt safe!

Check out the thread up on top of this forum.." The Guide to Pot Calls " ! It has a lot of usefull info on it as well as diagrams to help understand them. Good Luck..

Hard for me to explain how I pur with a mouth call but with a friction call I just push down a little harder and pull to me, just practice you will get it.

The most useful calls are the yelp and cutting.

Take a look here;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLdNDkcklzE

Ive yet to master a purr with a reed but I can attest to the fact that different strikers depending on the material on the slate indeed make completely different sounds. For instance on a recent slat I bought I found I could do a faint purr using a carbon striker but when I used a plexi striker I could produce a much crisper and definitive purr. But who am I to talk. I went home empty handed this year on the birds.