cgturner7

Bought a mouth call this past weekend so I could practice for the upcoming season. So what's the secret? I can't get the darn thing to make much of any sorta sound. At least not one that a turkey would find interesting. Should I just scrap the mouth call and get a box or slate call?

gselkhunter

This is what you need to do. Put the call in your mouth and push it up to the top of your mouth and as far forward as you can get it, with the open end to the front of your mouth. Now say SHOW! This will put your tongue in the proper place to make sound. But beware, the tickle to your tongue you won't be ready for. But you will get used to it. Then you have to learn to control pitch. Push the reeds to the top of your mouth and the pitch will go up, let it back down and the pitch will drop. This is step 1, when you have that down let me know and we will move on to step 2.
Gselkhunter

Rick C.

I bought a mouth call last season. Took a few days to finally get the technique to get it to work. Just keep at it and you will get it.

-Rick C.

one on one

mouth calls are the best,my opinon.try one with a single reed,and practice,[:'(] practice.it will come. good luck,

Strut&Rut

A few tips,

1) Trim the tape so that the call fits your upper palette. If your constantly choking on the thing, that's no good.

2) Start with a double reed.

3) Be sure you have the call in properly...in general, most have a tab that points down towards your tongue. BUT, if no tab, be sure the longest reed is up against your palette and the shortest reeds are against your tongue.

4) This is a musical instrument, hence the word "reed". It needs to be "played", it require patience and practice, and you will get better with time.

5) Begin, as with any reed instrument, with passing air over the reeds to produce a constant sound. With the 2 reed, the top reed will be high pitched, and the bottom reed will be lower pitched.

6) First entice the upper reed, keeping your mouth barely open, passing a constant flow of low pressure air. It should sound like a high pitched car horn going off...

7) Once that's mastered, drop your lower jaw, keeping the same air flow/air pressure. This will activate the lower reed, and now it will sound like, Wheeeee-uuuuuppp.

8) Once you have that down, speed up the cadence. You have just produced the "yelp", which is by far the most important turkey vocalization.

9) For your first season, you will want to master the yelp, cluck and purr. In ernest, at least in my opinion, it would be better to master those 3 vocalizations rather than learning 10 and being poor to okay.

10) Practice, practice, practice. If you own a mini-recorder, record yourself outside, and then compare to audio/video tapes of actual birds. When you sound like the real deal, you're ready. Just realize, though, that I've heard live birds sound so bad I thought I had a nearby hunter with an unchalked box call---all birds sound different (pitch, tone, cadence), but the primary vocalizations have distinct patterns and lengths which you should master.

S&R

hightech1953

that was a great post !!!

black warrior

One thing about mouth calls. Not all calls are made the same, neither are all mouths. You may have to try different ones to get a good fit. If you have a high palate (the shape of the roof of your mouth is tall and narrow) a slim design or youth model will be a better fit. Some calls have frames that can be bent to make a better fit others will break if bent. Different shapes on how the tape is cut can effect the seal. The most important thing is that a good seal is formed so that all air must pass over the reeds. Placement in the mouth is less important than seal. I know one fellow that places the call to side of his mouth almost against his teeth and he is better than I at running a diaphragm. I find top dead center the most comfortable.

Strut&Rut

Just another tip:

11) Do NOT bend or twist the actual frame, unless it is a custom call made by yourself or someone you can personally contact. After contacting most of the major call manufacturers, they all strongly advise against bending the frames. Bending the frame places/removes tension from the reeds. This can drastically change the call, in particular bending can cause multiple reeds to "touch" and distort. In essence, take Black Warriors first advice and find a call that fits (either by sizing or trimming). Don't take his advice on bending...[&:]...although I myself have done it in the past with both good and horrible results.

S&R

Mr. Longbeard

I leaned from how to tapes. My first tape was by Paul Newsom GOOD TAPE... Then I got one from HS Strut. One with Tom Stuckey, Walter Parott, and Matt Morett...

gselkhunter

There are 2 kinds of frames, 1 is plastic[don't bend this one it will break], 2 is aluminum[this one you can bend]. You can change the sound of an aluminum call by bending the frame, I tune them all the time. And not all reeds are made with the longest reed to the top either. And not all companies stretch their latex side to side and front to back so that the calls will hold their sound for a long time. The plastic frame calls will hold their sound longer because they don't fatigue as fast as aluminum. And plastic frames will mold to some degree to your mouth. And also soft tape calls will hold a better seal in your mouth than hard tape calls. Makes it easier to call on. And the cut in the reeds is of great importance for getting different amounts of rasp out of a call. You should carry different cuts and be able to use them all. Some are harder to learn to use than others. With enough practice you should be able to use a 2,3 or 4 reed call and they all have their place in turkey calling and hunting.
Gselkhunter