I need to know what everyone thinks is the best sounding all around hen talking pot call that wont break the bank.Pot and striker combo.
Copper,slate glass etc, u get the point.Post up please.
I don't think you could go wrong with a good slate. I like a walnut pot and a maple striker. If you get a good slate that not only can get loud and raspy but also make the soft clucks and purrs you'll have a winner. Good luck on your search.
TRKYHTR
I agree with TRKYHTR, a slate in a walnut pot seems to always be a winner. Slate is very forgiving, easy to play, and has been the culprit of many turkey deaths over the years...BUT...if I could have only one call to take out in the woods, it would hands down be a bronze glass in a cherry pot call. Out of all the domestic and exotic woods out there, I think it's hard to be the beauty, quality, and price of good ole american walnut and cherry!!
Like these guys, I think slate is the easiest to run and consistently replicate hen talk and is definitely the most forgiving. The clucks and purrs come easy and are very realistic. Everybody has a little different idea of what sounds best, so I would recommend hitting a show or two where you can get your hands on a lot of different pot calls and buy what you can't leave behind or at least you can get a feel for calling surface and wood combos that you like.
If you can't get to a show, you won't be disappointed in slate/walnut and many on this forum are very affordable.
Forgot to say in previous post it will be custom possibly from someone on here.
I would think an aluminum in walnut, cherry, or zebra wood. Mascar ebony, purple heart, or hickory striker.
You can get 10 times louder than slate, but tone it down like slate. Carry yourself a carbon tip striker and you can run it wet when you cant run a slate. I think you can do more and get more out of your money with a good aluminum.
My vote is for a crystal surfaced pot call with purpleheart and laminate strikers. They are definitely harder to keep conditioned, but I think they produce the best turkey sounds. . . if you don't like their maintenance, then I agree with the earlier posts about slate surfaces.
Ok, here is my 2 cents worth. Depending on your level of calling, I would reccomend slate over glass in a pot call made from either walnut or cherry. If you have used pot calls before, and want to expand your calling horizons in volume or tweak your pitch abilities, then start out with crystal over glass or aluminum over glass, you can pick up the vloume and have great control as well with the aluminum and run even higher pitches on the crystal. Then you can progress to the exotics ... copper ...titanium ...and so forth. It takes a lot of work but they seem to produce the sound that turkeys look for and have been proven in the field, after all that is where it counts!
I would suggest you contact some folks on here that have used the metal calls, ask them, how they like their calls, how they sound, even call a few and ask to hear them play their calls. Making the purchase of a custom call is an important step and doesn't have to be intimidating, make it fun and explore all your options, pappy.
in my opinion, aluminum is the most versatile and best sounding calling surface. i like how the shrill sound is piercing and seems to cut through the air.
crystal is my second favorite surface for its high pitch tone and raspy rollover.
if you're looking for aluminum, you should definitely give Lights Out Custom Calls a serious look.