Turkey hunting forum for turkey hunting tips

 Ok guys, I'm bored, so I thought this would be an interesting poll. I understand that a lot of this question depends on how good the man behind the call is, but for the sake of debate lets assume we have a very experienced turkey hunter that can run the fire out of a turkey call. Do you think he stands a better chance of killing a bird with a custom, or does it matter? I have my own opinion of this, but this one should get interesting.  ;D Enjoy.

Theoretically speaking.... I don't think it matters.  It's the same argument we hear about decoys...

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I have a couple "custom" calls that wouldn't even raise one's head other than to run away. I also have some productions calls that sound really really good. It all depends on what an individual wants out the call. Something thats sounds turkey or something that is turkey. Most of the time it is all about presentation, some days they will gobble if you rub two rocks together, other days you need to sound like the real deal. I have wasted more money on production calls than I would care to admit. So with that said, I save my money and buy the good stuff. Most of the custom call makers will stand behind there calls and they are the ones that will get my money from now on out.

Production calls will fool a turkey any day of the week.  With that said there are a few custom call makers out there that will make any production call sound sub-par.  A good custom call will sound far better that most production calls, but thats not needed to fool a bird.  But there are also a lot of custom call makers that produce calls that don't sound as good as the production calls you see.  Be careful.

I don't see any advantage of a good custom call as far as killing turkeys go.  The advantage of a custom call is you know who actually made the call and they usually stand behind thier calls.  Also some continue to appreciate in value.

All my pot and box calls are production calls and ive never had a problem.I have a couple custom mouth calls that i really like.With that said it doesnt mean that im not going to purchase a custom call some day.Custom calls to me are fancier in design and looks cool but looking cool dont kill turkeys.Not saying that custom calls dont kill turkey im just saying that they look better.Custom calls are made one by one so its less likely to have a defect while production calls are not and one bad may slip out the door and on to the shelf and im likely to buy that one.Most custom call makers stand behind there product,while production calls u may have trouble.Just my .02

as far as pot calls. i have a couple that has been real good to me. one is in my vest now. mouth calls is another story. years ago when Mr. Kirby was producing his mouth calls they was pretty good. today i would never choose a mass production call over a hand stretched call. JMO

For the most part I agree with all of you. 90% of the turkeys I've killed in the past eleven years have fallen to a production or mass produced call. However, I do appreciate the quality that comes with having a handmade call. I have a couple mouth calls from Tom Teasers that seem to crank the birds up on a more regular basis. Also, the mailman will soon be delivering me a slate call from Wendell of Lights Out calls. Real interested to see how that one turns out.

Quote from: guesswho on February 14, 2011, 07:26:28 PM
Production calls will fool a turkey any day of the week.  With that said there are a few custom call makers out there that will make any production call sound sub-par.  A good custom call will sound far better that most production calls, but thats not needed to fool a bird.  But there are also a lot of custom call makers that produce calls that don't sound as good as the production calls you see.  Be careful.

I don't see any advantage of a good custom call as far as killing turkeys go.  The advantage of a custom call is you know who actually made the call and they usually stand behind thier calls.  Also some continue to appreciate in value.

:icon_thumright: :agreed: :icon_thumright:

Quote from: bird on February 14, 2011, 07:34:26 PM

Quote from: guesswho on February 14, 2011, 07:26:28 PM
Production calls will fool a turkey any day of the week.  With that said there are a few custom call makers out there that will make any production call sound sub-par.  A good custom call will sound far better that most production calls, but thats not needed to fool a bird.  But there are also a lot of custom call makers that produce calls that don't sound as good as the production calls you see.  Be careful.

I don't see any advantage of a good custom call as far as killing turkeys go.  The advantage of a custom call is you know who actually made the call and they usually stand behind thier calls.  Also some continue to appreciate in value.

:icon_thumright: :agreed: :icon_thumright:

X2 One trip around the Convention floor will teach you all custom calls are not created equal..

A turkey doesn't care whether it's mass produced or custom. As long as it will fool a gobbler that is all that matters. BUT, I do feel like custom calls are far more consistent than production type calls, especially when referring to mouth calls. You will find the stretch of the reeds to be VERY close to exact from one to another. That's how it is with Hook's mouth calls anyway.

I've run some so called "custom calls" that sound no better than something off the shelf @ Walmart.

QuoteI've run some so called "custom calls" that sound no better than something off the shelf @ Walmart

Well, there are some Wal Mart calls that are better than others. For instance, I have yet to see any custom call that can bring gobblers charging in like the Squealing Hen.  :TooFunny:

i have been waiting over a year for a custom squelling hen!!! come on guys get it done  :TooFunny: :TooFunny:

I prefer to use a call before I buy it, no matter who makes it. My Dale Rohm box, that has called in a lot of Turkeys, I bought after I used it, and technically wasn't for sale. $ latter it was mine. It's all about the sound, not the bells and whistles. My Rohm is a plain Jane,that probably sold for $5 originally.

No it must be the call you have the most confidence in , by that you have to run it knowing that it will work , if not you don't play from the heart.With that said it can be any call in your vest you run well !

Quote from: Jay on February 14, 2011, 09:24:49 PM
I prefer to use a call before I buy it, no matter who makes it. My Dale Rohm box, that has called in a lot of Turkeys, I bought after I used it, and technically wasn't for sale. $ latter it was mine. It's all about the sound, not the bells and whistles. My Rohm is a plain Jane,that probably sold for $5 originally.

Them Rohm boxes sound good

I think there is a time when every gobbler can meet his maker, but I also think that  good custom calls sound better and are more user friendly. Not every custom call sounds good. The beauty with most custom callers is they let you run the calls and mix and match strikers until you get what you want. With the mass produced stuff, A machine spits it out to specs,  and it gets packaged, and sold. With a custom call, the owners of the company take pride in their work. If it doesnt cut the mustard it goes in the fire barrell. I hunt a lot of public land and there are a lot of guys that sound like crap and over call birds. I think a ton of them use the mass produced stuff, and they sound very similar. Sometimes the customs just have that little extra something that the birds like. I dont think calling is everything with turkey hunting, but I do believe good calling can give you an edge at times. I run customs.


Ask the green timber hunters in Arkansas about being in a good hole, but having someone blowing a custom modified D2 OLT in a good  hole next to them.

In my personal opinion the BIG difference is this.....

1.  The experience/ability of the caller to use the call properly

2.  Who made the "Custom" call (all so called custom calls are NOT created equal)

There are certainly production calls out there that will kill turkey.  However I would give the edge of realism to good custom made and hand tuned calls.  You also get calls with finer quality woods that you will be more proud to own.  There is nothing wrong with pride of ownership enhancing your hunting enjoyment.

Until a couple years ago, every turkey I killed over the last 20 years died at the hands of production call. 

I dont think turkey care NEAR as much as the hunters do.  I buy production calls now because I enjoy having the ability to pick out the material's and work with call makers who are passionate about what they do and put pride in their work. 

I dont kill anymore turkey with one call vs. the other honestly but I really enjoy working with custom call makers to select calls that fit my liking.

Don't matter custom or otherwise

I didn't vote, b/c it is about consistency for me.  I truly believe it is the consistency from call to call that really makes the custom call maker shine.  I like being confident that I can open my new diaphragm and it will sound just like my old one.  That is where it's at for me.

I've spent a ton of money on both, and either one will do, but I'm a custom fan for a couple of reasons:
1. I like the smaller business idea and helping the "little guy" out
2. From what I have experienced, said "little guy" takes more pride in his work and is quicker to answer questions, address any problems quickly, and cares about what they are selling, as well as who they are selling it to
3. For pots, I feel like I can get what I want out of a custom pot better than a production pot because I can have a call built to my liking (wood options, various strikers, surface/soundboard options, etc...)
4. Most custom calls (definitely not all) are more visually appealing to me than mass produced calls
Just my personal preference...

Lots of valid points and opinions here guys..keep em coming.  :z-guntootsmiley:

 :fud: :newmascot: I'T's all in the eyes of the beholder  And in this case that means the turkeys

I only carry custom calls other than a waterproof box that I carry on rainy days (but haven't used it for several seasons).  My opinion is that they are more consistent and do sound better to me and the birds.  However, I think most (maybe all) birds can be killed with a production call.

To me the biggest difference is the strikers.  I like the HS Cross Cut, the Mystic Wet Stick and the stiker that comes with the Primos Freak.  So yeah, there are some production strikers that can sound very good.  However, I really find that custom strikers work best on the majority of the surfaces I play.  I own or have given away a gallon bag full of strikers and always run any that my friends pick up just to see if I'm $5 from improving my turkey sound.  At the end of the day, I find much more consistency in the custom strikers.

Custom calls look great, have an incredible amount of art in them (at least some of them), a lot of them sound great (I have picked up custom calls at the NWTF convention that sounded awful), I like to look at them, I just like that there is so much pride put into them.  I've picked up a few of them, but mostly as gifts.  I like my Hooks mouth calls.

However, I could kill turkeys from here to eternity using nothing more than calls straight off the shelf at walmart..........period.

I use both, but I relly enjoy the custom calls, you know who made the call, you know they were/are a Turkey Hunter.
The mass produced call sounds the same so the guy 300 yards from you is using the same call and it sounds the same.
The custom call will sound a little different and for hard hunted Public Land Turkeys that could be the difference that day.

AS some have said above either will kill but from my limited experience what I see is this

1st and foremost the person running the call probably has alot more to do with it than the call itself production or Custom

2nd noting the the above all things beign equal I think a good custom gives you an edge this being inn my minimal experience, a person far better at calling than me running a call for me while I was hunting couldn't get a squawk out of any birds running his favorite production call which I believe has led to the demise of several birds, switched to his Call made by Lights out and immediately got a gobble.

Either this was a fluke or at least in this instance custom was better. BUt again I have much less experience than other here and maybe next time the reverse will happen.

I've never hunted with a production call, but I know there are some that sound great, and others that just make sounds.  The same holds true with custom calls.  I ran a custom call that a guy brought by my shop that I would have used for a coaster if I had made it.  This call wouldn't even purr.  Sad!  Given the choice of that call or the little 3" plastic pot slate call from HS Strut that Alex Rutledge gave me, I would go with the HS Strut call.  Fortunately I have other options and the little plastic pot is just a keepsake from meeting a new friend years ago. 
Many folks will tell you that the birds on public land in their area won't respond to the mass produced calls that everybody and their brother plays in the woods.  This is one of the places a good custom call comes in handy.  Sometimes it just takes a different sound to get a response.  The best call you can carry is the one the birds respond to by coming in. 

IF you can get a decent made mass produced call, they will work provided the operator knows what he's doing.  I've had hit and miss luck buying wal-mart type calls.  I've never gotten a bad hand stretched custom call!

I know there are many production calls that sound good on the market today, but the custom calls I have traded my calls for over the years have all been top shelve. I just got a short box made out of some chestnut I salvaged and it is over the top. As far as locater calls go, I will put my crow call or two other custom crow call makers calls up against any crow call that is mass produced today.
Jack

Why not make your own custom mouth calls? I tried using production calls and one out of ten worked to my liking. SO I ordered a call kit from myelkcall.com and make calls that work for me for about $16.0 each. Yes there was a short learning curve, but now I make my calls to my specifications and trim tape to fit my mouth. I also use my kit to make elk calls. Might be worth checking out.