I'm pretty green when it comes to turkey hunting or calling them been playing with a Glass pot call getting better and better but was wondering should i learn more then one type of call ? Should i add to my bag of tricks or is it all the same ? Thanks any feedback helps.
They are not the same and the more you have in your bag of tricks the more gobblers you will call in. The same gobbler may ignore one call today and gobble his head off to that same call tomorrow. Many times a turkey will answer a call but not come in. Sometimes just switching calls will have him headed your way. And maybe most important getting new calls and learning to run them well is addicting fun for many turkey callers, I mean hunters.
You should learn on something until you get confident with it. Then move to something else. You can never learn enough turkey calls. I have been calling turkeys for almost 30 years and I am still learning and wanting to learn more. A friend of mine gave me some good advice once. He said a turkey hunter should at least learn the 3 different types of calls. Box, pot and mouth calls. I believe that you need to learn at least a friction operated call(pot, box, scratch box) and a wind operated call(mouth, tube, wingbone, trumpet, or natural voice).
I have had turkeys that would not gobble to a mouth call or a pot call but when I used a box call they ate it up. Thats why I try to learn how to call on every type of turkey call I can get my hands on. These are just my opinions. Good luck,
TRKYHTR
Thanks for the help guys ! :icon_thumright:
I'll second the earlier statement that learning to use the different kinds of calls is one of the most fun and addictive things about turkey hunting.
The more calls you become proficient in, the more dangerous your arsonal becomes.
Like the other guys said before, he might not like the first, or even the second call you run. However, he might just hammer that third one, and come in a runnin'!
That's what makes it so much fun. Keeps me busy in the winter months just practicing my calls.
after you can run the friction callers pretty well try a mouth call and then move up to another wind operated caller like a trumpet in good hands they sound more like real hen turkeys than any other (caller they do to me anyway)
especially if you hunt hard hunted land with birds that have heard everything
Quote from: gob09 on December 01, 2011, 07:11:51 AM
a trumpet in good hands they sound more like real hen turkeys than any other (caller they do to me anyway)
especially if you hunt hard hunted land with birds that have heard everything
I have heard this more and more. Once I get more proficient on a mouthcall, I would like to try to learn the trumpet.
i have 2 and been working on them for the past year and have praticed quite a bit and sound passible sometimes but a lot of times something goes wrong and it sounds like a chokeing turkey that cant catch its breath im sure it has something to do with muscle memory
Quote from: gob09 on December 01, 2011, 07:11:51 AM
after you can run the friction callers pretty well try a mouth call and then move up to another wind operated caller like a trumpet in good hands they sound more like real hen turkeys than any other (caller they do to me anyway)
especially if you hunt hard hunted land with birds that have heard everything
Man them mouth calls gag me lol i may move on to the trumpet .
if you buy a trumpet theres a lot of guys on this site that make them and most will work with you so you get what you want
Quote from: gob09 on December 01, 2011, 07:29:07 PM
if you buy a trumpet theres a lot of guys on this site that make them and most will work with you so you get what you want
I wish i would have found this site before i got my Glass pot call but for now on ill know .
glass pot callers are great i have a mass production one that soundsd really good. but have retired it for a lights out beaded glass thats sounds much better. i also have a pappy dish pan aluminum call that works really well
you will also need a good box caller at some point .
just take it as it comes to you i had production calls for a long time before i started buying custom calls
The sound is more important than the source so learn the language then learn to take it to other calls.
I agree with the sentiment that learning the different types of calls is one of my favorite parts of this crazy sport. However, if you are learning a glass pot call right now, I would stick with that until you have mastered it.
I'd take the learning from your glass call over to a slate or ceramic call. From there I would learn a box call.
You can call many turkeys with that glass call which will make sounds to kill most birds out there. The slate is a softer call and my opinion on ceramic is that you have to try really hard to make a sound on one of those that can't pass for a turkey.
The box call will also be easy to pick up and play after you learn the tempo and purpose of each sound on the pan calls.
The hands free flexibility of a mouth call can't be under rated. I would start by learning to cluck and purr to help you get that gobbler to take those last few steps or put his head up when you are ready for the shot. Then you can learn to really run it - cuts, yelps, kiki, etc.
That said, I would not expect that you should be carrying a mouth call or trumpet into the woods this year. Those two pan calls are enough to kill a bird and you should be able to get pretty good at them and the box call before the season starts. I agree with the above that they won't kill EVERY bird but on a given day they could kill ANY bird.
IMO, get a box call(it's the easiest to get the cadence of the yelp and a great distance call) and if you can't handle the mouth call(I know more than a few people) get a push pin call that straps to the gun for close in clucks and purrs. After you get those, practice with them all. It's always good to have another hen in the house so to speak. :anim_25:
Try to learn to use as many types of calls as you can. Practice, Practice, Practice. I try to practice on calls that I find harder to use and thus have more weapons in my turkey vest so to speak. Good luck. :gobble:
Learn all you can, but one at a time. I'd rather be better than average on one than average on several.
When you hear the box call army fire up at first light, you will be glad you learned more than one type of call. Gobblers stay away from box calls on the public land I hunt, so I hit them with a crystal pot call and mouth calls.
Get a push pin. Its as easy as any call to run. There are some good push pins out there that are easy to cluck,purr and yelp on and if you get a good one it will get some to the gun. I have a Heart of Dixie and after I modified it it sounds really good. I can run them all and I always carry my push pin.
Quote from: guesswho on December 26, 2011, 08:32:39 PM
Learn all you can, but one at a time. I'd rather be better than average on one than average on several.
I agree...
There's an old saying that says "the man who chases two rabbits catches neither." Like Guesswho said, focus on one and get good with it then move on to the next. Dont be halfway good at several calls when you could be practicing getting very good with one.
Another point of view no one has mentioned. If it's raining many people will have a hard time with friction calls. Therefore to me, it's imperative to learn a mouth call. Also I used to carry only one pot call. I slipped scaling a big ol rock covered creek bank and busted it. Had I not had something else to use it would've jacked up my day.
idk lol :z-winnersmiley: