What are your thoughts on the minimum call proficiency that is needed to kill a gobbler? I am good with a pot & box call, but I just don't have the confidence or the ability needed for a diaphragm call at this time. Do I need this to be successful in the short term? Thanks for your help!
I'd say if your good with a pot call or a box you should be alright but your still at a small disadvantage. I would at least try to learn to use a mouth call for a yelp or cutt, it will really help you call that bird in alittle closer while holding a gun unless you can get lucky enuff moving while using one of manual calls and not spook a bird.
Good Luck, Crappiepro
No ! a lot of guys on this site use one call over another ,I cant use a mouth call at all ,I use Box and friction calls and I find a bird or two most every year that like it well enough to ride home with me ....
Quote from: ncbowhunter on February 23, 2013, 07:47:46 PM
I am good with a pot & box call, but I just don't have the confidence or the ability needed for a diaphragm call at this time. Do I need this to be successful in the short term? Thanks for your help!
I would suggest leaving any call you don't have confidence in at the house. Pot call and box call are plenty. As Crappiepro mentioned, a mouth call will allow you a little more freedom to call when a bird is in tight, but it's not a must have.
Quote from: guesswho on February 23, 2013, 08:02:52 PM
Quote from: ncbowhunter on February 23, 2013, 07:47:46 PM
I am good with a pot & box call, but I just don't have the confidence or the ability needed for a diaphragm call at this time. Do I need this to be successful in the short term? Thanks for your help!
I would suggest leaving any call you don't have confidence in at the house. Pot call and box call are plenty. As Crappiepro mentioned, a mouth call will allow you a little more freedom to call when a bird is in tight, but it's not a must have.
X2. As turkey fanatics we tend to be obsessive. Desiring to master every call ever made. Most of us never stop trying to improve our calling . Maybe by the time im a weathered old geezer i will finally be satisfied that i m a dead ringer for a real turkey. Till then i will always be trying to improve . If u think about it, running a call is alot like learning a musical instrument. If you don't feel confident with the mandolin yet , just perform with your old guitar at your next "concert". A dead bird is a dead bird and truth is most of us make better turkey talk with friction calls anyway. The mouth call just really has that advantage of no movement and hands free.
I'm not the most proficient turkey hunter in the woods . I've taken maybe 12 or so. The first with a push pin,the rest with a pot call.
Thanks for the feedback! I can yelp with a diaphragm, but that's about it......thanks again!
Between my own and others called for family and friends, I've taken 48 birds. Never used a mouth call! Just can't seem to make it sound as sweet as the friction calls. Never had a case where I said, "Wow, wish I had a mouth call."
Just my experience. I do know a guy that sounds like a whole flock of turkeys with a simple diaphragm call. If you can use one,mtheyncan be amazing.
Ducks
Quote from: ncbowhunter on February 23, 2013, 08:51:19 PM
Thanks for the feedback! I can yelp with a diaphragm, but that's about it......thanks again!
I'd try to learn to cluck on the mouth call. It should be pretty easy to learn. Then combine that with your pot and box and you will have more than enough tools to kill bird. The reason I'd say learn to cluck is because that's about all you need when he's in tight anyway, and you would still have the advantage of no movement. But still be able to coax him a little if need be. Good luck.
Killed my first turkeys with two knight and Hale pot calls and a crow call to my name.
Lots of turkeys killed with nothing but box and friction calls. Just keep working with mouth calls and add it to your arsenal.
I find setup, and being where the turkeys want to be more important then the actual calling.
Gman
I'd even say being good at ONE type of call is plenty....having said that, a mouth call is my favorite and I'd keep working at it now so you're confident in it after another season or two of practice.
In the mean time, you might try a good push-pin type call.They are as cheap and easy to use as any call you'll find and they dont require two hands when a bird gets in tight. That's what I used when they got in tight, until I got comfortable with a diaphram call...
I agree with all the above. It is not a necessity to master all calls. I have turkey hunted over 25 years and my dad taught us to use a box call first, then a mouth call second. To this day, I sound like a dying chicken on a pot style call and just never felt an urge to devote time to get very good with one. I use a mouth call, box call, scratch box call, and occasionally a tube call. Those have worked well for me, but other calls work better for others, and each one will call turkeys in. Like guesswho said, a big benefit of at least learning to cluck on a mouth call can be to coax one while close and stop one to raise his head for a good neck shot. Rather than sounding like a world championship caller on any call, most important is knowing what call to make at the proper time.
I mostly use my slate, glass, & aluminum friction calls along with my box calls and am just now trying to learn diaphragm calls. This being said, I have killed about 35 turkeys through the years so I consider myself pretty successful. Bottom line is use what you feel comfortable & confident with and success will follow. Good luck.......
If you can yelp on a mouth call then practice making very soft yelps, like what we call a "Tree Call" but is really just a contentment sound. I have been successful using this to close a gobbler the last few yards after putting my pot or box down. That is about all I use a diaphragm for is hands free soft calling to seal the deal. Tree call for now and work on a cluck and purr for later and your good to go.
Im with guesswho, use the calls that you have confidence in to work the bird and when he gets close you can use a cluck on a mouth call to keep your hands one you gun.
Thanks again for the continued advice!
Quote from: ncbowhunter on February 23, 2013, 07:47:46 PM
What are your thoughts on the minimum call proficiency that is needed to kill a gobbler? I am good with a pot & box call, but I just don't have the confidence or the ability needed for a diaphragm call at this time. Do I need this to be successful in the short term? Thanks for your help!
If you can yelp like a a hen on a pot and box you are good to go! Add a cluck and purr and you will be deadly, if you know when to use all those sounds!
lots of turkeys have been killed without diaphragm calls, but don't tell that to the outdoor channel hunters!
I believe all turkey hunters who use a diaphragm call have a huge advantage over the guys that don't, I've had a gobbler hold up at 60 or so yards, and it took some soft clucks and purrs to get him to commit. Now if I would've been using a pot or box call, I would've never gotten away with the movement that it takes to run the call and get back on the gun to take the shot.
With all that being said, I starting walking around the house and driving to and from work with a call in my mouth. It drives my wife nuts and now that I've taken up waterfowl hunting she's really going crazy, but a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do. Practice practice practice and you'll get it, now that I've learned how to run a diaphragm call thats what I use 90% of the time...
theres been plenty of birds killed with bad calling, no calling, only using boxes, only using pots, etc. The more you have in your arsenal the better off you are to meet anything thrown at you in the turkey woods. I would recommend working with a diaphram for the future, but its not neccessary to kill birds.
I use a mouth call about 95% of the time and can run one well. The last few years I've actually been trying to get back into pots and boxes, simply because no matter how good you sound on any given call, some days they just want to hear something different.
My .02.......get a few quality mouth calls to learn on, If you're trying to learn on most of the crap you find on the shelf at bass pro shops, you aren't gonna get it. try a tom teasers, xt calls, pecker wrecker, southland, woodhaven, etc. I'm also a fan of the new zincs. The call makes all the difference, I can't run any of those crappy hs strut, primos, etc.
A lot of the responses include knowing when to use what sound and when......I am currently reading Ray Eye's Turkey Bible.......can you guys expand on when is the right time to use a cluck, purr, yelp, etc? Thanks in advance!
Quote from: ncbowhunter on February 24, 2013, 09:49:53 AM
can you guys expand on when is the right time to use a cluck, purr, yelp, etc? Thanks in advance!
Unfortunately that's something that comes with experience from watching and listening to real turkeys react and interact, and can't really be taught. It will vary day to day, bird to bird depending on several factors. Example, a cluck can be anything from just a curiosity call, to a I'm here where are you call. Purrs can be a sign of contentment or a sign of curiosity, and on and on.
If you're worried about using a friction call when a bird is close try using your natural voice to make some soft clucks and yelps, it's easier than you may think
In my opinion, no. The only "advantage" of mouth calls is not having to use your hands, which, in some situations can be helpful, but, for the most part, once you call the first time, and a gobbler answers, he knows where you are, and there are situations when the best advice is to simply shut up. I am not good with mouth calls, but can fool a turkey. I didn't use them at all for several years, but decided to give them a try again, and have killed several gobblers in the past few years using only diaphragm calls.
Don't worry about being perfect. I had a friend years ago that had false teeth, and sounded, to me, very little like a real turkey, but he called in a really nice bird for me on one occasion, and many more for himself.
Also, I believe that it is possible to overcall some birds, and the fact that it is so easy to call on the diaphragm in your mouth, can, sometimes lead one to do just that.
Quote from: Skeeterbait on February 23, 2013, 11:03:12 PM
If you can yelp on a mouth call then practice making very soft yelps, like what we call a "Tree Call" but is really just a contentment sound. I have been successful using this to close a gobbler the last few yards after putting my pot or box down. That is about all I use a diaphragm for is hands free soft calling to seal the deal. Tree call for now and work on a cluck and purr for later and your good to go.
. Exactly what i do.
Quote from: guesswho on February 24, 2013, 10:02:17 AM
Quote from: ncbowhunter on February 24, 2013, 09:49:53 AM
can you guys expand on when is the right time to use a cluck, purr, yelp, etc? Thanks in advance!
Unfortunately that's something that comes with experience from watching and listening to real turkeys react and interact, and can't really be taught. It will vary day to day, bird to bird depending on several factors. Example, a cluck can be anything from just a curiosity call, to a I'm here where are you call. Purrs can be a sign of contentment or a sign of curiosity, and on and on.
Exactly. It's as much (or more) about rhythm and tone as it is about the "right sound". It's kind of like when my wife says "That's fine", depending on the tone means whether it is fine or not!
But, I'll do my best to answer the queston. Most of the time I yelp to say to the gobbler hey, I'm a hen, lets meet up. I normally use soft clucks and purrs to add realism and sounds of contentment.
Simply changing tone/force of the call can really change its meaning. Putting a lot of power behind a cluck can turn it into and Putt (alarm call) if the spacing of the notes are far apart or a Cutt if the notes are close.
Plain yelping can turn to excited yelping or and assembly call with changes in cadence, rhythm and/or tone. Putting force behind a purr can turn it into a fighting purr.
Yes don't bring a call your not confident with, my best tactic is to bring your buddy that's good at calling and let him do all the calling its worked out well for me numerous time! On a serious note I tend to not do that much calling once I can see a bird.
You should be fine
Thanks for the help! :thanks: