Anybody else feel like they might have one?
I have a lot of pot calls.......not nearly as many as some of you whack jobs LOL :z-dizzy: :goofball: but a pretty good number and I would consider myself an above average caller with a pot call.
I also have enough strikers to hand out to the local boyscouts for a weekend worth of firewood.
Has any one else received a call......maybe one that you have seen recommended over.......with high hopes, only to find the call immediately hates you or all the turkeys fell out of it in shipping? ???
I have 2 such calls and one is a call I still see mentioned repeatedly as a "top" in its surface material group and I get more "rusty gate" than "raspy hen" out of them with any stick in my arsenal of strikers.
I have 2 for sure but a couple I wouldnt even be comfortable reselling, so because they are pretty they are on the shelf but would only see the inside of my vest if someone played a practical joke on me.
Are there really "Clunkers" or do some calls just not agree with certain people? How can a call that obviously sounds like dynamite to a bunch of people be so disappointing to another?
I can't be alone with a well known call where all the turkeys built into it fell out in shipping?! :funnyturkey:
Maybe something bad happened while it was being shipped. I have had this happen before. It could be that we all have different taste which is what makes this obsession so addicting. Also different guys run pots different then other guys. Some more aggressive players sound better on certain calls then other guys. I also just had a pot that lost its sound and contacted the callmaker. He said ship it back and he will make it right. If you don't like the pot, contact him and most all the guys will exchange it or refund your money. Scoot
I'd say it's a real "phenomenon". I've experienced it with some "must have" strikers as well. Great expectations quickly fade into "Really?... *sigh". Lol
With some calls, I KNOW it's me. Paul Platz and Clint Corder could team up and make a copper pot, and I still couldn't make it sound turkey! Copper does not agree with me.
That said, I have had luck with several "band-wagon" calls.
I have to say its me. LOL! I have had so many pots throughout the years and still have trouble running a pile of them. I know they are good calls. Just can't run em worth a darn unless I practice with them repeatedly day in and day out. Than there's the ones I can pick up and have no trouble with. I am leaning towards that the maker runs there calls in a different way than I do.
Yes, a call can have a problem, something loose, broken or cracked. Some calls can loose their tone with moisture or temperature if they are unstable and/or are not properly finished.
But then some calls just are not for some people. I have some "band-wagon" calls that I just love and I also had some I thought sounded terrible and I would never turkey hunt with.
For example I have a Platz walnut glass/glass pot that I think is fantastic, However it has a loud high pitched, sharp raspy bark to it. I know there are lots of good turkey hunters out there that do not like that sound and prefer a more soft mellow clear call. If they were honest they would not like that call at all.
Steve
I was thinking that as well?......maybe some makers run their calls differently??
Not sure, but I sure have a few that make me feel like I don't know as much as I thought I did. LOL And then I have a handful of calls of equal quality that I could throw any striker at from 10 ft away and as long as I hit the surface it's gonna lay out a perfect yelp (Or at least a good cluck).
I have one "Band-Wagon" call (I like that term) that seriously I've tried every striker in every spot on that call that should make a respectable turkey noise and at best it sounds like a Jack Russell Terrier with a cold. ;D
I've never done it but is there an ettiquette about telling a maker or not.....that you "aren't impressed"? I can imagine some eye rolling and some quiet "guy doesn't know what he is doing" on the other end so I never bothered.
It always makes me wonder about the calls in the classifieds.....are they calls that someone had a similar experience with? Are they "Clunkers"? Why is someone selling the same call that 6 people in a row on a post yesterday were doing jumping jacks over?
I know I am up to 5 (and ONLY 5 calls) that I own that I would NEVER give up, maybe 10 that I like enough that they might come off the bench for giggles now and then, and another 5 or 6 that I pretty much hate.
So I'm basically "Eh.... :-\ " about 3/4 of my calls........That seems like a lot of Eh and Ugh. LOL
It's like the search for the Holy Grail, and that said I have 2 more "GOOD" ones showing up tomorrow. Fingers crossed! :anim_25:
do you get a sound file from the call maker before you buy? if so I would think I would contact the call maker I would like to be told , me I run the call and I ask when the customer get the call would he play and make a sound file so I can hear him play the call?
I believe everyone's hearing/expectations vary by a great measure. What sounds good to you may sound bad to me, or other way around. But yes, there are some truely bad calls that nobody would like. I still have mine...........LOL
:OGturkeyhead:
Quote from: Matt / PA on March 21, 2017, 08:50:32 AM
I was thinking that as well?......maybe some makers run their calls differently??
Not sure, but I sure have a few that make me feel like I don't know as much as I thought I did. LOL And then I have a handful of calls of equal quality that I could throw any striker at from 10 ft away and as long as I hit the surface it's gonna lay out a perfect yelp (Or at least a good cluck). :funnyturkey:
I have one "Band-Wagon" call (I like that term) that seriously I've tried every striker in every spot on that call that should make a respectable turkey noise and at best it sounds like a Jack Russell Terrier with a cold. ;D
I've never done it but is there an ettiquette about telling a maker or not.....that you "aren't impressed"? I can imagine some eye rolling and some quiet "guy doesn't know what he is doing" on the other end so I never bothered.
It always makes me wonder about the calls in the classifieds.....are they calls that someone had a similar experience with? Are they "Clunkers"? Why is someone selling the same call that 6 people in a row on a post yesterday were doing jumping jacks over?
I know I am up to 5 (and ONLY 5 calls) that I own that I would NEVER give up, maybe 10 that I like enough that they might come off the bench for giggles now and then, and another 5 or 6 that I pretty much hate.
So I'm basically "Eh.... :-\ " about 3/4 of my calls........That seems like a lot of Eh and Ugh. LOL
It's like the search for the Holy Grail, and that said I have 2 more "GOOD" ones showing up tomorrow. Fingers crossed! :anim_25:
You should feel completely comfortable asking the call maker if you can ship it back for a refund. Every good call maker will probably have a return policy!
It could be that we all have different taste which is what makes this obsession so addicting. Also different guys run pots different then other guys. Some more aggressive players sound better on certain calls then other guys.
As a call maker, I have to say that the above statement is the best I saw in this thread. As well as some others. I have bought "high end" calls that worked well as door stops and strikers that I use when we go camping for tent stakes....that is part of the game....I tell you one thing, my taste is different, I run calls differently then some ...I like a soft old school call sound, and I run a call that way. NOT EVERYONE RUNS THEIR CALLS THAT WAY.....I have seen folks expectations amaze me, when a fellow came by a couple weeks back he ran a call that I thought was too squeaky...he loved it...and one of my pots that I loved and brought in birds with, he thought was too deep??? So, I guess I am saying, if you have a call that has you climbing the walls or pulling out your hair, contact the maker, talk to him, tell him your concerns...and if he is an honest call maker, concerned about your satisfaction, instead of a sale, he will make it right. But...if it is on your end, if you like me and others, just cannot run certain calls, even if they sound great to others, then swallow hard and shelf it....
I have noticed that pot calls seem to have a built in natural "pitch and tone range" . If this range is in the middle of the range a turkey can make It can go higher and lower in pitch and still sound good. Thus a call that can be played with a lot of different strikers and a lot of different calling techniques. Anything and everything will sound good with that call.
A call with its natural range at the high or low end may have more limitations with the sound you can get out of it and still sound good. These calls are a lot more limited in what strikers and calling technique can be used with them. Some only sound good played with just the right striker just the right way.
Steve
Quote from: joker on March 21, 2017, 12:42:53 PM
I have noticed that pot calls seem to have a built in natural "pitch and tone range" . If this range is in the middle of the range a turkey can make It can go higher and lower in pitch and still sound good. Thus a call that can be played with a lot of different strikers and a lot of different calling techniques. Anything and everything will sound good with that call.
A call with its natural range at the high or low end may have more limitations with the sound you can get out of it and still sound good. These calls are a lot more limited in what strikers and calling technique can be used with them. Some only sound good played with just the right striker just the right way.
Steve
And they are the pots that you can keep. I hate a call that has to be played just right. In the house is fine but when hunting that's a big screw up waiting to happen.
Great point Yelp, here in Wisconsin it can get down in the 20s in the morning and a finnicky call is the last thing I want in my cold hands. Scoot
Ive got some calls that I can make turkey sounds on but just dont have what I'M wanting to hear. Like alot of you I have calls i'm most comfortable with that will play well with what seems like a piece of rebar at times. With that being said I have started to carry some calls that even though they may sound bad to me,may be the one ol' tom is looking for that day. I've killed several with calls I am not real "confident" in so to say.Sounded like a rusty gate more than a turkey to me but mr. turkey sure liked what he was hearing.
If you didn't like em so much you could always give em to a kid to practice on if you didn't want to sell
Quote from: Bowguy on March 21, 2017, 05:46:26 PM
If you didn't like em so much you could always give em to a kid to practice on if you didn't want to sell
That's an excellent point.....and one I actually have exercised several times now. Of course I didnt gift any of the few "Clunkers" LOL but nice calls that went to new young homes where they will be better appreciated. I'm down 3 from my herd anyway and always looking for an opportunity to help a kid.
I think they actually accounted for a bird or 2 last season.
And don't get me wrong I don't have a stable of calls that don't sound like a turkey......I think the point was well stated that maybe a number of them just arent my idea of a good sounding turkey. Not bad but not ear catching either and when it's a highly mentioned call that can be a let down. Even though turkeys might fall from the sky like kamakazees for it.
Some of the "worst" calling I've heard was from live hens so we probably all overthink it a bit.....the calls are too much fun not to. ;D
I bet we are all searching for that elusive hard to explain live hollow nasal raspy sound of a real hen. We know what it sounds like,we know its never going to happen, but we keep hoping the next pot
call is gonna have feathers on it!
And then we all watch a hunting show on the outdoor channel where a gobbler comes running to calling that makes your teeth fillings hurt and your dog go upstairs and all we can do is laugh and throw our hands up.
Turkey hunting is borderline stupid......like hot sauce. :toothy12:
was like said above we all got our own tastes weather its turkey calls ,trucks whiskey, beer or women ,,, if a call sounds realy dead something may have happened in shipping sound board got jarred lose something ,, me I got a sound that I like and plenty of times sat in woods heard some thing said what heck is that and here comes some turkeys lol ,, me I make few calls and one thing I like do besides make them turkey is easy to run you ever see some these guys run calls and their moving half their hand and making wide strokes on surface to get yelp from call that may be good on a stage but well that's not for me how I run calls ,, I like them where striker barley moves and can make sound ,,,my be good if u sit in a blind but I like pull up a tree and guaranteed running a call like that bird 50 yrd out going to see movement ,,, and your band wagon calls we all got few fans but sometimes u just got sit back and look who is pushing them calls ,,, at end of the day no matter who it is have them run a call over phone do a video up close at distance see how they run their calls they may have style that don't fit you ,, if they don't want to run a call for u move on I would ,, some guys run them side ways some flat ,,
Quote from: scoot12 on March 21, 2017, 02:41:13 PM
Great point Yelp, here in Wisconsin it can get down in the 20s in the morning and a finnicky call is the last thing I want in my cold hands. Scoot
I'm with you on that Scoot. It is sometimes cold here too and damp. I usually stick to a box call when my fingers are cold. They are easier to run for me when it's like sitting in a freezer in the early am.
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"Turkey hunting is borderline stupid......like hot sauce. :toothy12:"
...and that folks, is the truth! Hahahaha!
I have a problem even with my "clunkers".
I don't want to sell them!
I'm a turkey call hoarder.....good, bad, or ugly.
I have given a few away though.
:newmascot:
If your not satisfied with a call, for whatever reason, you should contact the call maker who made and sold it to you, if that were the case. I, myself, would want you to do that if you had bought a call from me. I would want a chance to make it right with you, and if I couldn't, I would refund your money. My line of thinking is, If your not happy with my call, your not gonna recommend it to anyone, and referrals are my only real advertising. And if I couldn't make you satisfied with making it right, you could honestly say to someone, that at least he gave me my money back. Service is just as important as the product. I know I'm not perfect, and I also know you can't make 100% of the people, happy, 100% of the time. It's just reality!
If you buy enough calls eventually you'll get a clunker. Unfortunately I believe most of the time it's due to quality control. Sometimes in the haste to fill orders and getting them in the mail subpar calls make it out the door. Personally I'd prefer that a callmaker call me and tell me he's not 100% happy with my call and wait another month or however long I'll need to wait to get a good one.
I have no problem contacting a callmaker if I'm not happy with their call!! I work hard for my money and I expect a good, if not great call when I get it!!
Quote from: HFultzjr on March 22, 2017, 09:14:21 AM
I have a problem even with my "clunkers".
I don't want to sell them!
I'm a turkey call hoarder.....good, bad, or ugly.
I have given a few away though.
:newmascot:
Good we don't want to end up with em..Lol...I only have a couple high end calls that are junkers ,bought them second hand. I wouldn't ever pass them on that's B.S. in my opinion...
A. everyone plays a pot call differently some are limp wristed some have long fingers and play with a death grip. Depending how tight you grip the pot and the striker allows you to play a wide range of sounds from each call. Looser equals more rasp and deeper tone. Tighter equals clearer sound and higher pitch.
B. call makers make their calls differently some have bigger soundboards under the surface some have smaller soundboards under the surface changing the location where you should play their call optimally to get the two-note break in a yelp. some play out near the edge, some play down near the middle.
C. some call makers use every wood imaginable in every combination and they think they have to have the one thing every oddball customer wants. Others settle on one or two combinations for each surface (slate, glass or aluminum) and stick with it they only make those combinations. They know what sounds best and may in my opinion have better consistency.
D. The striker can make or break a call's quality. probably has 20 to 50 percent of sound quality. light weight woods play higher. Holly is the lightest and plays the highest giving great kee kees. Oily dense woods like wenge or heavy dense woods like ebony play deeper and raspier.
Having said A, B, C and D... I have four or five out of a couple hundred pots that just sound awful-- either flat or no break in the yelp.
Definately ask to have it replaced or exchanged. This happens sometimes during shipping. You don't need to feel bad about it!!