Just curious..Maybe somewhat dumb questions. Lol..Is it possible to mine different colors out of the same mine? Sound better for turkey calls dug further down or closer up? I guess what I'm asking does the color really mean anything if you can dig different hardness of slate from the same mine(same color)? Isn't it more important to know what mine it came from (hardness)etc.than worrying about color?
I'm sure some mines produce better slate for calls than others even if the slate is the same color..
The green and purple slates can run together. The red slate (rarest of all domestic slate) is typically quarried seperate from the green and purple slates. Usually if the quarry wants to quarry predominantly purple slate they will be in a certain part of their quarry, and if they want predominantly green slate they will be in another. When they get into a section where there is a lot of green and a lot of purple running together, that is called mottled green and purple slate. These colors are only quarried/found in a short stretch along the VT/NY border. The traditional grey/black slate used for turkey calls is quarried in PA. I am sure all the slates being used in turkey calls coming from VT/NY, are coming from the same few quarries. When I was in the business right out of college, we would never make call blanks because it just wasn't worth it. You get a ton of breakage Gauging (grinds the slate to a uniform thickness) two faces of a slate down to 1/4in or less. My guess is there is only one, maybe two places making all the red/green/purple slate call blanks available.
Is it possible to purchase direct from the mines
Quote from: outdoors on July 31, 2018, 09:12:18 AM
Is it possible to purchase direct from the mines
Yes and no. Some quarry and manufacturer their own products. Others companies will buy from mom and pop operations, then sell it retail or to contractors.
Good questions, very educational. Thanks vt35mag for the informative replies.
Here's a mottled green and purple slate tree talker I cut and sanded by hand out of a 1/4in flooring tile 10-12yrs ago. I don't know if you could hear it 50-75yds away, but I know the turkeys can.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180801/29934f33db6f86c4ffa3e65485049185.jpg)
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That's interesting looking PEICE of slate
Thanks for all the info vt35!!!