what type of call sounds best at a distance

[redowl]

I listen to my calls  up close but also at a distance say 100 yards.some sound good up close but not out at longer ranges some lose something. .when i make a call i get someone that can run it and listen to it up close but also out a little ways.most of them make the cut some of dont.just curious if anyone else has the same results.

[chatterbox]

I think consistantly box type calls give the best sounds at long distances. I know when I try to "long distance" dial one up, I reach for my Gibson box call.

[gobbler336]

personally i video record myself using the calls from about 30yds away, i do this just for the audio but someday somebody might get a kick out of watching it and it may win them a dollar or two on the funny video constest.  i have been doing this the last four or five years and it really helps narrow down or split the tie between two calls if i have a hard time deciding what goes in and what stays home.  and it helps me really pick up on the different resonances that calls have.

[drenalinld]

Great question. I have always heard people answer box calls. I will tell you at 100 yards I will identify it as a box call 99% of the time in two seconds. I think I need to research this more.

[pappy]

The best "distance" caller is one that you can operate consistently.......be it a box call or a trumpet or any air operated call.  Always keep in mind though, that you are playing to attract turkeys not humans, as they definitely hear differently then we do...their keen sense of hearing is their second line of defense next to their eyesight, and you know how good that is! Most box calls produce consistently pitched sounds once you get the hang of them, THAT IS IF THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO PRODUCE REAL TURKEY LIKE SOUNDS IN THE FIRST PLACE,  so I would say that the chance of making long distance calls from a box is pretty good, if you are using any call that takes air to operate, tube, mouth, trumpet, wing bone, yelper  and so on, you have to be able to control your output, in order to produce good sounding calls that can be heard at greater distance, remember the bird is expecting to hear that certain pitch, so just playing it loud is not going to cut it. I have seen birds answer to pot calls at a distance of over 100 yards, as a matter of fact last Spring my son in-law brought in a 26 pounder from that distance with the wind blowing in from behind him, just soft yelped three times in five minutes, so I believe the key to making a call work "distance" is practice making the correct sounds with the call you have and let the bird do the answering, I guarantee you this much, if it sounds like a Tom gobbling or a hen purring, the bird will hear it even if he is half way across the county...

[shadetree callers]

 I have experimented with this for several years now . What I have found is that most calls will lose their sound qulaity at a distance of more than 75 yds . In my opinion a longbox works best especially if it has a raspy sound up close . A call that sounds super raspy in your hands will hold up better at long distances . The clearer the sound is up close , the more you lose to air space at a distance . A good long caller that has the full range of sounds from kee kee's to to downright nasty gravelly yelps , will carry more turkey sound through the air . Neil Cost always said that his boat paddles were made to call to a turkey that was at a distance and he felt that his calls didn't do well up close . With todays improvements to the longbox brought around by people like Marlin Watkins, they are in my opinion , the only call needed in the woods . Don't get me wrong , I will always carry an arsenal of calls with me because sometimes the birds won't respond to all calls and you have to find the one that suits them on that particular day ! But my vote would be on the fencepost caller !
Bob

[redowl]

Thanks  for the response .I know some may think were splitting hairs but listen to a hen at distance her sound does not break down .YES i know we will never be able to perfectly imitate a hen but as a call maker i think i and i know some of you have come very close.i guess well have to keep experimenting.

[WildTigerTrout]

At long distance? A boat paddle box call.

[Spring Creek Calls]

At long distance? A boat paddle box call.

[chatterbox]

I think a Gibson box call can really reach out there and sound good doing it!

[callmakerman]

Long box yes but I have a Turpin style hen box that I made for myself that works great for me. She's a bit raspy but worked real nice a my long distance long beard this past spring. Started and over 200 yards a called all the way to the gun. I also have a long box that's real raspy that I made a few years back out of cedar and purpleheart. I felt this caller was a little deep in sound like gobbler yelps but the birds love it.  Bill