Am I messing up by only using mouth calls?

[TRG3]

No...You are not limiting yourself if this is the method you choose to use. I have a buddy that uses only mouth calls and has taken more turkeys over the years than any other hunter I know. He doesn't use decoys, either. Personally, I'm more interested in getting a turkey than the challenge of limiting my methods, so I incorporate all types of calls and decoys. The level of challenge you choose for yourself, while comfortable for you, may be too intimidating for someone else. I'm often amused when I tell another deer hunter that I hunt with a longbow and their response is that I should get a real bow, a compound! Enjoy the hunt!

[Bowguy]

Brother I'll not say you're messing up using mouth calls only. My first 20 years thats pretty much all I used. Killed plenty of birds., I wonder though how many I left in the woods. 
Sometimes, I'm sure many "call" guys will tell the birds were quiet, non responsive, whatever n some certain call changed things.
Does that mean the call was better? Did the bird come in silent than just gobble coincidentally when the new call was picked up?
I don't think so. Not one really good guy I know limits themselves to just one type call. There's times an aluminum, Crystal, scratch box, long box, whatever helps you strike a bird or call him in.
I'd say don't even just stick to hen calls either, gobbler sounds, fights n such are unbelievable at times, same as only doing a fly down w hat or something than scratching the leaves.
Do whatever it takes or whatever makes you happy

[Greg Massey]

My go to call is a slate I also use mouth calls and use a box call to call and gobble on...you can take a mouth call and use a box call at the same time to sound like more than one turkey...

[bbcoach]

I'm a firm believer in changing it up.  If I use a certain call and don't get a gobble, I change to something else.  I believe in trying to sound like multiple hens.  My go to calls are a slate with multiple strikers, split V mouth calls, a couple different pot glass calls and a quality box from Spring Creek.  It takes a lot of practice but you can get pretty proficient with all of them.  Start practicing now with different types of calls and next spring you'll gain the confidence with multiple calls. 

[HogBiologist]

I like to use pot and box calls to get Them interested. When they are on the move to me, I use the mouth calls to bring them the rest of the way.

[Ihuntoldschool]

I don't think you are messing up.  I use a mouth call 95% or more of the time.  Most days that is the only type call I will carry.  If you are worried about needing to give a different sound, carry 2 or 3 different mouth calls.  Just like you can get different sounds, pitch by switching from a mouth to a box or a slate, you can do the same thing by switching mouth calls, actually you can do it just by changing the way you run the 1 call to an extent. 

[hobbes]

I use a mouth call well over 90% of the time (closer to 100% than 90%).  I do carry two pot calls, two strikers, and one box call.   I think I ran one of the pots, a slate, one time this season.  I ran a box multiple times daily, but mostly just looking for a response in the wind.  For the most part,  I'll have a half dozen mouth calls on me.  I'll typically run a couple of them almost exclusively the whole season.  Also,  I got tired of carrying that much junk into the woods.

I've seen turkeys respond to one call and not another, so not discrediting that, but I believe that the number of times that happens is exaggerated.  It's the number one tip of the major call manufactures.  If it were that simple then the more calls bought and carried could be equated to how successful we are,  and we know that is a load of bull.  If so I could just buy a truckload of calls, back up to the woods, then run through them all until I find "The call", and easily claim my prize. 

Become proficient with what you use and you'll be fine.  If given only one option, I'd run a mouth call and never look back.

[SteelerFan]

Sometimes, it's just the thrill of the challenge as well. Talkin' turkey on many different types of calls is just plain fun. Someone on this forum said it in another thread...think of your variety of calls as your "tackle box". You could certainly fish all day / all year with just one lure (or type), if you had to. But that's not always the most fun.
I always have a mouth call in (and this year it was a Hook's Executioner II 95% of the time), because I really liked the sound and so did the birds. I also worked birds with Lonnie Sneed's Hot Hen & Outlaw Hen, and Sinclair's pot calls. I also used a scratch box that was able to pull a response from several gobblers (which was really cool, being the 1st year I tried them). I like to be proficient enough on any and all of them so that I could hunt with just that one call if I had to...but I don't!

[nativeks]

In 20 years I have never used a mouth call. I've called in and killed more birds with a box call than any other type.

[wvmntnhick]

I've not been real successful with mouth calls until the past 3-4 years. It took some practice but I've settled on a few that seem to work well for me. Prior to that, it was all friction for me. When they would commit, I'd just shut up. Had some situation in which they would turn and head off while I was stuck in a situation in which I couldn't call. Had to figure out how to diversify the call situation. I tend to get them going with a friction early and finish with the mouth calls. Seems the box calls produce a volume and frequency that can really get a bird going. Pot calls are really nice when the bird is about 100 yards or so away. You can really make some sweet sounds on a quality slate. I love these things. It's really hard to not keep a few different calls around. Never know what he's going to want in the end.

Shameless plug: tylersburg yelpers makes an awesome long slate and it will do pretty much anything you want it to do. Bought one last summer and I called several birds with it this spring when they wouldn't commit to the mouth call I was using.

[natman]

I don't see any downside to using a mouth call. I have a buddy who's very good with one and can introduce shades of tone I can't approach with a box.

I'd use a mouth call myself except that the minute I put one in my mouth I start drooling like a Saint Bernard with a mouthful of peanut butter. I have to use a box to keep from drowning.

[Rapscallion Vermilion]

I'd use a mouth call myself except that the minute I put one in my mouth I start drooling like a Saint Bernard with a mouthful of peanut butter. I have to use a box to keep from drowning.

LOL   Couldn't have put it better.  Same deal for me.   Fortunately I love messing around with all the other calls out there, and have gotten pretty good on a couple.

[BowBendr]

I use a mouth call well over 90% of the time (closer to 100% than 90%).  I do carry two pot calls, two strikers, and one box call.   I think I ran one of the pots, a slate, one time this season.  I ran a box multiple times daily, but mostly just looking for a response in the wind.  For the most part,  I'll have a half dozen mouth calls on me.  I'll typically run a couple of them almost exclusively the whole season.  Also,  I got tired of carrying that much junk into the woods.

I've seen turkeys respond to one call and not another, so not discrediting that, but I believe that the number of times that happens is exaggerated.  It's the number one tip of the major call manufactures.  If it were that simple then the more calls bought and carried could be equated to how successful we are,  and we know that is a load of bull.  If so I could just buy a truckload of calls, back up to the woods, then run through them all until I find "The call", and easily claim my prize. 

Become proficient with what you use and you'll be fine.  If given only one option, I'd run a mouth call and never look back.

Hobbes hit the nail on the head !


Sent by this stupid phone

[Bigfoot]

I don't think you are limiting yourself by using just mouth calls but why not get proficient with a box or other call just to throw something different at them. Might up your odds occasionally. 

[Cut N Run]

I tend to think about turkey calls about like fishing rods or golf clubs...There's different tools for different jobs.  I love to strike a gobbler on a long box, coax him closer with a pot, then sweet talk him the rest of the way with a mouth call or scratching leaves.  I used to take only one type of call (box only, mouth call only, etc.) just to improve my skill set with each type in case I was ever stuck with just one call.  That cost me turkeys, but I learned from it.  I'm no champion caller with any call, though that gobbler is the only one I really need to impress when it counts.

I listen to other callers when I get the chance and too many of them are stuck in a rut, where they call using the same rhythm, volume, and use exact same notes every time they call.  It sounds believable the first or maybe the second time, but if the caller doesn't move locations or change up some it is easy to tell that it is not a real hen calling.  If it is obvious to me, I know a turkey can tell it too. 

If you have confidence with mouth calls and are getting the job done, congratulations.  But it never hurts to have other options available in case that gobbler doesn't like the sound of a mouth call. There's no need to intentionally limit yourself.

Jim