I wrote something up a few years back but seems it all got lost in the archives. I see a bunch of the same call type questions on here and facebook group so I figured Id just put this together again to try and answer some of those questions all at once.
What type of calls do you recommend and what are some of the characteristics of those calls.
For beginners generally speaking the best calls to start with are 2-3 reed prophylactic based reeds. These require much less air and pressure to produce sound.
A - Split V and Cutter type calls are generally more raspy based, they really shine with higher air flow and using the call for cutting and cackling. They can produce all the other turkey sounds but generally speaking are harder to produce the 2 tone roll over on yelps and can be more difficult to tone the volume down on them
B - Ghost cuts and batwings are more all around based cuts that can do it all very well but will produce less rasp generally. These type cuts have skyrocketed in popularity over the years due to their all around use. These cuts can be toned down or used to get loud but again they are not as crisp for cutting or getting very aggressive with
These are all just general terms though and some people depending on how they blow them may find different results. My advice is to get a few different manufactures calls and try them. Once you find the ones you really like and can use buy a few extra incase they change them at some point. If taken cared of and cleaned off/stored properly you can hold onto a single call for a few seasons.
Crystal - one of my personal Favorite surfaces to use. Generally has a little higher pitch to it with a great roll over yelp. Has plenty of rasp to it and is easy to condition. The down fall for crystal like most pot call surfaces is when wet it is useless. This is pretty common in TN with very wet/humid conditions in early season. Can condition it with a scotch-bright pad or sandpaper but does very well with a conditioning stone.
Glass - Not a lot different then crystal but does have a slightly different tone. IMO glass will have a little less rasp on average and requires a little more constant conditioning. Personally my 2nd favorite surface behind Crystal for all around use.
Slate - prob one of the most used ones out there (I like to say the spinnerbait of turkey calling lol). All around great surface and IMO one of the easiest to use due to its natural ability to grip strikers. Easy to condition with scotch-bright pad. Slate is a fantastic option if you are looking for a surface to use with lower volume, birds in close or tree yelping. Can get very quiet but will not reach the volumes of others for shock calling or windy day calling.
Aluminum - IMO one of the more tricky surfaces to use. Aluminum can get VERY loud and generally a much higher pitch like crystal but has a slightly different tone to it. The thing with aluminum is it can get very slippery very fast on strikers so you have to keep it conditioned and really play around with striker combos to find the sound you like. I always recommend having more practice with this surface to get confidence in it before taking it into the woods.
Ceramic - More inline with the sound of slate but requires far less conditioning and can still be used when wet. Great option for people newer to using pot calls just because it requires less upkeep. Generally speaking the sound file for ceramic is more "dull" but can produce all the sounds needed to hunt turkeys.
Copper - VERY unique sound to it and really requires more constant conditioning. A lot of folks use copper when nothing else seems to work. Generally will have a very high pitch but really requires more practice to get the angles needed for good striker contact and flow.
There are plenty of others but just wanted to hit on some of the more common.
IMO this should be considered equally important as the pot call type and surface you are using. Investing in multiple striker types is a great and cheap way to have 1 call that can produce a wide variety of sounds by just changing the strikers. Like pot material striker options are almost endless these days but some basic ones I will cover. Just as a general rule the denser the wood the more dull the sound file will be (not always but generally speaking) for example Ebony vs Birch. Ebony is a VERY dense wood which will make a striker of the same size and shape vs birch much heavier. That added weight and wood density will sound much different than the lighter more softer birch striker. Some surfaces actually like a more dense type of wood like crystal. When I reference dull above I dont always mean that in a bad way. Using a lighter softer wood on something like aluminum can make the pitch so high its almost unusable so going to a more dense wood like Osage, snakewood or ironwood can bring the tone down to more of a sweet spot for you. However when looking at something like slate that lighter higher pitch option may be exactly what you are looking for.
Find the striker design you like that fits in your hand well and balances. Try out different wood types on the calls you have or decide to get. You can get a lot of options for less than $10 a striker which is much cheaper then buying all new calls.
What type of calls do you recommend and what are some of the characteristics of those calls.
TYPE
1. Mouth Calls
I see a lot of people asking about "whats the best one to use for a beginner or whats the best cut to use for hunting"? Mouth calls are really the hardest one to really recommend to people because what works for some may not work for others. A lot of factors go into mouth calls like the shape of a persons roof of their mouth or how they press their tongue to the call. In addition how much air the person pushes through the call. For instance I cannot blow calls that are a higher stretch tension, but ones with a lower stretch tension I can make sing.1a. Different types of cuts
This is where it even gets more tricky. depending on the types of reeds used the cut makes all the difference. You hear about Ghost cut, split V, batwing, reverse batwing and cutter types for example. Some of these cuts are more versatile then others and some of them are cut to specialize in certain sounds.For beginners generally speaking the best calls to start with are 2-3 reed prophylactic based reeds. These require much less air and pressure to produce sound.
A - Split V and Cutter type calls are generally more raspy based, they really shine with higher air flow and using the call for cutting and cackling. They can produce all the other turkey sounds but generally speaking are harder to produce the 2 tone roll over on yelps and can be more difficult to tone the volume down on them
B - Ghost cuts and batwings are more all around based cuts that can do it all very well but will produce less rasp generally. These type cuts have skyrocketed in popularity over the years due to their all around use. These cuts can be toned down or used to get loud but again they are not as crisp for cutting or getting very aggressive with
These are all just general terms though and some people depending on how they blow them may find different results. My advice is to get a few different manufactures calls and try them. Once you find the ones you really like and can use buy a few extra incase they change them at some point. If taken cared of and cleaned off/stored properly you can hold onto a single call for a few seasons.
2. Pot calls
Pot calls are a little more simple to figure out as no matter the user the call can produce the same base sound for all. The more important aspect of pot calls is the call surface, soundboard and pot type. A single call can then be changed slightly with different striker material2a. Pot call surface materials.
Surface material is where you can start to zone in on the sound options you are looking for. For example if you want a more high pitch sound then look in the aluminum range, if you are wanting a more neutral sound that can be used with lower volume then look more in the slate surface area.Crystal - one of my personal Favorite surfaces to use. Generally has a little higher pitch to it with a great roll over yelp. Has plenty of rasp to it and is easy to condition. The down fall for crystal like most pot call surfaces is when wet it is useless. This is pretty common in TN with very wet/humid conditions in early season. Can condition it with a scotch-bright pad or sandpaper but does very well with a conditioning stone.
Glass - Not a lot different then crystal but does have a slightly different tone. IMO glass will have a little less rasp on average and requires a little more constant conditioning. Personally my 2nd favorite surface behind Crystal for all around use.
Slate - prob one of the most used ones out there (I like to say the spinnerbait of turkey calling lol). All around great surface and IMO one of the easiest to use due to its natural ability to grip strikers. Easy to condition with scotch-bright pad. Slate is a fantastic option if you are looking for a surface to use with lower volume, birds in close or tree yelping. Can get very quiet but will not reach the volumes of others for shock calling or windy day calling.
Aluminum - IMO one of the more tricky surfaces to use. Aluminum can get VERY loud and generally a much higher pitch like crystal but has a slightly different tone to it. The thing with aluminum is it can get very slippery very fast on strikers so you have to keep it conditioned and really play around with striker combos to find the sound you like. I always recommend having more practice with this surface to get confidence in it before taking it into the woods.
Ceramic - More inline with the sound of slate but requires far less conditioning and can still be used when wet. Great option for people newer to using pot calls just because it requires less upkeep. Generally speaking the sound file for ceramic is more "dull" but can produce all the sounds needed to hunt turkeys.
Copper - VERY unique sound to it and really requires more constant conditioning. A lot of folks use copper when nothing else seems to work. Generally will have a very high pitch but really requires more practice to get the angles needed for good striker contact and flow.
There are plenty of others but just wanted to hit on some of the more common.
2b. Soundboards
The actual surface is not the only factor in play for pot calls, the sound board material is also very important to keep in mind. You will find all sorts of options out there like wood, aluminum, slate, crystal for example and each one pairs well in conjunction with the surface and pot material (more on that part below). David Hallorans crystal mistress (a VERY popular pot call) for example runs a crystal top with a slate sound board. Thats not to say all with this combo will sound the same but thats what works on that call. By default the denser the soundboard the more it can redirect sound back, but at the end of the day I would not get to caught up with with this part. If you are buying from a known maker they have chosen the soundboard they feel best fits the material used. There are a few on this site that im sure can get more into physics of this if someone wants them to.2c. Pot material
This section Ill try and keep short because the pot material types are almost endless lol. from hundreds of wood types to ceramics to plastics. I personally prefer wood as the material but it has its pros and cons. Its a more natural material so IMO produces the best realistic sounds HOWEVER with any natural material it can change with big temp swings and moisture. Wood does shrink and expand with temp changes so in some cases it can then slightly change the tone of the call depending on that. Wood also doesnt do very well if it gets wet and over time that can cause the call to change. Wood is porous so it will absorb oils and dirt from handling over the long term which can change its look and feel. Dont get caught up in the look of the call as far as how it sounds, there are plenty of collectable type pot calls out there that LOOK stunning but that doesnt always mean they sound that way. Try and stick to more common wood types like walnut, maple, hickory or laminate as examples (not limited to that) and then branch out if you feel the need or just like to collect calls (you know who you people are hahah)2d. Strikers
IMO this should be considered equally important as the pot call type and surface you are using. Investing in multiple striker types is a great and cheap way to have 1 call that can produce a wide variety of sounds by just changing the strikers. Like pot material striker options are almost endless these days but some basic ones I will cover. Just as a general rule the denser the wood the more dull the sound file will be (not always but generally speaking) for example Ebony vs Birch. Ebony is a VERY dense wood which will make a striker of the same size and shape vs birch much heavier. That added weight and wood density will sound much different than the lighter more softer birch striker. Some surfaces actually like a more dense type of wood like crystal. When I reference dull above I dont always mean that in a bad way. Using a lighter softer wood on something like aluminum can make the pitch so high its almost unusable so going to a more dense wood like Osage, snakewood or ironwood can bring the tone down to more of a sweet spot for you. However when looking at something like slate that lighter higher pitch option may be exactly what you are looking for.
Find the striker design you like that fits in your hand well and balances. Try out different wood types on the calls you have or decide to get. You can get a lot of options for less than $10 a striker which is much cheaper then buying all new calls.
3. Tube call
Tube calls are a very simple design that can make all the sounds needed for calling. One big advantage to tube calls is the small footprint and the ability to reproduce jake and gobble sounds easily. The thing with tube calls is you need to find the reed material you like best and get a bunch of extras. Tube calls require you to "adjust" them throughout the season as the material starts to stretch and deteriorate. I personally always carry one and it has come in handy with nothing else seemed to make them close the distance.4. Box call
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Can't say I blame you!! In all seriousness too though, twice I got busted by hens because I thought some Elmer was trespassing on the land I was hunting on scratching a box call. I may not be the most avid turkey hunter but the only times I know I've been fooled is by a box call, I just couldn't stand the thought of using one. I HATE carrying one in the woods too. No matter what I do it still makes squeaks when I walk
