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Custom v. Production Calls

String Music

String Music

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For the past couple of years I've been using custom friction calls. To me, a custom call looks and sounds better than production calls (primos, etc.). I know a lot of people don't want to spend the extra money on a custom call when production calls will get the job done.

What type of call do you use?
 
I converted to custom calls this past spring season..... Very happy with the investment, service, and personalization..I won't be going back to production calls anytime soon.
 
Production

I'd use a custom call if I made it myself, but I'm not paying $50-$100 for one. Not that they aren't extremely nice looking and sound a little different, but the sound of a cheap call compared to a custom call ain't what gets one within range. That turkey don't care how much you spent on it or who made it. I may get into that kind of stuff when I'm a little less poor... :grin:
 
I haven't used any custom calls other than the ones I make myself. I used a homemade tube call throughout the season and killed my first turkey using it. And it cost next to nothing to make. I'll buy a cheap production call if it's a good one, or make my own, but it will probably be a long time before I drop the $$ on a custom call, because there are a lot of cheaper calls that sound plenty good to me. After all, there is no such thing as a "perfect" call because no two hens sound exactly the same.
 
catman529 said:
because no two hens sound exactly the same.
Click to expand...

That's why I say, unless you've just got money burning a hole in your pocket or just want to tell your friends "I only use custom calls", there is no good reason to spend that kind of money on one.

Again, there's nothing wrong with having nice things, I wish I could afford to spend that kind of money on non-essential items, but the call itself ain't what's going to bag you a gobbler.
 
Baxter83 said:
catman529 said:
because no two hens sound exactly the same.
Click to expand...

That's why I say, unless you've just got money burning a hole in your pocket or just want to tell your friends "I only use custom calls", there is no good reason to spend that kind of money on one.
Click to expand...

No two custom calls sound the same either...

Why have the same call 25 other people are using in the woods along with you?

No two turkeys respond alike.... also, the call you used to kill a tom one day may not even get a response from another gobbler the very next day!!

A hunter/person should spend what they want or can afford on their equipment, because in the end, they are the ones hunting with it.... there are no guarantees in the woods!!

I choose custom calls because to me, they sound way better than production calls.... and because it helps a few small business owners live the American Dream doing something they love.
 
This is a good post. I started turkey hunting with an over-the-counter Lynch�s World Champion Turkey Call when they were still being manufactured in Liberty, MS. I graduated to Primos friction calls which I felt were good calls. I wanted to try a custom friction call and I purchased one from Chad Helm�s in Paducah, Kentucky. The first time I used that call I called in two different groups of gobblers that morning. The call was easy to use and the sounds were noticeable better then any production call that I have used over the years. At that point I was a believer. Since that time I added several custom calls to my collection and have not been disappointed in any of the custom calls I acquired. Since using custom calls my success rate during spring gobbler season rose dramatically. I was so enthralled with custom calls I had to learn how to make them and try to make them better. I purchased a nice lathe and all the other shop tools that go along with making turkey calls. I was able to get the sound I wanted from my calls, then I had to make them look better, a call that you would be proud to hunt with, and show to friends and fellow turkey hunters. Yes I do prefer custom calls. I do not make calls to sell, never wanted to make it business, enjoy making the calls at my own pace and drinking a casual beer with my Lab, Luke out in the shop. Here is a sample of some of the custom calls that I have made recently.
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I had a guy make me a custom call this year sounds better than any production call ive ever used. Im About to start making pot calls as soon as my new lathe gets here.
 
I'm probably just too cheap to plunk down the funds for a custom call. Also be my luck I'd lose it right off the bat. The worst sound I ever heard in the woods was a hen and I just knew it was going to be some yahoo walking up on me. I think like lots of things in the hunting world we want to look the part more than actually just doing it. Not saying there's nothing wrong with them because there's not but I think that gets us sometimes (myself included).

Stoner...Those are some mighty fine looking calls there.
 
Here is my opinion. I could care less what a call looks like, that has no bearing on its effectiveness in the woods. I want the best sounding call I can find and simply does not exist imo with any of the production calls. They might sound okay up close but at any distance they become flat or hollow and barely sound like a turkey. Will they still work? Yep, but imo their effectiveness Pales when compared to a custom call.

All calls will work at some point, but the thing that usually separates guys who kill a ton of birds each year from guys who kill a handful (besides woods skills) is the call they carry.
 
Setterman said:
Here is my opinion. I could care less what a call looks like, that has no bearing on its effectiveness in the woods. I want the best sounding call I can find and simply does not exist imo with any of the production calls. They might sound okay up close but at any distance they become flat or hollow and barely sound like a turkey. Will they still work? Yep, but imo their effectiveness Pales when compared to a custom call.

All calls will work at some point, but the thing that usually separates guys who kill a ton of birds each year from guys who kill a handful (besides woods skills) is the call they carry.
Click to expand...

I agree. Either call will kill a turkey, but I have found that custom friction calls are much better at locating turkeys. Most production calls use the cheapest wood available to increase their profit margin. The wood, striking surface, soundboard, and striker all play a huge role in making a quality call. Most mfgs use the lowest quality materials they can to get by.
 
I didn't know that there was any wood used in calls but Missouri black walnut! lol
I am a box call freak and own a ton of them. And, I doubt if any of them would be described as custom calls, even though some were made by backyard craftsmen. That said, the best of the lot is an Ashby raspy old hen, made in Houston, Mo by Ike?Ashby who is no longer in business. I bought it for a couple of bucks years ago on a clearance table somewhere. IMO it is the standard against which all box calls should be judged. You can really come down on it and get the attention of a bird hundreds of yards away or you can get sweet with one in close. But the sound is in the ear of the hunter. Some of the sorriest sounding calls that I have heard( at least by my standards) turn out to be actual birds. Incidentally, others must feel the same way about Ashby hen calls, because everytime one comes available on ebay the price takes off pretty quickly. So custom call?,who knows. But state of the art great sounding call? you betcha!
 
Custom calls cost more for a reason and they offer a better quality and I own too many,but I've killed some long spurred gobblers using a nickle snuff can that I made.In my 49 years since I started turkey hunting .I believe where you hunt and who is running the call matters more than what you pay for them.I've seen Ben Lee take a river rock and a nail and make a pretty yelp,same with tissue paper and a cherry leaf.I've got Lynch calls made in B'ham that never sees the woods,sometimes these antique calls turn into the fabled sword of Damocles .
 

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