Newbie – Diaphragm call help

I’ve been turkey hunting for 5 or 6 years now. Have always just used a slate call. Last year I tried a diaphragm call again ( 1st few attempts did not go real well ) I had a little better success, but still need lots of work and practice. I have a bad gag reflex as well as a rather small mouth palate. Last year I just bought a cheap call and trimmed it way down to fit my mouth. I want to purchase a little better one this year and get practicing on it. Can anyone suggest a good call to give a try. Hopefully something a little smaller that I don’t have to do so much trimming on.

Most Diaphragm call makers make calls for small palates or for children. You may want to go on line and checkout Midwest Turkey Call Supply, they have most of the manufactures listed. Learning to call on a diaphragm call takes practice but it is worth the effort!

4walleye wrote:

Most Diaphragm call makers make calls for small palates or for children. You may want to go on line and checkout Midwest Turkey Call Supply, they have most of the manufactures listed. Learning to call on a diaphragm call takes practice but it is worth the effort!

Any Brands or model’s you suggest to try I don’t want to spend a ton of money trying different brands, and there are a ton of them out there

Wow, you could ask 20 different turkey callers and they would all have there own personal favorite brand and then you have a myriad of different cuts and numbers of latex. Personally, I prefer Preston Pittman diaphragm calls. They have three different calls for high palates or small mouths.

THUMPER,

primos makes a beginner type call.. called SONIC DOME.. or something like that. It has a plastic piece on top of the diaphragm to ensure you have the call in the correct place in the roof of your mouth. This is a cheap entry level call that taught me how to call. You can sound like a turkey with it with very little practice by this spring most likely. Learn where to put the call and your tongue position to make a turkey noise using this call and then move on to higher end calls that sound more realistic. From there you will be able to determine what kind of call you sound best on, what type of frame, and what type of cut gets you sounding like a BIRD!

Good luck

Check out the video a friend of mine did, it explains the how’s and why’s of a mouth call. Sound is less about the brand and more about choosing the right call for your air.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uPXoGEZeYg

CW

I like zink calls a lot. If you have a small mouth hooks custom calls are smaller. Actually to small for me to use.

I tried turkey hunting for the first time last year and figured I might as well try to learn a diaphragm call so my hands would be free.

I stopped in to Archery Headquarters in Rochester and asked them for an entry level call.

They suggested the Primos True Double but warned me about the possible gag reflex.

It took a while to get past the gag reflex…but once I started figuring the call out(just following the instructions that came with it) and I actually making turkey sounds the focus was off the gag and on to making it sound right. I think it sounded okay after listening to videos of live birds, I didn’t bag one but saw some. I couldn’t draw them in but I also didn’t scare them away so maybe I wasn’t too bad.

Good luck….it took me a while but I’m glad I stuck with it.

I’m the same way, I use youth sized calls. I picked up 3 different cabelas versions last spring. They are OK. I also have a Primos youth call that like the most. I’m on the road for work this week, when I get home I’ll take a pic and send out.

I don’t care for the dome style calls. They don’t fit me well either.

Oh, and I can make some mean elk sounds with these turkey calls…..

I buy the cheapest white athletic taped ones I can find… Trim them a little bit at a time to keep the gag reflex away. Don’t worry as time goes by you’ll be able to make them work when the glue gives way and at $3 or $4, not a big deal if they break. Then let ‘er rip… just like anything else practice makes perfect… I don’t do much more than a yelp from soft to loud and maybe some cuts…

Oh and BTW I can do a mean cow elk on them too…

My drive to work is when I get my most practice in, but they sure are nice when running and gunning in the field. – QB

Yea you’ve got to find time to practice up. I like to walk around my grove cluckin’ and purrin’ like I’m really hunting!! I’ve got 8 tags in multiple states and can’t wait until those big dumb birds get horny!!!-BFTD

You only have a GAG reflex when you breathe through your mouth. So remember that if you are having trouble with the call. Try to breathe through your nose at all times and you should be good. When nurses insert tubes down peoples throats they tell people to breathe through their nose.. no gag at all.

Also you might want to share that information with your guys’ wives/Gf’s also!! They might to use the trick with their mouth calls too!