Favorite call?

As I was walkin the woods this morning and practicing my mouth call for turkey I remembered last year my box call got a crack in it. I got home dug it out, and its pretty much useless. My box call was my “go to”, easy to use, loud, and sounded good..It was a H.S. Straut brand. I need to get a new one and looking at getting a slate call for the wife to use..my question is, what is your favorite or “go to” call? I do like my mouth call but still not comfortable enough to use it as my main call. Any suggestions would be great as far as type and brand…always looking for something better…Thanks Jay

my #1 is the mouth call #2 my primos slate “power crystal”

jay keep practicing then do some early preseason calling in the field once you call birds in with your mouth call your confidence will soar and it will quickly become your go to call good luck pat

I like to carry 4 calls to the blind when i go. “go to” call depends on what they gobble back to. Ive had more success w/ the MAD Heavy Metal friction call and Primos Power Crystal. I also use a mouth call by Primos(forgot which model) but i believe the bigger the mouth call the better. I can’t use the really small mouth calls But im pretty well rounded in speaking the language in the bigger ones In the mornings, i start off w/ a friction call so i guess that would be my “go to” call

Jay:

Not sure if they’ve broken out all the calls at the major retail outlets yet, but I’d spend some serious time heading to one of these stores to try out all the slates and box calls on the market.

I’m particular to Quaker Boy box calls, and like some of the Primos stuff as well. Make sure to examine each call for damage and proper tuning/sanding to give them all a fair shake; they get beat on at the storefronts.

Box, slate, diaphragm, I typically look for high frequency (but still believable) and a bit of rasp that you can add yourself by either blowing harder or striking harder. You don’t want every call to be raspy, but when adding the volume and aggression, there should be a fair bit of raspiness in there. Research has been conducted on the types of calls and frequencies that elicit gobbling, and the higher frequencies are clear winners.

Remember too that you’re looking for consistency. A call that makes 7 out of 9 good notes isn’t worth your time IMO. Some of the “waterproof” calls are this way. Ask yourself how many times you’ll be getting rained on when hunting. Honestly. Most hunters go back to the truck or sit in a blind where this won’t be a problem.

As for the diaphragm calls, I would purchase one basic call from each major mfr. When I started turkey hunting more seriously, the mouth call was tough! I found that HS Strut calls didn’t fit my mouth properly. Quaker Boy calls and one or two of the Primos calls worked well with my palate. It’s important to emphasize that this is individual! I have a buddy who’s the exact opposite way.

Probably not what you were looking for in terms of the brand and model, but doing the above will help you find what works best for YOU.

Joel

i have 3 box calls that i really like – the h.s. strut field champion natural, mad mini master and primos heartbreaker.
they are all good all-around calls – good yelps, clucks and cutts and plently of volume with good carry on windy days – but each also has its strong point. the heartbreaker has excellent rasp, the mad is very high pitched and i use the h.s. more in the fall cause it makes excellent gobbler yelps.
if i am cuttin and runnin, i will use a variety of calls to strike a gobble, but my go-to calls on the first setup and my closer calls are a mad high-ball diaphragm and the primos power crystal.
cutts on the high ball have convinced many a gobbler to turn my way.
but if i could only carry one call, it would be the power crystal. using a hard striker its great for striking a gobble with high-pitched yelps and cutts and when you got him comin, i switch to a softer striker for deadly purrs and clucks to finish him off.

Thanks for all the great advice ..Ill have to do some lookin this weekend for a few new calls…Jay

I am a big time rookie when it comes to turky hunting so I am no expert. I have a Quaker Boy box call the easy yelper I think it is called and the couple of times I have turkey hunted I have had birds talk back to me but did not have them come into the call. I have a good friend who took his fist bird with the same call, it is easy to use so it is what I will be using this year.