Turkey Calls! ! !

[Niner]

Looks like all of the outdoorsy channels on the TV are showing turkey hunting shows now to get folks fired up for turkey season. Watched several last night, and didn't see one hunter using my favorite kind of call. Must be because their sponsors aren't making one like it.

Here's one of my most favorite calls in my collection of turkey callers. Not very expensive, and with just a little practice makes some of the nicest yelps, purrs, and clucks you'll ever hear.

http://southlandcustomgamecalls.com/products/lost-hen-tube-call/

http://www.midwestturkeycall.com/detail.asp?pid=LH155&link=

http://www.midwestturkeycall.com/photos/LH155_l.jpg

[HideHunter]

I have been wanting a tube call forever. I bought a plastic one out of a bargain bin a few years ago. Only thing I can figure is it was a demo model that had been sitting in the sun. "Latex" (if that's what it is) on it was junk and fell apart immediately. How often do you have to replace the latex - what do you use for latex and how difficult is it do get the tension right?

I've heard Harold Knight run one and it sounds great. I'm sure K&H probably offers one - but you're right - even they don't seem to push it.

[Chicken Dinner]

I'm not much of a turkey hunter, but always found a slate call the easiest to use. Box calls work as well, but seem easier to make a stray squeak with and mouth calls have always been a complete mystery to me. Any sound I make with a mouth call comes out like a scalded dog.

[HideHunter]

I probably run about 50/50 between peg and slate and diaphragms. I carry a box call - but strangely enough - I just can't get turkeys to respond to them like everyone else in the civilized world. Never could understand it. They are supposed to be the Gold Standard.

[hotshot]

I have a few calls. Have seen a tube call in use: good sounds. I remember a DIY article in field and stream or outdoor life showing how to make one out of an old film canister and some latex and tape...... Yeah been a long time.... pre-digicams.
I look forward to the day I have enough time to hunt turkeys in the spring. Girls' tennis season, little league, Abby's club volleyball and track.....
6 years til they are both in college.... then only tennis season... should be able to chase turkeys on Sundays and the occasional "sick day"

[HideHunter]

i made one of those Hotshot.. and I could make it work. But I always had fits getting the latex right.. thus my questions.. Also - is that Southland outfit still in business? I see their website hasn't been updated since Christmas.

[Big Muddy]

Hide, I'm not an experienced turkey hunter, by any stretch of the imagination, since it interferes with my crappie spawn....but, I have many friends, who are addicted to it....I ran your latex question by one of them, and he says he just cuts a section out of a latex exam glove, like the docs use in their office.

[Bwana]

Never seen one of those tube calls before but am intrigued.

The only call I have ever really used is a box call as I just cannot get a diaphragm call to work. Have tried other box call but keep going back to my first one which was referred to me by Cappy and Big Sky, the Lynch Foolproof Call. If that one doesn't work, I tend to go into the stealth mode and put the sneak on those birds.

This post got me to thinking that any day now I should be able to find out if the kids and I drew spring turkey tags or not. Time to go check the NDGF website.

[Bwana]

A quick check shows the lottery is in process so we should find out in a day or two.

Fingers crossed.

[Niner]

I guess they're still in bidness......they are updating their Facebook page. That's the reason I posted the other site that sells them.

They say you can make the reeds out of a latex glove, but I have never been able to do that and get a good sound with them. I always get replacement reeds from a vendor.

The reeds CAN be a little tricky to get on right and get tuned, but once you get the opening and tension the way it works best for you, you are set.

Primos makes a tube that takes a "snap on" reed. I have never tried nor heard one.
http://www.midwestturkeycall.com/photos/253_m.jpg

I bought a REALLLLLL nice LOOKING tube call at a Turkey Show a good number of years ago. This thing was hand made, signed by the maker, and was beautiful.....but I could not get it to run anywhere near as good as that little Lost Hen call.

__________________________________________________

Another call that you rarely see anyone using is the Trumpet Call. These were very popular about 100 years ago, and there are a few artisans making custom ones. There is one fellow around these parts that makes some jim dandy ones, his name is Billy Buice. He makes the bodies out of different exotic woods......cocobolo, ebony, orange osage etc. The different woods make different sounds. He also makes different sized holes in the mouthpieces, which also change the sound. These are run like a wingbone call. Mr. Buice also makes some very nice box calls. I have one of his trumpets and one of his boxes, and I cherish them both.

I tried to find Billy on the web, but I recon he don't do the Internet. I did find a little something though.....
http://www.customcalls.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1137536537
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b64/tbeach/BillyPlaying.jpg
http://i17.photobucket.com/albums/b89/G8ORB8/buice27.jpg

[hotshot]

Those gloves you use to make the calls... used or unused?

[airbud7]

http://duckcommander.com/how-to-blow-a-duck-call

[Penguin]

Man those are some nice ones. Good lord ever lets me retire and one of my biggest goals is to become a good turkey hunter.

As things stand right now I can call them up pretty good. And I get busted quicker than a $5 hooker at Carnegie Hall 90% of the time. But it is progress of a sort. And it is fun even if I'm not very good at it. :)

Funny thing about turkey calls. I have a custom made box by Ron Cloughs, not sure if any of you ever heard of him. Anyhow, this thing doesn't sound too good up close. Sounds weird actually. But something about distance makes it sound great. I've had my cousin call on it from a good distance away and it carries well and sound great. And it will get an answer when nothing else seems to.

Got a cousin who can call them in on anything. I'm, as always, jealous of those who can.

Will

[Sunshine]

Airbud:

My friends daughter, married one of Atz sons.

Here's a video of Otto making a duck call out of a fresh duck kill.

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/alaska-the-last-frontier/videos/call-of-the-wild.htm



Alaska: The Last Frontier is one of my favorite shows.

[BarryBobPosthole]

I have a couple wingbones out of the last turkey I killed that I intend to someday make an old timey call out of. I remember my great uncle Buster had one that was a wingbone connected into the end of a piece of river cane that was about four inches or so long. He could call them in really well with it too. This had to be around 1970 or so I'd guess, when turkeys were first making their appearance back into Arkansas in a big way. there were a few turkeys there already in parts of the state but they got busy trapping and releasing in the late 60's early 70's at least in the part of the state I'm familiar with. another of my uncles (his name was Lone Barker, how's that for a name eh?) was a state trapper and later when the turkeys got plentiful he was trapping them OUT of Arkansas to trade for bears. With Wisconsin I believe. Now there's bears AND turkeys aplenty in SW Arkansas.

that ended up being a Thump story didn't it?


BKB

[HideHunter]

Here's my one and only attempt at wing-bone calls. I called these three birds in for my son, sil and my "other" son from a different mother - and father. ;) The wrapping is thread as per rod wrapping. I'm going to have me one of those Lost hen calls Niner - thanks.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7306/12959670275_db540407eb_z.jpg

[Big Muddy]

Airbud:

My friends daughter, married one of Atz sons.

Here's a video of Otto making a duck call out of a fresh duck kill.

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/alaska-the-last-frontier/videos/call-of-the-wild.htm



Alaska: The Last Frontier is one of my favorite shows.


Sunny, that's a great show, and I never miss it....which son did she marry???....is she the little blonde that recently had the baby???

[Sunshine]

No its not the little blonde that just had the baby.

My friends daughter married Atz son named Shane son named Keenan.
So Atz is grandpa to my friends daughters husband.

Did ya follow that? :D

She and Keenan are going up to the homestead, for a visit, this summer.
Don't know if they will be on the show or not.

Shane has recently moved back to the homestead and been on the show.
He is Keenan's father. :)

[Bwana]

Found a guy willing to trade turkey wings for calls so had one made for each of my kids. Here is the one hanging in my daughter's room.

2653

[HideHunter]

Very cool Bwana. I save wing feathers for a guy who makes "presentation" arrows for the Boy Scouts (Order of the Arrow - or some such thing? ). Knaps his own flint and uses tendons from a deer's leg to make a pretty authentic arrow. He sends me a few arrows and most anyone who hunts with me gets one. I used to send feathers to some Indian tribe (which one escapes me at the moment). Then - they started getting "picky" and it was becoming a pia. I usually end up with about 10 sets of wings a year and my arrow guy is always glad to get them. He only takes the "secondary" feathers. Used to have a guy who took the primaries for actual traditional fletching but he quit making his own.

[Bwana]

Yeah, the guy I am dealing with uses the primaries for traditional fletching.

Thought the calls were pretty cool, as well as functional, keepsakes as they are personalized with the kids' names, date they were made, and signed by the gent who made them. Going to see if they actually call in birds this spring, IF we draw tags.

[Niner]

HH, once you learn how to run that Lost Hen tube, you are gonna LOVE it.
When I'm hunting I keep mine on a lanyard around my neck. I just tuck it into a shirt pocket.

I mainly use mine for purrs and clucks, but it makes a real nice yelp as well.
:biggrin

[HideHunter]

Well Niner - order placed. Can't wait to play with it. ;)

[HideHunter]

Well Niner.. thought I was going to have to get in the truck and drive down there.. Once in awhile my stories become Thumper stories so bear with me. ;) Ordered a Lost Hen and a packet of replacement reeds from Southland. Same day I ordered a new thumbhole stock from Boyd's for my turkey gun. Mailman comes today and bangs on the door. Got a box about half the size of a bushel basket. I thought that was a funny box to send a gunstock in but - whatever. Mailman says _ "I thought about keep this one - it says game calls." Huh? I told him it was a little turkey call the size of a walnut.. We laughed. Then I opened the box - the call and a peck of Styrofoam peanuts - no replacement reeds. Sent them an email.

About a half hour ago and I opened the call... They evidentially only sell to you pros because there's no instructions. I was literally laughing out-loud at myself trying to figure how to get a sound out of this thing. I've got backwards/forwards/upsidedown/inside out everything but up my butt. 15 minutes later, I've got a good cluck, a developing yelp, purr (but it's too loud- have to figure out how to tone it down) and a half-assed gobble. I ain't had so much fun since the hogs ate my little brother. :bj thanks again.

also - you said you wear yours on a lanyard. I can see where that would be handy. You put a little eye screw in it or something?. Oh already got an email back from "Jason". Must be a small outfit. I had to give him my address so he could sent the reeds. Just got the order today. Oh - I kidded him about he box. He said it was all he had.;)

Oh yeah - got the new stock too. I can tell already I'm going to like it. I went to a scope a few years ago and I needed the extra height. I may do a little whittling on it. I've got wide hands and short fingers.;) It will probably end up painted anyway.

[Niner]

HH, this is not the call, but it is a doggone good looking call. Check out the spring type lanyard. This is the kind of lanyard I use with my Lost Hen call.

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

[HideHunter]

That is a nice looking call. I've got some of those lanyards but I wouldn't think there'd be anything to "hang on to" on this little call. i'll come up with something. Got an email from "Jason" today. Said he's sending my reeds out and including one of their bat-wing cut diaphragms for my trouble. nice of him.

Still learning the ins and outs of this little call. There's a perfect yelp in there - but I have to "search" for it a bit yet. lol.. my wife.. she knows me. I was picking the thing up every little bit and blowing on it. Finally I look over and I'm getting her "exasperated" look. ( after 42 years - she's come to hate game calls of all kinds). I said, "I haven't quite mastered this thing yet." And she said, "And it's just driving you crazy isn't it"? --- ehhhh, maybe a little.. ;)