One of the questions that came up this weekend was, "How did you learn how to call?" There is definitely no simple answer to such a question as this! I started five years ago by practicing with my father's A.M. Coiner slate call, much like a Lynch Jet slate. From there I bought a M.A.D. aluminum pot call, and my brother gave me his old, worn out box call. Worn out may not be quite the word for it, almost decrepit. Both of the side rails had been previously broken off and glued back on! I later managed to break off one of the side rails again. Of course then the diaphragm call craze hit me, but I talked about that in a previous post. After that, I bought locator calls, box calls, pot calls, strikers, and finally a wood lathe! I make pot calls and strikers on the wood lathe, and I have made a few scratch boxes by hand as well. This is abstract, but the other day my soccer coach said, "Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect!" Obviously he quoted that from another, but I am unaware as to who said it first. What I am saying is that I could run a turkey call for ten hours a day and be an absolutely terrible caller! Whereas if I try to correctly mimic the wild turkey hen, I may get better and better by the week!
Part of perfect practice is finding that call that fits me. I cannot run a V-Cut call at all, for a batwing is my call of choice. My second favorite call is an inverted V combo call. Between those two calls, I can do all of the required vocalizations in a contest. I used to kee kee run on a ghost cut, but now I find it much easier to kee kee run on an inverted V combo call. Other than turkey calls, I run crow, gobble, owl, coyote, and squirrel calls. This amazes some people, but I am by no means a fantastic caller. In order to practice to become perfect I recommend this list.
1. Buy a CD that has recordings of REAL wild turkey hens. I recommend http://www.treetopturkeys.com/index.html
2. Depending on the type of call that you want to learn, you should buy several different models of the same type of call. For diaphragm calls, buy a batwing, a v-cut, and an inverted V combo cut. The inverted V looks like a half batwing/half v-cut. With pot calls I recommend buying a slate, a glass crystal or bronze glass call, and an aluminum or ceramic call. I highly recommend the Hook's Assasin line of pot calls. I compete with the bronze glass and the aluminum. Hook's Friction Calls In all honesty, I do not recommend buying more than one or two box calls to start out with. I really like a purpleheart lid over a cedar box and a walnut lid over a poplar box. Those two calls will give you distinctly different tones.
3. Practice with that call almost every day. At times listen to the turkeys on the CD and try to mimic a certain hen with that call. Learn to manipulate it and make it sound like a few different turkeys.
4. Try new things. I was guilty of trimming calls before I even let them get broken in. A diaphragm call often needs to be broken in for a few days.
5. Find a call that fits you. Many diaphragm calls have tape on the frame. Depending on the size of your mouth, you may need a larger or smaller tape size. Trimming them down can be done with a pair of sharp scissors, but cut small amounts at a time!!
6. Record yourself calling. My camera has still picture, video, and audio recording modes. I often set it to audio mode and I'll set the camera down outside about 5-10 yards from me. I will then proceed to call and walk around as a turkey would in the woods. I do not advise doing this indoors as the acoustics of the room can really change the natural sound of a call. Once you listen to yourself, listen to your turkey CD. Often I can see what I need to change in my calling.
I hope that those tips help you become a better caller! I was hoping to not have to post videos of hens that have human calling in them, but unfortunately some of them will. In this video, the calling is not exceptional.. But listen to the hen. The first 2:03 is fantastic! It has really helped me become a better caller. The good footage starts up again at 2:30 when a hen comes into his setup.
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