What is toughest call you've learned/tried to learn?

turkeyfoot

Old Mossy Horns
For me its a dang trumpet I still have no confidence in hunting with one as a locater maybe but to call one in not so sure about. I can use about anything else made from wingbone to a scratch box and tube calls home made and store bought but that trumpet gives me fits have watched videos other people use em but they are just tough for me if anone has any tricks out there be glad to hear em
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
For me its a dang trumpet I still have no confidence in hunting with one as a locater maybe but to call one in not so sure about. I can use about anything else made from wingbone to a scratch box and tube calls home made and store bought but that trumpet gives me fits have watched videos other people use em but they are just tough for me if anone has any tricks out there be glad to hear em

try the del crow trumpet instructions part 1. on you tube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9xqrwAGYmU

dhsten sent it to me and i enjoyed it.
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
A buddy of mine can make a excellent yelp from certain leaves stretched between his thumbs, I can only make sounds that would scare coyotes out of the woods. I don't like tube calls, so I've never spent time trying to master them.
 

stilker

Old Mossy Horns
I can get a basic Yelp out of a tube call,that's all..but I've never had a good one,just a cheap one.
 

Longrifle

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
LMBO! True story. I had a friend who was a turkey fanatic, went every day and talked me into trying it. So I went to Walmart, bought a Primos kit with a Power Crystal, some diaphragm calls, and an instructional CD about a month before the season. On the way to and from work every day I practiced in the truck. Opening morning, sitting in a popup in the rain at daylight, figured I'd try that Crystal. Two, three scratches on it and one purely thundered for every breath less than ten feet from behind my blind. Scared the crap outta me! Soon as I saw that purple head I jellied it. 10 1/2" beard, 1 3/4" spurs. Found my friend at the local country store, showed it to him, and told him I didn't understand what all the fuss was about...
 
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dhsten

Ten Pointer
I think the trumpet by far. At least for ones I have actually tried to learn. Way too inconsistent. I played with tube call some last year and have yet to make a turkey sound with it, so quit early on. Been working on getting better with mouth calls this year, seems like going from adequate to good is going to be a PITA.
 

turkeyfoot

Old Mossy Horns
PITA is about right seems like I should just get it at some point I'm gonna give it some real hunting situation practice this spring see what happens there is only so much front porch calling a person can do let the real birds judge me or scare the crap out of everything in woods we'll see
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
just remember some wise words from Doug camp, (call maker, guide , author).

Once you get good enough to get a turkey to answer consistently ; any improvements past that are for your ego. :)

but the calls are fun to play with.
 

wolfman

Old Mossy Horns
Wing bone for me but I've never tried a trumpet. I'd like to get one but it's on a long list of calls I want.
 

hawglips

Old Mossy Horns
just remember some wise words from Doug camp, (call maker, guide , author).

Once you get good enough to get a turkey to answer consistently ; any improvements past that are for your ego. :)

I've come to the conclusion that I'll never be a great caller. And my ego is just fine with that. I don't have the drive to get real good. I just kinda stick with what I can do well, and work on things I really need to be better at. I don't know how many times a lack of calling skill has cost me a turkey. Of course, no way of knowing that.... But I don't think it's been too many times in recent years. Granted, it does feel good when turkeys respond positively to my calling. And it seems to me, once you're proficient in sounding mostly like a turkey, it's more important to know what to say than how well you say it - when it comes to killing turkeys.
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
I have a friend that is very much hearing impaired due to Vietnam military service.

his calling lacks all the subtleties of tone that we spend hours trying to match. All he has down is the rhythm. he cant run a mouth call at all and has issues with any call not of a high pitch.

Despite those limitations He calls, they come, he kills them. :)
 

shadycove

Twelve Pointer
I've come to the conclusion that I'll never be a great caller. And my ego is just fine with that. I don't have the drive to get real good. I just kinda stick with what I can do well, and work on things I really need to be better at. I don't know how many times a lack of calling skill has cost me a turkey. Of course, no way of knowing that.... But I don't think it's been too many times in recent years. Granted, it does feel good when turkeys respond positively to my calling. And it seems to me, once you're proficient in sounding mostly like a turkey, it's more important to know what to say than how well you say it - when it comes to killing turkeys.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
 

wolfman

Old Mossy Horns
Worst yelping I've ever heard came from a real hen. She even went into 22 note sequence. I thought someone brought a record player into the woods that started skipping.
 

Brad_Colvin

Eight Pointer
I'm a trumpet fanatic, I love them and use them every time I hunt. The calls that are a thorn in my side are the scratch box and the tube call. Just not consistent at all. With the trumpet it's just confidence and practice. The first one I got I lived with it around my neck for a year, practicing until my lips hurt,but I didn't have confidence to hunt with it. I would call the call maker and send him sound files and probably drove him crazy. He finally told me "your calling will kill turkeys all day long ". The first time I hunted with it I called a gobbler all the way to the gun. It really doesn't take much to kill a turkey.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
 

ducknut

Eight Pointer
I have two cooper pot calls that sound great but are a little too inconsistent to use when there's one fired up.
 

BWard

Button Buck
Never heard of a trumpet call. I can't get a wingbone to consistently sound good. Pitch is all over the place. I always heard a real hen would never win a turkey calling contest anyway.
 

oldest school

Old Mossy Horns
Worst yelping I've ever heard came from a real hen. She even went into 22 note sequence. I thought someone brought a record player into the woods that started skipping.

Yes and as far as calling too much., too loud, the real hens have anything i have ever heard from a human beat as well. :)
 

shadycove

Twelve Pointer
Spot on OS.
What they do have is a lifetime of talking to other turkeys. During which they have learned cadence and consistent tone.
They don't make many mistakes in these two things no matter how loud/long they call in a sequence.
Hunters on the other hand, the longer the sequence, the greater the chance of an error in these two vital parameters.
Spend every minute you can listening to turkeys calling each other without calling back to them and you will learn the voice of a turkey. Every turkey hunter can benefit from this IMO.
 
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turkeyfoot

Old Mossy Horns
No doubt some the best times is catching a fall roost full of hens can really learn alot. Confidence has a lot to it when learning something like a wngbone/trumpet I've never had any talent to be a great callerbut thea sue don't make me give up can't wait for spring
 

Datrip

Six Pointer
I'm a trumpet fanatic, I love them and use them every time I hunt. The calls that are a thorn in my side are the scratch box and the tube call. Just not consistent at all. With the trumpet it's just confidence and practice. The first one I got I lived with it around my neck for a year, practicing until my lips hurt,but I didn't have confidence to hunt with it. I would call the call maker and send him sound files and probably drove him crazy. He finally told me "your calling will kill turkeys all day long ". The first time I hunted with it I called a gobbler all the way to the gun. It really doesn't take much to kill a turkey.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Brad ^^^^ is the one who got me addicted to the Jordan yelper, wingbone, and now a trumpet. Picked up one of Del Crow's trumpets in Cocobolo at Unicoi last month and have been practicing a lot. I took Brad's advice and started with a Jordan cane yelper made by Mark Sharpe before moving on to a wingbone, picked up one of those last year in Nashville from Kevin Lynch. Both the Jordan and the wingbone are the only calls I used to call the turkey to my 20ga last year. By starting out with those two it has helped the learning curve on a trumpet tremendously. I hope to be confident enough to carry it come April. Any advice I could give is practice, practice, practice.

That being said the call that I struggle with the most is the mouth call. I am, however, just good enough to get a gobbler to stick his head up for me to pull the trigger. Will use other calls to get him in range.
 

Brad_Colvin

Eight Pointer
Brad ^^^^ is the one who got me addicted to the Jordan yelper, wingbone, and now a trumpet. Picked up one of Del Crow's trumpets in Cocobolo at Unicoi last month and have been practicing a lot. I took Brad's advice and started with a Jordan cane yelper made by Mark Sharpe before moving on to a wingbone, picked up one of those last year in Nashville from Kevin Lynch. Both the Jordan and the wingbone are the only calls I used to call the turkey to my 20ga last year. By starting out with those two it has helped the learning curve on a trumpet tremendously. I hope to be confident enough to carry it come April. Any advice I could give is practice, practice, practice.

That being said the call that I struggle with the most is the mouth call. I am, however, just good enough to get a gobbler to stick his head up for me to pull the trigger. Will use other calls to get him in range.
I'm sure,you will get plenty of blood on that coco trumpet brother. The only problem with trumpets is,when you get one you want another, and another, we'll you get the picture.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
 

Datrip

Six Pointer
I'm sure,you will get plenty of blood on that coco trumpet brother. The only problem with trumpets is,when you get one you want another, and another, we'll you get the picture.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk
Ain't that the truth...it is an addiction and a disease.
 

Part-time hunter

Ten Pointer
I have the first slate call I ever bought over 15 years ago that I still use although I have gone through a few different strikers. The one that came with it was some sort of plastic stuff and it never sounded good to me. I can use the big box call I bought at the DDC many years ago, and I've gone through several push button types. I even have a cool turtle shell slate that lasttombstone made for me many years ago along with a couple of wingbone calls he gave me. But every time I put a mouth call in I immediately start to gag. I have tried different kinds and have trimmed them til there was nothing left and I gagged every time. I've quit trying and I still manage to get a bird now and then.
 
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