BowCast Blog

In my past life I was a fly fishing guide at a pretty high-end fishing lodge in Northern New Mexico. We used to have a saying, “There are flies that catch fish and then there are flies that catch fishermen”. The call industry is very similar. Last night while digging thru my favorite mail order catalog I counted 267 different turkey calls but they all pretty much worked and perform the same way. You either rubbed two things together, you blow thru a reed or you flapped it to get a sound. So why so many calls? Well the real answer is because at one time or another they all work. When I am on the hunt, I carry at least 10 different calls with me, most are different kinds of diaphragm calls with different reed designs but unless I find the lucky one, I use them all. I can’t explain it but it always happens, I can be in a spot that I know holds turkeys but I can’t get them to gobble , then I switch calls and all hell breaks loose. For some reason some calls just seem to work better at certain times. I wish I could give you a formula but if you are not getting any action switch calls and see what happens, you might strike that magic note.

When I am trying to get a shock gobble I have had my best luck with a box call. I really like the fact that they are loud and are easy to use. Each manufacture will say there calls are “tuned” and give a reason why there calls are better and you will notice that each call might sound different but when it comes right down to it I don’t really think it matters what brand you choose; the turkeys will either like it or they won’t. The key is to make sure that your call is properly maintained. Make sure you clean the bottom of the lid and the rail and chalk them periodically. Regular black board chalk usually works best.

BOX CALL

If you are going to consistently kill birds you need to learn how to use a mouth call. Obviously, the main advantage of using a diaphragm call is that they are hands free. It is hard to draw a bow when you are striking a box call. Diaphragm calls are basically a metal U-shaped frame that holds some sort of latex read. They are pretty straight forward, different sounds are generated by using different numbers of reeds and putting silts or cuts in the ends of the read/reads.

When it comes to diaphragm calls the biggest mistake hunters make is that we don’t take the time to customize them. I like to do two things to mine; bend the frame so it fit’s the roof of my mouth better and I trim some of the tape around the metal fram. I can probably work up another blog on customizing these calls, just let me know if you want to see it.

As far as maintaining these calls; after you use them dry them out and don’t place them in the sun. You might also dip them in some mouthwash every now and then. For long-term storage I suggest putting a toothpick between the reeds. Some people also like to freeze there calls.

DIAPHRAM CALLS

Slate or Friction calls are probably my least favorite because they must be kept dry and free of any oils from your hands to work properly. If they aren’t maintained they can make some really strange sounds. You basically have a flat surface and you run a striker across it. These surfaces are made of slate, aluminum, glass and other hard materials. The strikers are made of wood, plastic and metal. As a general rule, the harder the surface the higher pitched sound you can generate. When you have a properly maintained Aluminum friction call you can really cut into the wind and make a gobbler go off. One tip is to interchange strikers and surfaces to get different pitches and sounds.

So how do you know when you need to maintain them and how do you maintain them? If the striker slips across the surface without making any sounds you need to clean both the surface of the friction call and the striker. It is pretty simple, use a Scotch-Brite type pad to scuff both the call surface and striker surface. You can also you a find grit sand paper like a 220 or 240 grit. You don’t need to dig into the materials, experiment a little to see how much you need to scuff the surface to get it sounding correctly.

Below are three examples of Friction Calls; the one on the far left is a pure slate call, the one in the middle is combo call that is made of aluminum, two types of slate and Plexiglas The one on the far right is aluminum. There are also three types of strikers in this picture; wood with a plastic hollow handle, a wood one with a wooden handle and a plastic one with a plastic hollow handle.

FRICTION CALLS

When I am really desperate and I am forced to dig deep into my bag of tricks I sometimes use a Gobbler Shaker Call. It basically sounds like a Gobbler gobbling, the only thing I have ever called in or got to gobble was another hunter, but at least I could say that I herd a gobble. To bad it was me making the sound. For me this call falls in the group that was design to catch hunters, I don’t know if I would recommend using it, you will need to make that decision. Just be aware that plenty of hunters have been stalked when using this call.

SHAKER CALL

Locator calls are probably the easiest group of calls to use because there really isn’t a wrong call or a wrong sound. Aneal and Chris Row covered this topic in episode #39 and they are spot on. My favorite call is the Owl Hooter and the Crow Call. In the picture below, the Crow call is on the left and the Owl Hooter is on the right. Some people like to use Hawk Calls or Coyote Calls but I personally think these might put the birds on edge and that is the last thing I want to do. Maintenance is very minimal and in some cases nonexistent, just keep you calls clean and dry.

SHOCK CALLS

That is the basic run down of calls; there are a few other calls like Turkey Bone Calls, Fly Down Wings and Tube Calls but I don’t use them and I think they are better at catching hunters than calling in birds. Like I said, all these calls will work at one time or another; it is just finding the right call at the right time. One thing that I will stress is that when you are running thru your sequence and you make a call that just doesn’t sound right don’t worry about it the birds don’t care. Also, try to add some inflection to your diaphragm calls.

So get out there and have some fun.

J-