new to turkey hunting

[Hammer]

I'm going to try turkey hunting for the first time in the Spring. For some reason, I've never been, but everybody says it's great, so I'm going to try it out. My main question is about calls. I have the traditional slate call, but I want a diaphragm call. I'm good with a duck, goose, crow, squirrel call, and I think if I get one now I can master it enough to use in the Spring. What brand do u all suggest? Thanks.

[.300Savage]

I would try various types of calls (ie single reed, doulble reed, split-v, triple, etc.) and see which one you are most comfortable with. The single reed is the easiest to use in my opinion. Brands are mostly based on what you are used to using. Knight and Hale, Primos, H.S. Strut, are all pretty good calls. Are you going to be using a blind? I used a blind for the first time this year and I thought it was great. It allows for a lot more motion than not having any concealment. I also like to use a variety of calls (slate, box, tube, and mouth) since they all have unique sounds and it can make it sound like more than one hen. Well, hope this helps a little.


Rocco

[mossyhorns]

Practice, practice, practice. I drive everyone in my office crazy each spring getting tuned up. Like savage says, try several and you'll find some easier for you than others.

[Hammer]

Ok, I bought a batch of diaphragm calls off ebay, and I really like them. What do u all do to take care of your calls? I notice they get quite soaked with saliva. Thanks! I heard 4 different turkeys while deer hunting yesterday, a strong gobble, a weak gobble many times (immature?), and 2 yelping hens. Pretty cool!

[GSP]

Try soaking them in mouth wash. I keep mine in the refrigerator. I don't know that this helps, but I always know where they are![:)]
Make sure to keep them out of light (sun or uv).

[Mudhole]

Hammer......get the Primo's True Double, it's a double frame/reed call that is just about perfect (once you lean how to use it)

Mudhole
www.OutdoorsLouisiana.com

[P. Beyer]

I'd like to get a bird, but they're to smart......
No one in my family ever Turkey hunted, soooo.. I tried to teach
myself, Well needless to say, that didn't get me far. I enjoy watching it (Turkey hunting) on The Outdoor Channel.

"It makes no difference whether I got anything; it has to do with how the day was spent"

Fred Bear

[schuyler olt]

Boy, this is a great question! When I started hunting turkeys, I used friction calls, then later went to diaphragms and now I've gone back to friction calls about 90% of the time. My situation is pretty typical of folks who've been at this a while. I have a slate and striker you couldn't get from me at gunpoint, and the same is true of a couple of box and paddleboat calls I have. And I'll carry everything from a tube call to several different diaphragm calls in my vest in the spring, because the birds react to calls differently each and every day, and sometimes between early and mid morning. My best advice is less is more. I call much less today than when I began, especially on those mornings when nothing in the woods is calling. One great advantage to friction calls is you have to put them down when the bird's coming in. Calling when the bird is almost within range has a tendency to either spook them or hang them up. They heard you before, or they wouldn't be there. You want them to keep coming and keep looking for that hen. At that point, silence is golden. Good luck!

[RutNBuck]

Hammer i learned a tube call alot quicker then i did a diaphram call..but have now mastered both...ya cant beat a good sounding slate
or even a box call....i have the oportuinity to hunt with a Grand National Calling Champ and he says to never put my calls in mouthwash says it breaks down the structure of the reeds..
as far as a diaphram a double reed for me is easy and sounds great (for starters) i now blow a 3.5 but also a double if i am mixing it up
ALSO i am very close to you and i will be more then happy to either help you call in a bird or meet up with you sometime and kinda show ya how i use my mouth call,...
have you hunted ducks yet this season?
if ya got a spot gimme a holler i got the decoys dog and calls woukd enjoy busting some turkey/duck beaks with you


"A wise indian once said,the more you move the less you will see,the less you move the more you will see"

" I live to hunt, but my wife says i may hunting a place to live"

[Hammer]

Thanks for the suggestions. I know about the less is better calling as that's what's u have to do a lot of time for ducks that have been shot at a lot.[:D]