How Many Different Calls
Contributors to this thread:Turkey
From: 'Ike' (Phone)
05-Mar-17
Are you carrying and using during your hunt...I find myself sticking with my Woodhaven Friction and a couple Diaphragms...A few different Strikers as well!
From: Bowfreak
05-Mar-17
I carry about 12 diaphragm calls but normally just pull one out and use it for the day. I have 3-4 that I use almost exclusively and about 6 than seem to never get wet. I have an old HS slate that I also use some and once in a while I use a box call. I call very little while bowhunting so I am not as particular with calls as I used to be when I shotgunned.
From: Paul@thefort
05-Mar-17
I carry two box calls one of which is chalk less and a variety of mouth diaphragms from small hen to old hen.. Also a Primos Gobble Shaker.
From: greg simon
05-Mar-17
Two diaphragm calls, one slate call. I can scare away almost any turkey with one of those three. Occasionally I will come across a gobbler that just won't be run off and I shoot him!
From: Franzen
05-Mar-17
I hunt on the move. I usually carry 2 or 3 slates with three strikers. I have several diaphragms in the vest, but rarely use them. One of my favorite calls is a plunger type friction call from K&H. If anyone has one of those Lonesome Hen calls and they want to get rid of it, don't hesitate to get a hold of me. I've been looking for a new one and haven't had any luck yet. Of course I always have one box call for good measure.
From: midwest
05-Mar-17
I always end up with the same two calls I've been using for decades....a Lynch WC box and MAD Aluminator with hickory stick.
From: jims
05-Mar-17
I carry 1 diaphragm in my mouth and 1 in my pocket for running and gunning here in Colo. If I'm sitting in a blind I may add a couple pot calls to change things up. It's nice having both hands free with less movement with the diaphragms.
From: Scooby-doo
05-Mar-17
2 diaphragm calls(both the same in case I lose one) and a slate call and that is it. I call with just my mouth quite often as well. Scooby
From: Timbrhuntr
05-Mar-17
I carry the gobble shaker and 2 mouth calls and one I have been using for 3 years not sure what I'll do when it finally gives out its a killer that makes pretty much ever turkey sound !!
From: Brotsky
05-Mar-17
Just one that I know how to use extremely well and has never let me down!
From: Rocky D
05-Mar-17
3-4 diaphragms, 1 ceramic pot, 1 slate pot, and 1 box call.
From: Dyjack
05-Mar-17
Two diaphragms. But I have yet to put one down with my bow. I got a feeling this is the year!
From: deaver25btb
05-Mar-17
7 mouth calls, 1 box call, 1 slate and 1 glass with 4 different strikers.
I remember a few years back I was working a bird. Only thing he would answer was my box call. I would move on him and try to call to him with my mouth call to see where he was. No answer. Hit that box call and he would light up! Stuck with the box call and gave him a ride in the back of my truck.
Sometimes it's just that 1 call that they like, so I try to carry a good variety.
From: TODDY
05-Mar-17
Couple diaphragms and one or two slates. I have probably 8-10 strikers for the slates made of different materials that I rubber band together when walking. Together, this combo makes as many different sounds as anyone would need. I have had days where a rosewood striker was all I could get a response from. Next day, nothing from that one but the graphite striker was king. A owl hooter as a locator too. TODDY Also, just like Midwest, the Aluminator is one of the slates I carry. Aluminum striker with that one is LOUD if needed. Tame it down with a glass or wood striker.
From: Buskill
05-Mar-17
I carry a ceramic friction call that gets used 99% of the time . Carry a glass one also and two extra strikers. Maybe a box call but rarely the last year or so . That's it for me.
From: 'Ike' (Phone)
05-Mar-17
Haven't carried or used a box call in years, used to all the time...Found that I get better sounds with my Friction...Interesting to see what guys are carrying!
From: Ermine
05-Mar-17
1 or 2 diaphrams
From: Zim1
06-Mar-17
I carry a few of everything but rarely use any because I primarily hunt late season over pressured WI public. So they have heard everything by then. I set up over dust bowls and travel lanes I know well and eventually the toms show up. But last year they were a LOT more wary of my blind, so will be concealing that much better this season.
From: Bowfreak
06-Mar-17
The only time I really ever use my box is if it is windy or I want to be really loud and aggressive for some reason. I very rarely am loud and aggressive though.
From: GhostBird
06-Mar-17
One box call, a scratchbox, a trough call, a ceramic pot, a glass pot, three strikers, 3-4 diaphrams, a trumpet, and a wingbone... an owl hooter, a crow call, and a pileated woodpecker call.
I leave the other 300+/- at home.
From: writer
06-Mar-17
Absolutely no clue. Seems like every time I'm looking for one call in my vest, I pull out one I didn't know was in there.
Some, I can't even remember ever owning.
Mostly 2-3 mouth calls. One is a tight elk bugle I use for coyote howls before daylight to locate birds.
Normally have a couple of slate-style calls and 3-6 strikers in some pocket or another.
(News flash, the fingers working the call are more important than the brand name on the call. It's the magician vs. the wand thing with magic tricks.)
An old Lohman box call (which is a friction call) is a must-have. It was hand-picked by the guy who assembled and tested all of their calls "back in the day." (He pulled the top three, for me and my two kids from one year's production.) Don't think mine's been chalked in the 20 years since.
The box may have the best sounding cuts I've heard, with a raspy break-over on the yelps...when I'm using it. Like to hear what Chris, Joe, or any of the others who take calling seriously could pull from it.
From: buzz mc
06-Mar-17
2 Quaker Boy Mini-Mag diaphragm calls and an Amish made scratch box. All fit in my front pocket.
From: TwoDogs@work
06-Mar-17
I carry 3 box calls, four slate calls, one glass call, around 15 diaphragms, and about six strikers. Like Writer I sometimes find a call in my vest that I had not seen for a couple of years. I buy a couple new diaphragms every year whether I need them or not. There are times when I decide to use only one or two calls that day, just to see if I can call in a bird with out resorting to my favorite calls.
From: Overland
06-Mar-17
I stick with the tried and true. One box call, one slate, three strikers.
From: Southern draw
06-Mar-17
woodhaven cherry crystal gets 95% of the work always a mouth call at the ready when I cant use the crystal because of movement.
From: Backpack Hunter
06-Mar-17
I used to carry one or two of everything, anymore it seems like a box call, and a slate with one or two different strikers.
From: coyote1
06-Mar-17
I carry a long and short box, scratch box, 6 pots all different surfaces and six strikers.
From: kscowboy
07-Mar-17
Real wing bone and a slate with a couple of different strikers for me.
From: MallardSX2
07-Mar-17
1 Slate W 2 strikers 1-gobble shaker (Used to kill most of my birds with this) 2- Diaphragm calls 1-Push button (Kill most birds with this actually) 1-Turkey wing for flydown and scratching (Kill a lot with this)
From: drycreek
07-Mar-17
I used to carry a vest full of them, then I found I was calling most of them with the same couple of calls. Eventually, I made up my mind to learn a diaphragm and bought several. I found that some of them I am just unable to use, unless I want to sound like a turkey in the last throes of death. Now, since I only bowhunt turkeys, I shucked the vest, the slate, and the box calls. I only use diaphragms, and the Primos brands work best for me.
