What I really think about mouth calls

Go to any hunting show, pull a turkey pro out of earshot of his sponsor’s booth, and ask him, “If you could have only one call, what would it be?” Almost every one will answer, “A box call.” 

Manufacturers push mouth calls over box calls not because the former work better, but because they wear out, tear readily, get lost—and have to be replaced. They are the moneymakers. The problem is that mouth calls frequently don’t sound like turkeys. Listen to someone who fancies himself a great mouth caller.  He’ll probably sound fine from 10 feet away. Now walk 60 yards away and listen again; the guy will sound like a barking dog. 

If you do manage to fool a turkey with a mouth call from a distance, the bird is most likely what many guides call a “car door turkey”—a bird so jacked up that if you slammed the truck door, it would gobble back and run right to you. In my humble opinion, it’s best to stick with classic box calls.

Comments

[Matt]

My dad has an old ML Lynch box call that was originally my grandpas and as the story goes was used by him to kill the first wild turkey in the area when the season opened back in the 70s. Last week I decided to see how much a similar call was going for on e-bay and to my suprised a call exactly like it went for $197; apparently it's rare because it has the Birmingham, AL address printed on the inside. The real conundrum now is do I use it or keep it somewhere safe?

[Bill]

I don't claim to be a great turkey hunter, but there are surely more hunters than me just making the turkey calls with their mouth. No commercial call. I have bagged over 25 birds with this method. I use very little camo, also. Maybe I'm too much redneck, but it works.