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Photo by Steve Bauer |
Confidence calls
With so many friction and air-operated turkey calls to choose from these days, it’s no wonder our hunting vests are bulging. Of course, all of the calls are designed to fool turkeys, and for that reason, most hunters are proficient with more than one of them.
However, despite the dazzling array that most of us eventually acquire, we still have our favorites. Think about it. You have a vest full of calls, but you normally use only one at a time. Which one do you reach for first? Chances are good it’s a call you feel comfortable with, and one with a proven track record.
For me, a particular friction call is at the top of the list. Don’t get me wrong, I have a drawer full of box calls, mouth calls and pot and peg calls, but my all-time favorite is a seen-better-days box call I purchased by mail order prior to my first spring turkey hunt in 1971.
Sure, I have a dozen other box calls from different manufacturers, all of which I like, and all of which I’ve called turkeys with, but when things get tough, I still pull out the original box most of the time because it’s the one I have unwavering confidence in. For some reason, that particular call seems, to my untrained ear anyway, to have almost musical characteristics. With it, I can produce everything from subtle, nearly inaudible turkey sounds to the loudest yelps and cutts of the bossiest hen on the planet.
Understandably, other hunters will have totally different choices when it comes to the select calls they have the most faith in. I asked three of the most respected turkey hunters and callers around which single call they’d choose if they could use only one. In no particular order, here’s who they are, and what they said.
Two Timer
First up is Alex Rutledge, an all around good guy who just happens to be an expert turkey hunter as well as a television personality and seminar speaker. Formerly on the national pro staff of Hunter’s Specialties and now with Rutt and Strutt Outfitters, Rutledge helped design several of the calls he uses, which includes his favorite mouth diaphragm, the triple-reed Two Timer by H.S. Strut (a division of Hunter’s Specialties).
“Confidence is the key to anything we do in life,” Rutledge said. “I like a large variety of calls, but if I could have only one of them in the woods with me, a call that would turn a turkey inside out, it would be the Two Timer.
“It’s perfect for high volume yelps and cutts and soft purrs and clucks. And it’s become my favorite go-to call. It really helps me sell myself to those suspicious toms.”
The Preacher
I doubt if there’s a better example of turkey calling expertise than Knight & Hale’s Chris Parrish. His accomplishments include more turkey calling championships than you can shake a drumstick at. Like Rutledge, Parrish has a favorite mouth call that he’d never leave behind.
“I use all kinds of calls, but if I could have only one it would be a Knight & Hale diaphragm called The Preacher,” Parrish said. “It’s a triple-reed call with a medium-heavy upper reed and two prophylactic bottom reeds. I’ve used mouth calls all of my life, and The Preacher really stands out. It’s deadly, and I can manipulate it so well that I wouldn’t feel comfortable without one close at hand whenever I’m hunting.”
Ring Zone
At the tender age of 6, Matt Morrett got his first taste of turkey calling in the woods with his dad, and he’s still at it. As a junior in high school, he began working for Hunter’s Specialties, and it wasn’t long before he began winning turkey calling contests, including five World Friction Calling Championships. Not surprisingly, Morrett is on the Hunter’s Specialties national pro staff.
Morrett is an accomplished caller with any device, but when push comes to shove, his preferred call is a particular glass pot and peg that he carries with him whenever he’s hunting wild turkeys.
“All turkey calls work or no one would buy them,” Morrett said. “However, if I had to choose just one it would have to be H.S. Strut’s Ring Zone Starfire Crystal. With it, I can make extremely loud calls for locating turkeys and be as soft as necessary for close range work. I’m not knocking slates or anything else, but that glass call is something else. It’s too versatile to ever leave behind.”
Old Reliable
Most of us enjoy using a variety of calls, but that doesn’t mean we don’t play favorites in a pinch. It all boils down to personal preference. Your choice may not match mine, but it doesn’t really matter as long as you have confidence in whatever call you rely on most. — John Higley