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FirstFreedom · April 25, 2005, 06:09 PM

OK, I got a big one this time. Again, Sat morning....lucked into an absolutely perfect hunt. I was on this new lease I'd never been on before, so knew really nothing about, but set up a blind Fri night about 11pm in the dark in this one clearing. As it turned out, it was the perfect spot, cuz it's the clearing this one flock is using to land in from the roost. So Sat morning, they're gobbling on the roost behind me, then about 6:10, they all fly down immediately in front of me just 15 yards away, about 8-10 of them (I had been calling a little). Well, the boss turkey immediately attacks my jake-mounting-hen decoy, and knocks the crap out of it, and I blast him good. So here I have a bird not 15 seconds after they're down from the roost. Later I looked and saw a line of sight from the top of the roosting trees to where I had put my jake decoy, just by pure luck - so looks like that boss had been sitting up there in the roost as the sun came up, eyeing that jake, just building up steam before they flew down - lol. He's a beaut - 7 or 7.5" beard, 7/8ths to 1" spurs; didn't weigh him, but he was prolly 20 lbs, give or take. So I'm on a roll. But to get to my questions, once again, I could not get another one all weekend long (Sat afternoon, Sat evening, & Sunday morning), and I *think* the problem is my calls:

1. The slate/friction call I had used, I didn't use again, under the theory that it would be worthless - cuz the jig is up on that one, plus my other one sounds identical to me, particularly with the way in which I make the call motions.
2. Per the advice here, I also had with me a new box call (Lohman's), but this call is what leads to my question...In the store it sounded great when I tested it, BUT when I got it out to the field, it getting bumped around or *something* caused it to have a metallic tone added to the end of the sound I was making...i.e. it made a good actual sound, but then following it up at the end, you could heard a metallic vibration coming from the screw/spring area. So, how can I eliminate the metallic sound; just adjusting the screw, what? Or, it is ok to take out the spring on a box call completely - will it still work without the spring - I think the spring is the source of the metallic sound. Anyway, I used that box call the rest of the weekend, and they were all around me, and I saw them at 60, 70 yards through trees, but way too far to get a shot - they wouldn't come to my box call - coulda just been henned up - may not have been the call. But, if *I* can detect that metallic ring, then I know the turkeys can, too, so I need to eliminate it.

On a related subject, what brands are your favorite (a) slate calls/strikers, and (b) box calls? - those are the two types that I seem to be able to get decent sounds from... I've got an H.S. friction call and a Knight's friction call; and a Lohman's box call. But there's a zillion choices of course, both brands and models, some of which I cannot take out of the box to try in the store because the packaging is not designed in a way that allows opening/re-closing of the package without tearing it up.

April 25, 2005, 06:09 PM	#18
FirstFreedom Junior member Join Date: May 31, 2004 Location: The Toll Road State, U.S.A. Posts: 12,451	Have more questions OK, I got a big one this time. Again, Sat morning....lucked into an absolutely perfect hunt. I was on this new lease I'd never been on before, so knew really nothing about, but set up a blind Fri night about 11pm in the dark in this one clearing. As it turned out, it was the perfect spot, cuz it's the clearing this one flock is using to land in from the roost. So Sat morning, they're gobbling on the roost behind me, then about 6:10, they all fly down immediately in front of me just 15 yards away, about 8-10 of them (I had been calling a little). Well, the boss turkey immediately attacks my jake-mounting-hen decoy, and knocks the crap out of it, and I blast him good. So here I have a bird not 15 seconds after they're down from the roost. Later I looked and saw a line of sight from the top of the roosting trees to where I had put my jake decoy, just by pure luck - so looks like that boss had been sitting up there in the roost as the sun came up, eyeing that jake, just building up steam before they flew down - lol. He's a beaut - 7 or 7.5" beard, 7/8ths to 1" spurs; didn't weigh him, but he was prolly 20 lbs, give or take. So I'm on a roll. But to get to my questions, once again, I could not get another one all weekend long (Sat afternoon, Sat evening, & Sunday morning), and I think the problem is my calls: 1. The slate/friction call I had used, I didn't use again, under the theory that it would be worthless - cuz the jig is up on that one, plus my other one sounds identical to me, particularly with the way in which I make the call motions. 2. Per the advice here, I also had with me a new box call (Lohman's), but this call is what leads to my question...In the store it sounded great when I tested it, BUT when I got it out to the field, it getting bumped around or something caused it to have a metallic tone added to the end of the sound I was making...i.e. it made a good actual sound, but then following it up at the end, you could heard a metallic vibration coming from the screw/spring area. So, how can I eliminate the metallic sound; just adjusting the screw, what? Or, it is ok to take out the spring on a box call completely - will it still work without the spring - I think the spring is the source of the metallic sound. Anyway, I used that box call the rest of the weekend, and they were all around me, and I saw them at 60, 70 yards through trees, but way too far to get a shot - they wouldn't come to my box call - coulda just been henned up - may not have been the call. But, if I can detect that metallic ring, then I know the turkeys can, too, so I need to eliminate it. On a related subject, what brands are your favorite (a) slate calls/strikers, and (b) box calls? - those are the two types that I seem to be able to get decent sounds from... I've got an H.S. friction call and a Knight's friction call; and a Lohman's box call. But there's a zillion choices of course, both brands and models, some of which I cannot take out of the box to try in the store because the packaging is not designed in a way that allows opening/re-closing of the package without tearing it up.