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2024 Turkey Thread

10essee said:
I have a .385 Carlson in my moss 500 410 and it shoots good but not great. It patterns the browning tss the best. Have an Indian Creek showing up tomorrow to see how it does. Easy 40 yards as is but has few flat spots in it. Looking to round it out.
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Have you tried opening up the choke some?


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shmelton said:
Have you tried opening up the choke some?


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Yes sir. The factory choke was around .389-.390 on a set of calipers. The Carlson is .385 but not ported. Going see if the open ports of .385 Indian creek black diamond strike will make a difference in the patchiness. I have some browning 9 apex 9.5 and rogue 9.5 but going to grab some rogue 10 if can catch in stock.
 
Thanks for the info fellas. Its not a dealbreaker by any means. Its an H&R I've had since I was kid (my first gun actually) and thought it'd be cool to make it a viable option in the turkey woods. I may talk myself into getting some shells and at least trying it out. In the meantime I'm going to pattern my 12 sooner than later I hope. Pics to follow, Lord willing.
 
DanielB89 said:
If a man were wanting to get into turkey hunting, what type of call would you recommend? Mouth? box? slate?
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I’d say pot or box call to start and then mouth call. I can’t use a mouth call to save my life…. But maybe I should practice more. Although I’ve pondered if some people just aren’t capable of using them? But that seems like a stretch… thoughts?
 
DanielB89 said:
If a man were wanting to get into turkey hunting, what type of call would you recommend? Mouth? box? slate?
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Mouth, cheap, easier to learn on than most people say I think. Buy one, take it home. Then sit down with a good video or two and you’ll be good to go. If not I’d say slate. Boxes are easy but I’m just not a fan of carrying them around.
 
Mschmeiske said:
I’d say pot or box call to start and then mouth call. I can’t use a mouth call to save my life…. But maybe I should practice more. Although I’ve pondered if some people just aren’t capable of using them? But that seems like a stretch… thoughts?
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I know it’s dependent on the roof of your mouth, but I have to imagine that there’s a work around if something is not syncing up. It just won’t be anything that’s helped by watching videos…… it’s just air past a reed controlled by pressure from the tongue. Sure that’s over simplified & not anyone can learn to sing & have the voice to make them famous. But most CAN sing……. I learned when I was 9 yrs old my Dad said I couldn’t go to turkey camp for a week in the spring unless I could run a mouth call. They thought they bought themselves 4-5 years of not toting a fidgety kid in the turkey woods. WRONG! I practiced all winter long in my room with an old cassette recording of Rob Keck & taping & playing myself back. 2weeks before season my Grandpa heard me playing the tape & thought it was the original. I popped in a call & proved it wasn’t. They all tagged out for years to come & I learned a lot about working turkeys. So I probably have a little more sentimental preference to a diaphragm call. Short story, it ain’t hard start squawking & turkeys will come into a lot of calls!
 
Mouth calls are great once birds are visible because of the lack of movement needed. If you have your hands on a slate or box call and the bird suddenly appears it can be very difficult to get that call put down and weapon up to kill him. With that said, the mouth call is by far the hardest IMO to learn to use.
 
I think a mouth call is the most useful. Its also the easiest to mess up. You need to practice and be 100% confident its going to make the sound you want it to when its Go Time. If im anxious i usually crack like a 13 yr old boy going through puberty. I think getting a pot call AND a mouth call is the way to start. Get down a couple quick yelps and clucks on the pot and same for the mouth call. The mouth call is very versatile once you get the hang of it. If i could only carry one it would be mouth. If i had to throw one in the trash it would be a box. I have a few boxes that I think sound great but have never called a turkey or even got a gobble back.

Just dont go calling like you see the TV stars doing it. With 100 assembly calls every 2 min. that just doesnt work in high pressured areas. keep it short and sweet. and believe me...pressured gobblers will come in without gobbling one time. always assume you have a bird coming or you will get caught with your pants down quick.
 
Mschmeiske said:
I’d say pot or box call to start and then mouth call. I can’t use a mouth call to save my life…. But maybe I should practice more. Although I’ve pondered if some people just aren’t capable of using them? But that seems like a stretch… thoughts?
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I think we set unrealistic expectations on ourselves. you don't have to sound like a grand champion to call in birds but you will sound better with practice. cadence is probably more important. I have called birds in despite sounding awful IMO. like @PEEJAY said confidence goes a long way and often less (calling) is mo' better.
for me, getting proficient on a mouth call was simply putting in the practice. some videos helped (Shane Simpson has some good content), then practice some more. find a friend who is good and ask questions about mouth and tongue placement, air pressure etc. with tough sounds. It sometimes helps to get some cheap mouth calls and trim them differently to play with how they fit in the roof of your mouth. I still can't purr worth a darn because I can't roll my R's and using the uvula is even harder. don't throw in the towel yet
 
I'm very good with a mouth call. That said, I can only run ghost cuts and something like the hammer cut by woodhaven. Anything else sounds like a dying duck. I recommend more raspy calls as they hide imperfections in your calling. Even if you don't like how you sound, the gobbler doesn't care. He's either coming or he's not.
My entire vest consists of 3 calls, 2 mouth calls and an owl call. That's it.

Mouth call is the only way to go. I've killed a ton with slate calls and I enjoy the different woods of strikers as well as custom calls as much as anyone else. But the ability to be hands free is massive.
And another thing seldom mentioned is how cold mornings affect calling. Early season in pa it can be freezing out. I cannot work a slate or box call to save my life with cold hands. Mouth call that's a non issue. You also don't have to worry about inclement weather effecting the friction of your calls.
 
Question for the guys shooting Winchester XR out of the Carlson XR chokes. Do you think the Carlson choke is any different from any other .660 restriction choke? If so why? What makes it different?
 
peteherbst said:
Question for the guys shooting Winchester XR out of the Carlson XR chokes. Do you think the Carlson choke is any different from any other .660 restriction choke? If so why? What makes it different?
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It's marketing 101. Nothing more. It's impossible to say what choke and constriction is best for your gun unless it's tested. Generally the top performing chokes are consistently Indian Creek, Sumtoy, and Pure Gold.
I have an old gen 1 Rhino choke that I consider the finest choke ever made. Every load I've ever put through it has shot superbly and uniformly.
 
Picked up one of these Turkey Chest Packs today at BPS. I think it will work really well going in as minimalist as possible and doubling use during deer season for binos, rangefinder, small gear. It's essentially a bino harness with spots for pot calls, mouth calls, box call slot underneath, etc. Excited to get it unpacked and filled up.
 
All great answers on the calls selection question. Similar to what @bigmike23 and @NimbleTimbo said, my advice if you’re just starting out is deep dive into mouth calling as it will always be needed and you will continue to improve. I always have a diaphragm in my mouth from early morning on my way to the hunt and all throughout the day. As far as friction calls, anything works but a high quality call, imho does have an edge in sound quality. I haven’t tried woodhaven but I like the custom call makers. Check out Midwest Turkey Call supply a lot of good calls and call makers and you can call and talk to them too. I like Dave Halloran’s
Calls he is a respected
Call maker , hails
From WNY and his calls are top notch. I run the Metal Mouth and the Cherry Slate. I have a Harn Box (no longer made) and I now make my own mouth calls. I also like the Quaker Boy screaming green series the latex in them seems to stay pretty pliable.
I’m not an expert but ive been doing it for a long time. Check out this video from Shane Simpson on mouth calling I wish this was around when I started:
 
Micneador said:
My dad has killed just about every turkey since 1992 with an old lynch box call.
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My Dad & your Dad would be good friends! Same thing except he hasn’t hunted for 4-5 years but starting in mid eighties that’s all he had & always tagged out.
 
Bigterp said:
My Dad & your Dad would be good friends! Same thing except he hasn’t hunted for 4-5 years but starting in mid eighties that’s all he had & always tagged out.
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Mine had an old crystal FREAK pot call from primos. The only other one he ever carried. We had one morning on Broken Bow Lake when I was 9 or 10 he swapped between the two and called a trio of two year old. One of the two doubles we ever killed
 
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