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Posted with permission form deadlyimpostergamecalls.com and Stu Bristol.

Hunters new to the sport of wild turkey hunting contact me dozens of times each year asking which the best calls are to use as a beginner. For the past fifty years my answer has never changed. If you are just taking up the sport of wild turkey hunting the two most important calling devices are the box call and the pot call.

The box call is by far the shortest learning curve. The call consists of a rectangular box to which a hinged lid is attached. By drawing the lid across the open box, a variety of turkey vocalizations can be produced. There will be more intricate maneuvers than that, which I will discus in an article focusing on box calls but today I want to stick to pot calls; how to select one that is right for you.

The pot call comes in a variety of shapes and descriptions but the most common is a circular, bowl-like “pot” covered with any number of materials; slate, glass, ceramic, copper and aluminum. Each call structure serves the hunter is different ways.

The first step in selecting a pot call is to go online and listen to recordings of live wild turkeys. Your primary function as a hunter will be to become a play actor, imitating the various wild turkey vocalizations.

Research the basic daily activity vocalizations then search out the sounds of mating male turkeys (gobblers) and hens. For generations here in the Northeast hunters grew up as whitetail deer hunters, primarily in the months of October (bow hunting) and rifle season in November. Wild turkey mating season is a springtime activity but some of the mating principles are the same. Males service a harem of females and then for hunting purposes become expendable. Glad we are not deer or turkeys, huh?

The new turkey hunter needs his or her box call and pot call to be capable of accurately depicting the daily vocalizations plus the short time mating calls.

CONSTRUCTION OF POT CALLS

The most common size for pot calls is 3 – ½ inches in diameter and slightly under ¾-inch thick. A select block of wood is cut roughly rounded then mounted in the chuck of a woodworking lathe and cut down to the desired diameter.

Using the specialized woodworking tools the inside of the call (bowl) is formed, leaving a ¼ to 1/8-inch recessed lip to which the coving will be glued. It is common to leave a circle of wood in the center, raised about 1/8-inch to which a sound board can be attached.

Next a 10-12-inch dowel is inserted into the lath and a tapered striker will be created. This striker will be drawn across the surface of the finished call in different manners to create a variety of vocalizations.

That’s the basics in a nutshell; now comes the difficult part and what will determine the pitch sounds and other properties of the call. From this point forward the hunter must consider this creation a “musical instrument.”

FRICTION

Back in grade school you must have learned the cause and effect of friction. Remember when you drove the teacher nuts by running your fingernails across the blackboard? This same principle applies to all friction operated turkey calls; box, pot and others, and yes, there are many other types of friction callers.

Sound waves travel through materials such as wood, slate, glass and others differently. If your hunting buddies or the literature you read or video you just watched points your interest in slate covered pot calls, understand that some woods and some pieces of slate allow sound to travel at different speeds.

Here at Deadly Imposter Game Calls we offer custom calls, of course but also create inventory of the most popular woods and surface materials. Those being, walnut, purpleheart and African zebrawood. The size are each 3 ½-inch diameter and the sound board glued to the center pedestal is 3-inch diameter double thickness glass and the cover surface is 1/16-inch gray Pennsylvania soft slate.

Before any sound boards or surface slate is attached we coat the inside of each all with four coats of polyurethane, allowing each coat to dry for 6-8 hours. This prevents the call from warping. Remember this when you look at store-bought mass produced calls.

How the glass and slate are affixed to the wood will affect the speed and direction of sound waves. Rather than using a hard-clamped wood or all-purpose glue we use a product sold as E-6000. Instead of clamping the sound glass or surface slate we run a bead of glue on the shelf created near the top of the pot firmly place the slate calling surface in the glue and turns back and forth to seat firmly then we place a small weight on the call and let dry overnight. Too much weight and the glue could release after heavy use in the field. Read the glueing instructions.

Now for the striker or peg which you will draw across the playing surface. The angle make a huge difference as does the shape of the tip of the striker. Striker selection can be frustrating. We pack each pot call with two different striker combinations. One for soft calling in dry conditions and one for raspier tones and easy of operation in damp conditions, sometimes even in the rain.

In 2019, Stu was inducted into the New England Turkey Hunting Hall of Fame.

Stu learned his callmaking craft while hunting with some of the best-known turkey hunters and callmakers including Ben Rogers Lee, Dick Kirby, Niles Oesterle, Neil Cost and Bart Jacob. His “new England” model slate over glass turkey call has been a favorite since 1983 and is currently selling well on deadlyimpostergamecalls.com

Have you ever wanted to build your own turkey calls? Enjoy the satisfaction of harvesting a trophy gobbler using a calling device you made. Easy to follow instructions on how to make box calls, pot calls, scratch box, wingbone calls and owl hooters. Learn the secrets of master game call builder, NWTF Hall of Famer, Stu Bristol. Get your copy today from the Maine legend Stu Bristol at deadlyimpostergamecalls.com

Unlike Spring Turkey Season, there is little or no gobbling activity during the day and gobblers are in small flocks (3 to 10 birds).  Hens and young of the year are together in large flocks (10 to 20 birds). It is not unusual to find two to three hens together with all their young.

Locating a Bird

The basic strategy for fall turkey hunting is to find and break up a flock, scattering them in all directions. Then, locate yourself as near as possible to the spot where you broke up the flock and wait about 10 minutes before you start calling.

It’s about Safety!

Fall turkey hunting can be an extremely enjoyable experience. The sight and sounds of 20 to 30 turkeys approaching from all directions can be as exciting as calling in a spring gobbler. However, the fall firearms turkey season has the potential to be more dangerous than the spring because either sex may be hunted. Therefore, less emphasis is put on positive identification. Remember to follow the basic rules of safe turkey hunting.

In order to be safe, always wrap a bagged turkey or decoy in hunter orange when transporting it or carry them in a turkey hunting vest.

Various Calls

• Clucks and coarse yelps — If gobblers leave the location, they can be called back by using clucks and coarse yelps.
• Kee-kee — can attract hens and young birds. Young birds usually will return within an hour while an old gobbler may take 3 or 4 hours. Hens and their young tend to vocalize a lot as they return. Old gobblers tend to return silently.
• Assembly yelp — is made in the fall when the hen calls in the young poults. This call consists of a long series of yelps.

Please note:

• Any hunter who kills or injures a turkey must make a reasonable effort to retrieve and include it in their season limit, but this does not authorize trespass.
• It is a violation to wantonly leave, abandon, or waste commonly edible portions of game.
• Anyone using a turkey call to assist another hunter must be properly licensed with either a filled or unfilled spring turkey hunting permit.
• If you hunt during a managed hunt, season limits still apply.

Time of Day

Many hunters are in the woods before dawn, and most turkeys are killed before 8 a.m. However, turkey hunting after 8 a.m. can be rewarding. Most people leave the woods by 10 a.m. If you have the patience to stay late, there are fewer hunters in the woods competing for available birds.

Location

It is important to start your hunt from a good location. Be careful not to hide too well. You want to be able to see in every direction in order to spot approaching hunters. Consider any movement in the woods to be another hunter until you can positively identify the object.

Attracting a Bird

Hooting like a barred owl or cawing like a crow usually encourages a turkey to gobble, and are preferred ways to locate the birds early in the morning. Hooting and cawing may get him to gobble without making him look for you.

Various Calls

Variations of the yelp are the most frequently used calls. Most spring turkey hunters yelp from 3 to 7 times—it’s not critical how many times, but rhythm is important. It really does not matter whether you are raspy or smooth, or using friction or diaphragm calls. Rhythm is the most important feature of effective calling. Pre-recorded tapes of turkey calls can help you learn the various calls and associated rhythms.

• Tree yelp— a very soft yelp that should be used when the gobbler is still on the roost. Turkeys hear much better than humans. Before the hen comes off the roost, she calls softly. After you get in position, try giving a tree yelp while the gobbler is still on the roost.
• Cluck —Turkeys frequently cluck while feeding and moving around undisturbed. You can make the clucking sound on any of the calls. This is also one of the easiest calls to learn.
• Cackle — is a series of excited clucks that hens sometimes make as they fly down from the roost.  The call gets faster and faster as she pulls off the limb and flies to the ground, then tapers off and slows down as she lands.
• Cutting — is a sound turkeys make that is similar to the cackle. Cutting consists of excited, fast, short, sharp clucks and is frequently made by adult hens.
• Purr — is the contented, soft call of the hen. Purring and clucking are the calls that will bring turkeys in the last few yards.
• Putt — is a sound both sexes make, typically consisting of a series of hard, short, loud clucks, which serves as the alarm call.
• Whine — is a soft, high-pitched, drawn-out call of the hen, usually used in combination with putts and clucks.
• Gobble — can be imitated with your voice, a box call, a diaphragm call or a shaker-type of call designed specifically for gobbling. Beware of gobbling during legal shooting hours, because you might attract other hunters.
• Spit and drum (or thrum) — is done while displaying for the hen. The drum sounds like a giant rubber band vibrating in the woods. It is a very soft call. If the drumming gobbler is hidden by brush, it can be difficult to pinpoint his location.
• Lost call or assembly call —is a series of pleading yelps that tend to get louder and more pleading. 
• Kee-kee —is the whistle of a young turkey. The kee-kee run is the voice of a young turkey changing from a whistle to a yelp and is usually heard in the fall.

It takes Practice!

Sometimes you can use every call in the book and you still have trouble getting the gobbler to come in those last few critical yards!  Possible reasons and solutions:

• A physical barrier, such as a woven-wire fence between you and the turkey or another hunter or predator may have caused him to abandon you for the moment
• You may have called too loudly. Generally, turkeys only call loud enough to be heard by another turkey. When your call is too loud, the gobbler assumes the hen is close and he begins to strut and display.
• Try turning your head to project the call behind you, and the gobbler may move closer.
• Be patient, you may be able to wait him out. If the gobbler has hens with him, eventually the hens may leave and your periodic calling will start working on the gobbler’s mating urges.
• How often and how loud you want to call varies with the situation and will come naturally to you with more experience.
• Keep the turkey interested. If he loses interest, he may move out of the area or go to another hen. Remember, the gobbler responds to stimuli and to lure him in, you must emit the strongest, most seductive stimulus while interacting with him.