Tommy Ladson: Basic Calling 101 for Beginner Turkey Hunters

Hey, guys. With turkey season almost here, I figured I’d give some pointers about turkey calls and calling for those of you who are going out for the first time this spring. There are tons of turkey calls out there, so I’ll going to go over each type.

Nowk, I’m going to spare all of you from having to listen to me call, so I will let a friend, Steve Davis, give you some examples of how to use a diaphram call (see video below). Steve is a champion turkey caller, but for now we will get back to the basics.

Locator Call: The first type of call is a locator call. A locator call is typically used for you to locate your bird and find out where he’s at. The locator works by producing high-pitch sounds to trigger a turkey’s response. A typical locator call is usually an owl call or a crow call.

Friction Call: The surface of a friction call is usually slate or glass, and in order to use this call you need a striker–typically made out of wood. To make calls you rub the striker on the slate in circular motions or back and forth at an angle.

Box Call: In my opinion this is the easiest type of call to operate. The box call is usually made out of cedar, and there is a lid held on to the box which causes friction between the lid and box. This friction, with the help of chalk, is what makes the turkey-like sounds. In order to make sounds you simply rub the lid back and forth on the box.

Mouth Call: The mouth, or diaphram, call is probably the hardest type of call to use. The call is made out of latex and reeds which produce sounds when air travels in between the reeds and latex. In order to use this call you need to be able to do a few things: The first is hold the mouth call firmly against the roof of your mouth. The second thing to keep in mind is breathing over your tongue and into the latex instead of straight out of your mouth. The final thing is knowing which lip and tongue movements cause the different sounds and tones. If anyone has ever purchased a mouth call they usually come with directions giving words to say into the mouth call in order for you to make different sounds. The most common mistake people make is trying to say the words through the call instead of blowing the word out. In order to achieve the sound you want your lips have to be in a certain position and you have to blow harder to emphasize certain high and low pitched tones.

Anyone who is interested in mastering a diaphram call this is a perfect video. Steve makes tons of informative videos to teach other hunters and help them out. If you like this video check out his other ones. Whenever I need a tip about calling or tukeys he is the guy I go to.