sounds

[strutnrut]

We all know the sounds a Turkey make are numerous but have you every wondered if the sound you hear when you are calling is what the turkey hears or are you like one of those guys on American Idol that think they can sing but in fact they  can't sing?
I mean have you ever heard your recorded voice? Does it sound the same as it does in your head when you are speaking?
I think this is way there are so many difference of opinion on a turkey call. To many time have I had a call for sale at the Nationals and figured it would be the first call sold but in fact I have even had to bring them home. I mean the customer bought a call just not the one I thought was the best sounding call. 
What are your two cents on this topic?

[Shadetree Callers]

Everyone certainly has their own choice in what sounds like a turkey to them . Some folks like them to be high pitched , some want them raspy , some like an old hen , while others like a young hen . In my opinion , the best way to judge the sound of a given call , is to take it to the woods in the morning and have someone else run the call for you from a distance of 40-50 yards . Then you can tell how much turkey is in that call .

[merocustomcalls]

Everyone certainly has their own choice in what sounds like a turkey to them . Some folks like them to be high pitched , some want them raspy , some like an old hen , while others like a young hen . In my opinion , the best way to judge the sound of a given call , is to take it to the woods in the morning and have someone else run the call for you from a distance of 40-50 yards . Then you can tell how much turkey is in that call .

X2

[Daryl]

I take a recorder to the woods, get back from it 30 or 40 yards and play. The call will sound different than it does right up on you. As you know, everyone has a different idea in their head of what they like in a call.

[M Sharpe]

Richard, I think people's playing styles have a lots to do with that. When I pick up a box, the first thing I do is pull the paddle across the box slowly. I want to hear yee-awk. A lot of calls when played fast give the impression that it has rollover when actually what it has is the begining all over again. People get a certain sound that they expect to hear from a call (callmakers too) and that's all they look for. I like variety. For pot calls, I like one that takes very little pressure to play. I don't want to feel like I'm having to compete with 800 other turkeys at the GN's to be heard. A lot of pots I don't like because you have to put so much pressure on.

Take and combine what the two of you just said. Get someone that knows what a turkey sounds like and that can play a call to back of 40-50' in the woods.

[hunter62]

I make a turkey call the way i like to hear it and stay with that i know its not what people like to hear its what the turkeys like .

[GR8CALLS]

Great question, Richard. This is one of the main reasons the NWTF changed the judging to allowing the judes play the calls. Everyone (or they should) knows, the call maker can play his or hers calls best. The problem is, that that doesn't make the call necessarly, "user friendly". But, I have heard some really (what I thought) poor callers that can call the heck out of turkeys..........and I don't mean way laying a turkey, but actually calling them up to the gun.

Bill

[strutnrut]

I will sometimes record the sound on my cell phone and play it back. A lot of time I hear the recorded sound in a different manner that when I just play the call. I had a guy tell me that the turkeys like the sound that he makes but others may not like his playing style. The question being do people hear differently?? An the big question doesdifferent Turkeys hear differently? Opinions

[savduck]

I think everyone has a set expectation of what a call should sound like to them. I think if you have run enough quality turkey calls, you can immediately pick up one and with in seconds know if it has quality turkey in it or not. I personally like higher pitched calls that start clean and clear then can break into rasp. I dont  want calls that stay deep and raspy. Ive never come across a real hen that was deep and raspy with every note. As M Sharpe said, I also look for calls that run easy...sound great without a lot of pressure.

If you have picked out one that sounds turkey, recording yourself from a little ways off is a great idea. They do sound different up close in your hand vs from away from you. I noticed it most on cadence, and small things...like squeaks and notes rolling together. You can fine tune your calling knowing these little nuiances about your calls and make yourself a better caller.

And yes...there is plenty of American Idol going on with turkey calls, lots of people thinking they are good callers and they are actually terrible. Whats sad to me is how much bad calling is shown on hunting shows....which many new hunters watch and then they think bad calling is good calling because it was on a hunting show.

[ghost5]

I remember watching some show and listening to a pro hunter and call maker talk about this. He told a story about sitting in the woods listening to some guy trying to call as he walked through the woods. As he got closer the pro said he was thinking how terrible the guy sounded and how he really needed to practice. A few minutes later a hen came out making the terrible sounding calls he had been hearing  .  *lol*He said that shows how much even the "pros" know about how a turkey is supposed to sound.

Me. I just like making decent looking calls that sound good, I hope. I have one I kept for myself called the Bone Yard. Bits left over from other builds. It is a pain to play but I like it when I can get a decent sound out of it which isn't often.

[BigTom]

Some of the best sounding calls that I've heard are ones I thought sounded like  when I played them in my own hands. I had one call in the shop sitting on the bench for over a year that I thought sounded like  but one day I was up stair and heard Lou playing it in my shop. When I came down stairs I asked Lou what call he was playing and when he told me I couldn't beleave it!! I sold that call to a guy who just have to have it and he killed 2 birds this last spring with it!! Go figure!! 

[wsp3]

All turkeys have different voices. The cadence or rhythm are of much more importance. If a call rolls the note the tone and pitch isn`t as important as we think. I tend to tune calls till I think they sound pretty , then get my son`s to play them. They have younger ears than I do. It really helps hearing them play the calls. We get in some pretty heated discussions over how the call sounds, but again their ears are better. Again turkey`s all seem to have a very similar rhythm in their calling , not so much pitch. It`s anyone`s guess what and how well a turkey hears. Somtimes I think they are all deaf!!

                                                                 Billy

                                                                                                               

[Shadetree Callers]

 One other thing that I think is important is that all calls should be tested and fine tuned outdoors . I take my calls to the woods and run them in the morning when air density is more like a spring morning in the woods . If a callmaker tunes his calls in his shop or house , the sounds will not be the same ones you hear in the woods . It's even better if you take a friend and have them run the calls at a distance from you , in the woods .

[Zumer]

All turkeys have different voices. The cadence or rhythm are of much more importance.

   Everyone has a level of experience playing different types of calls & They have a certain type of sound(s), they look for in each type of call...

        I record allot of my calls with a digital recorder in the WOODS.....The tape doesn't lie....If my calling sucks, then it does......If the calling is on the money... Since I do 95% of my hunting in wooded area's, so I want to hear what each call sounds like in that setting....

      I think knowing what to say, when to say it, how loud, ya say it and where to say it from, plays a huge part of a successful hunt....The given situation tells us when to apply certain types of calling......

     Callings is like anything else...if you want to be good at it, you must practice......

    As Snozz would say.... "Come game time, ya better be on your A game with calling and woodsmanship or your vest will still be flat at the end of the hunt.."

     

[drenalinld]

Richard, I think people's playing styles have a lots to do with that. When I pick up a box, the first thing I do is pull the paddle across the box slowly. I want to hear yee-awk. A lot of calls when played fast give the impression that it has rollover when actually what it has is the begining all over again. People get a certain sound that they expect to hear from a call (callmakers too) and that's all they look for. I like variety. For pot calls, I like one that takes very little pressure to play. I don't want to feel like I'm having to compete with 800 other turkeys at the GN's to be heard. A lot of pots I don't like because you have to put so much pressure on.

Take and combine what the two of you just said. Get someone that knows what a turkey sounds like and that can play a call to back of 40-50' in the woods.

You and I think a lot alike. I pick up a box, and take the lid from fully open to fully close to see what the range is. I want boxes that require lilttle or no lid pressure and can be run with slow lid movement for soft talk and faster lid movements for louder calling all with turkey sound. With pot calls, i play them with very light striker pressure and very small movements on the surface about the size of a pea. All of that is just my personal preference. I like my sound with most calls and some I'm still working on. That 's what I love about turkey hunting. Being a good caller does not make you a good turkey hunter and being a good turkey hunter does not make you a good caller. I have heard plenty of real turkeys that I do not want to sound like! I sure do like trying to imitate and fool them jokers, though!!!

I think it's just like human voices and music. Everybody has their own likes and preferences. Turkeys have different preferences as well. my brother never practices, sounds more like a goose than a hen turkey, but almost always fills his tags?? He can cluck and purr on a slate pot, though. His hearing is bad and he cannot hear the difference.