Bring in Your Next Turkey With These Top Calls

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Turkey hunting is a gear-rich sport with many choices in calls, decoys, turkey vests, chairs, and other equipment. Of all the stuff you can bring out on a hunt, turkey calls offer an especially daunting amount of variety.

Turkey calls fall, broadly, into two categories: Mouth calls, which you blow into, and friction calls, which create sound when you rub two surfaces together. From there, they break down into a wider array of designs, including Diaphragm and trumpet (aka wingbone) mouth calls, or slate/pot calls and box-style friction calls. Ask any turkey hunter how many calls they carry in their turkey vest (let alone own), and the answer will probably be “too many!”

Whether you master one or both styles in your hunting pursuits, many brands offer a variety of turkey hunting calls, from mass-produced to custom hand-turned models. The best calls can endure the physical harshness of hunting and emit realistic sounds for many seasons.

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Best Turkey Calls

How to Pick The Right Turkey Calls For Your Next Hunt

The most important consideration when choosing a turkey call is its ability to mimic authentic sounds at various volume levels. Although the calls in each category physically work the same way, each one feels and sounds differently. Most hunters try a few before settling on the one that fits and sounds the best.

Manufacturers offer diaphragm calls with single or multiple reeds, pot calls made of different materials including metals, and box calls made of a variety of woods and thickness, which allows each to possess its own audible pitch. When turkey hunting, carry a variety of your favorite mouth calls since they are small and easy to pack in a turkey vest.

Include a pot call (or two), with a few strikers capable of emitting mellow and sharp sounds. Box calls are great for sounds you want heard at a distance and used to entice those hung up toms. Having a variety of sounds can help you lure wary or stubborn toms when one won’t work on its own. Ultimately, it does not matter which calls you carry as long as you use them effectively.

Diaphragm (Mouth) Calls

Diaphragm calls, which many refer to as mouth calls, are the least expensive and most popular turkey call. They’re a favorite among turkey hunters because they allow you to keep your hands free, so you can use the call right to the last moment.

Diaphragm calls consist of three main parts–the frame, a reed, and tape. A layer of prophylactic or latex material is stretched between an aluminum frame, which is folded over the latex to create a horseshoe shape. The excess latex on the outer edge is trimmed off, and the whole piece is wrapped in a special tape that can be custom trimmed to fit your mouth.

Because a diaphragm call requires control to use it effectively–with the amount of pressure you use to press the call against the roof of your mouth and the volume of air you push through it to produce different tones—it is the most challenging type of call to master.

Slate/Pot Calls

A slate or “pot” call is a friction-type design that uses a peg-style striker to create different sounds. Slate calls are usually round and made of various wood, composite, or plastic, with a striking surface made from slate, ceramic, glass, aluminum, or copper.

The friction makes sounds by dragging the striker across the surface in varying pressures and patterns. Keeping the call’s surface free of dust, water, and oils from your fingers is essential. To obtain the best sounds, it’s vital to periodically condition the call’s resonating surface and the striker’s tip, usually with sandpaper or a conditioning stone, depending on the surface. (This guide is a great reference).

Slate calls are easier to use than diaphragm calls, but they require more upper-body movement and the use of both hands, making them more limited in the field. They’re also more expensive, but with various materials available, you will likely find one within your budget.

Box Calls

Another friction-style design, box call works by sliding a hinged wooden lid across a wooden box. A paddle-style striker slides across the edges of a resonating box to produce turkey sounds. This type of call is easy to use, but more challenging to carry in the field. It’s difficult to be discreet when using a box call, as you need both hands and more upper-body movement to operate it.

Locator Calls

The locator call isn’t meant to lure a turkey. Instead, it makes the turkey think there’s an owl, crow, blue jay, or even another turkey nearby. Hearing another bird will (hopefully) prompt a shock gobble, which you can use to track them down. Be careful not to use a predator call that will cause the turkey to fly down or move away from your area.

Wingbone/Trumpet Calls

The trumpet or “wingbone” call has become increasingly popular over the past few years. Nicknamed “wingbone” because the first versions were made from a turkey’s wing bone, pursing your lip on the small end of this mouth call and sucking shortly creates a vibrato sound through the piece.

Trumpet calls require dedication and a keen sense of turkey language, so only seasoned hunters use them regularly. Given that it requires a lot of time and skill to use, I decided not to recommend a wingbone call in this guide. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider using one if you’re willing to put in the time to master it.

How We Selected The Best Turkey Calls

I based my recommendations on the experience and knowledge I’ve gained from using turkey calls in the field. I also solicited recommendations from top turkey hunters to find out what they use.

Most important is the quality of a turkey call, which is vital to how well it emulates natural turkey sounds—it should emit both soft and loud tones equally well. Anything subpar will be ineffective in your pursuit of a bird and won’t last many seasons outside in adverse conditions.

Some calls sound perfect right out of the box, while others may take breaking in or time to get used to. Now that you know the different types of turkey calls, use my recommendations below to choose the right one for you.

Tall Timber Gabriel Turkey Call

Primos is known for its quality turkey calls and products, so it came as no surprise to me that I found this call to be one of my favorites. It’s made from premium hardwoods (a Sapele body and a Purpleheart striking paddle), and its tones range from soft yelps to a variety of mid-tone and loud, resonating yelps.

I found the two cut-out thumb grooves ideal for positioning the call for different sounds. When I cannot seem to get a response from any other turkey call in my vest, I can usually get one from the Gabriel.

Strut Premium Flex Turkey Calls Combo

The H.S. Strut Premium Flex turkey calls combo is an excellent starter pack for beginners or veterans who want to keep more calls in their kit. The set includes four calls with two to three thin reeds that generate a variety of sounds, adding lots of call versatility for hunters luring in that prize tom.

The set includes the “Lil’ Strut” for long-range cutts and calls, the “Sickle Cutter” for loud cutts, the “Deuce Cutter” for a broad raspy range, and the “Smokin’ Gun” for soft tree yelps, feeding sounds, and kee-kees.

H.S. Strut’s proprietary Flex frame is moisture resistant and offers better shape retention for comfortable use and longevity of the call.

Even with my lack of expertise with diaphragm calls, I could still make decent purrs, cutts, and kee-kee calls with these. The calls have enough tape to trim it back for smaller palates.

My only real issue was that all four calls have the same color tape and the typed label is faint, so it can be hard to differentiate them in the pre-dawn or early morning light when pulling them out of your turkey vest.

Ninja 3-Pack

Turkey hunters may recognize Woodhaven for its many accolades in the turkey calling competition world. These calls are built with high-quality materials, and a deep attention to workmanship and design.

The Ninja Series set gives you a trio of three-reed diaphragm calls that are easy to use, and can handle any situation where you’d want to use one.

The set features the Ninja Ghost, Ninja V, and Ninja Venom. The Ghost has a range of sounds, from crisp to raspy yelps, clucks, and kee-kees. For a more raspy tone that gives loud cutts and yelps a distinct sound and is suitable for softer clucks and purrs, the Ninja-V with a classic V-cut is a perfect choice. The Venom offers intricate, crisp cutting to soft clucking, purring, and whining.

This Woodhaven Calls combo set truly has some of the best the Ninja Series offers and would be all a hunter would need in pursuit of a harvest.

Game Calls Dixie Hen Crystal

Glass-surface calls are often the most challenging pot calls to get consistent sounds from, especially for those new to pot calls. I was surprised by how easy this glass call was to use. After roughening the surface with a pumice stone, I was able to make the perfect yelps and cutts using the diamond wood striker.

The call is lightweight (about 5 ounces) and sits well in your hand. The walnut and cherry wood laminate is attractive, and the Dixie Hen inlaid photo makes this a beautiful call.

Cookie Cutt’R Pot Call

Slate is the easiest of all pot call surfaces to master. The Cookie Cutt’R Pot Call is ideal for novice callers learning the art of turkey calling. This economical call offers a tracer lid to learn purrs, yelps, and clucks.

The call is composed of a durable synthetic that can withstand years of use, so once the user aces their calling, they can remove the tracer lid and continue using the call. I found the call easy to use, and the tones were comparable to other calls in its class.

Fool Proof Turkey Call

Lynch has been building competition-winning calls since 1940 and has a reputation for quality. The Fool Proof is one of the first calls produced by Lynch and has been around for more than 75 years for a good reason. This call’s solid straight-grain mahogany base with a walnut lid produces soft and loud tones with little effort.

The offset pivoting top and automatic lid stop are why this box call is named Fool Proof; it’s easy for both beginners and experienced users to produce perfect calls. Every Lynch call is handmade and hand-tuned.

Custom Calls Pure Crow Call

Owl hooters work well pre-dawn, but I like using a crow call as a locator during the day. The genuine-sounding ESH Pure Crow call replicates a variety of crow vocalizations so well that the company markets it as a crow-hunting call as well. I love it because you don’t need to blow very hard to get sound out of it. That said, it takes some practice to get the perfect crow call.

The hand-assembled call has a walnut wood base and a well-crafted mouthpiece with an adjustable reed. The spring-pressured lanyard included with the call sits securely in a beveled notch.

Wooden calls are often more reliable because plastic calls can crack with age or break with pressure. This example works well in all weather conditions, including low temps or damp mornings, so it should through many hunting seasons.

Hoot Flute Owl Call

Even if you have roosted a bird the evening prior, turkeys are known to tree hop after roosting, so locating a tom predawn makes for the perfect hunt scenario. An owl hoot is familiar in the woods, so it will not alarm turkey to danger, but it will make them shock gobble so you can pinpoint their location.

I find it difficult to get a consistent hoot out of most owl calls, but the Primos Hoot Flute is easy to use. It features built-in tuning port holes to change the pitch for various owl species. You can quickly get soft or loud sounds from the call, and the lightweight, durable plastic flute works well in whatever the weather throws at you, including rain.

The flute measures 5-in. x 2-in. x 8-in., which may make it too large for some turkey vest pockets, you can always add a lanyard to make it easier to carry.

Nancy Jo Adams on Her Go-To Call, Why She Prefers Pot Calls Over Mouth Calls, and What It’s Like Completing a Turkey Grand Slam in Unfavorable Weather Conditions

PM: Do you have a go-to call when nothing else seems to be effective in a hunt?

NJA: The Primos Tall Timber Gabriel box call is always in my vest. It produces the smoothest soft yelps, the raspiest boss hen yelps, and the loudest distance-carrying yelps of any other call I own. If another call can’t get the attention of a tom or boss hen, I grab my Timber Gabriel. It can raise the dead.

PM: Do you prefer one type of call over another?

NJA: I prefer pot calls over diaphragm calls because I have never found a mouth call that comfortably fits my high, narrow palate. I like the sounds I get from slate and aluminum pot calls. I find glass surfaces a little more challenging to be consistent with, but I still use them.

PM: What was the most challenging turkey hunt you have experienced?

NJA: Most turkey hunts are a challenge; it is the main reason I love hunting turkey. But the 2010 Montana Merriam’s turkey hunt was my most challenging to date.

Before leaving home, I checked the weather for the area and there was no snow in the forecast. But when I stepped off the plane in Montana, there was nearly a foot of it on the ground. I had an entire gear bag full of Mossy Oak Obsession camouflage. I had never hunted turkey in the snow before, and it was a challenge just walking on mountainous terrain. But even more challenging was trying to be stealth while traversing a solid white landscape in black, tan, and bright green gear.

On my last morning, I moved to lower land where some of the snow had melted, and I ended up scoring a beautiful Merriam’s tom (one of Montana’s most prized upland game birds), thus achieving my first turkey grand slam.

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