Cedar Turkey call

[Tom Wilson66]

Terry, said I'd post the pic as soon as I had it finished, and here it is. The box is made from eastern red cedar, and is 3 5/8" diameter by 3/4" tall. Made it very plain, since it is my first. The striker handle is also eastern red cedar (to coordinate with the box), and the stiker is hickory. The finish is polyurethane over shellac, then waxed and buffed. When the striker is rubbed over the slate on the other side of the box it should sound like a turkey. I have no idea if this one does or not, but it lets out a loud yelp. Terry, how do you tell if it is "in tune".:confused: I know where to find some turkeys on the Refuge near here, if I play it near them, will they come running?:D

[Steve Schlumpf]

Tom - never been turkey hunting but your call sure looks like it would work great! Nice job! Good looking wood, form and finish! Let us know what the turkeys think of it when you get the chance to try it out! Have fun!

[Terry Achey]

Hi Tom,

Sweet looking call :). Nice looking striker, too. If you want to hear some turkey calls go to the National Wild Turkey Federation site and listen to sounds first hand. Keep in mind that turkeys are like people. They all have a slightly different voice, so perfection isn't necassary.

http://www.nwtf.org/all_about_turkeys/sounds_of_turkeys.html

Actually, they make quite a few sounds to communicate. Your call will make most of the sounds. I've made about 18 calls now and I can tell you that two things make a big difference in sound quality with regard to the striker. The lentgh of the striker handle (3 1/2" optimum length) and the type of wood. (Hickory rod performs best, too). I just made a handle on a hickory rod from snakewood and it looks awesome but is too dense and therefore doesn't resonate very well. Sounds dull. Another big factor in sound quality is using a 3" glass sound board below the slate. Other materials such as lexan don't work very well. Guess how I know this:rolleyes:.

Another sweet type of call uses beaded glass surface instead of slate with a 1/8" wooden sound board. Works very well, too.

BTW - if you make the right sounds (try plain yelps or kee-kee's), I'll bet the refuge birds wil respond vocally.

Thanks for sharing your work, Tom. It's a beautiful call!

Terry

[Bernie Weishapl]

I have never did a turkey call but yours is a beauty.