Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk ALTurkey Talk -- Beards and Spurs Which 2 calls?

Just passing the time in the off season. I know a lot of guys have vests with all sorts of different calls, and I was that guy in the past. In the last 6-7 years I have become more of a minimalist, carrying what I can in my shirt and cargo pockets on my pants. Normally I carry some sort of slate pot, and an aluminum or glass pot in, one in each cargo pocket, 2-3 strikers in my hip pockets, and a Marlin Watkins “coaxer” in my shirt pocket. I also carry a trumpet around my neck. Every turkey I killed this year was called in with the trumpet even though I had the other calls. I’m thinking about downsizing further and going to two calls only. Just curious in your picks for shits and giggles..

I’ll start. Trumpet, either Anthony Ellis or Lee Chadwick. Slate pot: either Brad Roberts green slate over glass in cedar pot or Paul Durham red slate over glass in Osage pot. Jeff Harrison or Dustin Holtzman striker. Substitute Derrin Dawkins stoned aluminum with a weather proof striker on rainy or super humid mornings.

Please, be as specific as you’d like. I just love talking turkey calls

My go to is trumpet/wingbone, rotate them among my own calls and a variety of makers. A Osage pot with black slate, primary one is a Seminole call from Ben Gentry. Also care one box call from a variety of makers.
I rotate calls like most guys rotate socks.
I collect calls with the intention of hunting all of the at some point, only a couple are shelf queens.

A batwing mouth call(Shane Simpson firebat) and a Paul Platz cherry slate.

1 slate, 1 striker, pouch with 3 mouth calls. Thats all one needs.

These two!

And this one!

Ray you know that's a loaded question!

Oh I forgot the Lonzo in the front pocket!

99% of the time, I’d never know the difference, if all I had was one mouth call.

I carry way too many calls, and have used a bunch over the years. But I've killed most of mine with the same mouth call, cane cutter by cane creek calls. I think 21 have died due to the one I'm using now, it's about to fall apart, but hard to get rid of a proven killer.

If I had to limit to 2 calls, a v cut mouth cal(Preston Pittman or Woodhaven)l and a slate(Houndstooth). 90% of the time use the mouth call only. There are days when the slate shines.

A box call can be extremely useful when trying to strike a bird. Would hate to do without but it would be left behind if I could only carry 2.

Box call and a slate.

Mouth yelper and a box

double reed mouth call and a trumpet

Good raspy diaphragm and a good box if I can only take two.

I got a cheap Preston Pittman box call that my maw in law got me for Christmas about 25 years ago. I would never part with it. Turkeys will gobble and come to it when nothing else works. Second would be a Houndstooth ghost cut.

Trumpet & probably a Cody Glass

Houndstooth vixen and if I had to do another it would be my real hen box from woodhaven

Couple houndstooth diaphragms and primos tube call.

I use a custom red slate pot made by a local guy and a Hooks Heartthrob diaphragm. I sometimes break out a David Halloran Twisted Sister.

I've got about everything you can imagine in my vest and very rarely do I ever make a sound with anything but a mouth call.

I know a fella that killed a limit of Alabama turkeys this year using a single call.

Lynch WC box, and some kind of aluminum K&H call I was given when EBSCO bought out Knight & Hale

I only carry two calls. A Primos pot call that I've had for 20 yrs and a mouth call. I do most of the calling with the pot call and really only use the mouth call for up close work.

Lunch jet slate and a hounds tooth diaphram

Where to set up and when to call to him way more important than what you use and how good you use it 😀

i carry my homemade wingbone & river cane yelpers & a trumpet i scored off eBay
and a homemade box call in my cargo pant pocket …
that’s it

Lynch Foolproof box call, Straight Creek slate call by Saylor, Woodhaven Red Wasp mouth call.
But I have to admit I can only cluck halfway convincingly on the mouth call, so I only use it to stop a bird and get his head up while looking down the rib at him.

Slate call and a Cane Cutter

Most of the turkeys I kill hear a Hatchet Creek mouth call and a homemade Rivercane. If somehow limited to 2, that would be it. I also carry some other mouth calls, a Fatal Attraxion is used a lot. I can get it a little louder than the other one. I carry a Shoub glass call and a very old Super Aluminator, though I don't use them often. And I usually carry a Dixie Darling box that I mainly use in the afternoon, but I seldom go in the afternoon in my old age.

I just realized that I don't carry any call that you can walk into a store and buy, so I guess this is worthless information.

I have 3 calls
-houndstooth 3 reed v cut- use this 98% of the time, put it in my mouth like a dip when I get out of the truck and dont take it out till I get back
-woodhaven basic slate call- use it about 1.5% of the time
-Black label crystal call- - use it the remaining .05% of the time(usually only when it is really windy)

Typically I use the slate and the v cut in tandem when hunting anything other than first thing in the morning. If I strike one, it is often with the slate call but I will bring him in to range with the v cut.

If I get under one still gobbling on the limb before daylight I only use the v cut because I dont wanna move my hands to get the slate call out of my vest.

I do not really think I sound any better on one than I do the other, I just prefer the v cut diaphragm because I can basically do it motionless