Every year it’s the same playbook. Around February, all the major call companies release their new and improved mouth call. “Guaranteed” to make every turkey in a 1 mile radius come running and willingly give their lives to a load of TSS to the face. But is this new and improved mouth call anything special?
Here’s the playbook of all the major call makers; design a mouth call with a cool looking cut, give it an even cooler name, increase the cost from last years flagship model, and pass it off to a world champion caller to prove that the average joe can run it just like them… Mouth calls have unfortunately reached their apex of innovation and there is realistically little to anything to improve upon at this point. These new and improved mouth calls that come out every spring are nothing special.
Let’s break down this advertising by starting with the fancy new cut. Don’t get me wrong. The cut on a mouth call does matter, but there are so many factors at play, it is just A factor, but not ALL of the factors. Too many callers believe that the cut is the ONLY factor that gives a mouth call the sound. The number of reeds, the reed thickness, and the stretch are extremely important factors that few callers factor into their call. Far too often do I hear other hunters say, “I can only run a batwing cut from xyz company”. Ok, what is the thickness of the reeds for that call? What’s the stretch? How many reeds?
One of the major reasons that I started making my own calls is that the mouth calls on the market are promoted by professional turkey callers. All though what these callers can do on a mouth call is nothing short of amazing, it is not realistic to the majority of us. I am not an amazing caller. When I try to duplicate what the pros do on the same call, I don’t sound anything like them, regardless of how hard I try. The beauty of making your own mouth calls is that you can make a custom call. You can try many variations until you find a call that sounds like a turkey.
Finally let’s talk about price. Mouth call prices have increased every year and will continue to do so. When I started turkey hunting, top quality mouth calls were $12 each. Last year, a single mouth call maxed out between $16-$18 each. Although the price of supplies has also increased, it is a matter of pennies and dimes of increase over the years. You can make a custom mouth call for just over $1 each and make an infinite number of them for yourself and your friends.
Making your own mouth call has so many benefits in which you can make a better (and actually custom call) that is so much cheaper than anything you can buy. This spring, block out the noise and read the playbook. Don’t buy into the tale that this new fancy cut ran by a champion caller is your ticket to a successful spring. Your ticket may just cost a few minutes of time and a few dollars of supplies.
