You have been on the lake for a couple hours and you have not had a single bite. As you dig through your tackle box figuring what to throw next, you toss some random lure at them and BAM! You got a bite. Next cast the same thing.... Turkey hunting can be much of the same. There are a ton of calls that will work to locate and call turkeys in but sometimes you need to test the birds and see what “they” like.
There is something about a sweet-sounding box call that demands a tom to give you an answer. There are two situations that almost always have me reaching for a box call.
1) When I am trying to locate turkeys in big country. If I can hear for a long way there is nothing that gets their attention quite like a box. The box has high pitch and sharp demanding yelps that will pull a gobble out of the most stubborn tom.
2) On windy days when it seems like your diaphragm calls are falling on deaf ears. The box has some magic built into it that seems to let the sound cut through wind and potentially save the hunt on a windy day.
I would be willing to bet that 99.9% of turkey hunters have a pot call of some sort in their vest. This is for good reason. With one pot call you can change things up and sound like multiple birds. You can then test on one call if that specific bird likes high pitched yelps, deep clucks, soft purrs, or any other sound you can make on your pot. It sure is tough to beat a good slate or glass call out in the turkey woods.
When your diaphragms seem to not be working this year in the turkey woods, don't hesitate to lean on your friction calls a little more to find success.
Author- Jason Phelps
