FAQs

Hold the call base with your off-hand and the lid handle with your dominant hand. There are numerous ways to hold the handle; use whichever feels most comfortable and allows adequate control. One option is to place your thumb on the top of the handle and your index finger below. Or, make a “V” with your index and middle finger and the handle in the center.

Yelp – Softly slide the lid across the top of one sidewall with a quick ¾ to 1-inch stroke.

Cluck – Place the thumb of your dominant hand on the end of the handle with slight pressure. Find the sweet spot on top of the box sidewall (near the middle) and tap the inside edge of the lid against it. The lid only needs to move about ¼ inch per tap.

Cutt – Use the cluck technique, but with more rapid motion and increased downward friction. Do this at different rhythms and tempos.

Purr – Drag the lid across the sidewalls slowly and softly.

Cackle – Produce a series of four to six cutts. Slow down at the end of the series.

Place the call against the roof of your mouth, with the reed end pointing out toward the front of your mouth, and the cut reed and logo facing up. Apply light pressure with your tongue to hold the call in place. It should be in the middle to front portion of your mouth – whichever is more comfortable.

Exhale gradually while dropping your jaw, allowing air to pass between your tongue and the reeds. Vary air flow, tongue pressure, jaw speed and call position to achieve different sounds. More tongue pressure creates higher pitches; use less pressure for lower notes.

Yelp – Say “yawk” while lightly moving air between your tongue and the reeds. Move your jaw up and down to regulate airflow and achieve the desired two-note sound.

Cluck – Say the word “chuck.”

Cutt – Say “chuck, chuck, chuck” in various rhythms and tempos.

Purr – Roll your tongue while softly blowing across the reeds. If you can’t roll your tongue, flutter your lips in a similar fashion.

Cackle – Produce a series of four to six cutts. Slow down at the end of the series.

Place the striker on the call surface, tilted away from you at about a 60-degree angle. The striker will make sounds moving down the surface and remain silent traveling back up. Never hold the striker directly up-and-down or lift it off the surface. Keeping the striker in contact with the surface helps make smooth strokes and eliminate undesirable clicking.

Yelp – The yelp is the key to basic turkey communication. Move the striker along the surface in circular motions (counterclockwise for right-handed; clockwise for left-handed) using light to moderate pressure. Draw bigger, fast circles to add volume, and smaller circles at a slower speed for softer yelps.

Cluck – Clucks signal contentment. Quickly pop the striker straight down, approximately a quarter-inch, with light to moderate pressure.

Cutt – Cutts are loud, fast, aggressive clucks that hens use to show dominance or when excited. Pop the striker down the surface in a slightly longer stroke, about one inch, with moderate to heavy pressure. Do this in various rhythms and tempos.