Our picks of the best turkey calls, how to perform, and when to use each one.
Getting the old gobbler to break his sense of protection is the job of the turkey hunter. In order to make the tom come into your calling, you have to be very patient and very subtle.
Turkeys are really not that different from men. We like soft-spoken women who know how to play the game. Getting an old tom into gun range is as simple as impersonating someone he is used to hearing and having the right call to help you.
When turkey hunting, using the best turkey calls is just as important as your gun or bow. You wouldn’t head to the woods without ensuring your bow wasn’t hitting the target. If you are anything like me, you spend many hours each year shooting your bow. It’s done so you form that muscle memory so you’re prepared when the moment of truth presents itself.
The same goes with turkey calling. The more you practice, the better you become. The last thing you want to do is blow a hunt because of your calling.
Here is a list of the best turkey calls on the market today. Keep reading for a full description and instructions on how and when to use each one.
- Best Turkey Call Pot Call – Esh Custom Calls 2-Sided Pot Call
- Best Turkey Call Mouth Call – Ninja by Woodhaven Custom Calls
- Best Turkey Locator Call (morning) – Ninja Owl by Woodhaven Calls
- Best Turkey Locator Call (afternoon) – Esh Crow Call
- Best Turkey Soft Call – Flextone’s Cluck-N-Purr
- Best Turkey Box Call – Quaker Boy Box Call
- Best Turkey Call (complete set) – Primos Turkey Calling Starter Pack
- Best Electronic Call – Foxpro Hellcat Call
- Best Beginner Call – Straight Double by Slayer Calls
- Best Bad Weather Call – Woodhaven Fusion Pot Call
Best Turkey Call (Pot Call) – Esh Custom Calls 2-Sided Pot Call
The reason being they match the striker to the call. This gives you the most realistic sound when calling. The fact that its glass over slate makes it versatile for most all turkey sounds, and it fits perfectly on your hand. Whether your advanced or just starting out, this call is paired with a Hickory striker, which provides the best match to make the hard-to-reach tones.
Best Turkey Call (Mouth Call) – Ninja by Woodhaven Custom Calls
The reason the Turkey Ninja by Woodhaven Custom calls gets my pick is because of how well built, durable, and easy to use it is. Every year, I just take it out of the case and it’s ready to go. Unlike most mouth calls that can be a challenge to learn, with little to no practice on the turkey ninja you will be proficient at calling turkeys.
Best Turkey Locator Call (morning) – Woodhaven Ninja Owl
One of the most important things a turkey hunter can carry is a locator call because until you locate turkeys, you have nothing to hunt. I put my faith in the Woodhaven’s Ninja Owl. Of all the owl turkey calls I have tried this is by far the easiest and most realistic sounding call on the market. It is also very affordable compared to others of its kind.
Best Turkey Locator Call (afternoon) – Esh Crow Call
Crow calls are a lot like owl calls in how they solicit a shock gobble out of a tom. They seem to work better in the middle of the afternoon as opposed to sunrise or sunset. My go-to crow call is the Esh calls Pure Crow Call. The reason I like this call is the ease of use. It doesn’t take a lot of air to produce a call, unlike some of the others. They are also tuned in shop, so you have the most realistic sound. They may not be as loud as an owl call, yet they are still highly effective when trying to draw a shock gobble out of a close tom. I like to use these best when moving through the timber when seeing long distances is harder. To use a crow call it’s as simple as blowing the sound call, call, call. I will repeat these 2 or 3 times, waiting 20 seconds between each call.
Best Turkey Soft Call – Flextone’s Cluck-N-Purr
Flextone’s Cluck-N-Purr is my favorite soft turkey call for the reason that once you learn to use it you will be set for clucks and purrs. I feel that cutting is one of the best turkey calls to get a weary tom to commit to your decoy spread, and it is also a good long-range call. The only downfall is that you can’t use this call while holding your gun like a mouth call but is great if you have problems learning a mouth call.
Best Turkey Box Call – Quaker Boy Box Call
The Quaker Boy box call is made from poplar wood and is a 2-sided box call. It is simple and easy to learn to use – perfect for a veteran or novice hunter. Additionally, this is a very versatile call as many different turkey sounds can be made from just this call alone.
Best Turkey Call (complete set) – Primos Turkey Calling Starter Pack
This Primos Turkey Calling Starter kit includes 3 different calls: a double-sided box call, a sonic dome slate call with a wooden striker, and a diaphragm mouth call with a storage case. When it comes to an all-in-one package, this is the best set we have found.
Best Electronic Call – Foxpro Hellcat Call
If they are legal in your state, another great way to locate turkeys is with an electronic locator call, and there is no call better than the Foxpro Hellcat call. Loud, durable, and affordable are all great words to use to describe this call. It is packed full of sounds that most electronic calls will make you purchase. It has every call you could possibly need from owl hoots to yelps. It also comes with a remote for ease of use so you don’t have to have the call right on top of you. They use real animal recordings for their calls, and they can be very loud, making it perfect to locate birds. A bonus to this call is the fact that it can double as a predator call as well. Which is something all of us turkey hunters should be thinking of.
Best Beginner Call – Straight Double by Slayer Calls
In my opinion, double cut mouth calls are one of the easiest mouth calls to learn on. The reason being is that it has the least aggressive cut of all the mouth calls. This cut is the easiest of all the calls to move air over the reeds when trying to call. My favorite double cut mouth call is the Straight Double by Slayer calls. Of all the mouth calls on the market, I think this is the easiest call for beginners to learn on. You won’t be able to get a wide range of turkey vocals out of this call, but it will help you get the basics down. The only downfall to this call is that it is best suited for softer calls like tree yelps and kee kee runs.
Best Bad Weather Call – Woodhaven Fusion Pot Call
Spring turkey season is one of my favorite times of the year. After the long winter days of cold and drab, spring offers green up and warmer temperatures. With that also comes rain, and some springs there can be a lot of it. I have found it to be rather difficult to use some of my go-to turkey calls in these conditions until I found the Woodhaven Fusion Pot Call. Woodhaven built this acrylic slate call just for these conditions. This call comes with 2 different strikers, the “rain check” striker that was built with a rubberized dowel and water-resistant tip that allows this call to be used on those rainy days, and a carbon striker that offers a unique call on fairer weather days. This call comes with everything you need to keep it working as well as a protective cover. It’s the only call of its kind I have found on the market and it comes with the quality Woodhaven is known for.
The Five Types of Turkey Calls
As mentioned above, there are four basic types of calls to master. Once you learn these, you should be able to locate and call in a turkey. The types are mouth calls, pot calls, box calls, and locator calls. Each of these calls has its place in turkey hunting. There are other types of calls, but these are the basics to call in a turkey. I will touch on these basic calls and the turkey sounds to have you ready to hit the woods this spring.
Mouth Turkey Calls
Let’s start with mouth calls. They are not the easiest to learn, but once mastered, they will become one of the most-used calls in your repertoire. Mouth calls are made of one piece of latex or more, sandwiched between some sort of hard plastic. They have different cuts on the latex to give them different sounds.
They work by creating a sound (such as a cluck or a yelp) as air passes over the latex. My favorite mouth call is the Turkey Ninja by Woodhaven Calls, although they make several styles, including ones for beginners.
This is the most realistic mouth call I have used. Mouth calls can be one of the hardest to learn, and they take much practice. The best way to learn is to find a video online and practice until you get a sound. Once you get a good sound, practice using videos of some of the best turkey calls until you sound like they do. The biggest benefit of mouth calls is that they are hands-free. This is an important aspect at close ranges. It allows you to work the call with no movement, keeping the bird’s attention while still being able to take the shot.
Box Turkey Calls
Next up is the box call. These can be made out of several different kinds of wood, but they all basically work the same. They consist of a hollow box with a sliding lid. You slide the lid over the box, either fast or slow, to create your sound. These are one of the easiest calls to learn to use, and with a little practice, you’ll be able to yelp very well.
Box calls can be loud, and they can be heard from a distance. This is a good thing since you can try to get a gobble from off in the distance while trying to locate a Tom. However, it is hard to control the sound. This is one of the downfalls of box calls. The other is that they take two hands to operate. That’s a situation that can get you busted in the moment of truth when that Tom is 20 yards away.
Pot Turkey Calls
The pot call is probably my favorite call of all. While it’s not a hands-free call, it’s hard to put it down. The sounds can be second-to-none, plus they are the coolest looking of all the calls.
They are all made somewhat the same, consisting of a slate or glass material and a striker. The strikers can be made from several distinct types of wood. Each makes a different sound. Most of the higher-end pot calls are assessed by someone experienced in the proper sounds before they even leave the manufacturer. This is called “match striking,” where the producers match the pot with the right wood to get the best sound.
My go-to pot call is Woodhaven’s Cherry Crystal. Like mouth calls, these can be a little more difficult to learn, but once mastered, they can be one of the best ways to get a Tom’s attention, whether a long way off or at close range. With practice, you can get several different sounds from one call. You can even change the angle to sound like different birds. With this call, the farther from the center out, the higher the pitch. You can also control the sound with the pressure of the striker. The less pressure you place on it, the lighter the sound. The only downfall is that these calls require two hands to use.
Locator Turkey Calls
The two main locator calls are the owl call and the crow call. Both are a lot like a goose call or a grunt tube. They are made of a barrel and a reed. You get your sound by blowing air over the reed to create the sound.
These calls are pretty easy to use, and they are only designed to get a shock gobble out of a turkey. They are best used in the evening once birds are roosted, or in the middle of the afternoon when you are trying to locate birds.
I prefer the Woodhaven Ninja Owl for my locator call. It is extremely easy to use and it sounds just like an owl. These calls are used blindly when trying to pinpoint a bird. The sound can be controlled with your hands. If you have a Tom that is in the mood to gobble, it will definitely get a response.
Getting Proficient
Now, let’s review some basic ways to get proficient with these various calls. I’ve found that the best way to master any of them is to pick one sound to mimic, like a cut or a yelp, and then practice over the sound.
Once you decide on the sound, there are lots of great resources to find the sound you want to mimic, such as the NWTF website or YouTube. When I research these, I spend about 10 to 20 minutes listening to the sound, then longer trying to recreate the sound. Once I get close, I try to mimic the sound as the recording is playing. In about a week’s time, you should have that call down and be able to move on to the next.
Many Turkey Sounds
There are lots of different sounds a turkey can make. Some calls are limited to only recreating certain sounds. The pot and mouth calls are the most versatile since they can recreate most of the turkey’s sounds. The box call is limited to only a few basic calls. Whatever call or calls you decide to go with, have fun, because that is what this activity is all about.
And, if you start practicing now you should have plenty of time before season to get proficient.
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