I've got to say, I have had more luck just calling with my voice than calling with a box call or a diaphragm. While dating my wife, I called a tom turkey from my car; she said that was the first time she truly understood the phrase, "strutting your stuff"! :)
Anybody else forego the gadgets and just call with their voices?
I have called turkeys with my mouth in situations where I don't have time to use another call. I can do some pretty good yelps, clucks, purrs, and kee-kee's.
my nephew can do it, I have to use an actual mouth call
I have used an ink pen housing as a wingbone call and have had turk's come in like crazy!
Cheap, easy to find and use, plus they work!
I have a friend who can make perfect turkey sounds with his mouth, so good in fact, I don't think he carries a call. He also can crow just like a rooster so he uses this sound as a locator call.
My 2nd year or so we got into wingbone calls. Your mouth is the only way to close the deal and it works to good to fart around with a diaphram. Cluck and purr is all ya need to do, and the wingbone for longer distance stuff. So it's either the voice or a diaphram for the close in stuff.
I have immitated the sounds of wildlife since I was a kid, and it drove my mom crazy! I also crow call with my voice as a locator and I do a mean barred owl call.
One spring while catfishing along a local river I told a couple of buddies that I often call in owls while fishing at night. They didn't believe me so I started calling and owls started answering. 10 minutes later we had 5 owls sitting in trees within 20 yards of us. They were making so much racket that my buddy finally said, " can you tell them to get the he#% out of here in owl talk!" :biglaugh: