Turkey box calls

A good friend of mine is an avid Turkey hunter. He mentioned once that he wanted to make his own box call, but just didn’t have the tools, etc. to do it. I offered to give it a try. Turns out there is a bit of consideration and luck that goes into it. Wood type, grain direction, wall thickness/taper, size of the chamber, all factor in. In fact, I guess like any wooden instrument, even the same species can make a different tone…no two sound alike.

I used whatever I had on hand and had some fun making these. Nice to do a fairly quick project from time to time. By the way, a few sound pretty good, a couple are just ok, and a couple went into the burn pile.


Attachment 498773

We often see Turkeys and hear Turkey noises out at our wood lot. I managed to get a Tom to cluck at me with a homemade (not by me) Skoal can & slate call. I have yet to call one in, probably because my Skoal can is too tacky. Yours look really nice! I imagine your friend will be impressed!

Very nice Phil! It looks like you have a nice selection of woods. I guess I know who will have a full Thanksgiving dinner in 2023. I know what you mean about taking a break from a long complex project to make something quick and fun...a refreshing change.

Nice looking calls. Hopefully they work well enough to fool the birds. My Dad made two box calls from black walnut. They both have been used to call in turkeys.