Turkey Call Choices For Road Trippers

Pack a pocket-plenty camo vest or sling pack of turkey calls as you travel for birds. I like to stash six call types.

The late, great Dave Streb kept a loud, squawky, oversized box call in his truck for locating birds. I first thought it was a prank, but sure enough, shut-mouthed gobblers sounded off to it. Aptly dubbed The Road Warrior many years later, Quaker Boy’s slimmed-down mahogany boat paddle runs 17 inches long.

Be it an unusual locator call (coyote howler, squirrel barker, duck quacker or goose honker), or an old-school scratcher or longbox (the best have super hen and gobbler yelps), such wildcard choices might be game changers.

We all play favorites. A good fitting mouth call with favored reed cuts. A timeworn pot or box call. Always carry a proven yelper or two. These are the foundations of your turkey hunting. I know some guys who only use one call all season. But yeah, I’m one who stuffs his turkey vest pockets with calls. I like options.

A homemade wingbone yelper. A gifted custom or heirloom box. There’s a satisfaction to running a call with personal or turkey hunting history. And it might just be that something different you need.

An inexpensive but effective call lacking allure — possibly one you’ve rarely used in recent years — might be the one a tough turkey likes (particularly pressured Easterns).

Waterproof friction calls are essential for showery spring days in Osceola country and elsewhere. Plastic bags or cases you can seal are another protective option.

An aluminum pot call can help you cut through gusting winds, as will a longbox, while locating turkeys — especially Rios and Merriam’s.

Make a portable call-tuning kit for road travel. Stash small squares of Scotch-Brite and sandpaper in plastic bags for tuning pot call surfaces, along with wax-free chalk for box calls.