Mouth Calls

[nik]

Not too long ago, I purchased my first set of mouth calls. I have been practicing everyday on my hour drive to and from work. I have been doing this for about a week. Needless to say, I suck at it. The calls came with a CD that I play to try to replicate the sound that the pros are making and I am not even coming close. I was wondering if anybody has any tips for me to improve my calling or if this is just something that takes alot of practice? Thanks

[WaveWacker]

Yes it takes a lot of practice to perfect a mouth call. Only started turkey hunting about 7 years ago and started to dabble in all of the calls. I like the mouth call, practice a lot and still am trying to tweak things/mechanics to get the sounds I want. Stick with originally trying to make the yelp. This has been said time and time again but here goes.

Don't blow through the call. Bring the air up from the diaphram as if you are trying to fog up glass. Keep you tounge up against the call and say KEE, KEE. Hopefully you'll get a high pitch. Once you can make that, try to drop your tounge with saying YOLP. You'll put this together with a KEEYOLP or CHOLP. and hopefully get the yelp. Move the call back or forward in on the roof of your mouth to try to figure out what position works best for you. I have mine way back.

I'm trying to master my purr without using the lip flutter (trying to perfect the tounge flutter or gargle). Just keep at it.

[engfish]

Nik, don't get discouraged. I couldn't help smiling a little when you said your calling "sucked." If you're getting that high-pitched sound, you're on your way. It's a lot about getting the ball of the tongue, and not the tip of the tongue, on the latex. You might want to start with just a double reed(no cuts), but the other thing that I found helpful was a call with a rounded rubber top to it (most of the call makers have a model) that helped keep the call in the roof of the mouth. It is usually a slightly smaller call than the traditional flatter diaphragm calls.

Don't be afraid to go back to where you purchased the calls and ask for a little help. I'm an older guy, but I wasn't too proud to ask the much younger salesman for some suggestions after he told me he used a mouth call.

Keep practicing, especially in the car--a lot less pressure! Watch the DVD and pay attention to the cadence as well as the sounds.

Keep us posted on how it's going.

[Cooter]

Probably contrary to the standard but I struggle with a single or double reed call with no cuts. I find it easier to work a 3 or 4 reed with a couple sharp cuts on it - say a 3 reed V cut call.

Have em right side up?

Could trim down the tape for a better fit.

Keep practicing!

[nik]

Ok. So I was just on my lunch break and I decided to practice a bit with the mouth call. I moved the call further back in my mouth and actually made a few sounds that sounded like a Turkey! Hopefully this is the start of figuring this out. Thanks for the input so far.

[Sorgy]

I remember trying one out the first time. My mouth was watering- i almost chocked on it-- ect. ect. It only took a couple of days to get used to how and where it should sit in your mouth. I can now pick up a new call after a year off and I don't have any of the issues I first had. Once you get comfortable with the call in the roof of your mouth sit down and watch a DVD with some instruction on it. I have an old VHS tape in a box that showed how to make the movements with your jaw to get the proper change in pitch for a yelp.

I would highly recomend getting a DVD that shows instruction on how to use one and a CD of actual turkey sounds that you can mimic while driving- just make sure the better half is not in the car at the same time

I still struggle to purr on a call but can do decent yelps and such- I don't have the most confidence working a bird at the moment of truth.

Good Luck

Steve

[goblueM]

you're doing the right thing by practicing in the car...

i drove my gf and roomies nuts when i did any calling in the house. Like others said just get used to it in your mouth, and making different noises

the size of the call matters. I have a narrow roof of my mouth and i bought 4 or 5 different sized and shaped diaprhams before i found one that fit just right

[NWBuck]

I taught myself to use a mouth call years ago doing exactly what you're doing now, so hang in there. Of all the calls on the market, a mouth call will be your go-to call forever if you get it mastered, because there's nothing like being able to put the finishing touches on a bird while having your hands free and readying for a shot.

These guys are giving you a lot of good advice, but I'll throw in a couple more. First, don't be afraid to trim and bend the call slightly to make it fit the pallet of your mouth better. The better it molds to the roof of your mouth and seals out air, the better the sound. Secondly, mouth calls are relatively cheap, so try different brands. I can make a reasonably decent turkey sound with any diaphram, but there is one particular brand (I won't mention it because it's likely different for everyone) that fits my mouth perfectly right out of the package, and different styles of this brand is all I carry now.

Keep at it...you'll get there soon enough.