wing bones

[eric29]

Has anybody ever kept their wing bones out of a bird and made a call out of it. Just wondering how to go about doing this.

[huntingmaxima]

I made 2 of them last year. thye turned out prety neat. i think i googled it and went from there.

[Hotspotter]

Lots of good advice out there, esp. on the NWTF site. Really, all it entails is making cuts at the proper points, cleaning off as much meat/fat as you can from the bones (inside and out), boiling, then fitting them together.

Joel

[eric29]

Thanks guys, i did find alot on them. I read that these realy give you an advantage over all other calls if they are made right-is that true

[Hotspotter]

I think like any call, practice and confidence are key. I've called in gobblers with my wingbone yelper, but I'm not consistent enough on it to carry it into the woods with me all the time. I prefer the range in sound, and raspiness that a good diaphragm call can give me.

That said, I provided Chris Wall with bones from a road-kill hen last year, and the call he made is high-pitched and screams! The one I made was from a jake and I think the air passageway of the hollow part of the bone is too large.

Giving gobblers different looks and sounds is all part of the game, esp. pressured birds. Having one more trick in your bag is something we should all strive for IMO. That said, practice up and get confident with it.

Joel

[DonBo]

Here's a few that I've made. jnelson is right, the smaller ones sound better. If you can get a young of the year in the fall, they sound great. Mostly I make them as a nice trophy.

Note the amateur scrimshaw attempt on this one.

I sand the seams as smooth as possible, fill with bondo, then wrap with heavy thread or sinew like you would a fishing rod eye or bow string serving.

[sticknstring]

Don - those are some beautiful calls... love that first one. They say the wingbone is the most difficult to master but once learned... will never be left behind. Email sent...

[Hotspotter]

Awesome pics. Love the last one best. Bones seem to fit together well for that one giving it a nice curve, and it's the smallest one of the group.

Very impressed!

Joel

[DonBo]

Thanks! Sometimes if I do several at one time it is mix and match to see which fits best where. You get some that look good and some...not so good, like the second from the bottom. That one happens to sound great though.

[eric29]

So if i made one out of the the big tom i got a week ago, chances are it wont sound the best.

[DonBo]

Probably not, but it is still a pretty cool trophy to remind you of that hunt.