Topic: The Best Turkey Mouth Calls of 2023, Tested and Reviewed (Read 32 times)
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Topic: The Best Turkey Mouth Calls of 2023, Tested and Reviewed (Read 32 times)
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After hunting turkeys for 32 years across North America and in his home state of Wisconsin, Brian Lovett pins this call as a staple in his turkey vest.
“The cutter style reed on the Zink Z-Cutter makes it easy to churn out the full range of turkey vocabulary,” Lovett says. “And the loose reed construction doesn’t require much air. If you have to climb a steep ridge and need to eek out a few soft yelps… If you’re out of breath, this isn’t the easiest thing to do. But, this mouth call lets you do it because it doesn’t require much air.”
“The Z-Cutter might be a step above a beginner call, but it should work well for most hunters. I can yelp clear, add rasp, cluck and cutt, cackle, cluck, and purr. If there is a con for this mouth call, it’s only that if I try and hammer on it, I start to lose sound quality.” Listen to the Z-Cutter by clicking on the audio player below.
Outdoor Life contributor and fanatical turkey hunter, Josh Dahlke’s go-to mouth call is the Prodigy Elite made by Shane Simpson.
“I like Shane’s calls because they fit my mouth,” Dahlke says. “The frame, tape size, and the way that he cuts it seem to make this call a great medium-sized fit. And you can still work this call even if it doesn’t fit perfectly in your mouth.”
The reed tightness allows you to make a range of calls from medium to loud, which makes this call great for a variety of calling scenarios, like trying to pull in a turkey that’s close, but hung up behind brush. Or, getting the attention of that gobbler that’s a few ridges over on a windy day.
“These calls tend to last,” Dahlke says. “I’ve had others that fall apart way faster, and for the average turkey hunter, this call will last you an entire season. Out of all the calls I’ve experimented with, the overall size and design of Shane Simpson’s calls work best out of the box no matter your calling experience.”
The Prodigy Elite line offers mouth calls with L, R, and C cuts, which stand for left, right and center. These different cuts are designed to provide hunters with the best turkey mouth call that fits their air channels(The video below will help you determine which air channel you use).
Native New Englander Bill Bailey has hunted turkeys for more than 30 years in Northeast and several Midwestern states. Bailey swears by Quaker Boy’s Screamin’ Green line of calls. While his go-to mouth call is the Pro Triple, he also likes the Old Nasty Hen.
“The tape size, triple reeds, and rasp make this a great call,” Bailey says. “I like the raspiest call possible, like an old hen. Those qualities are important to me. Not to mention the fit. I pop it in, and it just feels natural. You don’t have to cut it, and I can run it right out of the package, which is why I keep returning to this call season after season. I’ve killed a lot of birds with this one.”
The Screamin’ Green line from Quaker Boy offers four different calls with various cuts and reeds, depending on your style and type of call that works best for you. Listen to the Screaming Green Pro Triple by clicking on the audio player below.
Long-time turkey hunter and calling expert, Matt Wettish keeps a few Trouble Makers in his vest every turkey season. Wettish says that one of his favorite things about this call is the quality.
“I love the consistency of these calls,” he says, “Strike Zone is a small co*pany and there’s subtle differences in the calls, which is great when you find one that works. I know that if I leave the Trouble Maker on the dash of my truck and fry the reeds, I can go buy another one without worrying if it’s going to sound different.”
“It’s also a versatile call. I can yelp, cutt, and cluck, and it’s easy to generate multiple turkey vocalizations,” he says. “I’m an aggressive caller. I’ve found that the call doesn’t wear out easily, the reeds don’t deteriorate, the tape doesn’t co*e undone. Not as quickly as other co*petitors I’ve tried.” Listen to the Trouble Maker by clicking on the audio player below.
Jason Hart co*pleted his U.S. Slam last year by taking a turkey in Mississippi. Along with tagging a turkey in every state, Hart also owns five World Slams with a bow, 21 Grand Slams with every American gauge, muzzleloader, and archery. Out of all his Slams, Hart’s killed a bird in 45+ states and Mexico and Canada with the Tom Teaser’s Butt Naked Hen mouth call.
“It sounds more like a turkey than any other call. Every year I go back to this call, and I reco*mend it to everyone who asks. I’ve been using this call for the past ten years, and I haven’t found one that works better,” he says.
Hart says the call has a versatile yelp, and that intermediate-level callers and even some beginners should be able to produce clear or raspy yelps, depending on how you manipulate air flow and volume. The Butt Naked Hen is a three-reed call with a batwing cut. If you struggle with a four-reed call, especially those with tighter latexes, this one is a great option for you. Listen to the Butt Naked Hen by clicking on the audio player below.
Turkey hunting legend Ray Eye has more than 50 years of experience calling longbeards all across the country, and he’s made numerous instructional videos on how to use a mouth call. He’s also the author of multiple turkey hunting books. In Eye’s opinion, the best turkey mouth call is the Hook’s Custom 3-Reed Cutter, which he’s used to call in countless birds while guiding other hunters and while hunting on his own.
“One of the main reasons I love this call is the double note,” he says. “The sound turns over so smoothly. It has a great clear first note and then it breaks into a more raspy call that’s more realistic than a lot of other calls out there…and as the name implies, with this cutter you can make some of the most realistic excited turkey sounds with ease. You can get loud or do the soft stuff. This is my go-to call when things get serious.”
In addition to cutting, Eye said it’s also one of the best turkey mouth calls for making gobbler yelps.
“When I’m fall turkey hunting, this call reproduces excellent gobbler sounds,” he says. “It’s great for challenging them and making those deep, raspy gobbler yelps.” Listen to the Hook’s 3-Reed Cutter by clicking on the audio player below.
You don’t have to look at The Hunting Public’s YouTube channel long to see that Aaron Warbritton kills his share of turkeys every year. In fact, there’s plenty of videos of Warbritton using this call and other Woodhaven mouth calls on heavily pressured birds on public lands. One thing Warbritton emphasized about the Ninja Hammer is how he can manipulate air flow to make multiple turkey sounds.
“The right side is open on the top reed, so I can keekee and cluck out of it, but I yelp out of the center, especially if I’m calling aggressively,” he says. “It’s got a good mixture of low to high rasp. I like to do a lot of cutting on the left side. It’s just a really versatile call. The way the call sits in my mouth works great, especially with how I push air across my pallet. I can make all these sounds on one call. If I have to cackle, I can use the same one instead of fumbling around with a ton of different calls.”
The Ninja hammer has a heavier latex, which Warbritton prefers because he says it runs better. If you’re a minimalist run-n-gunner, the versatile Ninja Hammer might be the only call you need when you hit the woods this spring.
Read Next: 25 Top Turkey Hunting Tips
I interviewed expert turkey hunters to get their detailed information on the best turkey mouth calls. We judged calls based on usability, performance, and durability. These experts hunt all over the country, and their calls are tailored to specific hunting scenarios. I made sure to include a variety of calls that are designed for beginners, experts, and everyone in between.
You can’t try out a turkey mouth call before you buy it. So instead of sifting through multi packs of mouth calls, spitting out the ones that are too small, and inevitably gagging and half choking on those that are too big, you should see this review as a way to skip a lot of the trial and error. But not all of the trial and error. You’ll have to try a few turkey calls until you find one that sounds right when you blow it. Start with watching Shane Simpson’s video on identifying your primary air channel.