Turkey call suggestion for newbe

[kc45]

I would like some suggestions on what turkey call to get this year.
Last year I didn't use any call and just waited at spots where I've seen turkeys travel frequently. This year I would like to try a call. I'm looking for some suggestions on a call which is easy to use. Something easy to mess up. I saw one of those wood box ones with a little stick you push and pull and it seems to make some nice sound. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[nachogrande]

Look at the other thread about the homemade pot calls. they can be as exotic & pretty/personalized, or simple & plain as you want, cheap for what you get, easy to make, sound great, and you have the satisfaction of doing it yourself. I like slate myself. several diff kinds & materials is a good idea. While I really like the pot calls a good box/paddle type would be the one I'd take if I could only have one, due to the volume/easy learning curve/versatility you can get if you want/need to cover a large area. Toby Benoit makes a nice one for the $. Mouth calls are small, hands free, as good as the person using it, but are harder to learn & I'm always afraid I'll get excited, swallow it & choke to death.

[Iluv2hunt]

A box call is about the easiest to use and learn. You can do just about any call on them after some practice. They are also very good for long range calling and on windy days, nothing beats them.

My favorite is a pot call. They can do any sound but with better precision than a box. The materials are up to you, whether you want slate, glass, acrylic, aluminum, copper etc. I am partial to glass as they are a bit higher pitch and the turkeys in N Fla seem to like that better for some reason. Also infinite materials and styles for the striker. Each different striker will produce a different sound. You can have one pot call and 4 strikers, and potentially have 4 different calls

Finally, learn the mouth call. Easiest to carry and completely hands free. They can be hard to learn but once you master them they are great. Nothing better when you got a turkey coming to you

[milkman]

I would agree with the posts above on the box call. A good box call already has the turkey in the call. Personally I would stay away from the push pin calls. They are easy but they have a tendancy to come out of tune easily. The most important thing is to learn the turkeys vocabulary. What to say and when to say it. Rythym is more important than tone or pitch. Turkeys all have different voices but the rythym is the same. Mike Battey of wild talker game calls has done more recordings of live wild turkeys than probably anybody and he sells these cds. Get one of them and listen to it. No matter what call you get the key is to practice. I play some kind of turkey call everyday,but I have an addiction and I need help.

[Batemaster]

A slate pot sounds sweet but can get wet on the humid mornings. I also like the aluminum pot calls with different wood strikers. I also bought a sweet box call from a custom call maker over on the Old Gobbler forum that sounds awesome as well.

[Bossman]

I'm partical to the pot, simply because you can have one pot and 4-5 strikers and it is just like having different calls. A real good thing to do is to go ahead and get it and take it to the woods with you. Pratice in the fall and you will be able to call in loads of hens and have the opprotunity to learn how hens react to calls and how they communite with each other.