Get yourself a piece of roofing slate and a hardwood dowel rod 1/4 inch. Round end of dowel rod. Scuff up area on slate. See what happens. Might have to thin slate down some, might have to cut it into smaller piece. But try it, and see how difficult it is to get sound out of it.

While some of that is true, a true turkey call maker will have plenty of references to back his business. Scouting and woodsmanship does kill turkeys, but you have to sound something close to a turkey to be able to kill him unless you just like bushwhacking them, then that’s just killing and not turkey hunting. Heck, the fun of turkey hunting is that gobble and strutting.
Don’t really care if anyone believes this or not, but I won’t shoot a turkey if he doesn’t play the game my way. He either has to gobble or strut in to me. If he comes sneaking in, he gets a pass. He plays it my way or we’ll try it again another day when he’s in the mood. I’m all about that “show”!!

I had a cheap slate with a hollow plastic striker that flat out wont make sound. A wood striker will, though. Everyone makes it sound like this call or that call is necessary. Turkeys arent smart. You dont have to have high dollar calls to call a turkey into your lap.

Look up Antler Ridge game calls. Small town made locally. My son won one of their slate calls and I'm impressed with it. It's the closest slate I've ever had to even remotely come close to my Cody.

Ike Ashby was our game warden for a period and I still have one of his calls that belonged to my dad. I believe he moved to Houston MO. I am a big believer in slate calls for certain uses along with Lynch box calls, I am fairly decent with latex mouth calls, but each has its purpose. I was blessed to grow up during the “Boom years” back in the 80’s and 90’s where it was not uncommon to have 8-10 different birds to choose from within a quarter mile. I called in 28 birds one season for family, friends and myself. Great times

While some of that is true, a true turkey call maker will have plenty of references to back his business. Scouting and woodsmanship does kill turkeys, but you have to sound something close to a turkey to be able to kill him unless you just like bushwhacking them, then that’s just killing and not turkey hunting. Heck, the fun of turkey hunting is that gobble and strutting.
Don’t really care if anyone believes this or not, but I won’t shoot a turkey if he doesn’t play the game my way. He either has to gobble or strut in to me. If he comes sneaking in, he gets a pass. He plays it my way or we’ll try it again another day when he’s in the mood. I’m all about that “show”!![/quote]

I know this thread is getting off track but I guess what thread doesn't. There are a lot of custom call makers out there today that make great sounding and looking calls. And yes there is some junk that look sweet and I have many just sitting
on top of mygun cabinet that have never seen the woods. While I agree with how turkey hunting should be it just doesn't work that way in my home state as much anymore. My thoughts are turkeys have evolved, everytime they gobble they
get chased around by a yote or avian? So they don't gobble like they used to?
My Ohio bird last year gave me a double gobble once then shut up, I knew he heard me and
knew he was coming and an hour later he was dead. If you're hunting multiple states with limited time in each you can't be picky, although ambushing is just wrong, however, to each their own

High dollar or low dollar it should sound good. Story I was told while in my 20's by a vet hunter. He was hunting a bird and had to go through the farmers rusty metal gate, two mornings in a row he would enter and the gate
would squeak and the bird would hammer. He got to his spot and tried many different sounding calls and nothing. The third morning he set up by the gate and worked that bird by swinging the gate back and forth. You guessed
it the bird hammered all the way in and he killed it.

Old Ben Lee used a barbed wire fence the same way, lol.

Now let me clarify something I said about bushwhacking…if you’ve done your homework and know what tree and limb that gobbler is on and slip in tight the next morning and let him sound off on his own and he flys down in your lap, well that ain’t bushwhacking, lol! He did his part in the tree and you did your part on the deck.
That gets into roosting a bird. Roosting ain’t hearing one and saying he’s in that patch of woods or in that bottom. I want to know which tree and exact limb he’s on.

Disclaimer: Ole gobblers will limb walk after fly up. I watched a gobbler fly up, waited until after dark and walked out. Was within 50yds the next morning 1.5hrs before pink was even on the Eastern horizon and that gobbler was three trees down and almost 85yds from my set up. Roosted wasn’t roasted that day!!!

This call with a carbon striker is hard to beat. It will still call on those damp mornings when wood and any other slate will not work.

A carbon striker and this type of slate or an aluminum slate are my go to. You really need to practice with the aluminum. It has sweet spots and you need to know where they are. Best sounds on mine are on the outside edges which are usually the higher pitches.

Glass is ok but you have to scuff it and you have to find a striker that works. Purpleheart is what works on my glass/acrylic pot. I don't like it but will use it in a change up.

Honestly the best call is first light giving a fly down cackle, wait a few, then give a lost/location call. Especially if you have a hot gobbler.

After doing these calls, in this order, SHUT UP!!!! He knows your GPS location. You don't need to call anymore and you actually do yourself a disservice by calling more than this. Start scratching the leaves as if you are more interested in eating than messing with him. Drives toms crazy. It is an EXCELLENT sequence on a hot bird.

Patience kills the bird.

I've hunted lots of public land and lots of Indian reservations and I can tell you all calls aren't created equal, also what works today may not work tomorrow.