I've always used the diaphram call the Quaker Boy Old Boss Hen.

I carry my slate caller so I can purr and do soft tree yelps at day break.

But I've never used a box call. I'm just curious of everyone's experience with different types of callers. I'm always willing to try different things, although I've had great success with my "Old Boss Hen." I probably call big birds over little birds 10 to 1 with that call. I don't know if I just happen to be in the right place, or if the jakes don't respond to that call. Curious of what ya'll think. I never scout b/c I never have time. I just go somewhere that we always flush turkeys during the deer season and hope to hear a gobble. Then, year after year I go back to the same places just assuming there will be turkeys there somewhere. Most of the time if I start out with a slate caller, the turkey moves very slow, or not at all. And then I'll start cutting with the diaphram and sometimes they just come running. Only problem I have with the diaphram is I can't do soft stuff very well.

Most guys think that pretty much nothing sounds as realistic as a box call. I happen to agree, and wouldn't be caught in the turkey woods without one.

The other day, my dad and I had been sitting for a couple of hours calling softly on slates & diaphragms. I let out a few yelps on a loud, raspy cedar box and ole tom hammered on top of it!! I waited a few minutes and called with it again. He nailed it hard and had halved the distance. The next time I called, he was gobbling at the first yelp of the series and was obviously on his way to us. My dad couldn't get a clean shot, and I wasn't going to shoot on that hunt, so he slipped on off, but WOW!! That was intense!

I've heard stories from Freddy and others of a bird ignoring everything and then getting fired up over a box call. If you're considering buying one, DO!!

I love a box call, but admit that i like to make them and look at them more than use them, Along with wingbones and scratchboxes, it's kind of like bringing the nostalgia and old grandad with you to the woods. But turkeys are funny creatures i shot a bird in north carolina the other day that didn't want anything to do with the mouth call, but loved the slate, old bird in georgia only liked the box on another outing (but i missed him). I guess i would never go into the woods on a dry day without one they tend to be good in the wind and sometimes you have to find that special sound for the bird. I've killed most birds with a mouth call but my guess would be that boxes are probally responsible for the majority of dead turkeys through the years, just a guess. As far as recommending one nothing beats one you make yourself not hard to do or one from old grandad's shelf, there are some great callmakers out there on the web where you could get a nice one, and the ones on the shelf at basspro will work and sound great but that would be a last resort

I can use mouth calls and slates but nothing beats my box call. Might be the operator, but if there is a bird in ear shot of my box they usually respond. I have only gotten a couple birds since starting to hunt turkeys 3 years ago, but have gotten a lot of them stoked by that box. I went to Bass Pro and played with a dozen or more calls they had on display. Then when I found one I liked I went through about 20 to find the one with the tone I liked the best. It was a Jerry Martin call made of walnut and osage orange. It just plain sounds good.

I think why I haven't closed the deal on more of them is I get call happy. Love to hear them gobble but need to learn to tone down when they get close. Overly eager I guess.

Might want to try one. They work.

Vic

Can't go wrong with the Lynch box calls. I have 2 of them and they both make good sounds. I have about 5 or so of other brands, but nothing beats my Lynch calls.

being proficient with several different types of calls will surely pay off. Birds know what the hens in the neighborhood sound like...one type of call is goingto sound "right " to them. All of them may sound right if the gobbler is alone and desperate. I have some box calls that are highly valued by collectors but that I hunt with every day. I have some inexpensive box calls that might be just as effective. That BTD box that Max sells is one I have been carrying this year. Not too expensive i n the non-artsy decorated model.

LIKE GN said learn em all. That said when the count is 3 & 2 I always reach for a high pitched boxcall. If he dont like that its likely I get a walk back to the truck minus one longbeard. I make em, use, collect em. I LOVE them!

I'm also carrying one of Max's BTD box calls this year. I like the high pitch -- especially when the wind is blowing. I don't use decoys very often, but I love those bobb-n-head decoys when the wind is blowing. It seems like every day day has either been windy or raining around here.

Like mouth calls, there is a vast assortment of box calls on the market as well. Which one sounds good to your ears will make the sale.
I recently went with a new one, custom made by a friend of mine.
He calls it the "Burriville Bomber" which is a long box call.
I have heard this call in action last year, and it completely fooled my ears thinking there was a real hen in the area!! I ordered one right there an then. Can't wait to try it out this season on an actual hunt.

I sometimes carry as many as three boxes in my vest just to give them something different.I really like my Camp Screaming Hen.It makes them gobble when nothing else will.A Primos Box Cutter is a close second.