Diaphragm mouth calls are great way to produce realistic turkey sounds while freeing up both hands during hunting trips. They’re also gentle on your voice and won’t ring in your ears like box and slate calls might.
Mitchell Johnston, NWTF Grand National Mouth Calling Champion shares his expertise on mastering the art of mouth calling with tips to yelp, cluck and purr, cutt, and gobble like an expert.
Place the call on the roof of your mouth.
A mouth call can be an effective tool for luring turkeys. From purring and clucking, to imitating gobbling sounds and full strutting calls – its versatility allows it to attract turkeys quickly. Though easier to learn than box or slate calls, mastery may take practice – before heading out hunting, try practicing your calls at home until you find one that works well with you!
Most mouth calls contain two rubber or latex reeds that vibrate when you blow, producing sound. Some even feature cut edges for additional variations of sound production. Simply place the call in your mouth with its reeds facing forward and pin it to the roof of your mouth using tongue pins before gently blowing lightly through it using chest or diaphragm breath rather than through its open top or edges to achieve maximum effectiveness.
Ensure your turkey call fits correctly to make a sound that attracts turkeys; once you can produce this whistle sound, move on to making actual turkey noises! Once your whistle sound has produced results, its time to move onto making real bird noises!
Many turkey hunters begin their calling sessions by producing a gobble, but this can attract other hunters into the area and scare away turkeys. On public or shared land, gobbling may trigger aggression in tom turkeys which could force them to attack another hunter or leave altogether.
Once you’re ready to start calling hens, take the following steps. Position yourself at an anticipated roost site wearing camouflage clothing and wait until roost time approaches; make several short, snappy cackles like you were mimicking a tom as he chases a female towards himself; follow these with wings flapping noises so as to simulate tom chasing away females into his range; finally finish by flapping your wings as though mimicking tom chase-calls sounding just like tom as he chases down his next target hen.
If a tom responds with gobbling, wait until he disappears into his roost spot before trying again. Repeat this pattern throughout the day until you encounter one close enough for shooting.
Breathe from your chest or diaphragm.
Some individuals find breathing difficult. The diaphragm, an important dome-shaped muscle at the base of their lungs, plays an integral part in breathing: when inhalation takes place it moves downward and expands lower ribs; other muscles in chest, neck and shoulders also work to bring air in, but they may overwork and prevent full expansion of diaphragm causing hyperventilation or overbreathing to occur; therefore many over-rely on chest breathing which draws too much air in leading to hyperventilation or overbreathing; alternatively diaphragmatic breathing or “belly breathing” allows better oxygen exchange which may prove advantageous when dealing with conditions like COPD, asthma or anxiety.
To use your diaphragm effectively, lie on a comfortable surface with pillows beneath both of your head and knees to support straight spine alignment. Place one hand on your upper chest while another rests gently against your stomach – with each inhale of air, the hand on your stomach should rise to indicate proper use of diaphragm muscles. This is a sure sign you’re using diaphragm correctly!
Exhaling involves relaxing and pulling down on your diaphragm to shrink your lungs, with carbon dioxide-rich air pushing out through your windpipe. With mouth calls, this means using various sounds such as clucking, purring or yelping in order to seem more realistic and attract gobblers.
Calling turkeys requires learning how to produce the sharp burst of air needed for a gobble, which may take practice for beginners. Once this ability has been gained, other turkey calls should become easier once resembling gobbling can be produced more reliably – listening to recordings of gobblers or having someone demonstrate are great ways to practice. You will also need a mouth call with a tab (made of either plastic or aluminum and easily cut with scissors if necessary) which seals around its reed for better airflow through to prevent air from blowing around and into your throat; these types can then become practice for future calls!
Make the sound of a gobble.
Many turkey hunters swear by mouth calls for good reason. A mouth call enables hunters to hunt hands-free, ready to shoot when a gobbler enters view without switching hands to grab a box or slate call which could alert the bird and scare him away. A mouth call also allows for multiple sounds: from purrs and clucks all the way up to raspy gobbles!
Mouth calls use vibrating reeds that produce the distinctive sound of turkeys when air is passed through them, creating the sound. For best results, place them near the front of your mouth for best results; hunters who prefer high note calls should opt for calls featuring one with its reed on top while those preferring raspy calls may prefer one on its traditional bottom side of the sound board.
Starting out when calling gobblers, start off softly before gradually increasing volume and speed as you approach a gobbler. An excited rapid series may trigger him into coming closer, with him often responding by gobbling back.
Sometimes a tom will fail to gobble at all; this could happen on windy, cold, or rainy days; or if he has already committed himself to one hen and is no longer vocalizing his territorial claims. If your calls aren’t getting any response from them, try listening out for the flock’s hens yelping or clucking, mimic their vocalizations, and you may attract both them and perhaps their gobbler to you!
Your mind might wander to stories of turkeys gobbling at rusty gates, slamming truck doors or gunshots; while these accounts are certainly fascinating, the best way to lure gobblers to respond to your calling is with a mouth call. With practice you can create various turkey sounds with one such as gobbles, yelps and clucks using this form of calling. Below is a video by Dead End Game Calls’ Mitchell Johnston of Dead End Game Calls who is an NWTF Grand National mouth calling champion and who teaches newcomers how to call. For more information watch Mitchell Johnston who serves as an NWTF Grand National mouth calling champion. For more details check out Mitchell Johnston of Dead End Game Calls as an NWTF Grand National mouth calling champion and who teaches newcomers this art form of calling can learn.
Wait for a response.
When hunting turkeys, it is crucial to wait for their response before calling too often. Excessive calling may scare off or drive away birds altogether. Instead, use short locator calls such as hoots or crows as locators calls before beginning soft calling; perhaps try employing series of yelps and clucks, cutt calls, raspy crow calls or any number of other options to lure turkeys in closer.
Once a bird is within range, the next step should be increasing your volume. Your goal should be to draw it out from its roost or cover, into your hunting zone where it can be shot – this is where scouting and understanding some of a turkey’s patterns can come in handy; short aggressive calls may also challenge it to respond back in kind.
Mouth calls are great tool that don’t require your hands, allowing you to keep hold of both the shotgun or bow when using them. Mouth calls are easy to learn, enabling you to produce similar to sounds made by turkeys such as yelping, purring or even gobbling!
If your first attempt doesn’t result in a gobble, try moving locations or times. Sometimes turkeys don’t feel like goingbbleing; perhaps other noises or hunters distracting them; alternatively try different sounds such as raspy crow calls, peacock and pileated woodpecker calls to see what resonates.
Varying your calls can also help, as turkeys can quickly adapt to specific sounds that they no longer respond to as effectively. Try mixing in sounds such as crow or owl noises to confuse the bird into coming closer into your calling zone; mixing sounds and techniques may prove effective when one of your turkeys appears stuck or nonreactive to any of your calls.