Peyton's Putter Turkey Calls

Home   Hunter Series   Custom Calls   "The Call Girl"   Kits    Box Call Tips   Misc. Tips   Hunting Photos   About Us   Contact Us

The Story Behind Our Calls

My Daddy started taking me turkey hunting when I was 10 years old. He wouldn't let me take a gun though. He would drop me off by the side of the road and I would sit on a stump or log until dark, hoping to hear a turkey gobble when he went to roost.

When I was about 15, Vance, my older brother and turkey call making partner, started letting me go hunting with him - and I actually got to carry a gun. By then I was hunting alone. I remember once coming back to our meeting place and Vance had one of the largest turkeys ever killed in northern Louisiana lying beside him, and I had the honor of carring a very fat turkey back to the truck. From that day on I was a "sho nuff" turkey hunter. In those days we were still breaking up chalkboards to get the slate for calls. Vance had always preferred a slate call until we started designing our own box calls. When he heard how accurately they produced hen turkey yelps he became a box call fanatic. When spring rolls around he is a turkey gobbler's worst enemy.

Over the years I've made calls out of everything from slate to rocks, using strikers made from a square wood block with a nail driven through the center to those made from whittled down pieces of wood.

My first attempts at making box calls were hit and miss (mostly miss). For awhile I was as confused as the little boy that lost his bubble gum in the chicken yard. I didn't understand about the different densities of wood and how they affected the sound of the calls. I didn't understand the importance of the arch on the paddle being made correctly and using the proper spring tension. And, occasionally, I still scratch my head, wondering what went wrong.

I've heard it said that a box call is a musical instrument (it's music to my ears anyway). I've been a musician for 40 years (guitar, steel guitar, fiddle and harmonica). I've played in Branson Missouri and Nashville and had the honer to share the stage with many Country Western stars. So I have developed an ear for pitch. I hand tune every call myself. I'm looking for a particular sound. I like a medium to high pitched yelp, starting with a clear tone and ending with a raspy "chomp".

I have the privilege of hunting in Colorado, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas almost every year. In 2000 I called up 13 gobblers for several different hunters. In 2001 I called up 22 gobblers for several different people and 8 were taken, all with my box calls, and I had excitement draining down both legs with each and every one.

Yep, when that old turkey gobbles at my calling, I still get as nervous as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. That's what keeps me coming back to the turkey woods

Try our calls. I think you'll like them.