Trumpets are much like mouth calls as they are personal to the caller. The mechanics are the same to play them, but the way a person draws will effect the calls they like. Personally I always recommend a Billy Buice 6" with a #4 mouthpiece as they are relatively easy to get, maybe a short wait if from him, they are very easy to play for anyone I have spoken to, and while more expensive than many they hold there value and then some. When you learn to run the trumpet you have to keep with practice as there are a lot of fine muscle memories involved. It is a fun call to use but not one you just pick up in the spring if you really want to get all you can from it. Most of the top makers will have a wait, but there are some good ones out there you can find very easily. I have been using them for just under 10 years, I can run any you give me, but some are like work to play and some are just a pleasure with little to no effort.
"When I have the urge to brag about hundreds of gobblers I've called to the gun, I forget to boast of the thousands of times I returned to the truck empty-handed." - Kenny Morgan
If you don't have any experience using them, a cane caller is much easier to use. And it produces a softer sound that is better for hunting Easterns in most situations. Like 99% of the time.
All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
My wife bought me a Houndstoooth trumpet a couple years ago, and i'm just not becoming proficient. I really like the soft calls and realism of the sounds. Struck up and called a gobbler with it last weekend and my gunman (dad) whiffed!
I'm interested to try out a cane caller PCP. You are the first person i've heard mention them.
If you don't have any experience using them, a cane caller is much easier to use. And it produces a softer sound that is better for hunting Easterns in most situations. Like 99% of the time.
are they also called river cane callers?
ALDeer physics: for every opinion, there's an equal & opposite opinion
A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.
I personally do not notice the difference in trumpets, Jordans style , or cane yelpers. Wing bones are a bit different with the shape of the mouthpiece with it being a wing bone, true jordans are this way as well. I can make all of them pretty loud or almost inaudible. Nothing wrong with trying in any of them, but for me trumpets are my preferred cause you can be a bit more diverse sounds with it.
Last edited by davisd9; 04/23/2001:54 PM.
"When I have the urge to brag about hundreds of gobblers I've called to the gun, I forget to boast of the thousands of times I returned to the truck empty-handed." - Kenny Morgan
"When I have the urge to brag about hundreds of gobblers I've called to the gun, I forget to boast of the thousands of times I returned to the truck empty-handed." - Kenny Morgan
I personally do not notice the difference in trumpets, Jordans style , or cane yelpers. Wing bones are a bit different with the shape of the mouthpiece with it being a wing bone, true jordans are this way as well. I can make all of them pretty loud or almost inaudible. Nothing wrong with trying in any of them, but for me trumpets are my preferred cause you can be a bit more diverse sounds with it.
But you practice a lot and have probably been using them for many years. I carried a trumpet for decades, but as you said, you have to practice with them to be very good. Even with a lot of practice, I never got as consistent with them as I was with other type calls. I switched to a cane a few years back and I am way more consistent with it than I ever was with a trumpet. The cane has a much smaller diameter and runs with a lot less air, and that's my theory on why it is easier for me to be consistent. That increased volume of air makes it easier for me to get loud with a trumpet, but that's something I hardly ever need to do where I hunt.
BGD, a Rivercane call is what I'm talking about. One big advantage it has over a trumpet is that anyone can make one, so you don't have a big expense to try it. Search back on this forum and you should find a thread on how to make one. There is nothing to it, and I started with one made by Gil Stacey over in GA. He put up very detailed directions on how to make them on Gobbler Nation a few years ago.
All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.
I personally do not notice the difference in trumpets, Jordans style , or cane yelpers. Wing bones are a bit different with the shape of the mouthpiece with it being a wing bone, true jordans are this way as well. I can make all of them pretty loud or almost inaudible. Nothing wrong with trying in any of them, but for me trumpets are my preferred cause you can be a bit more diverse sounds with it.
But you practice a lot and have probably been using them for many years. I carried a trumpet for decades, but as you said, you have to practice with them to be very good. Even with a lot of practice, I never got as consistent with them as I was with other type calls. I switched to a cane a few years back and I am way more consistent with it than I ever was with a trumpet. The cane has a much smaller diameter and runs with a lot less air, and that's my theory on why it is easier for me to be consistent. That increased volume of air makes it easier for me to get loud with a trumpet, but that's something I hardly ever need to do where I hunt.
BGD, a Rivercane call is what I'm talking about. One big advantage it has over a trumpet is that anyone can make one, so you don't have a big expense to try it. Search back on this forum and you should find a thread on how to make one. There is nothing to it, and I started with one made by Gil Stacey over in GA. He put up very detailed directions on how to make them on Gobbler Nation a few years ago.
Makes sense.
"When I have the urge to brag about hundreds of gobblers I've called to the gun, I forget to boast of the thousands of times I returned to the truck empty-handed." - Kenny Morgan
BGD, a Rivercane call is what I'm talking about. One big advantage it has over a trumpet is that anyone can make one, so you don't have a big expense to try it. Search back on this forum and you should find a thread on how to make one. There is nothing to it, and I started with one made by Gil Stacey over in GA. He put up very detailed directions on how to make them on Gobbler Nation a few years ago.
got it; now that i've made my wingbone, i'd like to make one of these, as well - thx for the info, PCP!
ALDeer physics: for every opinion, there's an equal & opposite opinion
A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.
BTW, here's where i'm at w/my wingbone calling ... the Marlin Watkins tutorials on YouTube have helped a lot, along with marking the stop & putting it at the right place on my lips & NOT over-drawing the call ... i'm really stunned at how LITTLE air it takes to run one of these calls ... it also seems to makes a big difference, i've found, on how you hold the call (cup it for the sound chamber), and also putting one of your fingers up into the "bell" of the call ... still not 100% confident with it yet, but i plan to stay after it & be ready to roll by next turkey season ...
using gloves while hunting adds yet another dimension to the sound; acts kinda like a muffler almost -- mellows this wingbone of mine out a lot
ALDeer physics: for every opinion, there's an equal & opposite opinion
A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.
BTW, here's where i'm at w/my wingbone calling ... the Marlin Watkins tutorials on YouTube have helped a lot, along with marking the stop & putting it at the right place on my lips & NOT over-drawing the call ... i'm really stunned at how LITTLE air it takes to run one of these calls ... it also seems to makes a big difference, i've found, on how you hold the call (cup it for the sound chamber), and also putting one of your fingers up into the "bell" of the call ... still not 100% confident with it yet, but i plan to stay after it & be ready to roll by next turkey season ...
using gloves while hunting adds yet another dimension to the sound; acts kinda like a muffler almost -- mellows this wingbone of mine out a lot
Go by Lowe’s and buy a sink washer kit and use one for your lip stop. You are squeaking from not have a good deal and you are drawing too much air. Play with your lip stop positioning and find where you like it. A minor lipstop adjustment can make a call have a new life. Depends on gloves how much it effects it. I like tight fitting gloves that are thin.
Last edited by davisd9; 04/24/2011:18 AM.
"When I have the urge to brag about hundreds of gobblers I've called to the gun, I forget to boast of the thousands of times I returned to the truck empty-handed." - Kenny Morgan
