Editor’s Note: My friend, Gary Sefton of Cornersville, Tennessee, the former promotions manager at Woods Wise Products, including their turkey calls, and I hunted turkeys together several times. An expert caller, Sefton took his first turkey in 1961. For years he refused to carry a box call with him hunting because he thought they were awkward. He also hated chalking them and trying to work with them wet. But about three decades ago, while hunting in Connecticut, he learned the value of a box call.

“I yelped on my diaphragm call and nothing answered,” Sefton says. “Then I yelped on my slate call and other calls, and I still received no answer. The turkey hunter I was with took out a box call and yelped on it. Four different turkeys gobbled. From that day on, I’ve never been without a box call in the woods. I like a box call because it gives off harmonic notes, and a turkey will gobble at a box call more than at any other call. A box call has a lot of range, and you can get a turkey to answer you from even a 1/4-mile away when using one.”

Sefton says to consider the following tips when using a box call:

• Don’t pick up the lid off the box. Remember that a box call, like any other friction call, only makes a sound in one direction. When you slide the paddle striker (lid) away from the box, it makes no sound. When you slide the paddle toward the box, it makes a sound. You want to maintain the proper angle with the striker by keeping it in contact with the call. If you pick the lid up, you’ll change the angles and get unwanted squeaks and squawks from your box call.
• Use a very light grip, and keep a minimum amount of pressure on the lid. Use your fingers to guide the lid. How tight you grip the lid will affect the sound of the call. Just barely move it.
•  Hold the call by its bottom. I always hold a box call by its bottom. When you touch it on the sides, you alter the sound of the call. You can get into a situation where you want to dampen the call by touching it on the side. But usually, you want to hold a call by its bottom to get the full effect of the call.
• Change the pitch of the call. Sometimes you can press your fingers on the side to dampen or change the pitch.
• Use cutts and cackles. These sounds are the best ones you can make on a box call. They’re more realistic. If you’re in the woods 100-yards away, and someone cutts and cackles on a box call, you’ll swear it’s a hen. And, if there is a hen around when you cutt on a box call, she’ll answer you. It’s astounding how many times you’ll get a hen to yelp at you after using the call.

To learn more about hunting turkeys successfully, visit John E. Phillips’ Amazon book page at https://www.amazon.com/John-E.-Phillips/e/B001HP7K6O. For even more information from many of the top turkey hunters, callers and guides, go to the book, “Turkey Hunting Guides’ Bible,” at https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ITWYY2K/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p5_i10 and available in Kindle, print and Audible. You may have to copy and paste this link into your browser. (When you click on the book, notice on the left where Amazon says you can read and hear 10% of the book for free). On the right side of the page and below the offer for a free Audible trial, you can click on Buy the Audible book.

Tomorrow: More Box Call Tips for Turkeys