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 two decades ago, while hunting in Connecticut, he learned the value of a box call.

• Secure the box call. Get some sort of elastic device to secure that box call while you walk. You don’t want it yelping when you’re walking down the road. You don’t want to call anything you’re not ready for, and you don’t want to irritate your buddy. Any good, strong rubber band will work well. Get three different colors because you’ll drop one and never find it again.
• Clean the box call. Box calls require very-little maintenance. If your box call quits playing, you’ve gotten some oil or mayonnaise or something on it. If that happens to it, just take some dishwashing liquid or detergent and wash it, but don’t dry it. It plays well while it’s wet and will dry out on its own.
• Store your box calls. I always leave my box call in my hunting vest. If you have an antique or a special box call, don’t take it hunting with you. You want to keep the box call you hunt with inside at room temperature and not in the barn where bugs may eat it. Box calls are low maintenance.

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 and callers, go to the book, “Turkey Hunting Tactics,” https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007PK9B2G/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p2_i3, 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: Pushbutton Box Calls for Turkeys