Sound Quality Handmade vs from the store

I only use hand made calls from a guy in Missouri (poor_valley@hotmail.com)

Jerry's calls sound better than any call I have picked up in a store or owned before I found them.


As far as why, I would say because unlike mass produced ANYTHING the guys making them take pride in their work and aren't going to let something go out the door that is less than perfect. A call made in mass production and maybe spot checked has more of a chance of not being made right but still packaged and shipped.

I've made two box calls myself (getting ready to start a couple more), and I can attest to how much time it takes to tune them. I gave Dad a call for Christmas that I had probably 10 hours in by itself. Sand a little on the sides of the sound chamber (with a Dremel) and swing the paddle around and try it. Sand some more and try it again. That had to be repeated with the other side too.

Haven't tried a pot call (don't have the equipment to turn with), but I can see them being the same way.

I can't imagine all factory made calls are tuned. Some may be checked, but I doubt they are tuned...

With different wood types you will need to make the sound board height and botttom thickness different, you also can change the number of holesw in the bottom and size to get the different sounds.

Dave

I ordered one of Poor Valley's yesterday. I will compare it to my one and only crystal call and report. I would like to buy a box call as well if anyone can recommend a good one.

The worst call I have ever heard would probably still call in a turkey. A $500 used car will get you where you want to go, but why do they sell new one's everyday?

I'm partial to homemade calls. There are good production calls and not so good. I feel it doesn't come down to R&D, but rather quality control. That makes the difference.

If a company is making and selling a call with the glass unconditioned, how do they know that it is going to sound good once conditioned? There is no way to tell. Well, you can use rain chalk on unconditioned glass and get an idea, but I'm pretty sure they don't do that. The reason they can sell a call without knowing the sound of it is pretty simple.

Say you pay $20 for a "Primos" call that doesn't sound good. The worst that can happen to them is you get mad and make a post on the internet about it not sounding good. You are out $20 and they still make 1,000 or so of them a day. They have more people that will agree with them because they are "Primos" than you know that are going to agree with you.

Now say you want to spend a little more on a homemade or benchmade call as Jerry calls it. I will almost promise that the call you buy will have been ran before you receive it. Being a call maker and knowing 30-40 more, I also know that the maker is not going to put his name on the call and intentionally send it to you knowing that you are not going to be happy with it.

Most homemade call makers are in it as a hobby, to meet hunters across the country and to make some spring turkey hunting money. You get a call from me or another maker that doesn't sound good and go through the same process that you would go through with the Primos (make a negative post on the internet) and before long, the callmaker doesn't have any orders to fill. My friends can only handle so many calls, so I would like to get them out to as many people as possible and this is only done by making a quality call or at least making the buyer happy if they are not at first.

There are also different levels of production calls. I know one maker that makes calls for at least two major sporting goods retailers and one major turkey supporting organization. He probably has better quality control than any of the big name call companies. His pots are CNC'ed, but he still checks them and makes sure they come out to the right specs. I don't know what he does with the one's that don't make it, but I know that you can buy their calls from the other companies a lot cheaper than you can buy them from him.


Of course, there are also good custom calls and not so good. I have a collection of about 60 pots and boxes and some of them would not make good gifts to people I don't like.

I personally do not carry any custom turkey calls or locator calls, but it is more fun to call a bird in with a call that you picked out the wood for and put together. I have also found that the majority of customers say the calls sound better than production and a lot of them come back to buy a different surfaced call later. A lot of guys buy calls as gifts for their huntin buddies and a lot just like to be involved in the process of picking out the components for the calls.

Couldn't resist joining up after reading this thread. I'm not a custom call maker cause I'm not smart enough and I don't make box calls cause I'm not smart enough for that either. However I do admire those guys for their dedication to their craft. Even with those guys you should most likely do some research and try to talk with the guy to make sure he understands what you want and that he can provide it. The term "custom call" means different things to different people. Price is a pretty good indicator.

As gobblestopper says a good reputation is essential. Otherwise a call maker would be looking for a different hobby right away.

The niche I try to fill in the call making world is the average turkey hunter. I used to hate buying a call in a blister pack and then find out it didn't sound like a turkey so I decided to do something about it and at the same time keep the price manageable.

Glad to see you visit Poor Valley.Post up when you get a chance I know you are a busy man.If nothing else just stop by and say hey.larryhagmansliver you will not be disappointed with any call you get from poor valley also check your pm.larryhagmansliver.

My call arrived last night. He did a great job on it and it sounds great. I got a purple heart and maple striker to go with it. Two more days and I will be using it for real.