CALL Question

[Moosie]

What makes a call like Skydogs and Krusty's call better then the ol off the shelf one ?

NOT KNOCKING you guys that make your own call, but does it sound that much better for the price ?

(I guess I don't even know what they cost so I might be jumping the gun like usual. Although I know HAndmade personal duck calls cost 10 times as much)

Or is is the call more sentimental because a friend made it ?

Thanx in adavance !!

 

[Krustyklimber]

Handmade duck calls fetch way higher prices on average then custom predator calls do now, or ever might bring.

My calls run about two to three times the price of an off the shelf call, I have not owned that many of these calls so I cannot (or will not) claim my calls to be better.

Perhaps the words of a potential customer could sum up why they feel their money is well spent for a custom...

Ernie says
"This is neet the some one (meaning you) even asked what shape would suit me.

I have a feeling like I have my own personal call maker."

Or what this fairly famous coyote hunter said (on HuntMasters), of the call he got from me:

"...Ive gathered a modest number of calls over the years, mostly custom jobs, guys have sent me or I swapped something for.
I don't believe Ive seen one this nice before, I was pleasantly surprised and quite impressed with his attention to detail and craftsmanship.
Most of the custom calls I have are very nice pieces of work, but pale to the example he sent me. Rather like looking at fine production rifles, then handling a Dakota....know what I mean? Fit,concentricity, and a beautiful hand rubbed finish, not a spray polymer or dip job.
You done good Krusty, mighty fine call, Oh! it has terrific sound with the double reed system. It produced some amazing yips and barks on my way to town yesterday

I thank you much."
And
"...Worth more than you could actually sell them for, but that is the bane of hand work"

I try to have a bit of a conversation with each person who wants one of my calls, I ask what their favorite sounding call is, and what shape they like. I ask if they'd like a call to be slightly larger or smaller to suit their hands. And I let them pick out the type of wood and have even let people send in wood of their own choosing... I know Doug has a special feeling for his RG Custom, made from wood he gathered from his own farm.

I think it's this personal attention that seperates me from the guy at Wal*Mart.

I have a couple custom calls myself, and I can tell you they sound a lot better than any of the production calls I have owned.
I have an RG Customs call, with a closed reed. I can lean on that call as hard as I like, it will not lock up. It has three distinct pitch/volume changes depending on how hard I play it.
It sounds closer to the real sound of a bad hit on a rabbit than any closed reed call I have ever heard.

I also have a call made for me by BradH, it is inscribed as such right on the call... that alone would make it worth considerably more, not to mention the spirit of the gift, in which I received the call.
All of my customs have come to me through trades, and not a one of the guys I have traded with has been disatisfied with the sound or craftsmanship of their call they received from me... can't say that about a lot of production calls.

I hope this helps clear up a little of the confusion. I too am glad to share an answer if I have one!

You're welcome!

Jeff

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 07-04-2003 15:28: Message edited by: Krustyklimber ]</font>

 

[Dick Reece]

Moosie,good question.I have found,through the purchase and practice with both types this summer while waiting on the season to open,that the customs are always far ahead of the commercial.I think it's because customs are hand tuned,whereas factory stuff is packaged in a plastic bubble and shipped without ever being tried out.Custom call makers take pride in there work,and are not just doing it for the money,but as a hobby and out of love for the sport.I'd be willing to bet most custom call makers started out making there own out of dissatisfaction with commercial offers!

My custom calls are few,but they are easy to use and sound much more real than the factory ones I have.

Boy did you hit the nail on the head with duck calls.I used to have a pile of catalogs listing nothing but those.They were all expensive.I used to own a few,but I've traded them since.Slydog has my Glynn Scoby hand painted duck and goose calls,we are both happy with the trades we made

.

<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1">[ 07-04-2003 07:21: Message edited by: Seldom Ever ]</font>

 

[Moosie]

Thanx for the Info Krusty, Thats Exactly what I was looknig for. I'm far from knowing anything about 'Yote calling. I've only really been out 2 times. I've only kilt 1/2 dozen or so. the first time I bought a call it was a Sceery (SP?) back in '98 went down to Riddle Idaho in Jan. I can truely say fetching alot of Yotes in that area. I didn't have the Pacience to sit more then 5 mins at each place and sometimes got up and started walking and Seeing a Dog at full run coming in and Turning to run away at mock 3

But that was my lack of knowing.

Anyways, I've since bought 3-4 Hunting Vids for yotes just cuz I like to see them Pile up. And Was listening to the various sounds. Sometimes the Sick calls would bring them in better then the guys calling in with TOP calls. But heck, it all hurts my ears regardless

Maybe I'll pick up a couple handmade calls and try them out. What's the price of a handmade call (Roughly ?)

 

[Slydog]

Moosie,
Custom hand made calls start around $20.00 and go up from there. My calls start at $45. and my Howlers start at $60. and go up. The most popular call I sell is the slydog "clasic" it is a closed reed type call but nothing at all like the factory produced calls. Each and every one is hand cut, formed and tuned to the reed. Then before I ship any call they are hunted over and have in fact called coyotes or predators.
The "clasic" sells for #85.00 shiped and I can't keep them on the shelf.
The slydog "O" or (OTT) is a small hand call that is small in size but big in volume and they are $45.00 shiped and they don't sit on the shelf long either.

I make 3 diffrent styles of howler and Pup and I have joined forces to create the slydog-Pup howler the newest and most versital howler I've seen to date.

I make a compact version of both the slydog-Pup and the slydog yodeler. The last but not least of the howlers is the slydog long dog, Its a full sized cow horn howler that realy makes good vocalization and has the volume to reach out to the next county.

I also make an open reed call that will make the KI-YI and pup distress sounds. They are $45.00 shiped also.

There are many custom calls out there that are exelently made and that work extreamly well.

K-Kalls, Rich Cronk, Jason LeMarr, Rhino calls, Richard Granthem and these are only the ones that I have experiance with their calls and know the quality and craftsmenship to be good.

I hope this helps you and if there is anything I can help you with just let me know.

sly

 

[ColdNosed]

The thing that got me interested in customs is simply this. When I hit a dry-spell I end up blaming the call, and digging out a box of calls that have been evicted from the lanyard. I’m usually reminded why they got evicted in the first place. LOL

I admire these guys that build their own calls. They are taking the love and passion they have for the sport and crafting it into these calls. Most are not getting rich. They do it because they enjoy it. At least the ones that I have had experience with so far. The quality is exceptional, in both craftsmanship and sound in the customs I have acquired thus far.

So far this fall when I get started I will be taking a small part of Lance Homman, (Predatr Calls) Kevin Lukens (K-Kalls), and good ol’ Slydog along.

 

[Krustyklimber]

Coldnosed,

You are on the list bud, you'll have a Krusty Krier by fall, to help add to the confusion each morning you set out to call!

With a great selection it gets hard not to try and blow two calls at once, eh?

Jeff

 

[Maineiac the original]

Moosie, I have purchased Sceery's, Lohman's, Primos' and Penn's Woods brands. They sound ok, and I have killed yotes with them. As I started getting video's I could tell that the call's sounded better.

I then talked to a custom call maker, about how my Sceery cottentail, jack rabbit and snowshoe hare. They all sounded the same, he asked if I would get all three out. Then came his instructions. He asked if I minded blowing each of the three calls so that he could hear if I was makeing the correct sound. He asked me to make a series with a call, then talk to him about it. His next instruction was to put the phone down step back a few feet and let her rip. I did this for all three calls. He told me that the series were good and not to change the way I was calling.

The next day when the phone rang we talked for a few minutes, then he asked if I would like to hear a snowshoe hare call.

What impressed me so much is that this call maker went so far out of his way. He call me on his dime, we were on the phone for close to 2 hours. We talked about calls, sounds, series, and setups.

I now own 6 calls and 1 howler and 2 more howlers that were are talking about. I will put my Slydog's against anything out there. Before every call we talked about the sound that I wanted. I also heard every call before he mailed it out.

You can see the difference between off the shelf-no service verses a total custom call, made for me and exactly what I wanted in a call.

 

[ColdNosed]

Thanks Krusty, I don’t have anything to trade but cash but that has worked for every transaction so far.

 

[SONG DOG]

My calls start at 32 and go up to 60 which includes Predator,deer grunt, duck, Can. Goose and my PREDATOR LIL' 3 KIT. I feel I'm relatively inexpensive. I was told that I don't charge enough for what they end up, but they may have to be raised a little.

A custom made call is a work of a artist that to his amagination and turned it into a tool. If it can call what it is made for with the right procedure then you can call it a CALL and the maker a CALL MAKER.

SONG DOG
LEMARR GAME CALLS

 

[Dick Reece]

Song dog,do you have a website or pics of your calls ?

 

[SONG DOG]

Unfortunately not. I got a buddy that teaches a computer class who said that he can get me going when I get enough pictures taken.
I should of had this stuff taken care of a whole lot sooner.
Any information on my calls that you can get from this sight is from Slydog. He has 3 and getting 3 more that I'm working on.
All I can say is that there is and will not be 2 alike. My Predator LIL' 3 kit is close but I don't take measurements. That keeps it original. I do kinda plink around with antler open reed but I don't have enough to really say that I make them.
I will keep you and everyone posted on the site when we get together on it.

Take Care,

SONG DOG
LEMARR GAME CALLS

 

[Slydog]

Seldom,
This is the call maker that I told you about. He makes that squirrel distress call that I love and a Deer grunt. This guy makes some damn nice calls and is very under priced.

Jason,
You and I are the same about the pic's thing, I just feel like I got 3 left feet on this computer. I'm hoping Moosie will help my sorry a$$ figure this out. If he does you guys will get tired of seeing my fat a$$,,,,,,LOL Later

sly

 

[Dick Reece]

how much for a squirrel distress,Jason ? 32$ ?

 

[SONG DOG]

If you want my class 1 woods they are cocobolo,osage orange, walnut,mesquite, oak, or cherry is $32.
If you want my class 2 woods they are Dymond wood old rose, camo, or african black wood is $40.
If you are interested email me.
[email protected]

See Ya,
SONG DOG