Distance Slate Calling
Bob McNally 03.09.16
Getting good volume from a turkey call can be important when hunting “big” country, especially in mountainous terrain where sound “carries” a long way. This is a big advantage in locating birds at dawn and in the cool of dusk.
Box and tube calls are well known for “carrying” sound a great distance, but friction graphite, slate, aluminum, and glass calls also put out a lot of sound. It helps to “cup” one hand around the base of a slate/glass/aluminum call to create a larger resonating “cup,” then don’t be afraid to really dig in and scratch sharply on the slate/glass with your striker.
How far can a good slate/glass turkey call produce results?
One spring in North Carolina, top hunter and caller Mike Batty used a graphite slate call of his design to trigger a tom into gobbling from one mile away.
Batty was on one ridge, the bird across a valley on another mountain top. It took him 90 minutes of truck driving, mountain climbing and ridge running to reach the bird. But he set up 500 yards from the tom, then called it in and shot the 21-pound gobbler that sported an 11-inch beard and 1 1/8-inch spurs.
