Having some recent threads on box calls and turkey calls in general I thought some general discussion on how they work might be good.

The lid or paddle being drug over the edge of the side or sounding board creates a chatter that mimics the bird, so how do we get it to do that?

I had always just chalked the two surfaces to make the "chatter".

I've recently read where some makers coat those surfaces with "chalkboard" paint. A more waterproof/rain friendly method.

Now I was just told by my nephew that he has used rosin on one I made him and it works very well. The kind of stuff bronc riders put on their glove at rodeos.

Anybody have any other methods they use to make their box "talk"?

Boxcall X2.

Oil free chalk of any kind

(wax free) if it has a label on it with a turkey it's overpriced :)

You oughta' see what happens to pretty Maple box call when someone puts red carpenters string line chalk on it.

It was said--oil, or wax free. This is important.

Well then you'd have a "red wood" box call.

LOL!!!

it does matter what kind of chalk you use for box calls,,,

I’ve been using white chalk like we had in school since 1966

The blue pop line chalk works great, and in a pinch ash from the wood stove or fireplace works good also.

Rick

Try some Wild Turkey Liquor. Works on me every time.

Bowmania

I've tried just about everything but nothing seems to work as well for me as Penns Woods chalk. I can't say why but just seems to produce better resonance.

OK guys, what else affects the "chirp"? Someone mentioned the angle of the sounding boards. Is having any angle important? What should it be, 5 degrees, 10 degrees?

I would say fiddle rosin ground up into a fine powder would do good.

I used to chalk the lid and the top edge of the box. When I started only chalking the lid, seems to work better.

I used to chalk the lid and the top edge of the box. When I started only chalking the lid, seems to work better.

Tuning these things is as much an art as getting music out of a stringed instrument. Every call I've handled seems to have its own pitch. Some really sound great to me, but im not sure it matters as much to the turkeys. Ive heard some great sounding hens in the woods that sounded as good as a pro caller, but ive also heard hens that call worse than i do. Like the boxcalls, every bird sounds a bit different. I just use a big stick of sidewalk chalk.

JusPassin,, the angle you would need is 5-7 degrees

JusPassin,, go to THO Game Calls website,, there is a ton of stuff on there about making turkey calls and other game calls,,,,,,

I like the knight & Hale Wet Willy waterproof double sided box call.

Those large sticks of pastel chalk work well too. While we're on the subject I never see posts bringing up squeezing the sides of box calls. That changes the tone of the call. You can mimic many different calls that a turkey might make with one box call. Frank

Great input..

Got an old Lynch box call back in the early 70s,... all I ever used was kids sidewalk chalk, seems to do just fine!

Boxcall70 x 2

Friction=sound chalk etc changes the friction so there is not 1 answer for all calls

Chalk will absorb moisture. If you use rosin, you can use it in moist weather. I've used boxcalls 35 years and the brown pitch rosin is the best thing that I've found because it still gives high notes. Some of the other things either weatherproof the box and loose sound or absorb moisture and loose sound. To treat a boxcall to work in any weather polyurethane the top of the lid and everything else up to 1/8" from the tops of the sides. Put the rosin on the top of the sides and the bottom of the lid and top-insides of the side and your good tip go.

I have the round type with a roughed up glass top with a wooden striker. I am going to give turkey hunting a try this year. What is your preferred call for the beginner?

For a beginner either a slate (pot & striker) style call. Or a box call. For a beginner, if you choose a pot style, I recommend either a double glass or slate with a synthetic striker. Threefold are lower tone, which keeps a beginner from calling too loud and a synthetic striker is softer sounding and takes less conditioning.

Thanks for the info Anthony, I have ten more on the bench and have gotten rosin to edge them with. It appears to work really well.

Where does one get rosin? And x2 rifleman. Some turkeys sound awful and I've seen others respond to some really wretched calling. Heck, the gobblers around here react to my rooster crowing.

Amazon, just type in rosin, it's there.

I use school type chalk on the edges and paddle.

Any caulk like its mentioned oil free. I like to keep a stout rubber band around mine and in a quart zip lock so they don't rattle and that's how you can keep water protected as well and they don't make noise as your walking.

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