A First Day Turkey Hunt, and A New Call

Cro-Mag Outdoors approached me 2 years ago with the request to trial a new take on an old design, 3 in 1 Interchangeable friction turkey call. Being an avid hunter, I graciously agreed. I un-boxed the call and disassembled it to its individual base components. Looking at the slate, glass and aluminum surfaces, I noticed that they were not conditioned. This caught my eye and I remembered them telling me that “all we leave the surfaces untouched, because we want the end user to tailor the call to their needs.” So, I started conditioning the surfaces to the best of my ability.

I sanded the slate, and 1 side of the glass because the other side is bead blasted, and then proceeded to condition the aluminum. I assembled the call with the slate because that is my go to call. I was concerned with how the call’s screwing mechanism would work because I had never seen one function like that before. To my surprise it was easy to assemble. I did use the insert holder as a turning tool to help me get a better grip on the call base. And I noticed that I needed very little gripping power on the lid to unscrew the call. But all in all, the overall function of the call was simple. I then proceeded to scratch on the surface with the provided purple heart striker. The call had a raspy, yet crisp sounds that really appealed to the characteristic that I love in my other slate calls.

I then switched out the surface with the glass. This call was higher pitched and mimicked what I would call a young hen in the woods. The closer I got to the edge with the striker the higher pitched it became, and as I went to the center, it got raspier and gave me a vast range to play with calling sounds.

The last surface that I tried was the aluminum. This took me a while to get because I had glass and slate dust rubbed into the round of the striker. After I noticed I had a problem with the tip, I sanded the striker off with 120 grit paper and it sounded amazing. It was loud and crisp and would be able to cut through the rain and wind in turkey season.

After I trialed the call in the yard, I cleaned it off and stored it in my vest. I was ready for spring. I was truly impressed what these four friends had created.

The first day of the season was a cloudy and windy day. So, I opted to use my mouth call. I had a bird answering me on the ridge line in front of me. He was double and triple gobbling and seemed that he was going to run me over. But then he hung up. He would respond to every call I made and would even cut me off. But he would not come into range. This bird was being finicky. I slowly reached down and grabbed another mouth call figuring a change would bring him in. I clucked a few times and he gobbled again. I gave it a few minutes let out another cluck and he cut me off again. But to my surprise he was still there.

Running out of options, I lowered my hand, grabbed the Deception Chamber and started calling on the slate. The first yelp I made, he cut me off. I called a little louder and harder this time. He gobbled again, and to my amazement he sounded closer. I called one more time and he nearly blew my hat off with his gobble. He was coming to my left and right on top of me. I slowly dropped the call and waited for him to go behind the tree. I turned my gun barrel, and BOOM. He dropped like a rock, and I ran to grab my trophy. As I returned to the tree with the turkey in one hand and the gun in the other, I saw the Deception Chamber laying on the ground. I reached down, grabbed my call, wiped the water droplets off it and smiled.

I chuckled to myself and thought, I chose this as my last resort? This call took the main spot in my vest and has not let me down yet.

The simple fact of the matter is that all turkey calls will call in birds. They all work. But for that day, this bird only wanted that call. And for that reason, I will always have a special spot in my vest for a 3-in-1 Friction Call. These small town boys have something here, and I encourage everyone to give it a try!

~M.D. Pennsylvania 2017

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