Wingbone or trumpet?

alpha burnt · Post by **alpha burnt** » June 27th, 2015, 6:40 pm

I notice the mention of these more on this forum than I have on others. Is hunting with a wingbone or a trumpet more of a personal challenge thing or preferred by alot of veteran hunters? Will they respond to these when they will not respond to the others? I have a 3 piece, yelping and clucking is all I can muster and its not real consistent in tone. Can you make a variety of calls on these with practice? The way I sound with it, have been afraid to hunt it...

KPcalls · Post by **KPcalls** » June 27th, 2015, 7:40 pm

alpha burnt wrote:I notice the mention of these more on this forum than I have on others. Is hunting with a wingbone or a trumpet more of a personal challenge thing or preferred by alot of veteran hunters? Will they respond to these when they will not respond to the others? I have a 3 piece, yelping and clucking is all I can muster and its not real consistent in tone. Can you make a variety of calls on these with practice? The way I sound with it, have been afraid to hunt it...

The learning curve was a personal challenge for me and yes a lot of ole hunters in my area use wing bone calls. I hunt with both because I have the upmost confidence in killing birds with both...I feel a turkey will respond to just about any type of call he likes at the moment...but I don't think anything out there will carry as far as a trumpet or wing bone when trying to strike a bird. If either is well made they can also be played at a very low volume as well. They do take a lot of practise and can produce all of the turkey sounds. Wing bones can be somewhat harder to learn especially if you are trying to learn on one that wasn't built to play to start with. Ebay, facebook and forums are littered with bones put together by the clueless. Most are more than obvious simply from the pics.

guesswho · Post by **guesswho** » June 27th, 2015, 8:54 pm

I started using a Trumpet (MKW) about four or five years ago, and a Wingbone (Sharpe) a year or two after that. It really wasn't as hard to learn as I had heard, even though I still have a ways to go. But clucks and yelps came pretty easy for me. About 7-10 days and I was confident enough to hunt with it, and now I feel unprepared if I don't have one or both with me.

I don't like a lot of rasp in a call, especially on the front end. The Trumpet and Wingbone produce a clean clear yelp that just seems to echo through the woods. They quickly became my favorite callers, and the turkeys seem to be pretty fond of them as well. A good Trumpet or Wingbone in capable hands is a pretty deadly hunting tool.

You have plenty of time between now and season. I'd suggest getting a Trumpet or Wingbone from a call maker who has a reputation of producing quality calls, and really practice with it. Not a thrown together set of bones or turned down piece of wood like KP mentioned. Most of your better call makers are gracious people and will even help someone by spending time with them on the phone. In my opinion "which is pretty useless" it's worth the effort to learn how to use one.

pedro · Post by **pedro** » June 27th, 2015, 11:06 pm

They only experience I have with a trumpet is one that a friend made for me. He is a experienced wood worker, but it was his first attempt at any sort of call. I can yelp and cut on it. Would like t compare it to a well crafted one. Guess I will have to wait until I get my hands on a custom trumpet.

RapscallionVermilion · June 28th, 2015, 12:14 am

KP and guesswho have killed a lot more birds than I have, but I will say that after three years of practicing and using trumpets and wingbones I am more confident now with those than any other call. They are well worth they effort put into them. Counter to guesswho's experience, I have a buddy than has been trying for two years to run one. It's getting there, but slowly.. You just won't know until you give them a solid effort.

TRKYHTR · Post by **TRKYHTR** » June 28th, 2015, 1:05 am

I love using a trumpet. I've killed a few gobblers that would not have died without it. It also carries further than other calls in the field. Get consistent with the yelp and cluck and you will kill turkeys. No need to learn how to kee kee, purr or gobble on it.

KPcalls · Post by **KPcalls** » June 28th, 2015, 2:18 am

Counter to guesswho's experience, I have a buddy than has been trying for two years to run one. It's getting there, but slowly.. You just won't know until you give them a solid effort.

Very true...I've seen some guy's have a lot of trouble and some pick it up very easily. Most folks that have the sounds of the turkey etched in their brain tend to pick it up in time, some faster than others. Most start off trying too hard. I started out with an old Penn Woods yelper I bought in the eighties. I was never satisfied with the sounds I was able to pull out of that call after a lot of practise, and I feel the same way about that call today.

wiltznucs · Post by **wiltznucs** » June 28th, 2015, 9:29 am

I picked up dozens of trumpets over a few years. Got pretty good with them and killed a few birds too. I hung them up about 4 years ago. Too many variables for me. I hunted with a buddy and observed that his clucks sounded an awful lot like putts from a distance. Playing them with cold dry lips was a challenge. Playing them with gloves baffled the sound too. I was never comfortable playing them with the gun up. If I were a fall hunter I'd use trumpets solely for the kee kee but as a spring hunter I just don't need them. I get more consistency and reliability from friction. They are a cool piece of nostalgia but there's a reason trumpets haven't been the mainstay for the average turkey hunter. They require lots of practice and have a higher opportunity for error. People including myself have romanticized the trumpets as the do all end all of turkey calls. They're not, and the fact is good woodsmanship and experience have a far greater impact on turkey hunting success than the choice of caller in this man's opinion.

poorcountrypreacher · Post by **poorcountrypreacher** » June 28th, 2015, 5:04 pm

I wore a Penn Woods $8 trumpet for decades. I mainly just clucked with it; it makes the best cluck of any call I own. I've killed several hard pressured turkeys with it using nothing but low clucks, and used it some on most turkeys I killed.

I got Alan Sentell to make me a much better trumpet about 5 years ago and have carried it since. It makes much better yelps, but I'm still somewhat inconsistent. When I run it right, it sounds better to me than anything I have.

Unfortunately, the turkeys just don't agree. Even when I run it perfectly I get more response from my other calls. Its probably just incompetence on my part.

USMC0331 · Post by **USMC0331** » June 28th, 2015, 6:05 pm

Three years ago I bought a few trumpets and this past year a couple of wing bones. It took me awhile to be able to make the correct sounds. I started hunting with the trumpets two years ago and the wing bones this year. The only bad thing about them is it has caused me to put all my other calls in the closet. I took a wing bone and a trumpet to Nebraska this year and my hunting buddy brought several of his calls. The only birds that answered, came in or were killed came to the wing bone or trumpet. This is the second year in a row for the trumpet call only the first for the wing bone however the wing bone called in a lot of birds in multiple states this year. For some reason the turkeys will respond to either one if you do your part. I do have some great sounding box, pot, scratch, and tube calls in which case I've killed birds with them but when the weather is rough or the turkeys seem to have the tight lips, a properly used trumpet or wing bone will bring " peace to confusion" as well as the turkeys.

davisd9 · Post by **davisd9** » June 28th, 2015, 8:50 pm

Best piece of advice I can give is by a quality call. Lots of makers make trumpets and wingbones and a lots of those makers shouldn't. Buy a quality trumpet and the learning curve is better. Also, if you decide it is not for you a known maker's trumpet will be easy to sale and you will be able to get what you paid.

Stick to harder woods like Olivewood, Cocobolo, a Blackwood, Osage, etc. Woods that are harder have a better tone.

I am not champion caller on a trumpet or Wingbone but I can call on one an kill with it. As stated, nothing compares to the clucks of a good trumpet/Wingbone.

Sent from the Strut Zone

Waddle Whacker · Post by **Waddle Whacker** » June 28th, 2015, 9:38 pm

Another reason why I like em is because they're different, probably not a sound a turkey hears everyday. Every other guy out there is running a pot or a box. I'll stick to the trumpet and the tube. They're killers. Pretty good combo. Love my KP trumpet.

drenalinld · Post by **drenalinld** » June 29th, 2015, 12:01 am

Trumpet is easier to control for most. The bone mp of wingbone is typically larger and more difficult for most callers to control. If you get a wingbone I suggest a hen bone or goose bone or very small gobbler mp. It takes a lot of skill to control the larger bone mp's.

For me, trumpet and wb clucks are very realistic second only to good scratch box clucks.

ICDEDTURKES · Post by **ICDEDTURKES** » June 29th, 2015, 9:59 am

I think one thing not mentioned is the subtle tree talk. I do not think it can be matched. One hand creating backpressure and it is beautiful.

I do not believe they are the end all be all of turkey calls but they are something that have their place and do not take up pocket space. I am ok on one and I shocked slot of clients with it, many did not even know what it was.

Gobbler · Post by **Gobbler** » June 29th, 2015, 10:46 am

I have 1 wingbone and one wing trumpet combo and 1 trumpet call. This forum is going to make me buy a couple more from the makers that are on here.
Beautiful calls.

Treerooster · Post by **Treerooster** » June 29th, 2015, 2:51 pm

Whats bone mp ?

drenalinld · Post by **drenalinld** » June 29th, 2015, 5:12 pm

mouthpiece

Treerooster · Post by **Treerooster** » June 29th, 2015, 8:18 pm

I believe most wingbone call makers that make a consistently good call modify the mouth piece. So it doesn't matter if the wingbone is from a hen, jake, or gobbler. If you look at the mp on most good wingbones you will see it is not flat like the natural end of a turkey's radius, but more round.

Not saying someone can't make a good wingbone without modifying the mp, but turkey bones vary greatly from one individual to the next. If you have mounted some spurs you can see how variable the dia of the hollow in the bones is. The hollow on some of the spurs I have mounted are twice as big as others. The wing hollows vary also. If one is going to make a consistently good wingbone call I would think some modification of the mp is necessary on most radius or the sound would not be consistent.

The true craftsman modifys the tip so one can hardly tell. Whether they make other modifications to the bones I do not know, but it wouldn't surprise me.

So I do believe a good wingbone call maker can make a nice sounding and relatively easy to operate call same as a trumpet call maker can.

drenalinld · Post by **drenalinld** » June 30th, 2015, 11:37 am

Modified or not in general gobbler bones are larger than jakes and jakes larger than hens with some exceptions of course. I am just talking about the size of the mouthpiece that fits in the lips not the internal dimensions and I understand both can be altered some but the bigger bone mouthpieces are tougher for me to control regardless of internal tuning. Not round vs. flat. I really like the oval or flatter if it is small.

KPcalls · Post by **KPcalls** » June 30th, 2015, 1:54 pm

wiltznucs wrote:I picked up dozens of trumpets over a few years. Got pretty good with them and killed a few birds too. I hung them up about 4 years ago. Too many variables for me. I hunted with a buddy and observed that his clucks sounded an awful lot like putts from a distance. Playing them with cold dry lips was a challenge. Playing them with gloves baffled the sound too. I was never comfortable playing them with the gun up. If I were a fall hunter I'd use trumpets solely for the kee kee but as a spring hunter I just don't need them. I get more consistency and reliability from friction. They are a cool piece of nostalgia but there's a reason trumpets haven't been the mainstay for the average turkey hunter. They require lots of practice and have a higher opportunity for error. People including myself have romanticized the trumpets as the do all end all of turkey calls. They're not, and the fact is good woodsmanship and experience have a far greater impact on turkey hunting success than the choice of caller in this man's opinion.

The main reason they haven't been the main stay is the fact they take more time and effort to learn. Are they a do all ? no call really is. They all have there good points. Just simply another tool. Each type of call has it's strong points....nothing is more versatile than a mouth call...purring on a slate...etc. A little chap stick, no gloves and learning to play with one hand would definitely help....

KPcalls · Post by **KPcalls** » June 30th, 2015, 2:00 pm

davisd9 wrote:Best piece of advice I can give is by a quality call. Lots of makers make trumpets and wingbones and a lots of those makers shouldn't. Buy a quality trumpet and the learning curve is better. Also, if you decide it is not for you a known maker's trumpet will be easy to sale and you will be able to get what you paid.

Stick to harder woods like Olivewood, Cocobolo, a Blackwood, Osage, etc. Woods that are harder have a better tone.

I am not champion caller on a trumpet or Wingbone but I can call on one an kill with it. As stated, nothing compares to the clucks of a good trumpet/Wingbone.

Sent from the Strut Zone

Good advice....When talking woods, do you mean the harder the wood the better the call...? so, Lignum Vitae is the hardest followed by brown ebony and snakewood. I guess these would make the best sounding calls...?

KPcalls · Post by **KPcalls** » June 30th, 2015, 2:03 pm

ICDEDTURKES wrote:I think one thing not mentioned is the subtle tree talk. I do not think it can be matched. One hand creating backpressure and it is beautiful.

I do not believe they are the end all be all of turkey calls but they are something that have their place and do not take up pocket space. I am ok on one and I shocked slot of clients with it, many did not even know what it was.

Amen...Running one with one hand can be somewhat harder to learn, but when used this way the soft calling is very hard to beat. The only time I use two hands is when I'm trying to strike a bird with a wing bone are a trumpet.

KPcalls · Post by **KPcalls** » June 30th, 2015, 2:10 pm

Treerooster wrote:I believe most wingbone call makers that make a consistently good call modify the mouth piece. So it doesn't matter if the wingbone is from a hen, jake, or gobbler. If you look at the mp on most good wingbones you will see it is not flat like the natural end of a turkey's radius, but more round.

Not saying someone can't make a good wingbone without modifying the mp, but turkey bones vary greatly from one individual to the next. If you have mounted some spurs you can see how variable the dia of the hollow in the bones is. The hollow on some of the spurs I have mounted are twice as big as others. The wing hollows vary also. If one is going to make a consistently good wingbone call I would think some modification of the mp is necessary on most radius or the sound would not be consistent.

The true craftsman modifys the tip so one can hardly tell. Whether they make other modifications to the bones I do not know, but it wouldn't surprise me.

So I do believe a good wingbone call maker can make a nice sounding and relatively easy to operate call same as a trumpet call maker can.

What are you talking about....

I true craftsman would only use bones that would build a good call....PERIOD. Actually the flatter the bone the better on all the one's I've built.

GLS · Post by **GLS** » June 30th, 2015, 5:28 pm

The key, to me, of using a yelper is the consistent mp placement on the lips, location and depth. A flat mp with a lip stopper helps me do this. A round mp is okay, but I prefer a flattened mp.

Treerooster · Post by **Treerooster** » June 30th, 2015, 5:47 pm

Talking about a modification to the tip or mouth piece.

L to R Hen...Gobbler...Modified Gobbler

Again, I am not saying a guy can't make a good wingbone call without modification. I believe some do modify the tip so the call plays easier and sounds good though. When I mentioned craftsman, I was just saying a good call maker can modify the tip and make it look natural.

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