I am happy to see another turkey hunter starting out. I use a slate call, Mouth call, and a box call. The box call is probably the eiser call to use. You Just have to find the speed and pressure. It also Depends on what call you are trying to produce I.E. Purr , yelp, cluck, ki-ki run... the slate call is similare you strike a slate with a striker so on and so fourth. The moth call is a good call hands free can do every call with it, harder to master though. If you have expirence with mouth calls pick up a turkey mouth call and watch a turkey hunting video find the sound and practice. Good luck and have fun!!! Any questions feel free to ask.

CODY

I'd recommend a box call. I have a whole drawer full of various turkey calls and have used them all at one point or another. The past few seasons I've pretty much settled into a system where I use a box call to get their attention then switch to an assortment of mouth (diaphram) calls once they're getting close.

It seems like the quality of all turkey calls has really improved over the past 10 or so years, but the box is easy to use and with some practice you can learn to make just about any turkey sound you want with it.

I'd also recommend that you get a hen decoy. You can call them in without decoying, but I've definitely gotten closer to more birds by decoying along with calling. You can get about as elaborate as you want with decoys, but I've always found that a single hen works just as well as a spread.

Spring turkey hunting is some of the most fun hunting you'll find. Good luck.

I'm also new to hunting, but I've been reading that decoy's are ddangerous because people see a turkey and shoot first and ask questions later. As far as calls, I've read that one call may work here but not there, now but not later. Well I spent $100 on a bunch of calls for this spring season. Though I'm betting I won't get a bird on my first hunt.

Wow! $100! You guys are making this way more difficult than it has to be. Every call out there will work you just have to get good with it. Practice, practice , practice.
All you really need is about $20, go to wal mart, buy a mouth call and get a cheap box call. Where I live you can pick one up at a yard sale for about $4. Now that you've got these two calls, you will have more than enough to be successful. Get good with both of 'em, rent a hunting movie and check out what works for the pros, then try to imitate the sounds. The cool thing about a mouth call is it fits in your're pocket so you can take it with you. Practice in the car, at school, sing hyms with it at church, get comfortable with it so you know exactly what sound is going to come out when you want it to.

Dont call to much when youre in the woods, every 10 mins tops if you dont hear or see anything.

as a beginner i would definitely start with a box call. easy to get the sound you want, but need to work up to mouth calls. takes alot of practice but you can't beat a hands free call. if you don't get the sound you want or any sound when first using your mouth calls, stick with it. it took me for ever to figure that thing out. helps to get a video to help you along deciding which call to make when. good luck!!

Thats all good advice. Only down side is the Wally worlds out here don't carry crap for hunting. I have a hard time finding shotgun shells sometimes. I live in Silicon Valley where the average home price is $725k and everyone drives an H2 with 20" wheels. Walmarts here cater to the poor not the country folk.

I was thinking box call, and I will prolly go with that and the mouth call. Keep'em comin. You can never have too much information!!!! Thanks to you all!

well I got some of my calls today; the crow, owl, a free mouth call and th shaker gobbler. The gobbler doesn't quite sound like a gobble though, seems a little rough. Like it's got a cold or something. The mouth call is going to take some practice, The crow & owl sound a tad off too. But they drive my dog crazy which is fun to watch.

what species are you hunting in CA? why do you think you won't get one this season, are they scarce? where did you end up getting your calls from? I wasn't aware your wal marts didn't carry hunting supplies. ouch! if you wanted you could check them out online, but if you're going on line to shop you might as well check out Cabela's or Bass Pro.

I had a buddy that used the gobble call as his main call. Guess what he still hasn't shot a turkey even though turkey are everywhere here. I only use that gobble call as a locater when the crow or owl call don't work.

Good Luck! If you ever stumble into KS during spring season I'd be glad to show you some turkeys.

Well I have a friend who has been hunting for a while, (not sure how long) and he's never bagged one. There are merriam's and some rio here. The issue is lack of legal places to hunt. I'm going to have to travel at least 2 hours, so I won't be able to scout at all.