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Pot Call Maintenance
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3/31/2010
Slate calls have been helping hunters fool turkeys since the late 1800s. JJ Reich details four simple maintenance steps to keep them fooling those thunder chickens for another hundred years.
by JJ Reich
Step 1: Breaking in Your Turkey Call
Brand new pot-and-peg calls won’t work perfect right away. To break in your pot call, rough up the surface and repeat regularly while using the call. For slate surfaces, use a flat kitchen-scouring pad (such as a green Scotch-Brite). For harder materials, use sharp 50-80 grit sandpaper, a piece of course metal screen (drywall sanding screen), or a sharpening stone. Slowly move from left to right, so the rough area on the slate runs horizontally. This way, when you pull the striker up and down the call (vertically), the ridges in the striker tip can slide across ridges in the calling surface, creating reliable vibrations and producing authentic turkey sounds.
