Home made Calls

[Rob]

http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smiley-wavin-yel.gif Hi! long time no talk guys. I finally ran across my login and password. I had a question for you being that you guys are the kings of home made stuff http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smiley-king.gif . I was wondering if any of you have made your own hand predator calls? I was thinking about giving it a try. But was interested in info on reeds.

[Bald Eagle]

Yes, I have. I don&#39;t have any plans or pics but I can tell you they are simple to make and they work as well, if not better, than the store bought ones.

For a while my hunting and fishing buddies would gather out at my farm on weekends and we would sit around sometimes and work on our hunting clothes or make stuff. We&#39;ve made many tree stands, fishing lures, targets, ground blinds, shooting benches, etc.

To make a rabbit or squirrel squeaker you can start out with hardwood dowel rods. I used 3/8" and 1 1/4" for the reed holder and the main body. Actually I used a Bass Pro call as a go-by example and just whittled until I got close. I used several pieces of cane until I got a reed design that worked. In no time at all you can refine your techniques until you&#39;re an old pro at it. One of my best ones has a very tiny piece of fire-cured ash for the reed. It&#39;s sweet.

As you get into it, you&#39;ll realize how easy it is to make all sorts of calls just by adjusting the size of the reed and reed holder. I guess between the five guys that I hang around with we have made over 30 different calls in the past 6 or 8 years.

Give it a try - it&#39;s fun. You&#39;ll cut your fingers for sure when you get your reeds thin enough to work well. Have fun..