Crow Busters Forum

Zed,

A pretty good "cheap" call would be Mallardtone and Faulk they both sound pretty good.

The next calls look a lot better, they use more figured wood, they are the Mincey and Gibson crow calls. There prices vary so you can check that out at the Crowmart Store. Here is a photo of a Mincey call in the field.

Bob A.

Hello Ulli,

As far as sound quality goes you could choose either of those call makers, they both sound very good. As to which model Gibson I would choose I really can't say, perhaps some of the other members have some input as to which models they prefer.

Mincey only makes one model and it has a wooden mouthpiece which I happen to like a lot.

Bob A.

Oh, what about the durability of wooden mouthpieces? Do they need extra care? What about moisture?

Zedd,

I just like the feel of a wooden mouthpiece over plastic, thats why I favor the Mincey and Mallardtone calls; Faulk and Lohman make decent crow calls as well.

Bob A.

Ulli,

Either mouthpiece (wood or plastic) can have the reed stick in colder weather if you do not control the amount of saliva in your mouth while blowing into the call. In cold weather it's not a bad idea to keep one call inside your jacket while using call # 1. Then if your # 1. call starts to have the reed stick just blow through the mouthpiece sideways to clear the excess saliva out of the mouthpiece. Then put call # 1 inside your jacket to let it dry out and use call # 2 while call # 1 is resting.

Bob A.

Hi Ulli,

I've been using Mallardtone and Mincey calls for many years and never had a problem with either of them. About the only way you can mess up a call with a wooden mouthpiece is to be standing in the pouring rain. This will swell the wood and you don't want that.

The Gibson calls sound good as well with the plastic mouthpieces, I own a couple of them but I prefer a wooden mouthpiece myself.

Bob A.

Thank you all, your help is really appreciated!
So a Mincey it shall be. How about availability? I am trying to get a few friends to order with me.
How much notice should I give when ordering 4 or 5 gibsons and minceys?
Best regards,
Zeddicus

Excellent ;)

the plastic haydells' is my favorite. I cna imitae virtually all teh crow calls on this baby. keep aspare. it is easy to clean afield too. I love the otehr wooden oen sbut for low tones use a lohman and it is wooden. My former favroite call for crows was the "Falks"...but believe it or not ti depends upon where you are hunting. Don't want the "echo" use a wooden one. the lohmans' best call to use  for me was but a few   typical crow calls. It made sure they weren'too high pitched. Hint: try more than one and carry more than one. i have a handful. But master one style.  why? because the style you use on one call won't work as good on another and it is indeed that critical-just ask. one day my plastic call -a then pS OLt wasn't performing well. I switched to a wooden one-the faulks'-my first favorite all around call and -BINGO_they responded to that one!

 hint: resist the urge to blow your crow call like a horn. people I watched and tried to teach  could not blow it right. they always try to sound like that crow on Hee Haw. I don't know why but so it goes:"CAW-CAW-CAW!" I suppose it works but i never did it like that. Most of the time you will find yourself biting gently on the mouth piece for good effect...cup your hand about the horn of the call but do not cover it up..try aseries of "ugh-ugh-ugh"...that is the best i can  write it without being there. not really hard but gently. You want your throat to growl a little tiny bit when you blow the call. It is the toughest call I ever heard of  to master. by contrast blowing a duck call was ridiculously easy. go afield and imitate what you hear but be careful here too. You imitate that"get out of dodge fast call" and whle you will sound like  a crow  they will book for the next county.

try differetn calls as I did to find the best. Again-for me it si the haydells. it is not one of the loudest but the best period. At least for me. I have others that come really close but still 2nd best: H.S. Calls ..I love this call....black plastic. Has pS OLt beat 9 ways to sunday.Primos is marginal for a beginner. only an expert should screw with it. And that's me. You have got to plan some time practising crow calls before you even go afield or you will sound like a sick raven. But if all you have is a pS Olt dont' worry-this is the one i taught myself on.

 But as soon as you master that one-haydells is the only way to go. It is a clear plastic call. want to have some fun? master  any crow call but talk to yourself;you can actually sound like two crows talking to yourself-another trick of the trade. one lower pitched than the other but using two different what i call 'Question and answer" crow talk. I have heard it many many times. yes it works very well. But that is my secret.

happy hunting!

@ Motiondecoy, thanks for your reply. At present I am using the haydels as my favourite, I think its excellent value for money. It's tuned kust like I want it.

But I really enjoy using different calls. At the moment I use three different calls, all three produce different sounds. I also apply different technique when "blowing" the calls, Itry to mix it up a bit and it works. I want to get two ore thre more calls just for mixing it up and because I get a kick out of mastering them. I'll get the minceys and an old lohman, maybe, if I can get my hand on it an old mallardtone. I want the gibson just because it gets good reviews and because, well, I want it ;) only trouble is the shipping cost to germany. I need an address in the us, so I have to wait for my aunt to go back (she's visiting in germany at the moment)...

My biggest challenge is continuing the call while reloading ;)

Best Regards,
Zedd

Hi Bob,
I've seen the offers and will get that cd of yours. But what about the two gibsons? Is the deluxe version different other than in looks?
Regarding the mallardtone - i read good things about it. Is the new one as good as the old? I am not sure about championship calls... Mr Robinsons question about competitions springs to my mind: " Could a duck win it?" :)
Regards,
Ulli

All right then, the regular one then ;) I prefer the look of it anyway :)

Regarding orderin: I've sent you guys an email regarding joining your club online as I dont want to send a letter... Can you check if you received it or if my email provider is acting up again....

Many thanks for your help guys! Christmas is saved ;)

Regards,
Ulli

Ok, thanks Bob.

The Nordic Crow call is very good, low, and very raspy. It does have a penchant to salivate solid quite quickly, but is easy to dry with a tissue as the mouthpiece is large.
The Gibson call is like Sam Neyts, almost identical sound, but not as loud as Sams call.

Yep, skip sent me one ( I sent skip a Sam Neyt to try too) and the sound of the Gibson is almost identical, except not as loud as Sam Neyts call.

No idea, just the standard one I think. Like I said, the sound is identical to Sam Neyts, just about half the volume (about the difference between SAMs standard crow call and the MID call he makes). I use 5 different mouth calls, the Gibson, the standard neyt crow, the MID, the Nordic, and the ACME plastic caller. All work to some degree, with the MID and the Nordic being the best.