“Speech is silver, silence is golden.” ~Proverb
Here’s a quick one for you that I was thinking about the other day since my turkey season just opened a week or so ago.
Take a look at the thing in the picture at the top of this article. I’m sure you’re familiar with it.
It’s a turkey box call. They’re great because they’re easy to learn how to use, there’s a small learning curve (as opposed to mouth calls), and they can be used to replicate a wide range of turkey calls, such as yelps and cutts.
Box calls are not, however, without their drawbacks.
But for one of these, I have a quick and affordable solution.
The Problem: Unauthorized Turkey Talk
It isn’t that they don’t work in the rain. It isn’t that you need both hands to use them, which means you can’t have your gun at the ready when calling.
It’s that these things talk when they’re in your vest.
Take a stroll through the woods with a box call in your vest pocket and you will sound like a lonely hen.
And they are loud.
It’s not just annoying. When you’re trying to get out to your stand before the sun comes up, you’re not doing yourself any favors by letting your box call sound off, unhinged.
There’s a reason we wear full camo when we’re in the turkey woods. It’s so the birds don’t bust us. Making extra noise can bust you too.
Therefore it serves your discretion to keep a lid on your box call, literally and figuratively.
You can get one of these “Lock Jaw” box call silencers online from Primos for like $5.
That sounds like a deal. Truly, $5 isn’t too much, and they probably work really well.
But I have a much cheaper and equally effective solution.
The Solution: Hair Ties
I used to have really long hair. I wore it in a ponytail. For that, I needed hair ties.
They’re a dollar or so for like thirty at basically any big box retailer or dollar store. That’s a lot cheaper than $5, no matter how you slice it, and you get a whole bunch for that price.
You’ll need two of them.
Open the box call, slide one on so that it sits between the lid and box, then slide another over both to keep the lid in place.
The hair tie on the bottom creates a barrier between the lips of the box and the lid, preventing it from any unauthorized talking.
And, while it may not be quite as convenient as one of those pre-fab turkey call silencers, I guarantee it does just as good a job for a fraction of the price.
The choice is yours. Cash in on a commercialized box call silencer or go find a few hair ties.
Be safe.
~The Eclectic Outfitter