How to use a box call: a first-season guide to the yelp, cluck, cut and purr

If you are going to learn one call before your first spring, make it a box call. It is the most forgiving of the hand-held turkey calls: on our published rubric only push-button calls score higher for learning curve, and Knight & Hale describes its HD Long Range Hen box as “easy to use, making it a great option for beginners.” Everything below comes from the makers' own instructions (Knight & Hale, Lynch, Phelps, Primos) and the National Wild Turkey Federation. We haven't run or heard these calls ourselves; we point you to the people who build them.

How to use a box call: the steps at a glance

1. Check the chalk. A traditional wood box wants a light coat of chalk on the underside of the paddle. Waterproof boxes don't (see the care section).
2. Hold it lightly. Grip the bottom of the box with your thumb and fingers, and hold the paddle between thumb and forefinger (NWTF).
3. Keep the paddle on the lip. Most box sounds never lift the paddle off the side (Lynch).
4. Yelp: slide the paddle across the lip in longer strokes, one after another (Knight & Hale).
5. Cluck: pop the paddle off the lip with short strokes (Knight & Hale).
6. Cut: cluck over and over in fast bursts (Knight & Hale).
7. Purr: slide the paddle slowly with very little downward pressure (Knight & Hale).
8. Practice soft calling most. The NWTF says soft, subtle sounds take more skill than loud ones.

The parts of a box call

A box call is a hollow wooden box with a pivoting lid on top. Makers use two words for that lid: Knight & Hale calls it the paddle, and Lynch calls it the lid. The thin top edges of the box sides are what the paddle rubs against. Knight & Hale calls that edge the lip, and Lynch calls the side the sounding board. Some boxes also have a rubber band from the body to the lid (Lynch's Fool Proof “requires one band”), and some have a tuning screw. Phelps's own instructions for its boxes say to turn the screw counterclockwise a quarter turn for deeper tones and clockwise a quarter turn for sharper, higher pitches. Only adjust a screw if your maker's instructions say to.

Two-sided boxes have a playing edge on each side, and Primos says each side of its Waterboard produces “different tones.” That is a bonus later on, but for your first weeks, pick one side and learn it.

Step 1: Hold it lightly

The NWTF's Brian Lovett gives the grip plainly in his article on fixing friction calling: “Grip the bottom of the call lightly with your thumb and fingers, and hold the paddle between your thumb and forefinger or index and middle finger.” Then: “Keep the paddle pressed to the sound board, even when you're drawing back the paddle to call. Then, use just enough pressure to produce a whistle.”

Note the words “just enough.” You are after the lightest pressure that still makes a clean note, not the most pressure you can put on the lid.

Step 2: The yelp

The yelp is the basic hen sound and the one you'll use most. Knight & Hale's instruction for its HD Long Range Hen: “Slide the paddle across the body's lip in longer strokes in succession.” Lynch describes each note of the yelp as one fast stroke, pulling the lid very softly ¾ in to 1 in across the side.

Put those together and a yelp is a string of short pulls of about ¾ in to 1 in each, with the paddle staying in contact the whole time. What a yelp means to a turkey, and when a hen uses it, is covered in turkey calls and what they mean.

Step 3: The cluck and the cut

The cluck is the main sound where the paddle leaves the box. Lynch's instructions say: “Most of the calls made on a box require the lid never leaving the surface of the sounding board (side). The cluck and some variations of the cackle are the only calls that require the lid to move away from the side of the box.”

• Cluck: Knight & Hale says to “pop the paddle off the body's lip with short strokes.” Lynch sizes the stroke at ¼ in, made very softly with a lifting motion.
• Cut (cutting): “Cluck repeatedly in fast numerous bursts,” per Knight & Hale.

Step 4: The purr and the soft calls

Knight & Hale's purr: “Slowly slide the paddle across the body with little downward pressure.” Lynch adds two soft calls built on the same light touch:

• Whine: one very low, soft stroke of about 1 in, combined with 2 to 3 clucks.
• Tree call: 2 to 3 very, very soft strokes of about ¼ in to ½ in.

These are the sounds Lovett means when he writes: “Lots of folks can hammer on friction calls, but it takes more skill to produce soft, subtle whines, whistles, purring, clucking and yelping.”

Cackles and other box call sounds

Once the yelp, cluck and purr feel natural, Lynch's published box call instructions give stroke counts for the rest:

Gobbling on a box call (and why to be careful)

Some boxes can gobble. Knight & Hale's method for the HD Long Range Hen: “Wrap a rubber band around the paddle and rest of the box call, then hold the body with the handle facing upward and shake the call back and forth without touching the lid.” Primos includes a Gobble Band with its Hook Up box for the same job.

How to practice

When you take it to the woods, how much and how loud to call is its own skill. Our guide to how often to call turkeys covers timing and cadence, and how to call a turkey for beginners shows where the box fits alongside a slate and a mouth call.

Box call chalk, sanding and care

Traditional wood boxes need chalk. Lynch tells owners to keep “the underside of the lid well chalked with nontoxic oil-free dust chalk.” Lovett adds how to clean up buildup: “If chalk builds up on the sound boards and paddle surface, use fine sandpaper to wipe away excess. Then, reapply a light coating of chalk to the paddle but not the boards.” Primos's instruction is a little broader: “An occasional light sanding in addition to chalking the wood contact surfaces” with its wax-free chalk. Phelps says to keep “a nice thin layer of chalk on the friction surfaces” and, in capitals, “Keep the box DRY!”

• Pre-chalked boxes such as the Knight & Hale HD Long Range Hen and WoodHaven Real Hen are ready to use out of the package, per their makers. You'll re-chalk them over time; the NWTF says to “re-chalk your box as the need arises.”
• Waterproof boxes are different. Quaker Boy says its Hurricane “never needs sanding or chalking.” Follow your own maker's instructions.
• Cleaning: the NWTF's Steve Hickoff removes “excess chalk, oils and dirt with a little water or rubbing alcohol,” and stores collectible boxes with “a piece of tissue or soft cloth between box and paddle.”
• Heat and bands: Lynch says to replace rubber bands with size #18 when they lose stretch and to keep the call away from excessive moisture and heat: “do not leave on the dash of a vehicle for extended periods of time.”

Box calls in the rain

Moisture is the one thing every box maker here warns about: Phelps says to keep the box dry, and Lynch says to protect the call from excessive moisture. The NWTF's troubleshooting advice: “When rain threatens, switch to a waterproof box, or take a tip from old-timers who kept their boxes in bread sacks or plastic bags.” It also suggests a friction-call kit in your vest with box-call chalk, sealed “in a Ziplock bag to avoid moisture.”

Several makers build for this. ESH says the coating on its All Weather box “keeps you calling in rain or shine,” Primos says the Waterboard “works wet or dry,” and Quaker Boy calls the Hurricane waterproof. If you hunt wet springs, that claim is worth paying attention to.

What to look for in a box call to learn on

• Published technique. A maker that tells you how to make each sound (Knight & Hale lists five on the product page) gives you a starting point.
• A weather claim, if you hunt in rain. Without one, treat the box as a keep-it-dry call.
• Ready out of the box. Pre-chalked or no-chalk designs remove a step on day one.
• One voice before two. A two-sided box with different tones is more to learn at first.
• A quiet way to carry it. Some makers include a silencer strap (WoodHaven Real Hen) or a paddle that detaches “for silent carry” (Primos Hook Up), and our rubric gives a box credit for either, or for a published lid band.

Box calls to learn on (and the chalk to keep them sounding right)

The ESH scores 0.8 higher than the Knight & Hale on our rubric, mostly for its weather claim. If you hunt dry country and like having the maker's technique at hand, the Knight & Hale is the simpler buy. For the full field, including magnetic, three-position and waterproof boxes, see our picks: the best box calls. Ready for a second friction call? Our guide to how to use a slate call uses the same light touch.