What is your favorite open reed hand call?

Rick's Syco Tweety is my favorite production open reed distress call, far and away. As most people might notice from my other posts, I prefer a closed reed call, but the sounds I can make on a Syco Tweety (or a twisted syco, although I still prefer the smaller Syco) are phenomenal. If you watch any of Rick's videos using the split reed Syco's, you can see how he plays them either as a raspy split reed, OR plays them one reed at a time for different sounds. VERY VERY efficient open reed distress calls with great volume AND pitch range. A little too high for howls, although I can work out some female vocals on my twisted syco, and both can make fairly convincing barks.

For a production howler, it's hard to beat the primos hotdog, or lil dog set for value. I keep a hotdog hanging on my rear-view mirror so I'll always have a locator handy, and at its price, I'm not too worried about exposure to heat or rough conditions.

Tally-Ho (available through Rhino calls) open reed calls are also a standard for any predator caller. I'd venture that every caller should have one.

Tony Tebbe's open reed calls are also very popular. I don't have one myself, but the buzz I hear is that I SHOULD have one. Soon hopefully...

Custom makers are an entirely different ball-game. I have Kerry Carver (carvercalls) open reed on the way, which I have high hopes for. I also have a Brad Gainey open reed (TNYotehunter) which is phenomenal, and looks every bit as good as it plays. I also have the more "utilitarian" custom calls from Crack, including open reed "cat crack" = high distress, "dog crack" = lower distress and some higher dog vocals, and "crack howler" = barks/howls & some mid-low distress. The Crack Howler is my go-to open reed howler besides the Primos calls, and the Gainey open reed makes me wish it wasn't such a show-piece so I could warrant keeping it on the lanyard full-time!
 
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By the way, on the other side of the coin...

Without trying to step on anyone's toes here, I am incredibly sad that I spent money on any of the mossback calls (have 4 of them), and the Foxpro (now dillon) Skyote. Terrible sounds, pure "plastic" tone, not much versatility, poor volume range, and terrible efficiency (tons of air to get much volume). I'm not terribly impressed by the open reed Verminators Alienator either, although the other Verminator calls (thumper, tweety, long range tweety, syco, twisted syco, and the new closed reed Stryker) are all tops in my book.

If I were to limit myself to ONLY having 2 open reed production calls (1 distress and 1 howler), I'd get a Verminators Syco Tweety and a Primos Hotdog, have less than $30 into it, and be able to draw in dogs all day long.
 
If I was going to confine myself to one call, it would be Tony Tebbe's orange call, the Cyanide Extreme.

Pick up his whole set, available here, and you'll never really want for another call. That's not to say you won't buy more, you just won't absolutely need 'em.
 
I would have to say the Tally-ho.I bought it mainly because Blair mentioned it so often in his book I figured it had to be pretty good.The fact that I got my first coyote with it doesn't hurt either.
 
My favorite call is Verminators Tweety. I have had it for quite a while and have called in a lot of coyotes with it. I also have a couple from SeanE on this forum that I really like so far but haven't used them alot yet.
 
My two all-time favorite open reed hand calls are my TT Extreme and Carver's Rabid Rabbit. I use other open reed models, but those two can do anything I need on a stand and where I spend 80% of my lip time on.

Tony
 
If im limited to one or not the TT overdose "the red one" goes on every stand with me. Its the most versatile and easiest call to master ive ever owned bar none. IMHO the most underrated unspoken of call out there.
 
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I haven't tried one of Tony's calls yet (need to order one), that aside my favorite is the Red Desert Howler. A lot of good noise can come from that one call.
 
The TT Extreme has been an extremely productive call for me. I've not blown a more productive call. It's easier to blow too than some others. I think I've gone thru 3, I keep losing the dang things. I need to order like 5 of them and be done with it for a few years. Fantastic call.
 
Well here my .02

I have bought a few Foxpro calls and Primos (I think I don't remember exactly) from Cabela's

They were junk. Couldn't get a good sound out of them.

Now I just ordered Carver's Rubber Calls set and am stoked to try them out. I would suggest looking to them!
 
IMHO, all of the above-mentioned calls are great calls, except the Hot Dog. I just have never been impressed with it.
In fact, I have every one of those "great" calls, except the Tally-Ho. (just haven't got one yet.)

I want to stress that IMHO, there are SEVERAL GREAT call makers out there in this world.
Some have reputations that preceed them.
Others, well, unless you are a member here, you probably never have heard of them.
That being said, I mean NO disrespect to anyone, if I don't include your name or your call in my list.

If I'm not limited to just a single o-reed distress call, then, in my top 5 are......

#1) My cowhorn-bodied version of the discontinued TT "Feline Frenzy".
{The call was a "collaboration" between TT & myself, when I fist started making calls.}
It has been, hands-down, my most productive call over the past 17 years.

#2) A TT 1-pc cowhorn tip.

#3) The ArkyYoter (Joe Bradshaw) "Screamin' Demon".

#4) The Verminator "Syco Tweety".

#5) A RR Calls (bearmanric, ie: Rick Robbins) distress call using his RR1 toneboard.
(IMO type of body doesn't matter.)


Now, if you want to throw howlers into the mix...my top 5 fave howlers are......

#1) Hands-down, the "Frenzy" Pup howler that is made by NCK Predator Calls.
It is a call that is "dedicated" to YOY howls/vocals.
And the shorter-bodied ones, if a guy isn't opposed to using both hands to manipulate the backpressure, will also do excellent prey distress sounds.
{I do apologize if it appears I'm tooting my own horn. I'm just giving my opinion, which was the topic of this thread.LOL}

#2) A TT 1-pc horn howler...or any howler hand-made by Tony.

IMHO, (in my mind at least), there probably would be a tie between #3, #4, and #5.
So, in no certain order......

Any howler made by RR Calls (bearmanric)

Any howler made by Kerry Carver.

The "normal" female-voiced, cowhorn howler made by NCK, which utilizes either the RR2 toneboard, or the 1-5/8" Executioner toneboard & a hand-cut .010" mil reed.
 
Rudy makes some awesome sounding calls (badtothebone)
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. As does Will ( NCK.)
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The old Backstabber from Kettle Creek is good also.
 
I've upped my success exponentially with Tony's production set. Great calls. They're easy to master and cover every sound you really need. Carver's rabid rabbit is also great sounding and easy to use. I'd really like to try one of his rubber calls.

I tried a tally-ho after these others and it was just too hard to blow and get a decent sound out of.
 
If I had to choose I prefer the verminator long range Gareth as my number 1 and the verminators thumped as number 2 but I need to get me some of those TT calls and give em a whirl!!!!!
 
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