Hi, Josh Wells here, of N1 Outdoors, and I’m going to show you step-by-step how to make a wingbone turkey call!
Why Make A Wingbone Turkey Call?
You might want to make a wingbone turkey call for a couple different reasons.
Practically speaking, you might want to use one to locate turkeys (sounds logical, doesn’t it?)
The fan and beard of a gobbler are prized possessions for a turkey hunter, but the wings can provide what is needed for a DIY turkey call!
Now, I’m not crazy about using one to call turkeys (I prefer a mouth call, pot call or box call). And, while a wingbone turkey calls will work to call birds, I prefer using it to locate birds because of its high pitch.
Secondly, you might want to make a wingbone call for a keepsake, which is why I’ll be showing you how to do this process.
I’m making one for my son Micah, as a way to commemorate his first turkey.
What You’ll Need
You don’t need much in the way of supplies to make your own wingbone turkey call.
Before we get into the specific steps of making a wingbone turkey call, here’s what you’ll need to get started:
The process of making a wingbone call is similar in some regards to another instructional I have done on how to make a European mount for a deer skull. But, the cleanup is a lot easier and the boiling takes less time.
Time needed: 4 hours
Cut the large bone
When you cut the big bone, you want to cut it right about here and at an angle (see above). We want that end to be as wide as possible so it will project the sound effectively.
Clean out the inside of the bones (smaller bones)
You can get the marrow out several different ways. Once easy way is just to blow it out like a straw. Just pretend like you’re blowing spit balls like you used to in elementary school.
You can use a chainsaw file and insert it into the bone to remove the hardened marrow.
Clean out the inside of the bones (large bone)
You’ll notice how the larger bone has much more that needs to be cleaned out. You can work at it with the same chainsaw file. If you have a Dremel or similar tool, you can work on removing the marrow fiber that way.
Piece the bones together and mark
Piece the bones together so that they follow the same crown line and mark the ends of each, so that when you take them apart to glue them, you’ll know how they go back together.
Glue the bones together
Use epoxy or other adhesive to glue the joints of the wingbones together.
Once you fit the glued pieces together, backfill any holes or creases so that the joints are airtight. The sound will be better, the more airtight it is.
You can use your finger to smooth out the adhesive.
Let them dry according to adhesive directions. Once it dries, you can lightly sand any undesired leftover adhesive residue.
Apply thread to joints (optional)
You don’t have to use thread on the joints, but it does give it a nice touch. Add a touch of adhesive and simply start wrapping around the joint until you reach the desired thickness/appearance.
Once you have finished wrapping, you can add some clear adhesive, so that it saturates the threaded section, hardens, and keeps the thread securely in place once it dries.
Final Thoughts On Making Your Own Wingbone Turkey Call
We hope this tutorial has been helpful in teaching you how to make your own wingbone turkey call. They not only make great keepsakes to remember special moments, but they are functional as well.
Be sure to check out more great hunting and fishing tips videos on our YouTube channel!
Bow hunting is a fun and adventurous way to hunt wild game. Many who have experienced success at it will tell you that there’s nothing quite like it.
Whether you are looking for information on bow hunting for beginners or even a seasoned veteran, we’ve got some helpful bow hunting tips to help you in your quest to become a better bow hunter.
There’s lots to learn with bowhunting. Below are 10 tips that will help you become better at harvesting an animal with the stick and string!
Bowhunting Tips Overview
Don’t worry, we’ll get to bowhunting tactics further down, but some of the best bowhunting tips are the ones that you learn before the hunt.
Tips 1-5 will prepare you in a way so that you can have the confidence to make a great shot when it counts the most.
Tip #s 6-10 will focus on tips and strategies to help put you in a position to hopefully punch your tag on your target animal.
Check out the FIVE archery video tips below to get valuable information on how you can be sure you have an arrow that’s “Just Pass’N Through!”
Bow Hunting Tips: #1 – Bow Maintenance | Avoid Freak Accidents Like This One…
When you see this freak archery accident, you’ll want to learn what you can do to help prevent the possibility of it ever happening to you.
Bow hunting is more than just flinging arrows. bow maintenance checks in the off-season, as well as before your hunt, are an extremely important part of being sure you are able to bow hunt safely and avoiding injury.
In the first of our bow hunting tips, we’ve got details on how to do preventative bow maintenance, so you can avoid unnecessary accidents like this one when shooting your bow…
If you watched the above video, you’ll understand why bow maintenance is an important part of bow hunting.
Some of you are shooting your bow year round, but some of you put it into storage during the off season and because the temperatures can change in those environments, it’s very important to check bowstrings cables as well as your limbs before shooting.
Here are some things you should check before you shoot your bow:
Be sure before every shoot that you check your strings and your cables for any signs of wear or fraying. Anything like that can be a potential for a broken string or cable during a hunt just like in the video above.
Be sure you check your limbs very carefully. You want to be sure there’s no signs of splintering, bubbling, or cracking. Extreme temperatures and sometimes even storage can cause limbs to weaken. And, you don’t want to have one of those limbs be damaged or break during a shoot.
Be sure all your screws and any bolts are tightened properly, so that you don’t have any of your accessories loose during a shoot.
Check your cams. Be sure you don’t have any nics or cuts that would affect your string in any way, whether it be to cause a fraying or a cutting of the string, or else damage to a cam, where your string may actually even come off the track.
Be sure your rest is aligned properly.
Check cam rotation and be sure the cams are not warped and that they both reach letoff at the same exact time.
If you are not sure how to check the above items, we recommend you take to your local bow shop and have them look for you and inspect that, so that you can have the best chance of a safe shoot.
Tip #2 – Blind Bale Shooting [Improve Your Archery Technique]
In this N1 Minute archery tips video, learn how closing your eyes can be the best way to see results in your archery and bow hunting technique.
Stand back a few feet from a large target. Draw back and locate your target. Close your eyes and shoot. This drill will help grip, form, anchor point and release techniques. Put all these techniques together N1, and you’ll be seeing the results soon.
Tip #3 – Aim Small Miss Small [Improve Your Accuracy]
In the third of our bow hunting tips videos, 3D archery tournament shooter, Cole Honstead, shows you a “small” tip that could help you BIG during hunting season!
Tip #4 – Hunting Stances Can Make Or Break A Bow Hunt [So, Know Them All!]
In the below N1 Minute archery tips video, learn about various stances that can help you in all types of bow hunting scenarios.
For those of you who have bow hunted any amount of time, you know that some things can happen during a hunt that simple target practice can’t prepare you for. The video above will show you some archery tips to help you be best prepared when your moment of truth comes.
Hunting stances can be used for everything from spot and stalk hunts in the West to using blinds and tree stands in the east.
For tree stand hunting, try your best to get to the elevated position. This is as simple as finding the hill and using the bed of a pick-up.
For spot and stalk hunts, try practicing using incline and decline slopes. When shooting from a blind, you’d better get used to sitting in a chair or kneeling position.
Practicing these stances throughout the off season will give you that confidence for a shot of a lifetime.
Tip #5: Off-Season Bow Practice [You’ll Hunt Like You Practice]
In this N1 Minute, learn some bow hunting tips on how to to keep your archery skills polished and sharp during the off-season so that you can maintain proper archery form.
You know for us bow hunters, this is the time of year that we practice and practice for. But what about when the season’s over? How do you keep your skills sharp?
Here’s a simple tip to keep those muscles active after hunting season and all it takes is a simple exercise band.
So many hunters put away their bows, after the fall, through winter, until turkey season. With, one of these exercise bands, you can practice your draw cycle throughout the winter and make that first draw in the spring a little easier.
Simply grasp one end of the band with your front hand and with your drawing hand, pull the band back to your anchor point. Repeat this ten to fifteen times and then switch hands. This will work both your back and shoulders. A few sets of this draw cycle exercise a day, and you’ll be ready to hit the mark on your next 3D shoot or Spring turkey hunt.
Tip #6: Guessing Is Gambling [Scout Instead!]
Everyone has things going on in life. Whether it’s work, family or other obligations, sometimes it’s hard to make time to scout. Then, before you know it, deer season sneaks up on you and you find yourself scrambling to grab your bowhunting gear and get in a tree or blind.
Or, maybe you’re just tempted to get in the same stand you always hunt and hope for the best.
Sure, there’s always a story of this happening… but the reality is you need to put in the work before the season ever starts to increase your chances of taking a deer or other game.
Don’t gamble when you bowhunt. Scout prior to the hunt so you can put yourself in a position to be successful.
Basic trailcams have become much less expensive in recent years, so save your pennies and get a couple of these helpful scouting tools and place them overlooking scrapes or on know travel corridors to and from bedding and food sources. Y
Trail cam pictures can you give you insight into deer patterns and how they coincide to time of day, time of year, weather and food/water source availability. This will help you make decisions on where to hang that deer stand or blind.
As discussed in our earlier tips, having properly functioning equipment and being proficient with it is critical. However, it can all be for nothing if you don’t practice scent control.
You will be hunting deer and other animals on their home turf. They have the upper hand and their noses are a big reason why.
Not only are the deer at an advantage – but you’re bowhunting – so, you need to be able to get much closer to the animal than you would if you were rifle hunting.
So, the bottom line is that you need to smell as little like – well, YOU – as possible!
Don’t give a deer’s nose a reason to tell it to run away. Make every effort to be as scent-free as possible.
There are plenty of scent-free and scent-control soaps and detergents available at your local sporting goods store. You can also wash your clothes in baking soda. Then, store your clothes in a scent free bag or container.
On the day of your hunt, avoid coming in contact with any scent that would smell unnatural to a deer’s nose. Yes, that means you might need to skip the steaming hot sausage biscuit run or the pre-hunt cigarette before the hunt.
Tip #8: Entry And Exit Routes [They Can Make Or Break Your Hunt]
When you’re bowhunting, it’s easy sometimes to get focused on where you’re going to hunt.
But, you need to spend just as much time planning how you’re going to get to that magic hunting location that will put you in the best spot for a harvest.
Whether you’re hunting public land on thousands of acres, private land or even suburban hunting, animals are always looking – and smelling – for danger (you realize you are considered danger, right?)
Staying downwind of the deer’s location will decrease your chances of getting busted!
So, if the deer or other game see, smell or hear “danger” as it goes to and/or from the magic hunting spot, they aren’t going to stick around and stand quartering away for you to put an arrow through the boiler room.
So, how can you avoid being busted on your way to and from your hunting location?
First of all, as we’ve already covered, you must do everything you can to be scent free and you must always pay attention to the wind direction. You don’t want your scent blown to where you expect the deer to be on your way in.
The same goes for exiting your hunting location. If deer bust you leaving your hunting location, they will associate that location with potential danger and you may not get another chance at them there.
So, be sure to plan your entry and exit routes so that you stay downwind of the where you know the deer or game to be. This can greatly increase your odds of slipping in and out as undetected as possible.
Taking an ethical shot is such an important part of bowhunting. Take a shot that gives you the best chance at a quick and clean kill.
This isn’t always easy when bowhunting. So, that’s why it’s so important to have followed the pre-hunt bowhunting tips in #1-5 that we covered, so that when the moment of truth comes, you know you are ready.
You don’t want the animal to suffer and you also want to be sure you are shooting at the deer or game so that you can have as quick and humane kill as possible.
We couldn’t leave out number 10, could we. After all, you’ve put in the work getting proficient with your bow and you’ve worked hard to get yourself in position to successfully take an animal. So, when you finally do it, you’ve got to celebrate the moment!
Celebrate! It’s one of the best bowhunting tips we can give you…
And, there’s no better way to do that than with family and friends.
That’s why we say here at N1 Outdoors: Where the moments happen, we’ll meet you there!
Bowhunting Tips | Final Thoughts
Happy hunting… we hope you have found our bow hunting tips to be useful in your quest to become better at your craft.
Do you have some bowhunting tips that you think would be good additions? Let us know in the comments below. It’s always great to learn from other hunters!
There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing for the conditions.
While you might think you only need a warm jacket when venturing into the great outdoors to go hunting or fishing during the cooler months, there can be much more involved in keeping yourself warm and comfortable.
Hunting, fishing or camping in the cold weather requires a knowledge of how to best layer clothing so that you can stay warm.
When the time comes to plan your next hunting trip into the wilderness, take a moment to consider the following information, so that you can learn all about how to layer winter clothing to feel comfortable enough to explore all that nature has to offer.
How to Remain Warm in the Great Outdoors
When you put on warm clothing to head outside, your goal should always be to manage moisture, maintain your heat level for comfort, and create a barrier between the elements and your skin.
You might enjoy beingalone in the outdoors… you just don’t want to be COLD and alone!
Not all cold-winter clothing is created equal. So, purchasing high-quality outdoor garments from well-known companies like Kryptek and others is a critical component of remaining warm in the great outdoors, but it’s also helpful to understand the science behind retaining your body heat to know how to wear your clothing appropriately.
You may not have theanatomy of a deer to keep you warm in cold conditions, but you can learn to layer clothing in a manner that protects youfrom the elements.
During winter, you’re often faced with many challenging elements, such as wind, rain, and cold temperatures. Heat is easily transferred from your body into the environment, and it’s easier to lose heat than it is to retain it.
So, whether you’re ice fishing or hunting, you need to have knowledge of how sweat affects your body and heat levels. Body heat can be pulled away from your body much faster when it’s wet with perspiration than if it were dry.
One of the best ways to stay warm, regardless of how you layer your clothing, is by being cold before you begin your hunting trip in earnest. If you add all your winter layers and then stand in front of a heater before venturing outside, you might start sweating and lose much-needed body heat.
Moisture is the enemy when it comes to staying warm in colder weather, as it robs you of body heat.
So, as challenging as it might be to immediately venture outside to start hiking once you’ve put on your multiple layers, it can be essential for giving your body the best chance of retaining its heat.
When you’re trying to dress warmly in cold weather, it can sometimes feel like you have to pack an entire closet full of clothing when you go on a winter hunting adventure or that you have to wear multiple layers until you’re no longer comfortable.
However, if you apply the right layering strategy, you might be surprised at how easy it can be to prepare for an outdoor trip.
Before heading out, read up on the weather conditions you can expect. This allows you to take all necessary precautions with supplies and provides insight into the type of clothing you need to take with you and what to wear when you set off.
You’ll need to continually layer up and down on most hunting trips. Take note of how your body is feeling, and when you’re feeling too warm, take off a layer before you start sweating.
If weather conditions change and rain or snow sets in, you can add more layers from your hunting backpack, including a waterproof jacket to keep your mid layers warm and retain your body heat. Weather conditions can change rapidly, so you may be layering up and down throughout your hunting trip.
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Adopt the W.I.S.E System
If you’re new to hunting, it may not be immediately apparent which clothing you should buy to remain warm, dry, and comfortable.
However, you might have a much easier shopping experience when you familiarize yourself with the W.I.S.E system. This system involves:
Wicking – Next-to-skin base layers
Insulating – Mid layers, such as fleece or a down jacket
Sheltering – Rain jacket and rain pants
Extra – Additional layers in case of an emergency, such as an unexpected snowstorm
The W.I.S.E system will give you a fundamental understanding of the basic garments to purchase, but don’t forget to buy wool socks, waterproof boots, hats, and gloves.
Now that you’re aware of the garments you require for the W.I.S.E system, you can learn more about each layer and how it contributes to your overall warmth, dryness, and comfort.
A base layer is a snug-fitting set of garments designed to wick sweat away from your skin to keep you dry.
When choosing a base layer, go with wool, silk or synthetics, rather than cotton(photo credit: Wikihow.com)
While cotton can be a preference for everyday wear, it’s less suitable for outdoor activities like hunting.
Instead, opt for base layers featuring wool, silk, or synthetic fabrics. Your top base layer can be a long or short-sleeve shirt and leggings with these materials, paired with a high-quality pair of synthetic or wool socks.
Equally as important as your base layer is your insulating layer. This layer prevents the outdoor environment from taking your much-needed body heat.
The insulating layer will help maintain valuable body heat while in the cold weather. (photo credit Wikihow.com)
Typically, you would wear a wool or microfleece top, a puffer jacket, and fleece leggings. You can also pair your insulating layer with a wool or fleece hat and neck gaiter, glove liners, and insulating socks.
If you are going on a hunting or fishing trip, you certainly like to see favorable weather conditions. However, weather conditions can certainly change, and sometimes rapidly.
Wearing a shelteringlayer is critical inprotecting the insulating layer underneath. (photo credit: Wikihow.com)
You might be caught out in the rain or snow when you least expect it, and you need to protect your insulating layer at all costs.
Pack a sheltering layer, and you can be prepared for any eventuality. Typically, this layer consists of a pair of rain pants and a rain jacket, both of which need to be waterproof to remain effective.
When there are so many different types of outdoor and hunting clothing for sale, it can be hard to know what will be the most comfortable and practical. While there are many desirable options, some stand out more than others.
For example, merino wool, a natural fiber sourced from sheep, is a moisture-wicking base layer that is odor-resistant and temperature regulating.
When adventuring outdoors in colder weather, merino wool is a great moisture wicking base layer that is also odor resistant.
You might also consider synthetic fleece as a mid layer option, which is both affordable and warm. Although, it’s not an ideal wind-resistant layer.
Synthetic and down jackets can be an effective insulating mid layer, while nylon is ideal for keeping you dry. Some manufacturers create special membranes for nylon to form waterproof jackets for winter use.
Layering winter clothing is an integral part of preparing for any outdoor adventure or hunting trip.
so, before you begin planning your next trip, take the time to make sure you’ve got a full closet of winter options to keep you warm, dry, and protected from the elements.
Remember the W.I.S.E. system and have fun outdoors!
