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These six new whitetail calls deliver a wide range of sounds for many applications throughout the season. Photographs by Luke Nilsson.
1. M.A.D.
R.I.P. Growl
$21; flambeauoutdoors.com
PROS
Top-notch materials and construction. A low, raspy grunt changes to a quality doe bleat with a press of a too-big-to-miss button below the mouthpiece.
CONS
The wheeze skull is cool looking, but it’s also overwrought and gets in the way.
2. Flextone
BCX
$20; flextonegamecalls.com
PROS
Doe and fawn tones, made with separate buttons, sound legit. The wheeze chamber is removable, thankfully, because it’s intrusive when you blow the primary call.
CONS
The grunt sounds more like a duck than a buck, and the wheeze chamber produces a whistling sound.
3. Quaker Boy
Deer Thugs Brawler
$26; quakerboy.com
PROS
Super easy to use. The grunt is not as deep as that of the R.I.P. Growl or Slam Talker, but it’s richer and fuller.
CONS
The most expensive tube call in this field is the only one that doesn’t produce doe/fawn calls or have snort-wheeze capabilities.
4. Primos
Rack-N-Roll
$25; primos.com
PROS
Clever design allows for one-handed use. It produces loud and true sparring sounds without much effort.
CONS
The strap system is needlessly complicated. An adjustable elastic strap would work much better than the too-long nylon one on our sample.
5. Knight & Hale
Da Bonehead
$25; knightandhale.com
PROS
The two pieces, connected by elastic, mate together for silent transport. Its compact design allows for use close to the body, but…
CONS
Unlike the Rack-n-Roll, it requires two hands. Also, you must be mindful not to cover the handles with your palms or the sound becomes hollow and echoey.
6. Hunter’s Specialties
Slam Talker
$20; hunterspec.com
PROS
Deep, throaty grunts roll out of the tube with barely a huff of air. It emits an incredibly realistic wheeze if you block the tube with one hand while blowing and roll your lip back off the hole in the bottom of the mouthpiece.
CONS
The mouthpiece on our sample came unglued after minimal use, raising concerns about the possibility of additional construction failures down the line.