By Michael Deming

Will Primos has been designing and producing calls for the majority of my life, so it’s pretty easy to say that he is an expert when it comes to developing the sounds animals make in the woods. Turkeys and elk are some of the most vocal critters which we like to pursue in the woods and being able to replicate these sounds is essential to your success.

The new Timberline series of calls is capable of doing just that. They come in both an open reed model, as well as a closed reed model. For those of you not familiar with the two types, the open reed style has the reed visible. The pressure you put on the reed with your lips allows you to change the pitch and get the different sounds you so desire. The closed reed version has no reed visible and the pitch is controlled by biting on the reed portion of the call, which regulates the amount of air which flows through the reed.

The closed reed is a great call for beginners because it is very easy to master with limited practice. Simply biting onto the reed and blowing will allow you to make the various mews and chirps required to locate elk. It will still require some time to perfect the art of talking to elk and if you would like to stay in the good graces of your friends and family, make sure you do this while alone in your car! It comes with its’ own lanyard and a lifetime service guarantee.

The open reed call is a bit more complicated, but provides you with the ability to make louder mews and chirps. The volume which this call produces makes it a great call for locating and getting that bull to respond. It makes very good sounds at higher volumes, however we found it to be very difficult to get good and repeatable sounds with lower volumes. When a bull comes looking, you don’t want to give up your position or make a bad call. Attempting to do a low volume call with the open reed Timberline or calling at the volume to give you a good sound could definitely be the result. This call has a great place in your arsenal and it is definitely a good one for locating the herd.

Having both the closed and open reed Timberline calls around your neck come elk season will be your key to success. The versatility of having a high volume call to locate elk and then being able to speak softly to them when getting close will have you punching tags come September.