Im beginning to wonder if any of you guys know the real Frank Cox. In terms of all things turkey, Frank has won high level competitions with his box and trumpet calls, not only for his ability to make these calls, but to properly use them as well. In other words, making them sing such as a natural turkey would sing. His calls are coveted by turkey hunters far and wide. Competition is not everything, but it sets a bar. Frank Cox has surpassed that bar and that constitutes expertise in the realm of turkey hunting, imho. So, his opinion on everything turkey, and whether or not abrasive in style, should at least be considered. How many of the rest of you have made a coveted call that sold for as much as $2,000 at auction? That alone tells me a lot. Frank himself tries to keep his prices out of the stratosphere so that people of lesser means can obtain one of his calls. That tells me a lot about the man. Once his calls leave his possession is when we see the coveted calls going for huge money. So, there you are. When it comes to turkey hunting, Im going to listen to an expert.
Buzz,
Dave Owens, a young man in his mid-30s from Acworth, Georgia, was the National Champion Turkey Caller in 2018. He is one of a handful that has killed turkeys in 49 states, mostly on public land, using a 20 gauge and handloaded TSS shot, size dependent on the law of the state he hunted. He doesn't use a guide and sleeps in his Tundra or rental SUV on his trips. He video documented all of his hunts, successful and unsuccessful, last year on YouTube in the Pinhoti Project. He is able to take three months off a year and hunt almost everyday, weather permitting. He prefers TSS #9.
No question Frank makes a fine call and knows how to use it. That doesn't make him nor Dave Owens the final arbiter of what gun or shot choice other experienced folks make. Several of us here in the Deep South have been around the block in the turkey hunting woods for close to a half century, some more, and we use what works for us. Frank's treatment of others overshadows his turkey call making skills. Scratch around and you'll see what others have experienced and say about that. There is no "magic" turkey call. Calling is just one tool in a turkey hunter's kit. It is also the most overrated. Good woodsmanship, and knowing where to sit and when to call and not call, frequency of calling (number of times, not Hz) and average calling ability, kill more turkeys than mediocre woodsmanship, poor set-up, and the Luciano Pavorotti of turkey calling doing the calling too much at the wrong time and too loud. The best caller, even Frank Cox, can't make a turkey come to where he doesn't want to go. As for not knowing Frank Cox, most here can only "know" him by what he writes and how he treats them and others here. "Abrasive" (your word) is an understatement. His propensity to insult crosses all topics and not just matters turkey. Frank can be polite, engaging, even knowledgeable, but then it's just a matter of time before he'll go off the rails into his insult mode of just being Frank with his Book of Grade School Insults. I'd be surprised to learn that he is allowed to participate on other boards.
I had the privilege of knowing the late Neil Cost who most recognize as the most influential and finest box call maker of all time, at least in the last 50 years. I spent time with him showing him around my home woods in 1993. The South Carolina legislature recognized his status as a callmaker and he received a Folk Art Heritage Award from the state. His style of box call has been copied by many of the top call makers today who openly credit his influence. I bought my first box from him in 1977 and bought over a dozen from him over the years for myself and hunting buddies. He made one for my son and wouldn't take a penny from me. Neil was a twice wounded and decorated army combat medic in WWII and Korea. He died in 2002. Neil mentored Steve Mann and Lamar Williams two box call makers whose calls are in high demand with waiting lists measured in years, not months. Neil openly shared his call making secrets in books and videos. His calls have sold for thousands of dollars. A posthumous book featuring photos of his calls and his story, Neil Cost Magic with Wood, sells on the collectors' market for $2500-3500 last time I looked on Amazon and Ebay. This is the Golden Age of turkey callmakers. There are many skilled and talented call makers today, equal to or better than Frank, that don't feel the need to insult or ridicule others in order to make them feel good about themselves or sell turkey calls.
If you haven't already gotten one of Frank's calls, you should. You'll be high on his list. Gil
