Ford Mangum picked up his now famous turkey trough calls and played a few sweet purrs, clucks and whines. It was obvious that this master craftsman and master turkey hunter knows how to play the call better than anybody. I played one of his custom calls and couldn’t quite get it right. Mangum showed me a few things as he stroked the call lightly and really made it talk. I followed his lead and had the call purring in no time. All I needed was a few tips and a quick demonstration from the master’s hands and I was ready. The call was ready for action, it just needed to be stroked the right way.

Mangum is a “young” 91 and he still has the passion to make turkey calls and he’s looking forward to heading to the woods again next month. Back in the old days Mangum hunted with some of the old-time turkey hunters and learned more than a few things about hunting. Back then about all they had was a Lynch Box. Being a master welder Mangum tried his hand at call making because he wanted something a little different, something that could really make a turkey talk.

“I made a few different types of calls and had great success with my box call,” Mangum said. “But my favorite and the one I kept making was the trough call. I’ve made several variations of the trough and they’ll all call turkeys, but I prefer the cedar slate box.”

Man, can those calls talk in the hands of the master.

“That glass really sounds good and the aluminum will really get out there for those turkeys that are a ways off,” Mangum said. “I don’t like to play them loud or cut on them, but you can do both.”

Mangum learned that being still and keeping calling to a minimum were good tips if you want to kill a gobbler.

“I hunted with a couple of guys who would call to a turkey and if the gobbler answered them, they’d put the call back in their pocket and never call again,” said Mangum. “One man told me that if that turkey answers you he will come back sometime later that day and check you out. Their hearing is just that good and they can pinpoint you like they had radar.”

Mangum took his advice and has kept his calling to a minimum and uses a few soft calls that some people never use.

“I like to give them a few soft yelps and whines and occasionally a soft cluck, not too loud because you don’t want to scare the turkey, but just keep it soft and sort,” Mangum said. Less is more in the Mississippi turkey woods.

Mangum set out to make a turkey call that he could use and before long they became so successful people from all over the country started clamoring for them.

“I had a man call me from Colorado wanting an aluminum call,” Mangum said. “I asked him how he heard about me and he said that he’d been hunting in Mexico and couldn’t do anything with an old tom up on a mountain. After the situation looked hopeless his guide took out a call and the turkey came straight down to them and the man harvested the bird. Turn’s out that Mark McPhail had given one of my calls to the guide in Mexico and it was a real killer. That man got home and ordered one, too.”

The proof of the pudding is in the tasting and I can tell you the Ford Mangum Trough Call is the real deal. At 91, Mangum’s more interested in calling in an old gobbler and talking turkey than he is in making more calls. He does have a few left and plans to make a few this summer, Lord willing and the creek don’t rise. If you’re interested in checking out this master turkey hunter’s calls then give him a call at 601-732-6483, and you might just get a few tips, too.

Call Mike Giles at 601-917-3898 or email mikegiles18@comast.net.