Best Game Calls for Deer & Elk

The main call types for whitetails (grunt tube, bleat can, rattling), elk (bugle, cow call, diaphragm) and turkeys (box, slate, mouth call), what each sounds like and when hunters use it, plus the rules on electronic callers, following hunter-ed.com, Outdoor Life and Wikipedia.

By Fjords Team · May 20, 2026 · Updated Oct 28, 2026

A call imitates a sound an animal already makes, so knowing the sound comes before buying the call. This guide covers the main call types for deer, elk and turkeys and when hunters use them, following the hunter-ed.com turkey calling guide, Outdoor Life’s deer and elk calling articles, and Wikipedia. We have not tested calls against one another and prices change, so we name no models. For tactics, see calling deer and elk.

Deer calls

Outdoor Life’s grunt-call guide notes a 1988 University of Georgia study recorded about 400 whitetail vocalizations in a captive herd, grouped into 12 types. The calls hunters use imitate a few of them:

Grunt tube: imitates buck and doe grunts, from the soft locator grunt to the deeper dominant grunt and the rapid tending grunt of a buck with a doe. One of the magazine’s writers makes a tending grunt by ticking his tongue on the roof of his mouth while blowing through the tube.
Bleat (can-type) call: imitates the bleats of does and fawns; another writer suggests estrous-doe bleats from a can call followed by tending grunts around the rut.
Rattling antlers: for a rattling sequence; the guide’s writer adds two or three bleats before and after it.

See our whitetail deer profile.

Elk calls

Wikipedia describes the bull’s bugle as a loud, high-pitched, whistle-like vocalisation that advertises a bull’s fitness over long distances, with cows giving an alarm bark and calves a high-pitched scream.

Bugle tube: imitates a bull’s bugle, used to locate bulls and to challenge them in the rut.
Cow call (open-reed or diaphragm): imitates cow and calf mews and chirps. Outdoor Life’s veteran elk writer says a herd bull may avoid a bugle but come to look at a cow call, and that solo bulls are more likely to come to cow calls.
Diaphragm (mouth) call: an Outdoor Life western writer uses an in-the-mouth diaphragm when bowhunting, since it leaves the hands free.

See our elk profile.

Turkey calls (hunter-ed.com)

The hunter-ed.com guide notes there are about 20 recognised turkey vocalisation patterns, such as the gobble, yelp, cutt and cluck, each with its own pitch, cadence and harshness.

Box call: a small rectangular wooden box with a hinged lid that slides across the open top, making sound by friction. Loud, good for covering distance.
Slate (pot) call: a striker of wood, carbon or aluminium scratched across a disk-shaped pot of slate, ceramic or plastic; angle, pressure and speed change the sound. Beginner-friendly, but it needs both hands, so you must switch to your gun carefully.
Mouth (diaphragm) call: a small horseshoe-shaped reed of latex or rubber held in the mouth; hands-free, so you can shift your gun while calling, and able to make nearly any turkey sound. The guide suggests trying a few designs, looking for easy-to-use triple-reed calls, and trimming the tape if it helps.

See our wild turkey profile.

Electronic callers

The hunter-ed.com guide warns that electronic callers are illegal during open season in many states, and misuse can bring penalties. Rules differ by species and state, so check your regulations before using one.

Building a first kit

Start with one call per species you’ll hunt this season and practise at home, then add calls as you learn the sounds. The deer and elk writers both stress playing the wind when you set up.