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Lights Out Custom Calls was founded in the Arkansas River Valley in 2003. A dedication to quality craftsmanship and uncompromising customer service drive owner and award-winning call maker, Wendell Rye, to produce some of the best sounding hand crafted game calls available. Over the past 18 years, countless successful hunts across this great USA have had one thing in common:

Lights Out Custom Calls…it’s what they’re dying to hear!

HAND CRAFTED IN THE USA

Turkey Calls – Deer Grunt Calls – Squirrel Calls
Predator Calls – Crow Calls – Ferro Rods

Selecting A Call

Every year I receive the same question repeatedly:

“What call do you recommend for wet conditions?”

All of the calls that I turn are made of wood. By its nature, wood is porous (think of it as a hard sponge). While my calls and strikers are coated with a moisture resistant finish, they will still absorb some amount of moisture when exposed to rain or extended periods of high humidity. Changes in moisture content within the pores of the wood will cause it to expand and then contract as the moisture evaporates. This can cause the wood to crack, and sometimes cause a glass surface to crack.

My suggestion for what call to use in the rain? A mouth call.

ALL WOODS ARE NOT THE SAME.

The density and structure of the grain affects the sound of the call. Harder, more dense woods tend to produce a higher pitch and a “tighter” tone. Softer, less dense woods tend to produce a more natural “open” tone and a bit lower pitch.

SOME WOOD AND SURFACE COMBINATIONS ARE NOT CAPABLE OF PRODUCING SOME PITCHES/TONES.

I have spent years working with numerous woods, surfaces and strikers. I will be glad to help you select a wood/surface/striker combination to produce the sounds you want to hear from a call.

SURFACE MATERIAL SHOULD BE CHOSEN ACCORDING TO EXPECTED HUNTING CONDITIONS.

You will find a brief description of the sound characteristics of each surface on the individual pages under the heading “TURKEY CALLS”.

There are many variables that affect the sound of a call.

  • Thickness of the side or bottom of a call
  • Height and thickness of the pedestal (turned ring that soundboard sits on )
  • Soundboard material / diameter / thickness
  • Distance from soundboard to surface
  • Surface material / diameter / thickness
  • Striker material
  • Pressure / angle of striker in relation to surface
  • Sound hole size / configuration
  • Wood type / moisture content / density / grain structure

Custom calls provide different pitches and tones from call to call due to a number of the variables mentioned above. As a result, birds often respond differently to custom calls than they do to mass produced, production calls.

I do not use calls made by other call makers or companies. Any recommendations that I provide related to sound, pitch, tone of a call or striker will be in reference to the calls and strikers that I turn.

“ A hunter can never have too many calls.”
– Anonymous call maker

“The birds will always humble you.”
– Anonymous turkey hunter