Rambling Review
Why:
Since I’ve moved to Arizona, I’ve been hunting Gambel’s quail without a dog. On the rare occasion, I can meet up with a buddy who has a dog, but most of my hunts are on my own. I’ve found that Gambel’s are very huntable due to how vocal they are, between their clucks, putts, and unmistakable assembly/locator call, “Chi-ca-go-go”. For the past few years, I’ve been playing around with a couple different locator calls with limited success. I recently had the opportunity to get my hands on a couple of handmade chamber calls from Jim Matthews and believer they are some of the best sounding quail calls on the market.
First impressions:
Chamber call – Jim Matthews’ unique call design features a hollowed out chamber on the inside of the call right behind the rubber band. This creates a rich resonate tone that makes for an extremely convincing Gambel’s call.
Handmade quality – Each call is handmade by Jim Matthews from a wide variety of woods. Jim was kind enough to embed a shotgun shell on the face of each call, which give them a really unique look.
Field Use:
I’ve been toting the Jim Matthews Signature Calls in my vest for most of the season and have seen real success in using them. I have one made from walnut and one from mesquite. Both sound great, but I found great success with the mesquite call. I can usually find birds early in the morning without much difficulty, but as the morning wears on, it can be tough to locate birds after breaking up a covey or two.
Each Jim Matthews Signature Call is built to receive a specific size rubber band which are available in bulk from your local office store. Right out of the box, each call sounds excellent, but by applying pressure with your fingers to the call can change the tone of the call and give a change in pitch if needed. Both of my calls sounded perfect without any adjustment.
Pros:
Beautiful handmade craftsmanship
Rich resonate sound
Multiple varieties of wood to choose from
Durable construction for years of use
Cons:
Cost – the calls aren’t cheap, but are a great addition in your bird vest.
Prognosis: I can’t say enough good things about Jim Matthews Signature Calls. Put your order in for next season. You won’t be disappointed
* Disclaimer:
The reviews at Arizona Wanderings are my honest opinion. Arizona Wanderings is not sponsored by or associated with any of the stated companies and is accepting no compensation, monetary or otherwise, in exchange for this review. Two calls were provided by Jim Matthews for the purpose of this review. My independent status may change in the future but, as of the date of publication, no relationship other than described above has been pursued or established.
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I attended a Jim Matthews quail and dove hunting seminar. He is quite knowledgeable. Are you selling the Matthews quail calls?
Terry,
Great to hear from you. I’m not selling these, but wanted to do a review of a great handcrafted product. Jim definitely has a ton of experience and I be the seminar was very good. You can pick one of these up from Jim through his website – http://www.outdoornewsservice.com/#!seminars/c1a4e . Take care.
Ben
Thanks. I’ll talk to Jim. Any thoughts regarding the “chamber” call vs the “stick” call?
Based on my experience with the chamber call, I would definitely recommend it. I don’t have any experience with the stick calls.
Ben
Thanks.
when I hunt birds – always take my dog with me, it’s irreplaceable assistant and hunting
I’ve been using a Jim Mathews chamber call for many years now. It’s been a very good call. I love the sound. I would definitely recommend one.
I have an English Setter and a German Shorthair but hunting Gambels with dogs is still a challenge. Cholla can be a problem and the Gambels don’t always hold so well. Mearns…now that is another story. Look up Desert Pheasant Recreation (Bob Henson) he’s down in Coolidge AZ. He raises and trains bird dogs, he also runs a bird farm there. A great guy and amazing resource for hunting and hunting dogs here in AZ.
Ben,
I was reviewing some of your Wanderings and located your post regarding the Jim Mathews quail calls. I did contact Jim and bought both a stick call and a chamber call. Both are great sounding and a pleasure to look at. Being able to wear them around your neck or attach to your vest is an added bonus.
Thanks for bringing them to our attention.
Terry
Thanks for the kind note Terry. I appreciate it more than you know. Glad you like the Jim Matthews calls. Best of luck in the fall calling those birds. Take care.
Ben
Curious to why you preferred the mesquite to over the walnut.
Both calls sound great, I just happen to prefer the sound of the mesquite call better.
Ben
I know this is a really old post, but couldn’t help but comment after my experience. With our AZ quail season having just started, a couple of weeks ago I started doing some research into quail calls. That lead me here to this post, and I ended up calling Jim Matthews last week and having a nice chat. I bought a chamber call out of walnut, and it came in the mail Saturday. I should’ve called sooner so I could use it on opening day last Friday, but I didn’t get around to it. Turns out I could’ve used it. I managed to flush a couple coveys, but had trouble locating the singles after the flush. Anyways the call came in Saturday’s mail, and I could not be happier. It’s beautifully made and sounds great. I mentioned to Jim on the phone I found out about his calls via this post, and he said he has sold quite a few as a result of your review.
Anyway just wanted to say thank you for turning me on to his calls.
Brandon in Phx
That’s great to hear Brandon. Thanks so much for the update. Jim makes great calls. Good luck this season. Take care.
Ben