Forums, books, personal conversations, and starting a collection of box calls to listen too. Have only hunted and called them for a few seasons here, with no luck. Shot at one..thats about it. And then for a couple of seasons while when I was a teenager in Ky. with no luck. hehe.
there are several forums, customcalls.com is probably the best, since you can search back for a few years. old-gobbler.com looks good too, It a fairly new board.
Bought some Neil Cost "chapters" from his book on calls, have 2 Cost videos.
As for how long...it is a lifetime endeavor, and I think all Turkey call makers will agree, one will always be working on a better call.
Then there are the details, like using quarter sawn wood, orienting the grain, and using wood that has been air dried for many years. Fortunatly I have decent amount of air dried walnut and some cherry, that is supposed to be over 30 years old since cut. have not used it yet. I think I can get hold of some old, old Pine too. Planning on buying some old Mahogany furniture for the wood.
But for all the fancy woods, the woods that work best are not fancy. so there is a trade off there.
Also, I have a custom made router bit for the paddle shape.
so far...investment in this is about $350... ! But the satisfaction is priceless. The failures, eh not so much.
Really looking forward to the spring season this yer
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