My husband picked me up one of the new Primos reed calls, and I have never used a reed before. I wanted this one because they are supposed to be the easiest one to use, but I cannot for the life of me figure out what I am doing wrong! Why does it sound like a cat that had it's tail stepped on? Could the reed be too big for my mouth? Or does it just take a lot of practice? Any tips from you guys would sure be a lot of help.

make sure the call (the dome part) is up against the top of your mouth. Your tongue should be pressed under the reeds and practice is needed to regulate the flow of air between the reeds and your tongue. I think the instructions say to try and pronounce with the airflow the words eee eewww to get that double mew sound. It takes practice but try not to force air. Once u get the feel for the call after some practice it will happen. Hopes this helps.
mike

Classic...a screaming cat...that actually makes sense from the sounds I produced with them. I could never make the dome reeds work either...the dome seems too tall for my mouth...hurts the top of my mouth and they just don't sit right for me.

Try the Palate Plate reeds...those things are a piece of cake to use, and IMO, sound alot more real.

Palate plate here. Used one for 4 years and then tried the dome and just couldn't get a good sound out of it. The dome just didn't fit my mouth. Can bugle okay, but when it comes to making the soft cow calls they don't sound too good.

Same here. It still takes quite a bit of practice, but I think the palate plates are a lot easier to use and produce better sound. But the #1 thing is practice. Even with the palate plates it took a good month for me to get good enough to be competent.

It could be too big for your mouth. Try a smaller mouth call if you can find one. I don't know if Primos makes a small version of the dome. It does take alot of practice but if your making sound you are doing better than most. I would say it takes a year of practice to get good enough to call an elk. Thats if you practice alot. Mouth calls aren't learned in a weekend. Good luck,

TRKYHTR

I have to agree with these guys, the palate plate is the way to go. if you can use a turkey call, then an elk call is no prob. i tried the dome calls but found the palate calls to be more effective and can express softer or richer tones. when i first started using them i was forcing way too much air as well, it doesn't take much, may want to keep that in mind. just practice alot and good luck!

I bought a dome reed just to try something new and see what it was all about. I got home, opened it up, tried it for about 2 minutes, and threw it in the trash. I can hold my own with a normal reed but the dome is not for me.