Custom Calls and Predator Hunting with Jeffrey Wood | MS Outdoors Podcast

In this episode of the Mississippi Outdoors Podcast, host Matt Wyatt sits down with Jeffrey Wood of Swamp Boys Custom Calls. Jeffrey talks about growing up squirrel hunting in Mississippi, training and competing with squirrel dogs, and how he got started building custom game calls.

The conversation includes:
• Early memories of squirrel hunting and family traditions
• Training squirrel dogs and winning a Mississippi state championship
• Demonstrations of turkey calls with glass, slate, titanium, and ceramic surfaces
• Tips on using squirrel calls and how squirrels signal danger in the woods
• Predator hunting stories and why controlling coyotes, foxes, and bobcats matters for deer and turkey
• Favorite squirrel recipes and why it’s called the “chicken of the tree”

Mississippi Outdoors is produced by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks.

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00:00 – Intro; guest: Jeffrey Wood, Swamp Boys Custom Calls
01:16 – Starting squirrel hunting at age 4; being a “better woodsman” (compass, sign)
02:41 – Early calls, vines, “World War Three” nest pulls
05:02 – Training squirrel dogs; first MS state title (2002)
06:29 – Lyme disease; why he trains solo; making independent dogs
07:36 – Glass call demo: etching/stone, two‑note “break,” striker direction
08:56 – Combo pot: glass over slate (soft tree talk vs windy volume)
11:58 – Platinum hen (titanium): “hard as woodpecker lips,” center sweet spot
13:06 – Ceramic “mistress”: baking‑soda blast, no resurfacing, humid mornings
15:20 – Squirrel barker with/without bellows; using body to “compress” sound
17:30 – What squirrel barks mean; deer‑alert behavior in the woods
23:18 – Predator sounds (rabbit fawn distress); sequence: gray fox → coyote → bobcat
24:58 – Why turkey hunters should remove predators; summer morning sets
27:00 – Season/tools overview; wish for predator permits on public land
30:20 – Coyote hunt with his dad: wind, sets, multiple coyotes, “booger barking”
33:45 – Favorite way to cook squirrel; pressure cooker + fry / stew or gumbo
36:01 – Find him: SwampBoysCustomCalls.com; other call types; close