OVERVIEW
Today we are reviewing the "Old Crow" from Primos, the very well known industry leading call maker.
At first glace the call is well packaged, and looks like a charmer with an eye catching design. But that proved moot when we put it to the test.

SOUND
I must admit, I don't like dishing out bad reviews. And I try my best to be as open mined and optimistic as possible. Not every Crow call will actually sound like a real crow. And some of them are geared for callin' turkey. But when you write in bold letters on your packaging: "Sounds exactly like a crow", "Designed to replicate the exact volume, pitch and cadence of crows", and "Speak The Language". You are now responsible to provide what you say to your customers.
So this review keeps all this in mind as we proceed. Hopefully Primos will see this as criticism to improve their offerings and not feel badly about it.

let me just tell you plainly, the Primos "Old Crow" sounds more like a rattley old plastic noise maker then a real crow. In fact, if you can actually call a crow with this thing, I would really love to see what you can do with one that actually "dose" sound like a crow!
Crows are pretty smart birds, they certainly know what their brothers and sisters sound like. Primos with it's fanciful advertising has left a really bad taste in my mouth, and it isn't from the cheap plastic mouthpiece!
As far a loudness, I give it to them there because the Primos Old Crow blasts. But loudness is not going to work for you when you sound like a crackling kazoo. I do admit the call does somewhat "resemble" a crow, it still wouldn't fool a two year old girl. We found their claims very way off. "Speak the language" they say? Boy! They go too far. I wouldn't have been this harsh on their call if they didn't make such claims on their advertising. But honestly, you need to know what your buying so you don't feel like you wasted you money. The call is advertised as a crow call/turkey locator. Okay, perhaps this fidgety thing can make a turkey gobble. But I've heard that a car door slam works on occasion for that too.
What about the pitch? The cadence? Well, this doesn't work for us here at Gamecallreview either. You can't have the proper pitch nor cadence when your voice doesn't sound like what it's supposed to. The main issue with the call is you can clearly hear the plastic rattle as you blow through it. Which is obviously very unnatural sounding. The raspiness of the call, while kind of there, can't even be considered crow-like. But please read on ...

CRAFTSMANSHIP
I wish I could say far better things about the call in this section, but the Old Crow didn't deliver here either. However, before i dig into the dodgy craftsmanship, I must say the call looks damn good! The wood grain is brought out nicely, and the shape is eye catching.The wood is also super thin. I don't know how they got it so thin without defects! But they did. However I can't say the thin wood body is a benefit to the call. In fact it's more likely one of the culprits of the poor sound emitted by it.
Moving to the top of the call it's very ornate. A series of bevels that add a high amount of style that I really loved. The mouth of the call flares out with a bevel around the edge which also adds a terrific amount of embellishment. I just wished it sounded as good as it looked. But the sound isn't the Old Crows's only problem.
The first Old Crow we received from Primos had a crack in the wood barrel where the mouthpiece was inserted. We first thought this could be the cause of the poor sound. After bringing it to their attention they did send us out a new one quickly. Unfortunately, although the replacement was crackless.They sounded nearly identical. It also didn't help to find out that on both calls, their plastic mouthpieces actually fall out! They're made of translucent smoked plastic, on the cheap and flimsy side. And not seated into the barrels well at all. The mouthpieces just slip right out without even touching them!
I looked to see if there was any glue, or adhesive that was possibly holding them in place. I could only smell something that reminded me of old elmer's glue. But that doesn't mean there was any. Not that they should be glued in anyway! While examining the mouthpieces and seeing how the design has influenced the sound, I came to the conclusion that the entire call itself is simply poorly designed. But at least the call goes out with style!

FEATURES & HANDELING
Well, I wondered if I should even continue this review and find something, anything to redeem the Primos Old Crow from becoming one of the worst calls ever made. Perhaps the handling would prove better? Well, honestly, there is nothing special about this call except it's looks.