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"We're Always Cookin' Up Something!" |
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Turkey Calls
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A unique and
fun creation by Mr. Len Yule of Carrollton, KY, carved from a huge
chunk of elephant ivory and my
bank account, in The Gumbo Ranch theme. As you can see, my
Louisiana watchdog is just finishing off a trophy gobbler. The call
has full coverage carving that includes crawfish and okra. It has
an integral lanyard also handmade by Len of tanned deer hide latigo
and fancy knots. There is a Black Locust stand for displaying the
call. This call deserves a place in the Smithsonian Institute. It
is awesome!
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These
calls are some of the finest work in classic trumpet yelpers that I
own. They are all products of a master callmaker, Mr. Ralph Permar
of Pennsylvania. The first is #9 of his 1917 design yelper in
Cocobolo with Ivory mouthpiece. The first 10 of these were numbered
on the mouthpiece in ink. The second call is his hex design #11 in
Cocobolo with Ivory mouthpiece that was his entry for the 25th
Annual NWTF Convention. The most magnificent call I have from Ralph
is the Simon Everett inspired #1 yelper in solid Elephant Ivory and
14kt gold with gold wire inlays on each section and the spool. Next
is a classic Roanoke River Basin call #7 in Rosewood with a Rio hen
bone mouthpiece. Finally, is an early call patterned after Mr. Mike
Battey's Tom Turpin Yelper in Amboyna Burl #7. All of Ralph's calls
are equally at home in the field or on display. He makes a
consistently fine product.
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This
magnificent call was made by Mr. Charlie Trotter of Anna, Illinois.
His artistry magnifies each facet of his craftsmanship. The call
body is made of hand-forged copper with sterling silver ferrules
bracketing carved ebony acorns as its lanyard ring. A beauty to
behold and effective in the turkey woods!
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This is a set
of trumpet yelpers from Mr. Billy J. Buice of Canton, GA consisting
of a 5 1/2" and a 6" call made of mesquite burl from the fabled
King Ranch of Texas . Mr Buice is unique in that his matched sets
since both calls are from one piece of wood and grain match
together, bell end to bell end. These calls show a number of
firsts: the first set turned from this stock, first with screw-in
rifle shell and wingbone mouthpieces; first with the new .204 Ruger
cases as the shell and the first matched set of Rio hen wingbones
from an 8" bearded hen!
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This gorgeous
yelper is #6 by the talented Mr. Danny Wells of Robeline, LA. I was
privileged to carry his first trumpet call and a pair of
awesome strikers to the NWTF Convention competition a few years
back. Danny continues to define and perfect his craft. This
mesquite and ebony creation is a first of it's kind. The work
necessary to so expertly add the double row of inserts into the
barrel of the trumpet is significant. And, I finally got him
to tackle an ivory mouthpiece. As I told him, nothing is too good
for the heirlooms of the future. Did I mention that this thing
ought to be illegal in the hunting woods? It's like Mama calling
you to dinner - you just can't resist! |
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Several
calls from Mr. Albert Paul of Collinsville, MS that you probably
have not seen. Going left to right: the first is the Art Carter
Memorial call made of Walnut and Jatoba; next is the #1 call of the
Henry Davis series made of Holly and Ebony; then an Oscellated
turkey commemorative call in Hormigo and Cedro; and finally, a #1
of 1 call in Iranian Pistachio wood. Albert is a good friend and a
super callmaker.
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Here are
some calls made by my good friend, Mr. Mike Walker of Morton, MS.
Mike makes many types of turkey calls that all do one thing
consistently - fool wily old longbeards. A true craftsman and
artist, he makes all of his own inlays, paints, carves and
woodburns. He is an accomplished public land hunter and has a MS
state record bird to his credit. The scratch box in the center of
the picture shows a carved replica of that bird's longest spur! The
top box call in the photo has a cedar body with a carved and
painted feather affixed to the front, a Ponderosa pine lid with
ebony inlays. I have never held a more deadly turkey call. It's
kinda like shooting a Mathews bow, you shake your head and know YOU
are not that good. But, it sure is nice to have
one!
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If you like
Curly Koa, here ya go! This is part of my large collection of calls
in this rare and precious wood. I imported some 50 bf of the
highest grade curly Koa I could find while on the Big Island of
Hawaii back in 1998. These are the results of some of that stock. I
have many other box calls, trumpets, a dozen or
so scratch boxes and 6 more slate or glass calls made by
various makers in my collection. All the boxes pictured here were
made by Mr. Tom Laska of Great Barrington, MA. The slate is by Mr.
Ray Tompkins of Sumterville, FL and the trumpet was made by Mr.
Dennis Poeschel of Milwaukee, WI. |
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