Duck calls to start out the season

[BigB]

I made up a batch of duck calls over the past couple of weeks.  I took them with me to Samburg Tennesse this past weekend for the Reelfoot Waterfowl Festival.  A bunch of duck call makers have a good ole time, and do a bunch of story telling, laughing, and trading some calls.

Here's the line up of calls that I took down there:




And a couple of close ups of a few of the calls








Brian

[Hawks Feather]

I am just making a guess that not many came back home with you.  They look good.

Jerry

[iahntr]

Very nice lookin batch of calls there Brian !
Have you been down there before ? How'd it go?

[Yotehntr]

Well I was going to fuss at ya for not giving me a shout when you were in TN... that's a pretty long way from Murfreesboro though.  You have some very sharp looking calls there bud.  As Jerry said, bet you didn't have many of your own to carry home. 

[FinsnFur]

Oh my
Very nice looking stuff indeed.

[YoteCoaxer]

Simply beautiful!!! Very nice work Brian!

[BigB]

It was the 2nd time that I have been down there, as last year was my first time.  The whole weekend is full of fun chatting with other callmakers, joking around, and enjoying the sounds of duck calls.  After all of the trading, I did take home only 1 of the call above, because it was the call that I entered into the callmakers contest which will stay in my collection.


Here are the calls that I brought home with me:

Metal reeds:
Benjamen Lyle, Ron Dowda, Cora Lipscomb



Short reed goose:
Ron Dowda





Arkansas style duck:
Herb Ohley, Scott Simmons, Travis Bone



John Koepp, Brian Phillips



Ronnie Turner, Doug Rice





Brian

[Todd Rahm]

Man, 4, 5, 6, and 7 are just plane ole call sexy!  

And can I get a predator call like that Doug Rice?

[BigB]

Todd, I've been drooling over a Doug Rice call ever since I seen a picture of one a few years ago.  They are darn fancy calls, with the curved panel checkering, raised panels, and a few of them with the ivory on them.  I talked with him for a long while, and I was grinning ear to ear the whole time.  I was in awe that I could view his work, let alone meet him and purchase one of his calls.  I left his booth a really happy person.


Brian

[FinsnFur]

Boy that is some P. R. E. T. T. Y.  serious stuff.

I'm curious, the metal reeds of Benjamen Lyle, Ron Dowda, Cora Lipscomb have what appears to be a notched mouth piece. But yet it's all one formation.

What up?

[coyote101]

Great looking calls Brian.   I only shot and recovered two coyotes last season, and my BigB contest call was used both times. 

Pat

[BigB]

I'm curious, the metal reeds of Benjamen Lyle, Ron Dowda, Cora Lipscomb have what appears to be a notched mouth piece. But yet it's all one formation.

What up?

Jim,

For the duck calls pictured above, they operate differently than a predator call.  On a predator call, you would blow in the part of the call at the top of the picture.  For duck calls, you blow in the barrel at the bottom of the picture.  The metal reed calls you asked about are what are called a Reelfoot syle toneboard.  The reed sits on the toneboard, and a wood wedge sits on top of the reed.  You stick that assembly into the barrel, and the reed is held in place by the wood wedge.  


Let me see if I can dig up a few pics of a Reelfoot style set up......


Brian

[BigB]

The Reelfoot style toneboard is a flat toneboard with a metal reed.  The toneboard is long and flat, and they bend the metal reed upwards to initiate the reed vibration to get the sound.  That style of duck call was started around the 1930's by Earl Dennison, in the Reelfoot Lake area of Tennessee.


Brian

[BigB]

Here are some pics that I borrowed from 9thinning.  This is one of his Reelfoot style duck calls:









Brian

[pitw]

Your calls are amazing sir and the knowledge you are willing to share is just as good .

[BigB]

Barry,

Thanks, but I'm just a student of the game, trying my hardest to do the best I can.


Brian

[Frogman]

Beautiful calls!!

Jim

[Jimmie in Ky]

I love the old reelfoot calls myself. Is 9th inning using hte brass reed or copper? Jimmie