call collections?

[Jake St. John]

This is for you Champcaller--- I was hunting with Mr. Riddell ( a great duck call maker, duck hunter from Jackson) back in the late 60’s. His eyesight was getting poor and I was along to spot the flight ducks coming south from the North. This was usually before, during, or just after a front. Back then, before the shortstopping by the big refuges north of here, the ducks would line up, sometimes flight behind flight coming south to find feed and resting areas. Mr. Jimmy said there were 3 flyways back then. Along the Ms. River, Along the reservoir line, and along the hill line. He hunted a resting duck marsh hole on the hill line south of Greenwood. He had been hunting this one hole since the 40’s. The hole was approximately 60 yards long and 40 yards wide sitting on a flowing spring fed run. Anyway, that particular A.M. Mr. Reed could not go, and I was fortunate enough to go along as the chief spotter. His blind was a box car blind with 3 shooting holes on the front with a boat garage on the back. It was so well camouflaged that you could stand in your boat 25 yards in front of the blind and not see it. “Flock coming from the North” I would shout, and Mr. Jimmy would go to work on his favorite homemade call. You could only see the flicker of sunlight on their wings they were so high, but after his hailing, they would set their wings, and start their circling decent. What seemed like 5 minutes latter he would have a flock of 20 to 25 lighting all in the swimming Herter decoys and drinking water first as flight ducks will do. He would shirt pocket that Riddell call, turn to me and say, “pick you one out on the water”. -- We had just picked up the last duck and Mr. Jimmy said “Let’s have some fun.” “Find me a flock” Since it had been non stop since about 8:00, I did just that and Jimmy lit the first flock in the hole bout 10 minutes later. With that flock on the water he started working on the second flock and lit it. The third trailing flock didn’t need much calling having seen all the previous activity and I watched as Mr. Jimmy pocketed that call in his shirt pocket and listened in enjoyment as a loud mouth hen took over. With the last duck on the water Mr. Jimmy then stood up and shouted “ IT’S YOUR LUCKY DAY,GIT OUTTA HERE”. He then sat down , lit his pipe,and told me that he invited Nash Buckingham down for a hunt one time from Memphis. I had just read The Best of Nash Buckingham and was all ears. He said he put him in one of his best flight duck blinds. He said the ducks were coming from the North just like they were that day. About 9:30 or 10:00 he could hear Nash at the other blind because the wind was just right. He was playing Home on the Range, Yankee Doodle and just about anything you wanted to hear on his duck call. Then he said “But he could not call flight ducks.” He said he was a fantastic shot though and killed a few that day that came in range of his Bert Becker. --- Sometimes I step into my own box car blind , and reflect back on those great times. Those were the GOOD OLE DAYS!!!

[olemissduckhunter]

Mr. Eddleman, that is an awesome story......I would love to sit around a camp with you and some of your huntin buddies and just listen to all the stories ya'll must have.......name a time and place and i'll bring a few bottles of Blanton's!!!!

[BJ Duplechain]

i am new here. i will play a little bit.

these next calls are made by Mike Stelzner with C&S Custom Calls.

Stabilized Blk/Gold Double Dyed Box Elder with a Blk insert


Stabilized Brn/Blk Doulbe Dyed Box Elder with a Smoke insert


Stabilized Spalted Box Elder with Light Blue insert


Hand Checkered Nicaraguan Cocobolo


Light Blue Acrylic

[LawDawg]

I couldn't help but smile when I read that story, Mr. Eddleman. Reading that story, you could swap Mr. Reed's name for Mr. Riddell, and I would believe that you had been hunting with Mr. Reed last year. That just shows how much Mr. Reed learned from Mr. Riddell. I remember hunting up at 5 mile with Mr. Reed 12 or so years ago, when I first realized that my purpose was the spotter as well. Mr. Reed would say, "with those young eyes of yours, you can see ducks 10 miles away." He couldn't see them sometimes until the birds had already lost 200 feet of altitude and sounded like a jet plane coming in. but when they are in range, the man doesn't miss. It still amazes me though, that with his poor eyesight, he is still able to kill his limit by himself.

Have you listened to the part of Mr. Riddell's recording where he talks about Mr. Reed's eyesight? It cracks me up every time I hear it. Thanks for the story, Mr. Eddleman.

[BJ Duplechain]

Joe Lares A-5 and 2 Hybrids


Brian Watkins Hybrid Swamp Bore Cocobolo w/sapwood


Fowl Weather Custom Calls - Cold Snap

[champcaller]

Wow! I'm speechless... Thank you for sharing that story Mr. Eddleman; it sounds like Mr. Riddell and I would gotten along just fine in a duck blind.

Like my buddy pete said, anytime your somewhere in the story tellin mood please let me know when, where and what to bring and I will be there!

I can only imagine what it was like waterfowling back then..

Again, thank you!

TJ

[QUACKERS]

another GREAT story!

[Jake St. John]

Lawdawg wrote

Have you listened to the part of Mr. Riddell's recording where he talks about Mr. Reed's eyesight? It cracks me up every time I hear it. Thanks for the story, Mr. Eddleman.

_________________

I almost choked the first time that I heard it. I said out loud. He didn't say what I thought he just said. Backed her up just to make sure I heard what I heard.

Probably the best double calling flight duck recording that will ever be played. Duck Reed can still do it. I never got that good. Did not have the air that Duck Reed has, but I can close the deal with the best of them.

We need to have a Story telling thread where you can submit your best duck story!!!

[swamprooter]

BJ..welcome in from the Lone Star state.....awesome collection of current calls you have there..are any of them contest calls? to pretty to be meat calls!!!..The cocobolo with the sap wood is my favorite..thanks for sharing.

I'm starting a new thread in Turkey Forum and challenging Jake St. John ( our Dean of Turkey) to start off a story or two.

hope everyone can tag along.

[teul2]

Been meaning to take this photo for a while just for this thread.
This is about 1/2 of my calls, the ones I use or have used.

On the left, Dr-85, Herters Vit Globo (sp?), olt DD-120 (the light Maple one, my first call), Olt D-2, Primos Wench, Wiley flex single, an OLD RNT double reed, and the bottom is a sure shot.
On the right, Buck Garner, 8 Gauge, Hayes Custom call, (the green string lanyard is my dad's) 2 Yensen Sure Shots and a Faulks whistle, then another Hayes.

[champcaller]

i really like those old yentzens, joel.

[Jake St. John]

I like the old Herter's. I had a friend that I hunted with back in the 60's that had one, and the 45rpm record that had the hunting sequence on it. He could recite the whole thing with the calling, down to the last "Nail that cripple Russ" at the end. Great recording!

[olemissduckhunter]

Joel,
That Herters is really neat looking. Those to Yentzens remind me of my grandpa, whenever I take him hunting that is all he carries..........a shotgun and his yentzen in his shirt pocket.....Doesn't even bring shells, Just bums off me when we get in the blind.... But I guess he has earned it...

[novacaine]

Good pic Joel,
It's good to see the old well worn wooden calls with the finish knocked off. Shows many years of callin, shootin, snuff dippin, sippin, and buscuit eatin.

[blu hed]

This is the Mallardtone section of my collection. My first call when I was 15 is the third from the right on the top row. I used it in the 60's when the Rez was being filled and the ducks were plentiful. The two top left calls are metal reed calls and the first that Mallardtone produced in the late 50's and early 60's. The third call from the right on the bottom is a metal reed call made of Persimmon and was a personal call of Ole Rasmussen, the owner of Mallardtone. Enjoy