Around the turn of the century, the American wild turkey nearly vanished from the hunting scene. Legends like Jordan, Gibson, McIlhenny, Turpin and Davis, who chased the turkey from ridge to bottom-land and back again, were left with only their turkey music boxes and wing bone trumpets to remind them of what had been. They must have known even in their time that the first great age of this sport was passing.
The recent resurgence and rediscovery of the American wild turkey brought with it intense interest in these old master's calling tools that lay the foundation, along with those of many others unknown, for the calls of today. Remarkable as it may seem, however, some rare written history and a few old calls have survived the ravages of time.
The focus of this book is not only to depict the art of a craft almost lost, but also to display the efforts of the best, those masters who set for all time the standards of ingenuity and craftsmanship in luring the most cunning bird ever created.
Many calls are unsigned. Folk art tends to be that way. And yet, each piece is easily identified as an effort to produce that most elusive hunting moment. Combinations of wood, slate, rubber, chalk, bone, horn or even corn cob or turtle shell, all shared a common goal: to authentically replicate the voice and vocabulary of the American wild turkey. The past and present meet once again in this book. Much can be learned from the past.
Whenever I find an old call at a yard sale, flea market or antique store, it speaks to me with a melody that I understand. A soft purr, a solid cluck, a sharp kee-kee is hiding there. I know in the hands of its maker it could still race the pulse.
As you turn the pages of this book, remember that no other hunting sport has ever revisited its golden age. The work of the National Wild Turkey Federation and other dedicated conservationists, however, has returned us to the good old days. The old turkey Judases wrote the song. This book relives their music.
About the Author
Sportsman, collector, internationally known championship call maker and author. He is the most widely acknowledged game call historian and expert of our time. Co-founder of the Call Makers and Collectors Association of America, Harlan, through various organizations, is the curator of the largest collection of game calls and sporting memorabilia in America today. His efforts to authenticate the game call as a unique American Folk Art form has received world wide recognition.
