Name: David Gaston
Address: 1604 Rural Road; Thomasville, AL 36784
Phone: 334-636-0492 Fax: 334-636-2941
E-mail: david@gastoncustomcalls.com
Personal Website: www.gastoncustomcalls.com

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 Gaston Custom Calls

David Gaston was born and raised in Camden Alabama and lives in area that some would call a sportsman’s paradise. Growing up he had the opportunity to try his hand at white tail deer, quail, turkey and the list could go on for days. But, it wasn’t until the mid 1960’s that David started to duck hunt, and from that time forward it has been his favorite sport. Duck hunting opportunities came in the form of jump shooting beaver ponds and river bottoms along the Alabama River when he first started. But all of that changed with the completion of the Miller’s Ferry Lock and Dam in 1969. David was soon living in a duck hunter’s dream world, especially when you could get in a morning hunt and be back at work by 8:30. Bag limits soon consisted of more than just your backwater wood ducks. Soon the skies were filled with a plethora of ducks to include: mallards, blacks, widgeons, pintails, gadwalls, ring necks and even an occasional canvasback.

Although hunting was good in Wilcox County David ventured out and started hunting in Mississippi. In 1979 he visited call maker Gordon Hartley of Leland, Mississippi, maker of Southland Duck Calls. After that visit he began turning his own duck calls. The first attempts were crude and although he continued, his attempts didn’t seem to be improving. In his teenage years he had successfully built turkey calls but perfecting his duck call was beginning to become a challenge. However, all of that changed with a hunting trip to Arkansas in 1984. While hunting, David met Alvin Taylor of Clarendon Arkansas, maker of Taylor Made Duck Calls. Through the years Mr. Taylor and David became close friends and started a friendship that continued through the years. Mr. Taylor has since passed away, but during those years David acquired a set of call making skills and techniques from him that he will cherish throughout his call-making career.

Today, David makes and sells calls under the name Gaston Custom Calls. These duck calls are available in two types acrylic and wood. Wood calls are made from either cedar or Bois d’Arc. Instead of buying wood from a lumberyard, David harvests his own wood and personally delivers it to the mill where it is cut into 2” x 2” strips. Each piece chosen is hand inspected by David before he stacks it and sets it aside to dry. David realizes that many hunters prefer wood calls for their excellent sound and traditional appeal. Therefore, each call that he completes he carefully adds a high-gloss sealant to protect it from the elements.

David’s acrylics come in a variety of colors such as, smoke, clear, green, mallard green, black and copper. Acrylic calls have become a standard by which duck calls are measured and he insures that each of these calls will produce that extra special sound that will have ducks flying into your blind. So, whether you choose an acrylic or wood Gaston Custom Call you can be assured that each one is hand turned and tuned to produce all the sounds of the mallard hen, from the ringing hail calls to the softest quacks and clucks.