Name: David W. Collins
Address:
Phone: Fax:
E-mail: Yelper55@Yahoo.com
Personal Website: Rowanty Creek Yelpers

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 Rowanty Creek Yelpers

David W. Collins killed his first spring gobbler in 1982 and has hunted them ever since. It was only a year later that he made his first caller. Today his calls are known as the "Rowanty Creek Yelpers". These calls are true wing bone yelpers. Up till now the only way you could get a call was to know David. With his inclusion on Custom Calls On Line, for the first time collectors around the country will learn about and have the chance to obtain a Rowanty Creek Yelper.

When Dave and I talked about his calls, I asked him what made them special. The reply quickly came back that the calls were designed for their sound and that he took great pride in the quality of his calls. "They are nobody’s pretty thing", Dave said, but they all sound great. The sound was his most critical requirement. If it isn’t right to him it goes into the trash. I asked him what the hardest thing was to make one of his wing bone calls and he replied, " … getting the Turkey to give up his wings".

It takes a while to make a quality yelper. The bones need to be properly dried and then hollowed up to just the right inside diameters. From there they need to be fit together and glued into place. Unlike many calls, David takes extra time at this point to make sure the joints are fit exactly right and then he tapers the connection to improve it’s appearance. Total time to make just a call once the bones are ready is three days. Each call is signed and dated by David. He marks the calls with a letter and then the year, W9n. S9n or F9n. The letter stands for the season the call was made, Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall then the year 9n. For example W98 would indicate Winter 1998.

He started to hunt with his grandfather and was raised in southeast Virginia. In 1994 he took an Old Tom with six full beards. They measured a total of 54". This turkey had 1.5" spurs and was a true record book kill. Scoring 138.12 it’s third highest in Virginia and #27 on the NWTF record books for none typical birds.

Since starting to make calls David has made about 120 total calls and makes about 20 calls a year. These low production calls are sure to be valuable collectibles in the future.