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Name:
Larry Gresser |
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Prairie
Game Calls
Other interests include his involvement with DU and also the NWTF. He is an active member and supporter of the Grand Valley NWTF chapter in Michigan. Each year he donates calls for their annual banquet and in 2004 he will provided box calls for every jake member that attended the banquet. |
Larry
Gresser was born and raised in Joliet Illinois, which is located
in the North East section of the State. Larry’s knowledge about
hunting began in the early 1960’s when he first started at
the age of 6. Tagging along with his father he recalls many times
they barely made it through snow drifts as they hunted for rabbits
pheasants and squirrels. Today, Larry regularly spends his 4 weeks
of company vacation hunting deer and turkey and from the months
of October until January he can be found out in the field at least
5 times a week. Larry’s love for hunting is something he takes
pride in and nothing excites him more than sharing this passion
with his son Matthew who is now in his teens. 
In
1994 Larry began making turkey calls although they were not his
first choice of calls to make. Back in the 70’s and 80’s
Larry spent much of his time hunting duck and goose. Each year he
would start in Canada or Dakota or northern Michigan and follow
the migration down to Texas. Duck and goose hunting was in his blood
and from 1971 till 1995 he never missed opening day of hunting in
Illinois. He originally intended to start a line of waterfowl calls
but held off because he didn’t have the fancy lathe or special
tools required. Then in 1993 he was introduced to turkey hunting
and after one 
year
the callmaking bug struck again. It stemmed from reading an article
in a hunting magazine on how to make your own box call with little
or no special tools. This was the break Larry had been looking for
and off to his workshop he went. Larry carefully followed the instructions
to a tee and BINGO it worked both looking and sounding just like
a turkey call should. From there his personality took control and
he began experimenting with what if he did this or what would happen
if he changed that. He was hooked and even if he never sold a call
he had no plans on stopping.
Today
callmaking is a full time hobby for Larry and almost every day he
finds some sort of project to start with making calls. Sound and
wood and how they work together is always a learning experience,
especially when he cuts into a new type of wood that he has never
used before. His preference of wood type is hard woods particularly
wild cherry, which he enjoys working with the most. His favorite
call to make is his long paddle made out of Long Leaf Pine. It is
a fun call to build and takes less time to tune and he never goes
into the woods without it. 
Larry
builds a variety of calls, which include strikers, box calls, slate,
scratch boxes and even mouth yelpers. His calls go by the name Prairie
Game Calls and can be purchased directly from him or through |
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