 |
|
Name:
Gary Tucker |
|
Tuck
Maxsons Turkey Calls
Callmaking for Gary is not a full time business but he is beginning to see it could quickly evolve into one. He still finds time to support his local NWTF chapter and often donates calls to events such as the Kansas Governor Youth Hunt. Calls and can be purchased directly from him or through Midwest Turkey Call Supply. As for the 2x2 block of walnut mention earlier, Gary has since turned that into a nice turkey call but not on his first attempt. |
Gary
Tucker hails from the great State of Oklahoma. Born and raised in
city of Blackwell he is a truly blessed man with three children,
two grandchildren and a great wife who endures with his new interest
in turkey calls. Gary has worked in the grocery and wholesale meat
business with his family since 1971. Working in the family business
has its perks, as Gary has been able to make time to enjoy his love
of the outdoors and his favorite hobbies, which include fishing
and wing shooting. 
In
the spring of 1999 Gary decided to try his hand at something new.
Turkey hunting for some unexplainable reason caught his attention
and it wasn’t long before Gary found himself gearing up and
heading into the woods with his oldest son. Unknown to Gary, this
turkey-hunting trip would be one that changed his life as he had
only walked into the woods 100 yards and realized he was having
a heart attack. Two days later he found himself in the hospital
as he began his long recovery from triple by-pass surgery. Needless
to say this life-changing event halted his dreams of turkey hunting
until the spring of 2000.
As
Gary was recovering from his recent surgery he came across a 2x2
piece of walnut that his granddad had cut on his sawmill back in
1965. At the time Gary knew nothing about woodworking but for some
strange reason he was driven to build at least one turkey call in
his life. Having no prior knowledge on how to make a call, he starting
reading everything he could get his hands on that was related to
turkey calls. Gary continued to look at that piece of walnut until
the spring of 2003 when he finally decided to give it a try. He
quickly discovered there was a lot more to callmaking than most
realize. Every piece of wood sounds different and even if you use
an existing call as a pattern (something he had previously read)
everything boils down to trial and error.
Overtime,
one completed call turned into two, then three and before he knew
it friends starting asking him to make them one. Pretty soon Gary
was cranking out turkey calls but not before he had some excellent
schooling from friend, Don Ailey, on power tools and coaching from
Larry Greser of Prairie Game Calls. Eventually, he felt his calls
were good enough to sell on the open market. This became quite apparent,
as he has now sold calls to customers in 21 different states. His
success has been a humbling experience as he has gained the utmost
respect for the veteran callmakers that often make it look so easy.
Learning new ways to improve his calls is a never-ending process,
and for Gary he will be the first to tell you he is willing to pay
his dues.
Today
Gary builds several styles of calls to include: one-piece long box
calls, one-piece two chamber calls and even an occasional wing bone.
12 inch and 9 inch long boat calls are among his favorite to make.
Gary feels they are the most beautiful of any of his calls and seem
to have the feel of a good shotgun in your hand. His preference
of woods is walnut, red oak, cedar and popular for the box and lids
are built with mahogany, purple heart, padouk, lacewood and cedar.
Many of Gary’s calls include inlays of various woods and even
an occasional shotgun shell brass or pewter coin. He is a stickler
when it comes to shaping, sanding and finishing. Many of his calls
are built for field use, but are also great additions to those looking
for a call to add to their collection.|
Copyright © 1997-2006 Custom Calls Online
|