Media of PT Tully Custom Gamebird Calls

WILD: Calls are crafted from a wide variety of woods

lEWISTON TRIBUNE SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 2009

> Continued from PAGE 18

ago he decided to try to make a profession out of it. His calls are both functional and works of art.

"I make them to be used," he said. "I do have collectors all over the country."

The calls are made from a wide range of wood, including local maple and walnut trees, exotic woods

like African Blackwood and Cocobolo, and Bocote from South America. All three of the exotic woods are prized by call makers.

"You drop one of these in the water, forget it, straight to the bottom," he said of a duck call made from African Blackwood.

The wood has a high oil content and is so dense that

it sinks instead of floating. But the oil and density makes the call impervious to tone changes caused by the wet and nasty weather that duck hunters seek out.

Tully makes both box and friction turkey calls. The slate he uses comes from Pennsylvania and the carbon strikers allow them to function in wet weather. He tunes each of his calls by hand and has a keen ear for natural sounding calls.

"I learned to call by actually listening to the animals. I had that advantage." ,

Tully’s calls are available for sale on the Internet at www.customgamebirdcalls.com. Information about the times and locations of the demonstrations, clinics and contests at the show is available at on the Web at www.bchi.org.

The show runs from. 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and will be followed by a prime rib dinner and auction. The show gets going again at 9 a.m. Sunday and runs until 3 p.m.

. Barker may be contacted at ebarker@lmtrlbune.com or at (208) 848-2273.

"It gives me something to do. I get to go out, mess around and play with the birds a little."

PAT TULLY

such as colt breaking, stock packing, dog agility, fly casting, and mounted shooting. There will also be a barbecue contest today and Dutch oven cook-off on Sunday.

But the pavilion at the fairgrounds is filled with vendors hawking everything from chain saws to cowboy hats. Like many of them, Tully travels the Northwest selling his products. He recently returned from the Bighorn Show in Spokane, and despite the poor economy said people are still spending money on outdoor activities and gear. "I was shocked," he said about the amount of money people were willing to part with.

Tully continued making calls off and on as a hobby after he graduated from high school. About five years

> See WILD, page 68

Tribune/Steve Hanks
Pat Tully, of Myrtle, owner of Custom Game Bird Calls, was able to turn his love for hunting game birds into a career by making and selling hand-turned duck, geese and turkey calls.

Custom call maker is among the vendors at Back Country and Outdoor Show

By ERIC BARKER OF THE TRIBUNE

Pat Tully turned an F he received on a high school shop project into a career that allows him to spend plenty of time outside talking to ducks, geese and turkeys.

The Myrtle man's woodshop teacher gave him a failing grade for the slate and wood turkey call he made as a high school senior in California. Now he makes turkey, waterfowl and other game calls for a living and spends lots of time field-testing his products.

"It gives me something to do," he said, "I get to go out, mess around and play with the birds a little. I'm looking forward to the middle of next month (when turkey season opens) and field testing."

Tully is one of dozens of vendors selling his wares at the Back Country and Outdoor Show at the Nez Perce County Fairgrounds in Lewiston today and Sunday.

The show, hosted by the Back Country Horsemen of Idaho, includes a wide range of clinics and demonstrations of outdoor activities

Man answers the call of the wild

. Tribune/Steve Hanks

Custom game bird calls, made for calling ducks, are made with multiple types of wood laminated together. A few can be seen glistening while on display at the Back Country and. Outdoor Show at the Nez Perce County Fair-grounds on Friday. The show continues today and Sunday.