Limited Edition Here is your chance to ‘Reignite the Passion’ with one of these beautiful collector’s Limited Edition Duck Calls. here are going to be more opportunities to hunt ducks this year than for the last twenty years. Hunters are going to be able to dust off their hunting skills and be successful on each trip. New hunters are going to learn more skills in this one year than in all the last ten. T To commemorate this great duck season that we are all getting ready for, Feathers & Fur Magazine has commissioned the making of a Limited Edition duck call as part of the ‘Celebrate the Hunt Festival’. Renowned decoy carver and call maker, John Byers from Gippsland, has been given the task of creating these beautiful duck calls. John has sold calls and decoys to every state of Australia and John Byers individually trims and hand tunes the reeds for the calls. internationally to the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Greece and even Japan. John first began carving decoys in 2002 and shortly met up with Brian Hiller from the USA who taught him some of the finer points of decoy carving. John always had an interest in woodworking and found that carving decoys was a great way Each duck call is turned by hand without the use of to combine this templates making each call unique and individual. interest with his passion for waterfowling. He began making duck calls very soon after. The foray into the duck calls was just another progression of his interest in woodworking and duck hunting. Wood for each call is hand selected 20 Feathers & Fur John is basically self-taught in call making, but developed some associations with call makers in the USA and was able to get instruction from these makers. He has now made several trips to the United States to hone his call making skills. Fine sanding on the lathe. www.feathersandfur.com.au Duck Call prevent splitting and swelling. The call is returned to the lathe for shaping and polishing of the brass band and fine sanding of the call. Once the lathe work is finished the call is then sprayed with lacquer and The brass band and copper rivets are turned in the polished. A lathe to match the call barrel. moulded polycarbonate Hand made duck calls are highly insert that John has made in the sought after in other parts of the USA then gets fitted into the hand world where the making of duck turned timber barrel. calls is a folk art with hundreds of years of tradition. Quality calls Once this is done the made from different types of wood soundboard is shaped, the fetch many hundreds of dollars at reeds are trimmed and then call collecting shows and swap the wedge is fitted. Because meets around the world. Some are each call is individual the worth many thousands of dollars to reeds are hand trimmed to collectors. suit the density of the The call that Feathers & Fur Magazine has commissioned John to make for this Limited Edition commemorative series is a double reed black duck call. They are made from walnut which was grown at Dargo in the High Country of Victoria. It was felt that walnut was very appropriate for these commemorative calls as walnut is the wood used for stocks in high quality shotguns. Each call is individually made by hand and John does not use a duplicating or copy lathe. This means that each call is unique and individual; no two calls are exactly the same. The process of making a call starts when a blank is cut from the timber. Most types of timber have been stored and dried for up to two years. A 5/8” bore is drilled through the blank and then the blank is rounded on the lathe. These calls will have a brass band fitted and secured with glue and two copper pins. The blank goes back onto the lathe where it is turned to shape. The rough call is then sealed against moisture to www.feathersandfur.com.au timber. The call is then tuned to get the right sound for the type of timber used. Once John has finished the calls they are then sent away to have their sequential number put on each individual call. Each call will be packaged into a clear lidded presentation box so that it can be displayed proudly in the appropriate position of a hunter’s home or trophy shelf. The beautiful walnut grained wood sets these calls apart from any commercial call on the market in Australia. Each call comes with a numbered certificate of authenticity that matches the number of the call. Not only are these calls stunning works of art and craftsmanship but they are also working duck calls. They come with a spring loaded camouflage lanyard for those hunters wishing to take them into the wetlands. Every duck call is tested to ensure perfect sound and pitch. Only 200 of these Limited Edition commemorative duck calls will be made. Sales will be on first ordered, first served basis once this edition of Feathers & Fur Magazine is delivered to readers and on newsstands. Hunters may order their call by using the order form on page 33 or by phoning (03) 9775 6744. You can order the lowest number available or you can select your own number. Hunters that purchased a limited edition FGA 50th Anniversary Miroku shotgun may wish to get a call with the matching number of their gun; if so, be quick and phone now. This is your chance to ‘Reignite the Passion’ and retain a permanent part of a season we will all remember. Let’s all ‘Celebrate the Hunt’. GRAND SLAM 2011 Are you up for the challenge? See details page 44 Feathers & Fur 21 Limited Edition Duck Call Individually hand made Dargo High Plains Walnut Brass Band Individually numbered Camouflage Lanyard Hand Tuned Cleaning Cloth Certificate of Authenticity Presentation packaging Limited Edition of 200 1/200 Your choice of pick your own number or the Lowest Number from what is available. Limited Edition Collectable Duck Calls Mail or Phone Order to: FEATHERS & FUR P.O. Box 4242, Langwarrin Vic 3910 Phone: (03) 9775 6744 Name: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Address: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phone: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Email: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No of CALLS @ $150 CHEQUE MONEY ORDER VISA MASTERCARD 1st Preference: No ........ or Lowest Number available 2nd Preference: No ........ or Lowest Number available 3rd Preference: No ........ or Lowest Number available Celebrate the Hunt Photo Competition ubmit your favourite photographs for a chance to win great prizes! There is $1500 worth of hunting equipment to be won courtesy of DKS Outdoors and Australian Hunting Sports Alliance (AHSA). See their advert on pages 37 to 40. S There are three categories with 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th prizes in each category. You may submit as many photos as you like, BUT only submit photos that you have captured yourself. Be sure to include your full name, city and state in the email. Give a small description of the photograph and where it was taken. F&F 65 Expiry Date . . . . . . . Signature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Limited Edition Duck Call only $150 Landscape & Habitat (eg, wetlands, sunsets, sunrises, rivers, wildlife) Hunting Scene (eg; hunters shooting or putting out decoys, calling, driving boats, fetching or plucking ducks & anything else that happens on the hunt) Gundogs (eg; retrieving, delivering a bird, waiting in the hide, riding in the car or boat, sleeping or any other situation that happens during the season) See the article on page 42 for some tips on how to take some great photos this duck season. Images submitted may also appear in Feathers & Fur magazine, web site, Facebook fan page, or marketing materials. Winners for the contest will be selected by Feathers & Fur based on quality, originality and creativity. The winning photographers will be contacted by Feathers & Fur Magazine via email at the end of the season. The three categories are: Email your photo(s) to [email protected] www.feathersandfur.com.au Feathers & Fur 33