DU Donation Calls

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Steve Steffy

Well-known member
Just donated these to our local DU banquet last night...
Spalted Hackberry barrel with beaver tail wrap and North Bay custom made African Blackwood insert w/ a Curly Mayan walnut stand and whitetail deer antler peg-
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And a Chakte Viga Barrel with mallard flank feathers on two sides and North Bay custom made African Blackwood insert w/ a Curly Mayan walnut stand and whitetail deer antler peg-
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Here's a c lose up of one of the feathers...
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Steve
 
Wow Steve those are gorgeous calls and that's very generous of you to donate those beauties. LOVE that beavertail wrap

Dani
 
Thanks again Steve...you mean like a teal whistle with a teal feather and a small strip of beaver leather? I can do something like that, I just have to find a cooperative teal first. Maybe I'll luck into one at the spot Maxx and me will be gunning today. They are almost always there this time of year.

Thanks Dani...I'm particularly fond of the beaver wrap myself being a trapper and all. I'll certainly be making more of them.

Al and Shawn...thank you both. The DU committee absolutely loved them. It was a tough crowd though, they each brought in $60 for DU or $120 total. Steve and I had a good discussion regarding the low bids. I just have to look at it from the perspective that a couple of guys got a great deal at the banquet. And I'm okay with that too, if there are too many "high rollers" at a banquet the guys that don't spend as much money just won't bother to show up the next year and support the ducks. They received bids and were sold, that's what matters the most.

Thanks guys and gals,
Steve
 
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Steve actually I was thinking a small call that does that high raspy quack
Don't remember the number on it but like the Blue Haydel teal call

Butttttt now that you brought it up a whistle would be neat. For Pintails and Wigeon and Whistling Ducks. Remember the old Herters Pintail whistles. Always loved the look of those.

So now it's a Florida package. Teal and Whistlers. I like it


Steve
 
I've got one of those Haydel calls around here somewhere. Raspy is an understatement.
 
Thanks Carl, no I don't tan the beaver tails myself, they get sent out for that. I wish I had the time to do that as well.

Steve...Let me see what I can muster up. I have made some other toneboards with that higher raspy tonal quality, but they weren't what I was striving for at the time and ended up in the junk pile. I can reopen that can of worms and fine tune it now that I want to achieve that sound. Stay tuned on that.

John...Thank you sir. No I do not tan the beaver tails. I have actually been looking for somebody to do that for nearly ten years or maybe more. I finally found them this past year, its game on now! Hey, I drove by your neck of the woods (Montezuma WR) to do some climbing last weekend. Lots of geese around and there appeared to be quite a few ducks sitting in the ponds along I-90. You been doing any good up that way?

Thank you kindly Joe. I'm looking forward to making to making some more of these with different woods.
 
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My son got a few wood ducks on the youth hunt weekend. Was actually the best wood duck decoying action I've seen in a long time.
Our duck season opens next weekend. However we're throwing Halloween parties at the house that Friday and Saturday, we've got an Eagle Scout project to help with on Saturday morning, and the land trapping season starts on Sunday. Not looking promising for a duck hunt.
I tried tanning the beaver tails once with that orange bottle stuff. Think I may have fleshed them too much, as I ended up with just scales which proceeded to fall apart. Are you planning an ADK trapping trip this fall?
 
Back to back Halloween parties... Have fun with that! Very cool on the Eagle Scout project...what's the plan to tackle on that? I still need to get my traps ready for our season here, it always seems to sneak up on me and catch me unprepared. This year is no exception. I do plan to try and get out for the NY duck season opener over here. It will likely be a hunting / trapline scouting mission the whole weekend. Good time to be outside though.
As far as the beaver tails go...don't take off more than the fat/grisle If you do then you start eating away the leather. I know a guy that makes wallets and other items from beaver tails, they're pretty cool too.
As far as the Adirondack trapline goes...at this point it's 100% a definite maybe. I want to go very badly. I think I have a little pocket or maybe two of marten located. And may even have some areas for fisher lined up. However, my daughter and I may be going up to try and finish out climbing the 46 High Peaks instead. I'm at 38 peaks now, and she just took the lead with 40. We're hoping to do the balance together, but I may have to use some of my time off in November to accomplish that. So the trapline is kind of up in the air up there for right now. But there are some other mitigating factors to encourage me to run the trapline this year as well. I'll tell you about that if/when it does happen. You going to swing by if I manage to run the trapline up there this season?
 
Just remember to put Florida Pro Staff in really BIG letters on them. In two places at least. And maybe see is you can duplicate the beaver wrap in a laser carved neon acrylic. You know get away from that awful old school wood crap.

Steve
 
The party is something we started years ago and it' s now grown into two nights since our kids are so spread out in years. It's mainly my wife's thing, so she sets the dates. Now that she's working on her Masters degree while working full time I'm feeling a little more pressure to make sure everything is ready.

Next week's Eagle project is for another scout in the troop. Our son Ben completed his 2 weeks ago. We installed a fence at the local fish hatchery.

My traps are all dyed and waxed for next week. Just have to clean off the dogs and check the pan tension. Would love to come visit your Adirondack trapline, just unsure if I'll be free. Give me a heads up if you decide to go.

Where are you planning to duck hunt in NY?
 
Steve, absolutely if you have room for me this year!. I no longer have a sneakbox, I have a 15' Havoc duck oat with a mud buddy shaggy blind on her. I'm running a 30 hp Yamaha.
 
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