NWTF 2016 HUNTING CALL RESULTS

[Rick Howard]

This really makes a fella think.  How can such a subjective thing be judged to the margin of 1st 2nd 3rd....  If possible, what is the standard?  There must be one right?

Calling contest seem kin to this subject.  Such and incredibly difficult thing to judge with a lack of a standard.  I participated in a coyote calling contest once.  It was a ton of fun!  But at least in my mind... every guy there could have been 1st place.  I will participate in another coyote calling contest in January 2017.  Cause its fun to hang out with the folks, play calls, and talk about our shared interest.  If I were to ever enter my calls into a contest... It would be for the same reasons. 

[mwr]

First let me be very clear. Karen Cavander is the ONLY one on the nwtf staff who had the guts to speak her mind about how this mistake should never have happened. We have known Karen for years, and me and my whole family are very close to her. She stood up and voiced here opinion to her boss. I heard it myself. Just don't want any confusion there. She's a great person.
  If the board was there on Fri. morning I missed it. It is possible. I want argue that point. As for all your other questions, the only person I know who might answer them for you is Charlie Burke.
  Good luck with that.
Honestly, Josh and I could care less about the award. It's how we were treated by the staff member who first addressed the issue that is the big problem.
  I'm done now, I've said my peace. Time to fill some call orders and get ready for turkey season. 

Yeah get back too work Al!!!!! 

[GSLAM95]

I will admit that I have picked up some calls just as others have every year at the convention and said to myself "How in the H*** did those calls place over this one".  Lets face it, judging would be a thankless job period!

I was discussing this next subject with a call maker just last night, the question of "How can anyone give a true fair judgement of calls when judging so many in such a short time?"  The reason I say this is because how many times have we all set out a bunch of our calls to run on a table at home and after running just a few there becomes a period of what I call "tone deafness".  I may not be the best at typing what I am thinking here but I am sure most of you have and do experience what I am talking about. 
It is that point where a lot of calls sound the same but yet if you take a good break away and come back later sometimes a different call than what you first chose will end up being the better sounding to you.  You simply in my opinion can not judge that many calls in such a short amount of time. 

Leaving names and signatures off of calls is a good idea as well but there are many of us who don't need a name on a call to figure out who's it is so I don't know just how much this would accomplish either although it may help somewhat.
I think one reason you won't see some people judging is because the NWTF is such a tightwad organization that they will not even pay for the rooms of the judges.  They don't have to give them an individual room but they could bunk two to a room to save on some of the cost or even offer a substantially reduced room rate since they have to be there a day or two in advance.
A lot of good discussion could happen here but it won't.  One reason is there are many call makers that are afraid they will be pushed to the side and will not be part of the "callmaking click" anymore.

[hunter22]

No way could you drag me into judging after finally seeing and playing all the fine calls entered. And yes, I could tell you who made what call without a name being on it. I own numerous calls from about all of them. LOL It seems that the calling competition judging does not come under the scrutiny of the call making competition. What is different between the two contests?

[Spring Creek Calls]

Well I finally read down far enough to see what happened to Al and Josh. Absolutely unbelievable! This is why I enjoyed Unicoi so much, just good ole' call makers, turkey calls and callin'.

[GSLAM95]

No way could you drag me into judging after finally seeing and playing all the fine calls entered. And yes, I could tell you who made what call without a name being on it. I own numerous calls from about all of them. LOL It seems that the calling competition judging does not come under the scrutiny of the call making competition. What is different between the two contests?

Uhhh I know several folks in that part of the world as well and trust me there is just as much scrutiny in the calling world as well!

[turkeyfanatic]

I sit back and don't say much, but this time of the year a thread like this always pops up. Hopefully no one takes this the wrong way. I'm not here to ruffle any feathers. I'm happy for the winners and sorry to hear about the people who were affected negatively. This stuff is almost entertainment. Similar stories have been going on like this for years as far back as the CCO days and probably even further. The days of holding pig Pickens at the NWTF building in SC during closed hours to try and build a relationship with call makers and the NWTF. As you can see it didn't work. Nothing will change until call makers put their foot down,stop going and donating.

[slicksbeagles1]

Wow, another fun filled nwtf call contest..... 

      I have no dog in the fight, but feel really bad for the callmakers....

      The judging ordeal has been a  ever since Bruce Elliott quit....

      Finding unbiased & competent judging seems like  an insurmountable task....

      Anytime, you have a contest, that is judged by people, there will be problems....

      The respect & honesty dealing with the callmakers calls entered, that once made this contest respected & meaningful, has gone by the wayside...

       To place the proper worth & value of each callmakers efforts to build calls that get results spring & fall, is really what you build them for....

        The redhead with the beard & spurs is the real judge of callmaking.....   When he replies to your calling & you take pictures of him along side your calls, I hope, the nasty taste from Nashville is a very distant memory...

        To all you callmakers.......Thanks much for all you do to make your calls the best they can be.

        Made in AMERICA, too....
     

     

       

very well said! Something else that is very disturbing to me is how it seems some of the calls entered into the custom call competitions are totally machine made. I can put a piece of material in a cnc machine, program the machine and spit out a call, then every other one would be exactly the same from then on just change the material used. To me this is not custom, not made by call makers hands and there abilities as true artist. 
   

[hunter22]

Wow, another fun filled nwtf call contest..... 

      I have no dog in the fight, but feel really bad for the callmakers....

      The judging ordeal has been a  ever since Bruce Elliott quit....

      Finding unbiased & competent judging seems like  an insurmountable task....

      Anytime, you have a contest, that is judged by people, there will be problems....

      The respect & honesty dealing with the callmakers calls entered, that once made this contest respected & meaningful, has gone by the wayside...

       To place the proper worth & value of each callmakers efforts to build calls that get results spring & fall, is really what you build them for....

        The redhead with the beard & spurs is the real judge of callmaking.....   When he replies to your calling & you take pictures of him along side your calls, I hope, the nasty taste from Nashville is a very distant memory...

        To all you callmakers.......Thanks much for all you do to make your calls the best they can be.

        Made in AMERICA, too....
     

     

       

very well said! Something else that is very disturbing to me is how it seems some of the calls entered into the custom call competitions are totally machine made. I can put a piece of material in a cnc machine, program the machine and spit out a call, then every other one would be exactly the same from then on just change the material used. To me this is not custom, not made by call makers hands and there abilities as true artist. 

I couldn't agree more. But I have been flogged for expressing this view in the past. Heck, I was attacked on here recently for saying it. Unfortunately a lot of the winning calls are being made this way now.

[boatpaddle]

    Hand hewn vs cnc = a huge 

    We are entitled to speak our thoughts and opinions over this topic....

     For those that get/got offended, please understand it's not a personal vendetta against you or your way of making calls on my part....

     It's one of those agree to disagree topic's .......

     

   

   

[greentag]

    Hand hewn vs cnc = a huge 

    We are entitled to speak our thoughts and opinions over this topic....

     For those that get/got offended, please understand it's not a personal vendetta against you or your way of making calls on my part....

     It's one of those agree to disagree topic's .......

     

   

   

the machines can make a great call, there is no doubt,me myself, i much rather prefer the hand made calls,that some one has put their heart and soul in to make the best possible call they can,i like everything about them better,even the tiny flaws.they are works of art to me that has a purpose.i am not against machine made calls in anyway,i like anything that can call a turkey,but i just love a hand made call.i would love to one day have a collection like ricky on here,maybe even a room just dedicated to turkey hunting and calls,but for now i will just have to dream

[strutnrut]

DESIRE
Al, Josh, Jeff, Frank, Matt, Mark, Russell, Lamar, Ralph, Marlin, Scott, Wendell, Mike, Jack, Herb, Bill, Shannon, Chuck, and even myself along with a thousand others that Desire to take a piece of wood or bone and hew it out, sand it down, carve it up, or burn it in whichever mean we can afford or have available  to us to create to the best of our abilities a call that will assist us with the disease we all share. The DESIRE to call, hunt and kill one of the greatest birds God ever created. The Wild Turkey. 
Ask yourself,  Do I really think that the few CNC calls laying on the tables at the Nationals are the same as the calls hanging in Bass Pro, Wal-Mart,or any of the retail outlets are the same quality??? Do you see any of these calls laying up on those tables. NO You Do Not !!!! WHY because every call on those tables was built by someone who is making the best call they can any way they can. No one makes anyone put a call in the competition. Why some do and some don't is up to them. One thing is for sure once entered rest assured you are up against some of the best guy and gal who share the same DESIRE.       

[slicksbeagles1]

strutnrut all call makers have the desire to make calls that will call in a turkey, but compare apples to apples. It's like comparing a Chevy to a Ferrari. Each call maker has a choice in how to make there calls machine made is the same as mass produced the only difference is the quality of material used. Hand made is just as it implies made with human hands. The competition should have 2 different categories custom hand made and machine made it is only fair to the real artist. It is kind of a disgrace to the fore fathers of call making for which the TOP awards are NAMED in HONOR!

[ol bob]

If you had "100%" hand made calls there would only be 2 or 3 entered

[strutnrut]

I bet a brand new turkey call that the calls in question a MACHINE was used at some point. Red Apple or Green Apple it's still an Apple.