Cocobolo and African Blackwood

Finished up this beautiful little call. She's made of Cocobolo and African Blackwood. ABW endpiece with my 'Glock' style stippling. It has a high polished brass band and orbit ring. Single reed call with a woods bore. Finished with a polished oil and wax finish.

Its available now to put on your lanyard! Email me and I can ship it right out. Lagrue@hotmail.com

(This call is SOLD)

Hearing A Smile

I wrote this story a number of years ago. True story. Susie has been gone about 20 years now. I miss her.

Hearing a Smile

We had been iced in for days, and the going was tough getting to Stuttgart. A cold front had moved in bringing with it sheets of ice, slush, and the occasional snowflake. During night it seemed that Mother Nature wouldn’t lift her hand from the thermostat, leaving no chance for a thaw. At the farmhouse, we warmed up and waited with my Grandmother for my father and mother to arrive. Susie would be with them too. After an hour’s wait, they finally trudged in, Mom and Dad cold and tired, and Susie frantic with anticipation of the hunt. A glance at the 10:00 weather, and a call to my Uncle Larry revealed that the same ice that caused so many truckers to jack-knife on the highway was covering our normal duck hole and was not planning on leaving. We decided to give it a try anyway. Ice or not, we were going!

Susie whined and whimpered when we left her at the farmhouse. We felt it was for the best. No reason to lose a good dog on account of ice and stupidity, even on the second to last day of the season.

On reaching my Uncle’s farm, we found the field roads were solid as pavement. So was the field. We tromped down to the hole and found it completely frozen. The slush had formed an inch thick layer of rock hard crust spanning from one side of the bayou to the other. To make matters worse, the crust was thin enough in places to allow the clumsy type (read me) to break through. Falling through the ice-crust, turned out to be our windfall. Though it had made the going an arduous task at best, our stumbling and falling had splashed muddy water on top of the ice. Realizing this made our duck hole appear to have the only open water for many miles, we began to kick and stomp the ice crust, splashing the muddy water on top of the ice. Half an hour later and about 3 gallons of sweat into our Gore-Tex linings, and we had ourselves’ quite the honey hole!

Wings appeared whistling overhead almost immediately, but the shooting was slim. The birds must have still been at the river. After picking up our seven birds, and testing our new insulated wader’s claims of warmth for a few hours, we decided to call it a day.

The weatherman was truly our friend that evening. Reports of the ice breaking up on the larger reservoirs perked our attention. With hopes of the ice crust thinning or disappearing, we made the decision to go back to the honey hole.

This time we would take Susie. No whimpering and whining this morning. This was Suzie’s third year hunting and she finally appeared to have ‘gotten’ the game after many unsuccessful hunts (and ribbing from mine and my father’s buddies). This was not due to her inability, but should really be attributed to my ham handed attempts at training her. We fed her half a bottle of baby aspirin hoping to curb the stiffness in her hips due to displaysia, but the best medicine for her ailing hips was her enthusiasm. As we rode to the bayou, Susie's tail thumped rhythmically against her travel kennel wall, almost like she was happy and smiling. First time I had ever heard a smile.

The field roads had begun to thaw and promised an ordeal in trying to get back out later that day. The hole was almost completely thawed on one side, and skim ice covered the sheltered side of the hole.

While still setting out the dekes, wings whistled again and again. The jet-fighter roar of large groups dropping out of the sky signaled the ducks’ intention to fall in readily. It also told us to get hidden quickly. Shooting time was on us. Susie and I crouched in the cattails trying to stay hidden. I carved out a hole in the rushes, and began to make a pile of them for her to perch on. Ears perked, she kept her nose skyward. Every duck kept her attention now.

Calls blaring, we easily got the first group to swing in to our spread. Susie made short work of picking up the drakes we shot, especially once she realized that bringing them back yielded a hunk of bacon from my coat pocket. The ducks were hungry too, from days spent on open water. They had been frozen out of the fields and the woods for days, and their hunger served our cause well. Susie shivered, but I think it was more from all the excitement than the cold.

Early on, I managed a long shot on a single trying to sneak into the dekes. It was not a very clean shot, and the single sailed for what seemed a quarter of a mile. Suzie was after it immediately, but another group circled just after she hit the water, so I called her back. We splashed four out of this group, and after breaking skim ice for 5 minutes, a nice pile of mallard drakes and one gadwall lay next to Susie on her mound. That original single had sailed off quite far down the bayou, and I felt we had lost it too far off in too deep cover. Susie was intent on going for a look. I scolded her and held her back.

We took a couple of drakes from each of the next few groups, but each time I sent Susie, she headed the other way, toward that sailing single from earlier. Over and over again, I stopped her and redirected her efforts to the ducks we had just dropped. She might have even begun to think her name was “no damnit” as often as I repeated it. Dad and I amazed at her intensity on going to that duck.

Finally two ducks short of our limit, I called over to Dad and told him I was going to go look for that single and take Susie with me. Again it was hard walking. I stumbled along, while Susie took it in stride. Halfway there, I released her and she splashed off down the bayou. Eventually, I could only locate her by the swaying of the cattails above her and the jingling of her tags. I thought for sure that the single was gone, and there was no way she would find it. Before I could even get to where I believed it had dropped, Susie appeared from the cattails with one very big drake in her mouth. She dropped the drake in my hand, and with head held high, she promptly splashed away to my dad and uncle. Uncle Larry scratched down one final bird to fill out our limit.

On the way back to my Grandmother’s farmhouse, we talked about all the groups that worked. We talked about the great shots we had made. We reveled at our first 3-limit hunt since the rules had changed. But mostly we talked about the great retrieves Susie had made, especially the mark and retrieve for that single.

            As we rode along down the now muddy field road, I could hear the proud thumping of Susie’s tail against the wall of her kennel. She was smiling again.

Thanks for all the great hunts Susie, I miss you in the blind!

Hunting Pics and a Completed Little Lagrue Call

The top pic comes from my father. He's been in Canada (Manitoba) for the past two weeks. He and his group have shot over 300 birds in the past two weeks. Something around 100 of them were greenheads. I made the calls in the photo a long time ago. I built the larger call in around 1997 on my old jig, and the smaller call was turned in 1999. He has shot literally thousands of birds over those calls over the past few years.

 

 

 

This call is completed and ready for sale. Claro Walnut with African Blackwood caps. Brass accent rings. Cocobolo toneboard. Raspy bottom end. Perfect call for flooded timber.  (This call is SOLD)

Three new Little Lagrue's almost finished.

Three new Little Lagrue calls almost completed.

 

Crosscut Bois D'arc with African Blackwood and Paduak. Double Brass accents. 

 

Cocobolo with Bolivian Rosewood with Brass accents. 

 

High figured Claro Walnut with African Blackwood Caps and Brass accents. Will get a gloss finish in a couple days. 

Little Lagrue Prototype

 

I've been wanting to re-invent another design I used to build regularly as well - a woods call. It is a smaller design, shorter length, slightly different design and a little quieter and squeakier. My trip to Reelfoot this past weekend was just the thing to kick me into gear.

With this 're-inventing' of the design, I wanted to do a couple other things:

- Round bottom lanyard grooves
- Change the location of the toneboard in relation to the mouth of the call
- Change the overall proportions of the call slightly while keeping my general design ideas intact

Finished this up. And I feel like I succeeded on all goals I set for myself. This one is made from ABW with some sapwood and Bolivian Rosewood with some sapwood. I've got another blank in Coco and Rosewood that I'll try to finish shortly. Both have ABW toneboards and o-ring construction.

 

Below is a comparison of the new 'Little Lagrue' compared to my former Woods call design on the left, and my current open water or field call on the right (with the ABW caps). You can see how much shorter the design is. It feels just right in the hand

 

My Shop....

One of the things that prompted me back into callmaking again was the gift of a new lathe from my wife this past Father's day. One helluva gift!

I pulled the old Grizzly lathe off this bench and modified it slightly to fit the new lathe. The old Grizzly had made a ton of calls over the years, but I bent it slightly and it would no longer run true. No one likes a wobbly call....

New shop works really well. Its tight in there, but I try to keep it clean.

How To Order and Pricing

I'd love to make a call for you. Contact me at Lagrue@Hotmail.com to place an order or discuss an order. I respond to this email daily at a minimum.

Two things I must mention - First, I'm a husband, and father of two active kids. Second, I have a career that pays the bills. I have to put those two things first. I build calls in my 'spare' time, generally after everyone in my family has gone to sleep. My shop is on the opposite end of the house so I can work without disturbing them.

My basic call starts at $100 (single straight grain wood with a brass band). I offer options that add to that.

Finishes -
- Standard oil/wax finish - no charge. Best for hunting
- Poly finish - Price depends on the wood. Also a great hunting call finish.
- High Gloss Piano Finish (CA Finish) - $15 charge. I don't suggest this for hunting calls.

Bands -
- Shaped Brass Band - no charge. This is the same band I've been putting on my calls for 25+ years. All brass bands are pinned in 3 places to ensure they will not come off.
- Aluminum Anodized bands - Price depends on the band. Available as special request. Alu bands are installed with an industrial adhesive, and I suggest that these are installed only on acrylic calls.

Materials -
- Straight grain woods - Bois D'arc, Walnut, etc no charge
- Burl Woods  - email to discuss pricing and availability
- Exotic Woods - email to discuss pricing and availability ** Please note, due to a severe allergy I've developed over 20+ years of making calls, I can no longer turn Cocobolo or Bocote. 
- Stabilized woods - email to discuss pricing and availability. Stabilized woods are wonderful woods to use in a call due to their 'stable' nature. They don't absorb moisture readily and they can be quite beautiful.
- Hybrid blank woods - email to discuss pricing and availability. Hybrid woods are a mixture of Stabilized woods and poured acrylics. They can be very beautiful.
- Acrylic - $25 charge. I keep a few colors in stock, and my distributor is very close, so many options are available. Acrylic is a great option due to its beauty and resilience.
- Swirl/Special Acrylics - email to discuss pricing and availability. Just like the acrylics mentioned above, but can be very beautiful, mixing various colors in different patterns.

Construction Options -
Single Reed Construction - No charge - I don't make double reeds at this point (and never have).
Standard O-Ring Construction - No charge
Burnt Accent Rings - No charge. Looks best on light color woods
Endpiece or Barrel Caps - $5 either end, or $10 for both.
Orbits (Brass ring between main construction wood and cap)- $5
Stippling - $10 This is a random texturing of the surface of the call, both decorative and functional. There are only certain materials this is appropriate on.

What is the leadtime for all of this?
The answer is - It depends! A simple straight grain call with no options is much quicker to build than one with lots of options, so its that easy. The important thing is that I will communicate with you during the process. Finally, I won't take any money until the call is ready to ship - simple as that!

Duck calls make great presents for the hunter in your family, and you know you want one yourself. Get away from the mass produced stuff that you find in a catalog and order a hand made call, made buy a guy in Tennessee with an Arkansas hunting heritage. Email me and we'll get the process started.

Reelfoot!

Well, Reelfoot was a blast. This was my first time to attend the CCAA event at Reelfoot. I cannot believe I've never been to one of their events.

I had a chance to meet so many great callmakers and make a lot of new friends. The callmaking community is a small group, and it definitely pays to make friends with people. I spent more time asking questions and learning than I would have ever imagined.

I'm definitely planning to attend next year.

While I was there, I did manage to get my hands on some stabilized blanks, some gorgeous African blackwood and a very large haul of GREEN Bois D'arc! My favorite. There will be some beautiful calls come from that I'm sure!

Calls for Reelfoot!

Built this group of calls for Reelfoot. Five different kinds of wood included. Lots of different inlays. All sound great.

 

Really looking forward to this show. I've not been back to Reelfoot since 1999. I won the Grand American Novice that year there with one of my calls and loved the trip.

 

Lagrue Custom Calls - How I got my start.



I consider myself very lucky. My callmaking story goes back many years, even before my birth.

 

My grandfather was an avid duckhunter. Due to a number of changes in his life, he moved himself and his family (my dad) to Stuttgart Arkansas, Duck and Rice Capital of the world. That was about 1960 or so.

 

The house that my grandfather moved everyone into was next door to Chick and Sophie Major. Dad played catch in the yard with Chick, talked with his daughters, and most importantly to this story, he learned from Chick how to blow a duck call. Dad eventually became a champion caller in his own right.

 

A few years after moving to Stuttgart, Chick and Sophie set my father up on a date with their niece, and a short time later, my parents had become a couple.

 

Dad also spent countless hours in Chick's shop watching him work his magic coaxing duck calls out of blocks of wood. Many years later, Sophie granted him access to his toneboard jig and allowed him to have a copy made at a machine shop. She did this to ensure that the family would continue to make calls in the future.

 

Fast forward many years later - I was 12 years old and messing around in Dad's garage workshop. I found the old jig and the mandrel that went with it. Very quickly I figured out how it all worked. Dad had a Shopsmith that he bought just for making calls, and I used it to teach myself how to turn wood and built my first call.

 

That first call is below. Number 1. Made from Bois D'arc cut from a fencepost pulled outside of Stuttgart. Still sounds good. That was 1987..... Time flies.

 

 

At that time in my life, I was regularly hunting Lagrue and Little Lagrue Bayou in the Ulm area. I hunted that Bayou for about 20 years of my life and that is where I learned to call ducks. It was only appropriate that I name my calls after that bayou.

 

My call barrel shape was designed to be comfortable in the hand and in use. The endpiece was designed to house an overbored or step-drilled end, which flared out. This gave them volume. I believe I was the first call-maker to use step drilling in the endpiece.

 

My calls were made with that jig for the first years. They sounded good. Used a taper fit insert and were loud! I was not really satisfied however. I wanted to build a call that was my own design.

 

During college, I took some time off from callmaking, but kept close to calling by working as a tuner for RNT Products. I probably tuned something around 30k calls during my time there and it definitely honed my tuning ear. I spent a fair amount of time with Buck Gardner learning contest calling from him. He is a great teacher and I did fairly well in the contests at the time.  

 

I started back at the lathe in 1997. I designed a new toneboard and insert. Smaller bore, O-ring construction, completely different toneboard. Barrels again flowed into the endpiece and they featured a rounded band. I won a Mainstreet competition with this design and the calls made in this jig have hunted everywhere from Stuttgart to Canada. I believe I was one of the first builders to use an O-ring end-piece.

 

A 2nd generation call with a cocobolo endpiece and claro walnut barrel. 

2nd generation call with acrylic contest endpiece and claro walnut barrel. 

 

Now its 2016, I'm back at making calls again. This time around, I'm trying to make the finest calls I can from the finest materials. A new lathe in the shop, improved tooling for better accuracy and always improving my processes to make a better call. My goal is to make heirloom quality calls that put ducks on the water, look good and will last long enough to be passed down through generations.

 

Some of my current generation of calls. 

 Fiddleback maple with African Blackwood caps and Paduak inlays. Sleeved with Cocobolo

 

Claro Walnut with Bois D'arc caps and Paduak inlays. Sleeved with Cocobolo

 

 Black Acrylic full-bore competition call.