A turkey call can be a tool, a craft, and a time capsule all at once. From a back room at NWTF, we sit down with Clay Townsend and his son Dawson of Clay Townsend Calls to dig into what it really takes to build handmade turkey calls that hunters trust and judges reward. Clay lays out the unglamorous part most people skip: building daily, scrapping what doesn’t work, leaning on honest critique, and slowly finding a process that produces consistent sound and clean finish.

We also talk about the pull of the Grand National Callmaking Competition. Clay tells the story of sending in his first trumpet and finishing dead last, then coming back year after year until the work finally broke through, including a huge run on the amateur friction side and later wins on the air-call stage. A highlight is the “champion of champions” class and the meaning behind earning the Billy Bice Award, named for a legend Clay knew personally. Dawson shares his own competition path, what he’s learned building pot calls, and why trumpets feel like the next precision challenge.

Then we bring it back to the woods: a hard-earned Osceola hunt in South Florida, a first-turkey double that lit a fire under Clay’s wife, and why scouting without a gun can make you a better turkey hunter and a better caller. We wrap with what’s new at the bench, including Clay’s durable plastic injection molded design and where you can find their work online. If you enjoy turkey hunting, turkey calling, and the culture of custom callmaking, subscribe, share this with a buddy, and leave us a review.

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