Interesting Meeting

One of the things I love about doing sales as a part of my job is the chance to get out and meet people.

I like to think I am a "people person." Most of the time. At least I have the gift of gab.

Today, I got to meet someone really interesting.

It is no secret that I like to hunt and do frequently. The first time I ever hunted it was for pheasant and I was so young all I got to carry was a BB Gun and to shoot field mice in the snow the day after Thanksgiving in probably 1993.

As I grew up, I would usually hunt coyotes several times a year with my dear late friend, Otha and his son.

When I hit college, I started hunting birds more. I was a member of the Sportsmen's Club on the campus which shot trap every week and 2-4 times a year we would go to a pay-to-hunt club that would release birds for us.

And then one of the most influential people in my hunting life. One of my pledge brothers in my Fraternity on campus was an avid waterfowl hunter. He and I became fast friends and would spend lots of time talking about hunting. He started sharing stories of an annual hunting trip he took with some other guys from the Frat and a couple other local guys to Southern Illinois to goose hunt on the edge of Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge. The more we talked, the more interested I became. Finally, one day he could tell that I was really interested and asked if I would be interested in go on the trip, too. I jumped at the opportunity.

The weather for the trip sucked. High temps the three days we hunted were 64, 70, and 66 in the middle of January. Our group shot 5 geese the first day, 1 the second day, and none the third day. But we had a great time, what we can remember. I was hooked.

I came back to college and within 2 weeks I had bought an new Benelli Nova Pump Shotgun chambered for 3-1/2" Super-Mag 12-gauge and covered in Wetland's Camo.

And then I wanted to get a good goose call. I wanted a short reed versus a flute call as the short reed tends to have better sound that carries farther. I checked out the selection at Farm King and saw a Mick Lacy Chinook Short Reed Goose Call where the package said it blew easy and it was an acrylic call (cast acrylic, not turned, but still acrylic) for about $30.

Took it home and followed the directions. I sucked.

Finally, after a couple of months, I decided that I was going to have to try something easier. So I got a Mick Lacy Black Magic Flute Call.

Anywho. Over the next couple of years, I worked and worked and worked until I finally figured out how to blow a short reed. I actually had to buy a different short reed call, a Primos Honky Tonk with the instructional DVD. But I could call with a short reed.

Fast forward to today. Literally. The thing about Mick Lacy Game Calls is, their headquarters are in Princeville, Illinois. I happened to be in Princeville today and saw a sign for Mick Lacy Game Calls. So I wheeled the truck into the parking lot and walked in. Inside, there is a little black lab to greet me and an older gentleman. I introduce myself and he welcomes me to the shop. He asks me if I am a hunter. Of course. So he hands me a catalog and says to take a look at it, as he needs to go take care of something quickly. I flip through the catalog and see a picture of Mick Lacy. Wait a second. That is the guy I just talked to. He comes back and I say, "You're Mick?"

"Yep."

I introduce myself and he asks what kind of hunting I do. I tell him and that I have a couple of his calls. He walks over to the shelf and pulls out a couple of differnt calls and hands them to me.

"Give these a try" he says.

I do. They sound great.

We talk some more. He shows me some other calls.

All in all, it was a really cool conversation. I told him I would be back. He replied, "Any time."


So, I have decided that all of my calls in the future will be Mick Lacy calls. There is just something about meeting the guy who builds 'em that I really appreciate.

If you are ever in the area, stop in and meet Mick. You'll be glad you did.