OCTOBER 2018 • NEBRASKAland 33
exotics including hedge, English and
claro walnut, locust, maple, poplar,
ash, black walnut, African blackwood,
curly koa and desert mesquite burl.
Some woods are dyed and hardened to
make unique-looking calls, while other
woods are plain but beautiful in their
own simple way.
Hoover starts a call by drilling a
hole into a small block of wood that is
about one and one-half inches thick by
six to eight inches long. Then he bores
out the tone channel, which lies under
the reed. Precise measurements differ
between call makers, but that is what
gives each call a different sound, the
volume produced and how much air
it takes to blow the call. "I tend to get
picky and want a certain sound for a
call, and I want my calls to be easy for
anyone to use," he said. "Every small
detail in constructing a call affects the
outcome of each call."
Hoover then uses the lathe to carve
the animal profile into the call. The
next step is dipping the call to protect
the wood from moisture.
Once the wood is turned down, each
call is soaked overnight in Brazilian
rosewood oil and wiped down to make
it water-resistant. Some of the woods
aren't as oily as others, and those need
repeated soakings in the oil to make
them water-resistant.
Every call is unique in its look
and sound. Calls can be dressed up
with aluminum or brass rings, wood
etchings and hand paintings that
Hoover does himself. As I can attest to,
these calls are absolutely beautiful and
the sounds produced are true – sounds
that will call in the leeriest of wildlife.
"This year I changed more on the
duck calls. I wanted more of the high-
end pitch, so I changed the arc. The
calls blow really easy, but I wanted to
be able to reach out far with sound,"
said Hoover. "Experimenting is all
part of call making and the love of
creating."
Calls are made according to what
the person buying them wants. Many
are custom-made and sentimental. "I'll
make several different designs from
what customers tell me they want, then
they can pick and choose and make
changes to the call. Emails and texts
are a great way to send digital images,
and it doesn't take long to get a custom
call put on paper," Hoover said.
Brent Hoover is a game call maker from North Platte. Shown here are many of the calls Hoover makes
including duck, goose, deer, turkey, squirrel and predator calls.
