Meet Jim Dester

I sure am delighted that you took the time to come to the Quackcalls web site. Hi, my name is Jim Dester. I was born in 1937 on a farm in North Central Oklahoma. I am retired and live in Sycamore, IL with my wife Nancy and our Cocker Spaniel, Wags. In December of 2000, I started my new career as a Duck Call Maker and Carver.

Although I have experience in wood working and carving, I knew very little about duck calls. My duck hunting experience was limited to a farm in North Central Oklahoma when I was growing up. Not a lot of water and not many ducks. There were several livestock ponds in the area and sometimes the ducks would decide to land on one of them. When this happened, my brothers and I would grab the shot guns and off we would go. Sometimes we were able to shoot a few but most of the time they were gone long before we got there.

"Sometimes, as collectors, we can catch onto a good thing before the rest of the collecting community finds out. Most often, though, we have to wait till others have made the item scarce and valued higher. But Jim Dester is carving his duck calls now and there is still time to get in while the rest of the collectors are finding this gem. The collector series is very limited edition and each call is an individual in its own right. All the carving is exquisite and each one unique and I'll own a 2004 model as soon as I can. But, his best bargain and your best buy may just be his hunting call because the sound and the durability meld with the uniqueness of the construction and its stately good looks. Every time he changes that call I'll own the change as well." J. Swanson, Collector - Prescott, Wisconsin

So, with a lot to learn about duck calls, I contacted the local Ducks Unlimited and was referred to a local call maker and decoy carver, Bud Tyler. Bud has been a great help and has become a good friend. I also turned to the Internet and discovered the wonderful work of Kent Freeman, Dennis Poeschel and many other call makers. The discussion board on Custom Calls Online was a gold mine of information. This is a great web site visited by a lot of knowledgeable people who are willing to share information and help others in the art of call making.

After a lot of trial and error, I was able to get a few calls made in time to enter in the CCAA fancy call contest at the April, 2001 show in St Charles, IL. Won 2 red ribbons and sold 4 calls. That was the most exciting weekend I have had in a long time.

My mission is to bring some new and exciting carvings to the Duck Call Collector. This will be done by using some of the patterns and techniques used in gun stock carving and applying them to duck calls.

The fish scale and basket weave patterns will be featured on my calls. I have also developed a background texture for my carvings that I call "grass". This texture will be used most of the time as the background for my carvings and to highlight some areas. Over the next few years, I will add more special images to my carvings and hopefully keep it interesting and perhaps a little different.

Another part of my mission is to develop a new shape or design for my calls each year. This will keep it interesting for me and the Collector.

Thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoy your visit and do come again to see the new calls that were added since your last visit.