TOWN Carolina
COMMUNITY JOURNALS GREENVILLE JOURNAL UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL
ATHOMEVIVE
Subscribe
TOWN Carolina
Print Issues
TOWN Carolina
  • On the TOWN
  • Social
  • Culture
  • Style
  • Travel
  • Eat & Drink
    • Dining Guide
  • Sport
  • Explore 864
  • Sport

Calls of the Wild

  • February 22, 2021
  • Beth Brown Ables
Total
1
Shares
1
0
0

Hold one of Ralph Jensen’s duck calls and ponder history contained in a single object. Each sought-after call is hewn from storied wood: a thirteenth-century chapel door, the butt of an admiral’s shotgun, a family’s broken piano, or old-growth heart pine from the bottom of the Cape Fear River. 

Though at first he didn’t understand how a duck call worked, Jensen’s creative know-how in woodwork and his love of the past soon poured in. “I like to put history in my calls; there’s always some story in the wood,” he says.

Jensen’s calls are heirlooms; entire collections pass from generation to generation, with devoted collectors: “I even know some folks who’ve got it written in their wills that they want to be buried with their hunting dog and one of my calls.” 

An R.H. Jensen duck call is an intricate work of art, inlaid with care and precision. Why such elaboration for something inherently simple? “It’s a feeling people are looking for, when the tools they use are special. With a duck call, maybe it’s the feel a person gets when they’re holding it and call the duck in.” Jensen laughs, “And, well—if the duck goes the other way, it still feels good.” 

Photography by Paul Mehaffey. R.H. Jensen Game Calls, Wilmington, NC. (910) 231-6865, rhjensengamecalls.com

Author

  • Beth Brown Ables -
Post Views: 1,477
Total
1
Shares
Share 1
Tweet 0
Pin it 0
Related Topics
  • gjtown
  • style
Previous Article
  • Sport

Off the Beaten Trails

  • January 6, 2021
  • Charlotte Ward
READ MORE
Next Article
  • Sport

Outdoor Majesty

  • February 22, 2021
  • M. Linda Lee
READ MORE
You May Also Like
READ MORE
  • Featured
  • Sport

Hunter’s Best Friend

  • Stephanie Trotter
  • March 14, 2023
READ MORE
  • Homepage Slider
  • Sport

Guy Bignell: A Sporting Life, Well-Lived

  • Rick Spruill
  • March 7, 2023
READ MORE
  • Featured
  • Sport

Gear: Let it Snow

  • Charlotte Lucke
  • February 22, 2023

Editor's Picks

  • Editor's Picks
  • Homepage Slider
  • Style
Five Decades of Vintage Style
  • Eat & Drink
  • Editor's Picks
  • Homepage Slider
The New Napa: Yadkin Valley Wine Country
  • Eat & Drink
  • Editor's Picks
  • Homepage Slider
The Power of Whiskey
  • Eat & Drink
  • Editor's Picks
  • Homepage Slider
Wi’er: Drink to That
  • Editor's Picks
  • Featured
  • Travel
Flights of Fancy

Editor's Letter

Editor’s Letter: Widening the porch
  • Charlotte Lucke
Designer’s Letter: Making Matters
  • Jen Jefferson
Editor’s Letter: A Path Toward Wellness
  • Charlotte Lucke
Editor’s Letter: Meet the Foodies
  • _
Editor’s Letter: Nurturing Growth
  • Charlotte Lucke
Latest Issue
  • March 2023
Sign up for our e-newsletters or subscribe to get our print publications.
GET STARTED!
Community JournalsGreenville Journal Town MagazineUpstate Business Journal VIVEAtHome Upstate
TOWN
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Internships
© TOWN Carolina, a Community Journals Publication. All Rights Reserved. | Terms of Service

Input your search keywords and press Enter.