Wold Fowl Customs

Wild Fowl Customs

offers craftsmanship with a personal touch

Steven and Marlana Huffstatler stand outside the Wild Fowl Customs shop on their property. A batch of Speckle Belly Goose calls nears completion.

BY JONATHAN WISE

Apassion for the outdoors morphed into a hobby and then a hunting call-making business for Steven Huffstatler of Pontotoc, owner and operator of Wild Fowl Customs.

“I’ve been duck hunting since I was in high school, so that got me interested in game calls; I started learning how to blow duck calls,” Huffstatler said.

However, the journey into producing the hunting instruments was unexpected.

“I worked in pool table store that had a lathe,” Huffstatler said. “I was just playing around one night after hours. There was a scrap pool cue, and I just turned a duck call out of that. It sounded kind of like a duck. I was like, ‘Hey, this is pretty cool; I can probably do that.’

That got him started. He purchased a lathe and started practicing and experimenting with the craft.

Huffstatler originally started Hardwoods Waterfowl Calls with a friend. After a while the partner stopped building calls due to a career change, and Huffstatler got out of it for a while as well, other than as a hobby. Eventually, however, the urge returned and he began Wild Fowl Customs.

“I’ve progressed with equipment over the years,” Huffstatler said. “I bought a metal lathe and was learning it, but I really wanted to learn CNC. So I got a degree from ICC in the tool and die department, learning how to program machines and all that.”

Huffstatler preps his laser engraver for a job.

CNC, or Computer Numerical Control, refers to the automated control of machinery. CNC machines are computer-programmed to shape various materials such as wood, metal, plastic, etc. to exact specifications. They are a mainstay of modern manufacturing.

Huffstatler was able to purchase his own CNC lathe in 2018. This allowed him to expand his business opportunities by having the ability to produce batches of calls for other custom callmakers who might not have the means to efficiently make larger numbers of calls, as well as do various other custom work for people locally.

Wild Fowl Customs’ bread and butter is waterfowl calls. Huffstatler’s years of experience in the field has allowed him to develop designs that more closely replicate the natural sounds of the birds than mass-produced calls. He builds calls out of acrylic and various woods. For duck hunting he builds models dubbed the “XLR” or “Extra Loud and Raspy” and the “River Bottom Timber.” Huffstatler also sells a Speckle Belly Goose call.

“I like working with woods that are unique,” Huffstatler said. “I don’t want to be a cookie-cutter call company.”

Huffstatler’s CNC lathe shapes a product for a client. Pictured are a pair of Wild Fowl Customs’ River Bottom Timber duck calls.

A pot-style turkey call nears completion as the calling surface is affixed over the sound board.

A few examples of duck calls showcase some of the various materials Wild Fowl Customs offers.

A gobbler falls to a customer’s Wild Fowl Customs slate call. A number of duck calls wait to be finished up.

Huffstatler has gotten back into turkey hunting in recent years and now also builds pot calls for turkey hunting in various striking surfaces such as slate or crystal. He has ordered the equipment to start producing diaphragm mouth calls in the near future as well.

Wild Fowl Customs has a laser engraver that can accommodate a wide variety of custom engraving needs for customers. Huffstatler also has a rotary attachment which allows him to engrave round objects such as tumblers. He says that is something he does a good bit of.

This also allows Wild Fowl Customs to offer custom engraving and personalization on calls.

Huffstatler lives near Algoma. His wife Marlana is a nurse-practitioner, and she assists with the details of the business. They have two daughters, Maci and Becca.

Huffstatler plans to have his game calls available locally at Moore’s Feed Store before long, as he now he has more time to devote to the shop. He has been employed with Wal-Mart Distribution Center for 16 years. Currently he only works weekends there and devotes weekdays to his call-making and custom work endeavors. His goal is to work to build connections in the industry and eventually make Wild Fowl Customs his full-time occupation after putting in a full career with Wal-Mart. If anyone is interested in a custom call, engraving, or needs CNC-work done they can contact Huffstatler at Wild Fowl Customs’ facebook page.

“It’s fun, and it keeps me outdoor-oriented, which I love,” he said. “Whenever you meet new people in this industry, we automatically have a common interest.”