John's Journal...

Hunter’s Specialties’ Pro Al Morris Wins the 2009 World Elk Calling Contest

Al Morris’ Favorite Calls

Click to enlargeEditor’s Note: Hunter’s Specialties is extremely proud of its pro, Al Morris of Payson, Utah, who started working part time for Hunter’s Specialties in 2001 and became a full-time Hunter’s Specialties’ pro in 2005. Not only did Morris and his partner, Garvin Young, win the World Coyote Calling Contest this year, but Morris recently won the 2009 World Elk Calling Contest, making him the first person to win two World Calling Contests in separate species events. Contestants in the professional division must make specific calls, such as cow and calf calls, barks, whistles, growls and screaming bugles for the judges. The World Elk Calling Championship helps raise awareness of elk habitat and the conservation initiatives of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

Question: What calls did you use to win the 2009 World Elk Calling Championship?
Morris: I used Hunter’s Specialties’ Carlton’s Premium Flex Triple-Reed Diaphragms with Infinite Latex and the Carlton Elite Triple Reed Diaphragm Call.Click to enlarge

Question: Why do you like the Carlton Elite Triple Reed Diaphragm Call for calling elks?
Morris: With the triple-reed calls, I have a much-wider range of elk vocalizations that I can use. I can do the most-subtle cow calls to the big-bull growls, grunts and bugles on this triple reed.

Question: What calls did you have to give to win the World Elk Calling Contest?
Morris: In the World of Elk Calling Contest, we had to give three required cow calls, and next we had 30 seconds to give our favorite cow calls. Next, we had to give three required bull calls, and then we had 30 seconds to give our favorite bull-elk calls. The required cow calls were a cow-mew, a cow-bugle and a lost-calf call. In the freestyle calls, I gave a series of cow-calf calls and a cow-alarm call or a bark. I also gave a call that sounded like a baby calf just born to a big cow elk, withClick to enlarge the cow elk sounding like she was about to die giving birth. I wanted to give the highest soft pitches and the lowest guttural sounds I could during that 30-second freestyle calling. For the required bull calls, we had to give a hoarse (sore-throat-sounding) bull call, a growl with no bugle and an alarm bark that turned into a chuckle. Then, during the 30-second bull freestyle calls, I gave high whistles, three full bugles with chuckles on the end and all the different sounds I’d heard bulls make.

Question: Did you talk to any of the judges after the contest ended to find out what they liked about the way you called over the other contestants’ calls?
Morris: I talked to three judges, and all three said they liked the quality of my calls as much as they did the sounds of my calls. The judges felt I sounded the most like a real elk out of any of the other contestants. I believe this was due to the Hunter’s Specialties’ calls I used.

The Infinity Latex is a far-superior diaphragm elk call than any other latex call on the market. The turClick to enlargekey-calling world has learned the difference between the Infinity Latex and the other latexes being used for calling. But the elk-calling world is just now beginning to understand how to produce a better-quality sound from the Infinity Latex over all other previous latexes that have been used for elk calls. Hunter’s Specialties been using the Elite Latex for 3 or 4 years to make elk calls, and I’ve not believed there is a better latex than the Elite. However, when Hunter’s Specialties introduced the Infinity Latex, I learned it gave me a finer and a more-quality sound than I could produce with the Elite Latex, and apparently, the judges could tell the difference as well. I’m extremely proud to have won the World Elk Calling Contest, which has been a dream come true for me. I’m also excited that I can prove what I know and believe about Infinity Latex and the Hunter’s Specialties’ diaphragm elk calls to the world. In this contest, I’ve proved that Hunter’s Specialties has the best diaphragm elk calls on the market that produce the best sounds to both win contests and call-in elk.

Tomorrow: Calling Judges vs. Calling Elk


Check back each day this week for more about "Hunter’s Specialties’ Pro Al Morris Wins the 2009 World Elk Calling Contest"

Day 1: How Al Morris Became a Calling Champion
Day 2: Al Morris’ Favorite Calls
Day 3: Calling Judges vs. Calling Elk
Day 4: Learning How Elk Think
Day 5: Secrets of Elk Calling

 

Entry 501, Day 2