Osage Roost
Turkey Call Paradise => From the Callmaker's Bench => Topic started by: Shadetree Callers on October 26, 2011, 09:07:05 AM
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Not too long ago we all lost a good friend , Mr. Mike Mims . He touched alot of people on this site through his messages and phone calls as well as his devotionals that meant so much to him and many of us . Shortly after he left us , I felt a need to do something for his boys . So a few of us got our creative heads together and decided to build a call in Mike's memory . The project started off when Brent Stoner and I spent a day in his shop building the body for the call . One of Mike's favorite calls was one that Jeff McKamey built for him out of alaskan yellow cedar and zebrawood . There's a funny story about the origin of that call but I'll save that for later . We thought it would be fitting to make a call in that same combo . So Brent and I made the body with yellow cedar from Jeff's shop and I added a piece of zebrawood to the base . Then I mailed the caller to Jeff and he built a zebrawood lid for it and added his woodburnt feather to it . Next , Jeff mailed the caller to Scott Witter for some decorating work . I asked Scott if he could burn a picture of Mike's favorite pet bulldog and he knocked it out of the park . The bulldog is so realistic that I am sure Mike would have said it looked just like his dog . On the left side Scott burnt the logo for Mike's beloved Alabama Crimson Tide ! The caller wasn't complete until Scott added one of Mike's favorite bible verses also .
I would like to thank my friends Jeff McKamey , Brent Stoner and Scott Witter for all of their help in making this come together . It has taken us a couple months to complete it but it was all worth the effort! The only bad part is that we only made one , so Scott and Adam, you have to find a way to share it ! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did making it ! This will always be a special call to us ! Thanks for looking !
" The Bulldog Mikey Special " Collaboration Call !
Bob Fulcher
ShadeTree Callers
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz308/shadetreecallers/shadetree%20callers%20part%202/bulldogmikeyspecial1.jpg)
(http://i838.photobucket.com/albums/zz308/shadetreecallers/shadetree%20callers%20part%202/bulldogmikeyspecial2.jpg)
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Awesome!! *bowing* *bowing* *bowing*
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This was an honor and I was thrilled to be a part of this neat collaboration. It sure is nice to see it finally done.
Scott
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Great looking call. *up*
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Beautiful call and an awesome tribute. You guys done good. Mikey would have loved it.
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West Augusta beat me to it. My thoughts exactly.
Tom
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*up*
to cool for words dude..
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Beautiful caller. Nice work guys. Bill
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I can't tell you how much I appreciate what you guys have done here and what you meant to my dad. I have said it many times but I think it is worth mentioning again. I honestly feel that you guys added a few years to his life. Dad had a special gift with people, and through this site built friendships and was able to use that gift to help others. In the process it helped him deal with what he was battling. I can never thank you guys enough for the extra time that I feel you guys gave my dad here. Don't get me wrong, he had plenty to live for and had a lot to look forward to. The desire to help others is what he lived for. Through this site he was able to build friendships, share the gospel and pick up a new hobby. It also afforded he and I the ability to spend more time together through making calls. I was never very great at the call making, but he enjoyed it and I enjoyed the time we got to spend together doing it. He was always in awe of the work you guys produced and would spend hours showing me different calls that you guys built. I appreciate the gesture more than you know, and this call certainly will have a special meaning. By the way, that rendition of Mikey (the bulldog) on the side of that call is scary how much it looks like he looked.
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Awesome!! *bowing* *bowing* *bowing*
[/quote RkLu
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Scott and Adam
After Mikes passing it was really special to log on and see Bulldogmike logged in...ya felt here was actually still signed on. We all know he has a presence here and will always be looking on here. I was honored when Bob and Brent called me about this little project. It came together really well. I must add, that Scott Witters artistic touches sent this call over the top. Scott--ya done good son---- *bowing*
Scott and Adam, we all think of you guys alot and look forward to your continued presence here. God bless your family friend.
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What a tribute to a great individual the call is absolutely beautiful. If you take a close look at it you can see the respect and devotion for Mike and his family that went into the building of this masterpiece.
Ya'll did a beautiful job it's probably one of the finest long boxes I have ever seen.
Jon
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*up* great job guys *up*
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Well this call and my contribution has become more than just a call to me and I suspect ole Bulldog Mikey had a hand in that. My time spent on the phone and through emails with Jeff, Brent and Bob brought me closer to these fine men and call-makers and I am thankful for that. Time spent that may not have happen in the way it did, nor meant as much as it did. This tribute was the least we could have done. I had 3 opportunities to speak with Mike on the phone and I kid you not, he genuinely did reach deeper in a certain way and I am better for it.
Mike this one is definitely for you...may your sons carry on the good chase of the old gobblers with this call in hand as you watch over them.
Scott Witter
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Bob
I know Mike is looking down at you with a huge smile on his face! What a wonderful tribute to a very special man!
Bill
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WOW.... *bowing* *bowing* *bowing* Speechless and what a great tribute!
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It was a honor for me to be apart of this call with such a great group of guy's. If it wasn't for Mike, I would have never known about this site or had the pleasure meeting a great group of people with the same passion I have about turkey hunting and call making. *cheers*
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Very Nice!
*cheers*
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That call serves the memory of Mike well. Great job guys
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Very Nice tribute...Beautiful call!
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Great tribute guys Bulldog sure did love that combo!!
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Beautiful call!!! Great job guys.. *up* *cheers*
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A touching tribute to an awesome man & friend! *bowing*
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WOW.... *bowing* *bowing* *bowing* Speechless and what a great tribute!
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Love it!
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Collaboration calls are special calls. They have a combination of character, and this one matches the character of the man it was a Tribute for. Great job men. *up* Mike and I had a lot of discussions in the short time that I knew him. We had discussions on calls that he wanted, and that I was proud to make for Scott and Adam. We had discussions on our christian faith on several different topics. We had discussions about Osage Roost and how it was it was not without problems, but we as christians, can work through them. I am proud to call him my friend and brother in Christ. A friend that I will meet one day!
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What a fitting tribute..Mike was a very special person..I know he would have truly appreciated that caller..good work,Men.
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Beautiful,, Great Work
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*bowing*
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The call came in today. I was very excited to see it. It is even better than the pictures. The feel and sound of it are awesome. Not sure what you guys did to the handle but it is very unique and unlike any other that we have.
We will do our best to get one with it this coming season then it will be in a glass case with a light shining on it. When our kids or anyone else ask us about it we can share with them the many different memories and stories you guys helped develop over the past few years.
I will tell you the story of how he got into all this in case he never shared it with you.I apologize for the length of the post in advance but this is the short version. Dad always loved hunting of all types. He hunted his whole life. He would tell us stories of Turkey hunting with his uncle. Adam had never Turkey hunted much and I never had at all. I went deer hunting with dad a lot when I was small and with us not having any land to hunt after moving to New Orleans I gave up on hunting all together. After moving to GA as a teen I was not interested but Adam would go deer hunting with him all the time.
Fast forward 15 years. One day out of the blue I watched a Turkey hunting show (which was nothing like me) and thought "that looks like fun". I called dad and started asking questions then Adam. Dad was excited that I had an interest in any type of hunting. Next thing you know we were going to the NWTF show held in Birmingham that year and I was hooked. I thought that with dad being good with wood working that making calls might be a good hobby for him so I started asking him and Adam about that. For those of you that do not know dad very well he could build anything and when I say anything I mean anything. He built hotels, gas stations, office complexes, custom homes, dog houses, mantles, cabinets, entertainment centers and so on but his passion was wood working. I really think if you told him to build a wooden replica of the Tower bridge in London he could have done it on time and on budget and been better than the original. He started really getting into call building. I introduced him to the Old Gobbler online community and next thing you know he was telling me about a new start up named Osage Roost and spending a good amount of his time with you guys. Adam took the baton of call making with dad and before you know it they were spending a lot of their time making calls. I had a chance to make a pot call with dad overseeing me and giving me pointers (it is always in my vest). I wanted to learn to make box calls from him but we never got that chance. and you guys know the rest of the story.
I only got to go Turkey hunting once with dad. By the time I started Turkey hunting he was not in good enough health to go but this past season Adam and I talked him into going. We set up a blind and drove him into it early before day break. It was cold and the wind was blowing 20 miles an hour. We could not have heard a Turkey if it were inside the blind and overall it was the worst conditions for Turkey hunting I have ever been in. However, we sat there until lunch and he was determined that he would get one to come in. He was like a kid going for the first time. We did not get anything but that memory was one that I will have forever. He must have tried 15 calls out and after a while it was more of a Turkey Calling Exhibition and shooting the breeze session more than anything.
With dad being sick over the past 10 years and getting worse over the past 5 I had conditioned myself to try to take in every minute with him especially at special events, holidays, etc...trying to ask every question I could think of ranging from hunting, marriage, business, character, being a dad, being a man, etc... It was not lost on me that day that it could very well be not only the first but the last and only time I would go turkey hunting with him. I can remember everything about it and always will. You guys here were a big reason he had that passion and that I now have that memory.
Simply stated. Thank you.
Scott Mims
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FANTASTIC Scott! I cried the day I heard your dad passed away and that story, once again, brought tears to my eyes.
Bill
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When Mike passed away I felt the need to do something nice for his boys to remember how Mike loved turkey calls and the people on this site . Without the help of great callmakers like Jeff McKamey , Brent Stoner and Scott Witter , it wouldn't be the special call that it is . I am extremely proud to be part of the building of this commemorative turkey call . I want to thank my good friends for building this very special caller . It is dedicated to the memory of Mr. "Bulldog Mikey" Mims , friend , Father and hunter . I hope that there comes a day when you boys can share a hunt together and roll a big tom turkey with it . I know that would bring a smile to Mike's face .
Bob
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It is great and was totally unexpected. Thanks to all who put time in on this.
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Couldn't be a nicer call out there! That touches everyones heart for sure. Awesome work guys on that one *up* *up* *up*
Big Mike is smiling down right now *prayer*