What makes these whistles special?

THE BASICS

My whistles make the grunt "dreeb" sound of mallard drakes, and the whistles of pintail, wigeon, and green wing teal.  I also have customers that use them for wood ducks, fulvous tree ducks, and other birds.  They're versatile calls, and are very easy to use and learn.  All of my calls include an instructional card that gives the basic how-to's of using them to replicate each sound.  

THE GENESIS OF MY WHISTLES

Around 2008 I had already become established as a turkey call maker.  I was making a few duck and goose calls when I started tinkering with duck whistles.  I'm a mediocre caller, and have always seen the value of whistles for finishing birds, so I naturally gravitated toward the idea of making whistles.  It took quite a few to get decent sound at all as I learned from each change I made.  Ultimately, I realized I had created something special...A whistle that sounded better than any I had heard, that used less air to operate.  

At first glance, my whistles share similarities with the Iverson "two hole whistle" design that has been around for decades.  However, there are significant differences that become apparent when you compare the two designs in hand, and there are substantial differences in how the two designs use air and how they sound.  In recent years, there are a number of calls that have come out that truly are copies of my design.  My whistles are not a copy of anyone's design, which is a point of pride for me.

GAINING POPULARITY

I started out selling calls on the Refuge Forum, and it didn't take long to figure out that I was going to be busy.  My waiting list was averaging around a couple months.  A year or so later, I was contacted by the editor of Wildfowl Magazine who expressed interest in doing an article on custom duck whistles and advised that he kept hearing my name from people in the know.  Wildfowl's article was a springboard, and a week later my waiting list exceeded eight months.  As more hunters and collectors received calls, they showed their friends and demand continued to grow.

For the next ten years, my waiting list exceeded two years.  In 2018 I opted to stop taking orders in an effort to get caught up, as the pressure of having hundreds of people waiting to hear from you is significant.  

More recently, I've got my waiting list down to a manageable level, and the wait is counted in months or even weeks, not years.