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.  

Duck whistles are very effective for adding realism to your calling and for getting call-shy or working birds to commit.  They're greatly under-utilized by waterfowlers, which makes them even more effective for hunters that use them.  When it is late in the season and the ducks have heard everyone north of them hail calling at the top of their lungs, the soft "dreeeb" of a mallard drake grunt will get them to commit when they otherwise might not.

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 was between two and three years long.  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.  

NOW THAT I'M TAKING ORDERS AGAIN, HOW LONG IS THE WAIT?

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.  I'll advise the lead time as accurately as I can when you first contact me.

THEY MAKE GREAT GIFTS

My whistles are the perfect gift for the waterfowler that has everything.  He or she may have hundreds of dollars worth of calls on their lanyard, but they probably don't have a custom duck whistle.  Odds are, they have a $12 molded plastic one.  Those work fine, but they don't have the fine craftsmanship that the other calls on that lanyard probably do.  

TUNING AND USE

There's nothing to tune with these.  No parts to lose or replace periodically.  They are incredibly easy to use, and just take a whisper of air.  They're an excellent way to let a kid (or a friend that can't call worth a darn) get involved in calling during the hunt, as opposed to just deferring to a more experienced caller.  Experienced callers know that adding realism in a calling cadence can turn birds, and a whistle can do just that.

When I mail your call to you, I'll include an instructional card that will describe how to make the different sounds, and how to care for your call.  I'm always happy to help over the phone or FaceTime if needed, but most folks pick it up pretty quickly.  

THE ETHICAL LOW ROAD

Beware of imitations of my design.  I'm not talking about most other craftsmen that make whistles, many of which I consider friends, I'm talking about blatant copies and those whistles that are eerily similar looking.   Although I can't speak to their sound or build quality, someone that blatantly copies a well-established unique call design lacks the integrity or soul of a craftsman that should drive them to create their own unique design.  I'm not the first to make a two hole duck whistle and I'm not the only option out there, but a couple of my design's features are very unique and easily recognizable, and a couple features that are uniquely mine are more subtle.  A couple of these people are quick to post on social media and the internet forums when someone inquires about my calls, in an effort to sell their own.  That is something I would never consider doing to them, but that's just me.  Let your conscience guide you on that matter. Look closely at the build quality of the whistle you're considering that looks a heck of a lot like what I build and see if it matches up to a Wingert whistle.  Odds are, it doesn't.  Own the original, not the imitation.

WILL WINGERT'S WOODWORKS HAVE SALES FROM TIME TO TIME, OR OFFER VOLUME DISCOUNTS?

Nope.  I work hard to build them and I place value in the product I offer.  For that reason, they cost what they cost.  Buy one or buy five, they cost the same.  I don't sell calls wholesale either.  I don't have clearance sales because I can't keep calls in inventory anyway, and I don't have going out of business sales from time to time because I'm not going out of business.