Posted: 10/4/06
Attaining the American dream one duck call at a time
 Outside his garage, Dan Walton stands next dozens of finished PureTone Game Calls. All the production is done in Waltonís garage. |
By Steve Morris
A Stanchfield man has invented a duck call that he says will revolutionize the duck call industry.
Dan Walton, president of Waltonís Wildlife Design Inc., used years of experience as a taxidermist to replicate, to within one decibel, the sound of more than 20 huntable ducks.
Walton, who has been an avid hunter for 25 years, took advantage of a simple idea that had gone under the duck call industry radar for years: to have an accurate sounding duck call you must understand the anatomy of the bird. In the 150 years since the duck call was invented, no one ever took a look inside, Walton said in pure disbelief.
ìTraditional calls are nothing close to reality,î Walton said.
So, with his realization, the crazy business odyssey began. For years, Walton was hyper-focused on making the ìperfect duck call.î Like a mad scientist, he studied and dissected hundreds of birds and in the process gained a deep and true understanding of how ducks make their sounds.
What he determined is that traditional calls on the market have it wrong. They are too high in sound and pitch, Walton explained. When blown, a standard duck call has a range of 19-27 decibels. In reality, the sound a duck makes in the wild is only 15 decibels.
Traditional duck calls project the sound straight outwards; they are almost like musical instruments, Walton said.
Part of what makes Waltonís calls different is that the sound is projected downwards, not straight out.
ìI wanted to recreate what mother nature has already done,î he said enthusiastically. ìItís been my obsession.î
From a preliminary viewpoint, he has succeeded. At game shows, he visited with bird biologists who were awestruck with what he invented and his profound knowledge of the anatomy of the birds.
Named PureTone Game Calls, Walton introduced them to the public in August ñ first at the Game Fair in Anoka and then at the Ducks Unlimited gathering in Oshkosh, Wisc. It was in Oshkosh where the company made its first sale to former Vikings coach Bud Grant.
People at the shows were positive, Walton said.
ìPeople have been really impressed with it.î
By Waltonís side during the whole process has been his wife Julie, who has been a key piece of the puzzle for their business. She has the formal role as the companyís vice president. Recently, the Waltons hired North Branch businessman Doug Fischer as the companyís financial consultant.
ìDoug has been a blessing to our business,î Walton said.
The Waltons and Fisher learned a lot in introducing their duck calls to the public. One thing they have to do, Dan Walton said, is to re-educate the public on how to use a duck call.
ìYou donít need to blow that hard,î he said.
A duckís lungs are about the size of a jalapeno pepper, Walton said with the expertise of a taxidermist. Because of the small size, ducks donít blow with a lot of power. Therefore, neither should people who are trying to reproduce their sound, he explained.
The Waltonís know they have something special. In fact, Dan Walton is confident he has made the best call possible.
ìItís going to change the industry.î
Failure is not an option for the Waltons. When the idea of failure was brought to the table, Dan Walton immediately interrupted the conversation with an explanation of why they wonít accept failure.
ìWeíre fighters,î Julie Walton said.
In fact, the Waltons are at the point of no return. With countless hours and many years invested into perfecting the duck call, itís too late to turn back.
On a conservative estimate they have invested $200,000 into their business. In five years, Fischer, who is also a shareholder, said he expects they will have three-quarters of a million dollars in gross annual sales ñ plenty of money to make three down-to-earth entrepreneurs happy.
Besides selling duck calls, Waltonís Wildlife Design, Inc. also sells novelty cribbage boards and turkey frames; both of which are Waltonís creations.
ìDan is an inventor,î his wife said with a smile. ìThat is what he does.î
Starting their own business has not been easy, admitted Juile Walton. There has been lots of challenges along the way, such as a failed patent attempt. With no formal business training, the couple is learning along the way. Because of this, they are taking it slowly, being careful not to get in over their heads.
The three-member team creates each duck call from scratch.
Many days Fischer goes to Waltonís house after an eight-hour day and slaves away at the business until nightfall ñ all in pursuit of the American dream.
Walton is in the process of getting the duck calls mass produced. First, however, he is going to start off small and sell them in local outdoor shops. Down the road, Dan Walton said they would like to get in large retail stores.
The energetic and friendly inventor knows the sky is the limit for his duck calls and business. He sees Europe as a possible future market to tap.
The PureTone Game Calls retail for $79 and can be ordered online at their Web site: www.waltonswildlife.com.
Listening to Walton talk for five minutes, you can tell two things; heís passionate about his duck calls and he knows heís about to break through in a big way.
ìWeíre a threat to a lot of big companies.î
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