By: Hannah Riggs
If you’ve never been to a call night before, let me be the first to tell you that it’s something everyone should experience at least once. For anyone who enjoys ducks and duck hunting, good food, and good company, it’s a guaranteed good time from the start.
During the drive south to Raggio’s Call Night, I have to admit that I wasn’t all too sure what to expect. I knew it sounded like a good time, but having never been to anything quite like it before, I honestly didn’t know what the night would hold. Upon arriving, I was greeted by the most friendly people I could have imagined. I was then asked to get a name tag and a raffle ticket. Right then and there it seemed like the night was off to a good start so far.
Samuel Teeples(huntingfowl247) signs the wall in the Raggio Call Shop
After getting my ticket, I was able to go inside of Josh’s shop where all of the magic happens. I got to meet Josh, who by the way is one of the most down to earth guys I have met, and he was able to show me some of the amazing handiwork on his calls. He even has a wall for guests to sign, which in my opinion was a pretty awesome idea. Not only does he hand turn each call himself, but many have also hand carved details on them as well. Talk about talent, patience, and an awesome gift for anyone who receives one.
Once I had my look around the shop, I headed outside to the tent where call night was to take place. In the back, they had booths set up where you could put in a silent bid for a few of Josh’s pieces of work. On par with the rest of the evening, the guys with Raggio working behind their table were extremely nice and friendly, and it was apparent how much they loved what they did.
After having my look at everything in the back, I sat down to enjoy some of the live music they had for the guests. I had decided to sit by myself and take everything in since I was already enjoying myself quite a bit. After a few minutes, I was joined by a woman who turned out to be Josh’s mother-in-law, and one of the sweetest women I met all night. After meeting everyone in Josh’s family who was there, I can most definitely say that they are some of the warmest and welcoming folks I have met in a long time. I felt as if they truly wanted to make sure each guest was having a great time and wanted to get to know everyone who was there. That is a quality that not many businesses these days have and I loved being able to see that shown with everyone involved with Raggio Calls.
Then began what everyone had been waiting for, the speaker of the night, David St. John. David St. John was the 2014 World Champion duck caller and not only was he obviously an amazing caller, but a great guy to learn about duck hunting. He was extremely personable and told many helpful tips to all of the hunters in the room. All of the guests got excited when he and Josh teamed up and called together which was pretty spectacular to watch (and hear).
David works for Echo Calls, and once they had finished speaking, I watched as David presented Josh and his father with a custom Echo call engraved with Raggio’s logo onto it. The look on both Josh’s and his father’s face made it very apparent how special of a gift that was to them and it was awesome to be able to watch it take place.
Finally came raffle time. That night they were raffling off several items, including some Echo calls. Now typically, I am not a very lucky person. You could put 100 names in a five-gallon bucket and draw out ninety-nine of them, and I still wouldn’t win. But, somehow I wound up pretty lucky that night, and I can’t complain a bit. After I had checked my ticket twice, I became the proud owner of an Echo Meat Hanger that sports a Raggio logo. And to make it even more special, it was my very first duck call as well.
(L to R) Rocky Leflore, Josh Raggio, Hannah Riggs Rocky and I won calls at the Raggio Call Night
As the night drew to a close, I was able to talk to some cool people who also turned out to be Ducksouth members. Up2Early tried to teach me how to blow my new call. He blew my call a little better than I could, but after several attempts, I finally decided that I might need to polish my calling when nobody else is around.
Overall, Raggio’s Call Night went above and beyond any expectations that I had. I got to see what Raggio Calls was all about and let me say, they did not disappoint. Besides the calls sounding amazing and being beautifully crafted, the friendliness and genuineness of the whole Raggio family make choosing a call from them the complete package. They hosted an amazing event for everyone in attendance. Between the great people I met, hearing David St. John, getting to check out Raggio Calls, and winning my first duck call, I have to say that night was one for the books.
A few videos from Raggio Call Night:
