J. Holden custom game calls ROCK

[Gdpolk]

I've bought game calls periodically from Jeremy for over a year now, maybe several years.  I have 8 calls from him and another on order.  His work is very clean and professional.  His communication throughout the process is superb.  The sound of his calls is fantastic.  His prices are very affordable for custom turned work.  His wait times are usually extremely short for custom work.  And, to top it all off he is quite the gentleman.  I'm glad to have him as a friend.

As a traditional archer, there is just something nice about taking handmade items into the field to harvest my animals.  I've had   multiple hunting buddies comment on how beautiful his work is and how great they sound.  To date I've had a deer grunt with tube, doe bleat, squirrel distress, squirrel with bellows, pig squealer, and three ducks.  In addition to this I've gotten calls from him to give as gifts.  I just wanted to give him a public thumbs up.  I just used the squirrel calls from him today and bagged all but two that I had eyes on.

Maybe tomorrow I can get a glamour shot up for you guys.

[Duker]

I've got two of Jeremy's calls.They not only sound great but the workmanship is awesome  

[Gdpolk]

Here is the collection so far.  I have a crow call on order now and plans for a couple more when those are done.  All I ask is that he do any combination of cocobolo, antler, bamboo, or brass that he sees fit because I like those materials and they match my favorite bow.  Every one of these have called in animals in the field, except the wood duck which I just received and haven't hunted with yet.  I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

1: Squirrel chatter with large bellows in cocobolo and antler
2: Squirrel/rabbit distress in cocobolo
3: Double reed duck in cocobolo, brass, and acrylic
4: Single reed duck in cocobolo, brass, and acrylic
5: Wood duck in cocobolo and brass
6: Pig squealer in cocobolo with bamboo spacer at mouth and brass band
7: Doe bleat, all wood, in cocobolo, bamboo, and brass band
8: Adjustable deer grunt tube (fawn to buck) in cocobolo and antler

   
   

My favorite of the bunch is the squirrel with bellows.  I am and always have been primarily a small game hunter.  I just LOVE the pace of chasing squirrel and rabbits.  I've owned 5-6 bellows calls before and not one has sounded as well as Jeremy's.  I've actually had a couple that scared the squirrels but brought in crows really well.  One of my favorite tactics is to walk in, wait until I hear birds moving again, then give the squirrel call a good shake or two with the mouth covered to muffle the volume a bit.  That will usually get one or two squirrels either moving or talking one so I can begin spot and stalk hunting.

His deer grunt has been the only call that deer have responded to out of my entire hunting party more than once.  They were all using commercially produced calls and in heavily hunted areas the more mature deer just seem to know to ignore those calls.  However, I have Jeremy's grunt set up pretty deep in pitch and it doesn't sound plasticy at all.  I've watched my father in law blow his late season and deer not flinch, then tooted on my handmade call and watched deer 100yds away in the road IMMEDIATELY perk up and come to investigate.  

I'm just a satisfied customer and friend of Jeremy's and wanted to share the good news.

[Hopewell Tom]

You have my attention with the deer grunt stories.
I'd like to check into the grunt tube. Very unique and solid looking.
Thanks for the promo.

[Gdpolk]

Originally posted by Hopewell Tom:
You have my attention with the deer grunt stories.
I'd like to check into the grunt tube. Very unique and solid looking.
Thanks for the promo.

The deep grunt around rut seems to really get the bucks fired up and seems to catch the attention of does pretty well.  I have seen a couple small bucks tuck tail mosey off when I called out.  I tried to set it up to be the sound of an old, mature, dominant buck.  Sometimes I'll swap it out by moving the o-ring for a doe or even yearling pitch but I usually keep it set for an old buck.  

I don't tend to call a lot when deer hunting.  I will occasionally rattle antlers if the season is right but other than that I try to generally be quiet.  Where I hunt is pretty thick and sometimes they can pop out of nowhere so I am cautious about over-calling when there may be deer RIGHT on me.  I do however use calls when I see deer through windows out at 100yds or so walking where they won't ever come my way.  Having both doe and buck sounds on hand helps.  Sometimes I can get them to change their path to come check out what's happening.  I only do this with glass on the deer and I pay close attention to their body language.  Once I have their interest, I immediately drop the glass and calls and get the bow up and ready.  

Funny story about the squirrel call is when I first asked Jeremy for a squirrel and he sent me a distress call it was actually not what I was looking for but I kept it anyway for the occasional coyote hunt.  I didn't communicate my wants very clearly on the front end.  To test it, I took it to the local dog park and gave it a toot or two from the car with the windows down.  Over half of the 30+ dogs came SCREAMING up to the fence closest to me looking for what caused the noise.  A few weeks later a farmer complained of coyotes getting into his pens so I offered to come out with a .22 mag and help thin the pack.  He said he didn't have an electronic call but I told him not to worry.  I sounded off on the squeaker for about 3 minutes before 4 came running in.  We got 3 of the 4 and was able to call back two more that we didn't see.  He hasn't had a problem since.

[Pine]

Please excuse my ignorance , but where do you get those calls ? All I see is you calling him Jeremy ?

[Gdpolk]

Jeremy is an associate sponsor here on TradGang

 http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_profile;u=00016830

[KSCATTRAPR]

I bought 2 of his grunt calls a few years ago. I gave one to my dad as a gift and kept the other one. I agree, he does great work and both of our grunt calls work great!

[kennym]

I have a grunt call from Jeremy, fine workmanship and sounds good!

[J. Holden]

It's very humbling to hear all the fine compliments regarding my work.  Thank you all very much.  I'm so glad to hear that the calls are working and bringing success for you all.

I truly appreciate the business.  And Garrett, that's a fine collection right there.  Thank you sir for your friendship and loyal business.

-Jeremy  

[Gdpolk]

Just today one of Jeremy's calls helped land me another deer and possibly one for my father in law as well. I own a dedicated doe bleat call but only had my adjustable grunt tube that I keep set at a mature buck pitch because I was hunting fast, mobile, and light.

I had two bucks come in on me from the east. My father in law was sitting 100-125 yards to my north on the other side of a DENSE thicket that deer pop in and out of. One of the deer was a 1.5 year old 7 point. The other was a 4.5 year old 8 point. The two were cruising together for acorns and naturally the older deer was more cautious. Both came very close to me but didn't offer a garunteed clean shot. The older buck finally just got nervous and went back in the thicket. Neither busted me or smelled me but the older one knew something wasn't quite right. When he left nervously the young buck followed.  

Anyway, when they were out of sight I changed the pitch on my grunt tube to be about doe pitched and started to blow a love song bleat in it. I grabbed the bow and waited. About 10 minutes later the younger buck came back!  I could hear the older buck still in the thicket but couldn't see him and got the perfect shot on the young buck at about 25 yards thru a window in my cover tree so I took it. When I did the old buck ran deeper North into the thicket from the commotion of the small buck running but he never blew or raised his tail.  I watched the young buck go down about 40yds from the shot then immediately hit the call again.

I texted my father in law and hit my doe bleat one more time hoping to calm the old buck down and about 20 minutes later I got a text saying my father in law got a nice mature buck. When I asked about it he said the buck was dead calm and never seemed to expect anything. It was the same buck that ran off from me.

As I see it, Jeremy's call helped bring back my buck and very likely helped calm down the deer that my father in law shot enough to let him walk in calm to my father in law for a shot.  

I don't usually use the calls to draw deer in from unknown locations but I have used them to alter where known deer are walking successfully. In general I try to be quiet but sometimes a call to supplement curiousity or calm down a semi spooked deer can be quite effective. What I like best about Jeremy's calls is the sound quality doesn't sound plasticky and fake to me and I just plain like using handmade products better than run of the mill stuff from WalMart.  If anyone is on the fence about these you should give them a try. Jeremy is quite the gentleman and is very affordable.

[Biathlonman]

I've got a couple grunt tunes from him that I swear by.

[longbow fanatic 1]

Jeremy is a genuinely good man. Polite, professional, extremely detail oriented and highly skilled at producing excellent calls. I'm fortunate to own one of Jeremy's calls, which he crafted to match the woods in my A&H bow. You cannot go wrong ordering Jeremy's calls. If you want to carry, and use, a truly unique game call, something no one else has in the woods, then J.Holden Custom Game Calls is the ticket!  Thanks again, Jeremy!

[toddster]

Jeremy have a site, to order from?

[Terry Green]

Yes they do....I rattled and grunted in a 10 pointer Saturday morning with one of his calls.

[Tedd]

Anyone have a contact # for Holden? I have had my fill of plastic calls.
Thanks,

[J. Holden]

First off I'd like to thank those that said such nice things about the calls that I've made for them.  You're testament is the best compliment I could receive.

For those looking for calls I am here, a simple PM is sufficient.  You can also feel free to call or text me at 847-542-0283.

I have some calls ready to go.  If you are looking for something specific I will be happy to try and meet your request.  Please feel free to reach out to me.

Thank you all again,

Jeremy  

[Gdpolk]

Originally posted by toddster:
Jeremy have a site, to order from?

Idk. Just PM him is what I've done.