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Pat Strawser: Renowned Turkey Call Maker, Caller, and Hunter
Pat Strawser of Millersburg, Pennsylvania, has dedicated more than four decades to the arts and skills of turkey call making, calling, and hunting. A lifelong outdoorsman and respected figure in the turkey hunting community, Strawser oversees the ESH Custom Calls turkey call product line at the Outdoor Hunting Lab company.
His role combines his technical expertise with decades of field and competition experience, ensuring that every call built under his supervision meets the highest standards. He also helps with marketing videos and other promotional assets.
Strawser’s career in the outdoor industry began in the early 1980s when he was attending high school. Growing up in a small Pennsylvania community deeply rooted in hunting, he had access to some of the most skilled turkey call makers and competition callers in the country.
Influenced by legendary craftsmen such as D.D. Adams and R.E. Fleisher, who lived in the same town, Strawser learned the craft firsthand by visiting their shops, observing their techniques, and refining his own skills. He also enjoyed competing in turkey calling contests and befriending other competitors. Those early lessons and relationships laid the foundation for a lifelong pursuit of excellence in those activities.
By the mid-1980s, Strawser was heavily involved in turkey calling competitions in the friction call division, entering contests across Pennsylvania and beyond. Over the years, he has earned multiple state and national titles, including New Jersey State Champion, Pennsylvania State Champion, three-time Masters Invitational Champion, and two-time U.S. Open Champion. He has also advanced to the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) Grand Nationals Friction Division 12-man finals 13 times and winning that prestigious championship title three times in 2014, 2016, and 2017. Pat has numerous Championship Runner-Up and Top 5 finishes as well.
In 1998, Strawser became a full-time call maker, turning his passion into a profession. His custom calls are recognized for his craftsmanship and sound qualities. His award-winning work spans all major friction call types, including pot calls with calling surfaces made of slate, glass, and aluminum; all major styles of box calls, especially one-sided box calls; a few scratch boxes; and some push-button calls, too.
His attention to sound quality and design precision has earned him a multitude of awards from the NWTF’s Grand National Call Making Contest, including a long list of gold medals in many different friction call categories. He also has won the highly respected D.D. Adams Award for Best of Class II in 2007 and 2008. His custom work is still going strong today, proven by the gold medal he won in the Grand National Champion of Champions Friction Call category in 2025 and the Triple Crown Hunting Set in 2026.
As a hunter, Pat has always been successful, often tagging turkeys in multiple states, year after year. He also spent many years working as a part-time guide, conducting turkey hunts for more than 15 years across a handful of states, including Pennsylvania, Florida, South Carolina, and Illinois.
Pat has killed hundreds of wild turkeys over the years and has called in hundreds more to the guns of numerous clients and friends. He has several Grand Slams to his credit, representing successful hunts of all four U.S. turkey subspecies.
Beyond his award-winning career, with 14 major calling and call-making awards over the past 30 years: Pat is a NWTF Diamond Life Member; He is a member of the Grand National Call Makers Hall of Fame (Class of 2023); He has served as a judge in the Grand National Call Making and Calling Contests; and he is a long-time Mossy Oak National Pro Staff member.
Pat has worked many sport shows and given educational seminars; and has appeared in national magazines, books, and promotional videos highlighting turkey hunting and custom call craftsmanship. His decades-long commitments to turkey calls, calling, wildlife conservation, and community events reflect his dedication to ensuring the future of turkey hunting for generations.
When fall arrives, he turns his attention to another passion: whitetail deer hunting. At home, Strawser enjoys life with his wife of more than 25 years, Beth, and their two daughters, Bailey and Mallory.
Pat’s competitive drive, expert knowledge, master-level experience, and genuine passion for turkey calls and calling make him a highly respected ambassador of the turkey callmaking, calling, and hunting communities.
Rodney “Rod” Eckstine: Champion Turkey Caller, Expert Call Designer, and Hunter
Rod Eckstine of Greencastle, Pennsylvania, has spent more than 40 years competitive turkey calling, call making, and hunting. Rod is a prominent team member of Esh Custom Calls and has an impressive list of accomplishments on the turkey-calling competition stage, in the call-making workshop, and in the woods targeting gobblers.
Eckstine is a 20-time champion of major calling contests. His most recognized achievements come from the National Wild Turkey Federation Grand National Calling Championships (GNCC). He won consecutive Friction Division titles in 2022 and 2023, following top13 finishes in 2016, 2018, and 2020.
His broader competitive record includes five U.S. Open championshiptitles across the Open, Friction, and Owl Hooting divisions. Plus, eight Pennsylvania state turkey calling titles and five Masters titles. He has also competed in various open and friction categories, finishing as the first runner-up in the 2022 and 2023 GNCC Gobbling Championship.
Known for his expertise in friction calling, Eckstine emphasizes realistic turkey sounds shaped to match field conditions. He often describes his on-stage calling routine as creating a believable scenario rather than performing a fast one. His hunting approach is rooted in interpreting behavior, using calling to “paint the scene,” and adjusting tactics according to each encounter.
In addition to his competitive accomplishments, experience, and expertise, Eckstine works professionally with Esh Custom Calls.
He created the “Rod’s Red Double,” a dualsurface pot call made from padauk wood with glass and slate striking surfaces. The design reflects his focus on producing natural hen tones.
Eckstine produces instructional, product-focused content for hunters, including how-to videos and demonstrations that explain call operation and field technique. His online material includes strategy discussions, calling demonstrations, and advice drawn from more than four decades of hunting experience.
Eckstine began hunting at age 12 in the early 1980s and has since developed a reputation as a skilled turkey hunter, especially in the notoriously tough turkey woods of rural Pennsylvania. He also has more than a decade of experience working as a professional spring turkey hunting guide and now guides for Double B Outfitters in Hustontown, Pennsylvania. He has harvested an estimated 40 turkeys on his own hunts and has called in 40 more for other hunters.
Eckstine is also a proud and longtime member of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF) and has been featured in magazine articles, hunting publications, and videos as an expert in turkey calling, call making, instruction, and hunting.
Outside the hunting industry, Eckstine and his wife Kim operate the Bean and Biscuit Coffee House in Greencastle. They also serve as a deacon couple at Living Word Community Church.
