An Impartial Passion

At an early age, Stanley Wymbs loved being outside hunting and fishing.

“I started hunting with my dad, Frank Wymbs and my uncle, Robert Wymbs,” he said. “It was about six buddies that worked together and they started the B&W Hunting Club. The club hunted together for over 33 years, mainly for deer and rabbit.”

The hunting land held plenty of wildlife, so Wymbs and some friends wanted to try turkey hunting.

“I go home and asked my father for a turkey call,” Wymbs recalled. “He didn’t say much about it to me, he just smiled because he saw the passion for the hunt on my face. The next day, after I got home from school and cut firewood, he called me to him and said that he had stopped by the local Franklins Sporting Goods store and asked the owner about getting a turkey call. He said there was a man that had some calls and that this would be the best call for me. The man gave the call to my father after signing it. It was a box call. Not just a box call, it was a Ben Rogers Lee box call. So, I started my turkey hunting adventure in the turkey woods in 1981 and harvested my first turkey that spring. I later learned to use other calls, but that was my go-to call for many hunts to come.”

That first turkey call inspired Wymbs to become a competition caller. Wymbs is a three-time Georgia State Friction Champion and runner-up for many years, as well as a champion and multiple runner-up at the Southeast Classic.

“I have been in the top 10 at the World Calling Championship and been qualified to compete at the NWTF Grand National,” Wymbs said.

When asked if he thought building your own calls helps on the competition stage, Wymbs said, “I think building your own calls does help, but you still have to be able to reproduce the sound of the wild turkey. There is a big difference in calling on stage and calling to the real deal wild turkey in the woods.”

Wymbs’ love of building his own calls started about 15 years ago because he couldn’t find a new call that produced the true turkey sounds he wanted to hear.

“The first call I built was a cedar box call, and I still hunt with it today,” Wymbs said. “I had a vision of what I wanted to do and started working on it. I destroyed a lot of wood because I didn’t have any guidance or plans; I just tried to do the best I could with what I had.”

Wymbs said while turkey call making is big business, there are a select few call makers who help new call makers get started.

“There are some that will help, and I want to say thank you to all the call makers that have helped me along the way,” he said.

Wymbs has not entered any of his calls in a callmaking competition, but that is the next step in the future of his creation, Black Lightening Calls.

While Wymbs stays busy building calls and competing, his love of the outdoors has allowed him to introduce new hunters into the fold, starting with his daughter.

“Seeing the smile on their (new hunter’s) face when that buck comes by grunting or they hear that first gobble in the morning is a wonderful thing,” he said.

For parting words, Wymbs left a few bits of advice for those thinking they may want to build their own calls.

“My advice to would-be call makers is to go for it,” he said. “You will be overwhelmed with joy when you call in your first longbeard with a call that you crafted. It’s just the best feeling in the world.

“It’s not all about the money. It’s about putting a call in a new hunter’s hand, whether it be a young or old person, man or woman. The passion for the outdoors does not have prejudice; it’s just a true passion that should be cultivated, educated and tended to by those of us with the skill to flame that passion and keep the embers burning.”