U.S. Open Turkey Calling Contest Returns

More than 20 of the best open and friction callers in each division called in the Louisiana State and U.S. Open Turkey Calling Championship preliminaries on July 12 and the finals July 13. In addition, there were multiple youth, owl, gobbling, amateur and state divisions. Good calling, coupled with good Cajun food and more at Southern Boyz Outdoors made for a great weekend for turkey calling fans, contest organizer Hunter Lemoine said.

“It was a huge success because it’s more than just a turkey calling contest,” Lemoine said. “There was a lot of good food, and the camaraderie was second to none.”

Dave Owens from Cedartown, Georgia, took home the U.S. Open title, scoring 754, ahead of runner-up Jesse Martin’s 748.5. Matthew Presley from Front Royal, Virginia, won the U.S. Open Friction division with a 466, just ahead of Zach Conaway’s 462.5.

Callers and fans showed up to enjoy the calling and a sampling from custom call vendors, seed companies, food vendors and more. Lemoine and many others worked tirelessly to put the event together through sponsorships and donations – all to support turkey calling and bring back a storied U.S. Open contest that traces its roots back to Quaker Boy and the legendary Kirby family.

“It takes a determined group of people to get out there and make this happen,” Lemoine said.

Kaleb Payton of Central City, Kentucky, won the U.S. Open Owl Hooting division, and Josh Pruitt of Reidsville, North Carolina, captured the Gobbling division title. Bruce Saale of Maurepas, Louisiana, won both the Louisiana State Open and State Friction titles. Raymond Barrington of Prairieville, Louisiana, won the Hunter’s division, while youth division winners included Intermediate and Junior division champ Aden Dively of Duncansville, Pennsylvania, and Poults division winner Jaxon Wale of Independence, Louisiana.

The Louisiana State and U.S. Open Calling Championship is a sanctioned NWTF calling contest, with qualifiers in the State divisions and the Open and Friction divisions receiving an invite to the NWTF Grand National Calling Championships Feb. 13-15, 2025 in Nashville at the 49^th annual NWTF Convention and Sport Show. Nearly 30 sanctioned contests have been held in 2024 with several more scheduled throughout the country.

For more information on upcoming NWTF-sanctioned calling contests, go to https://your.nwtf.org/members/events/ and click on the calling events box. Information on the NWTF Grand National Calling Championships can be found at https://your.nwtf.org/gncc/.