Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/769056
black duck is a New England theme. They're all going to be themed, and the older the theme, the more vintage they are." Several of these calls are already completed, to the utter amazement of all who've seen them. From top to bottom, no part of Bucher's "canvas" is wasted. There's something to tickle everyone's fancy: • a bayou shack with ducks feeding on crawdads and a hunting permit complete with Bucher's signature • black ducks circling a covered New England bridge, with the obligatory jug of maple syrup on the insert • a Mardi Gras celebration with glittering masks, snakes, and the Voodoo Queen herself, Marie Laveau The call that will make Sporting Classics readers the most excited? A Nash Buckingham tribute, complete with scenes of Bo Whoop, the Beaver Dam Hunt Club, and an dog- earred copy of The Best of Nash Buckingham laying in a burlap-covered duck blind. What began as a new direction for Bucher's career has ultimately become its capstone, and with it came a very important decision. He could sell the calls for a small mint each, but that would inevitably split up the collection. The time-intensiveness and unique design of each call made mass production impossible. So, how would he market them? Bucher has decided his one-of-a-kind calls will not be for sale. Each will permanently stay with its brethren, eventually becoming part of a traveling display case that will go to the various wildlife expos across the country. Attendees will get to see each call up close—these calls are meant to be enjoyed by everyone, not locked away in one or two collectors' homes. That's not to say some haven't already tried to coax them away from Bucher. It takes a lot of willpower and determination to pass up $20,000-plus for a single call, but it's happened multiple times already. But Bucher is determined to keep the family together, so to speak, and is willing to pass up the money in order to create a collection that lives on long after he's gone. After all, as another famous saying on mortality goes, "You can't take it with you when you go." n Editor's Note: For more photos of Bucher's calls, visit www.sportingclassicsdaily.com/ bucher-duck-calls. n 108 • S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S