Oldham’s Arts and Craftsmanship
Commissioned custom call makers don’t inventory pre-made calls. They work from a hard-earned list of special orders from call-in customers.
Timothy Oldham Jr.’s two decades of custom turkey callmaking experience started with a dedicated concentration on decorative art. Nowadays, his efforts focus on building hunting calls with heavy doses of art. That is, he builds amazingly beautiful calls that are killers in the turkey woods.
Oldham lives in southern Indiana, along the Ohio River where he’s an avid deer and turkey hunter. Growing up, he enjoyed drawing and painting artwork, often using his time spent — and love for — the outdoors as his inspiration.
In 2003, at 30 years old, Oldham discovered decorative callmaking competitions. He was instantly blown away. It lit a fire inside him that led to an obsession with becoming an expert wood carver, burner and painter. Two years later, in 2005, Oldham competed in his first NWTF Grand National Custom Call Competition, and he never looked back.
Long story, short: It has been an amazing journey for Oldham, filled with piles of championship ribbons, medals, top honors and major awards. He has won the Earl Mickel Award/Call Maker of the Year (Best of Show) in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2022 in the Decorative division. He was also inducted into the NWTF Custom Callmaking Hall of Fame in 2023.
Enough said about Oldham’s amazing talent as an artist. Let’s move on to his hunting calls.
In 2020, Oldham’s business, Calls, Carvings and Creations, became his full-time job. He specializes in creating carvings, turkey calls and unique heirlooms. Oldham enjoys creating art — inspired by his detailed notes from conversations with his customers — into his custom-built hunting calls. The intention of this personalized artwork is to spark a specific memory for each customer, letting them relive a meaningful experience every time they pick up and play the call.
Most of his “field-grade” calls are wood-burnt with a touch of color. Excellent examples include: a two-call themed set showcasing the swamps of Florida; a box call featuring a double-bearded gobbler walking past morel mushrooms; a box call that artistically shows the life of a gobbler and buffalo from poult to calf, and then tom to bull; and a set of wedding gift calls — box and pot call — honoring bride and groom (hen and gobbler) with matching hearts to symbolize the commitment of two coming together. Upon request, Oldham can also build fully carved and painted calls, such as the copperhead snake pot-and-peg call.
Oldham does not have a website or an inventory of completed calls ready for purchase. If you want one of his creations, you simply connect with him, commission it and get on his waiting list. He can be found on Facebook or Instagram, or text or call in your special order to him at (812) 598-6742.
Oldham is out to change the common perspective some hunters have: “If it’s pretty, it’s just art.” His calls are beautiful. But they have also been proven time and again as being effective in the turkey woods. He said jokingly, “They sound so good because they’re stuffed with feathers.”