Legacy Callmaker Series: Tim Bullock

Long before he became an award-winning call maker, Bullock was a young deer hunter in North Carolina whose childhood friend, Eddie Vaughn, convinced him to give turkey hunting a try. 

Armed with a Remington 870 pump shotgun he had camouflaged himself using spray paint, Bullock accompanied Vaughn into a hardwood bottom along a creek. When a group of gobblers began approaching, he found himself so captivated by the birds strutting, spitting and drumming that he nearly forgot he was hunting. 

Vaughn had to tell him to shoot several times before Bullock finally pulled the trigger on his first wild turkey. That morning changed everything. The two friends continued hunting together and eventually both became wildlife officers in North Carolina, even working in the same area for a time. But their shared experiences came to a tragic end when Vaughn was killed in a motorcycle accident. 

Devastated by the loss, Bullock began searching for a way to honor the friend who had introduced him to turkey hunting. 

“One of my childhood friends that I grew up hunting with, and who also became a game warden in North Carolina, was killed in a tragic accident,” Bullock recalled in a 2022 interview. “It was devastating to me. I shot my first turkey with him when we were kids.” 

His answer was to build a box call that he could carry into the woods, keeping a small part of Vaughn with him each spring. 

With little experience and even fewer tools, Bullock began experimenting with different woods, studying the work of established call makers and learning through trial and error. His first attempt, made from bocote and Osage orange, was far from perfect, but the meaning behind it was unmistakable. What began as a tribute to a friend soon grew into a lifelong pursuit of craftsmanship. 

As Bullock worked to improve his calls, he discovered a community of craftsmen who shared his fascination with recreating the sounds of wild turkeys. He studied the work of legendary call maker Neil Cost, whose approach to building realistic-sounding box calls helped shape Bullock's early development. Through online forums and conversations with other makers, he found mentors willing to share their knowledge and experience. 

Among them was Jeff McCamey, who spent hours speaking with Bullock when he was just beginning his journey. Another influential mentor was Marlin Watkins, who invited Bullock to spend three days at his Ohio workshop, building calls, discussing turkey hunting and refining his techniques. 

“He showed me stuff that took me so far ahead of the curve,” Bullock recalled. 

Other accomplished craftsmen, including Mike Lapp, continued to influence his development as he experimented with new designs, materials and techniques. 

Through those relationships, Bullock came to understand that call making was about more than mastering a craft. It was also about sharing knowledge, encouraging others and preserving traditions that have been passed between generations of turkey hunters. 

As his skills improved, so did his success in competitions. Bullock began earning recognition at regional callmaking contests while balancing his work as a North Carolina wildlife officer and his responsibilities as a husband and father of four. 

After retiring from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission in June 2021, he devoted more time to his workshop, sometimes spending eight to 10 hours a day refining his calls. 

His dedication culminated in a remarkable achievement at the NWTF's 2022 Grand National Custom Call Competition. There, his Cost-style checkered short box call, crafted from Vermont butternut and orange agate, earned both the prestigious Gibson Award and the Division II Turkey Hunting Call Maker of the Year honor. 

The Gibson Award, named for Henry Gibson, who patented the first box call in 1897, recognizes the best-sounding box turkey call in the competition. For Bullock, the recognition represented far more than a championship. 

“I was just beyond emotional because everything came full circle from the very first day I tried to build a turkey call to honor my friend who got me involved in turkey hunting, and here I sit with the highest honor you can get for a box call maker,” he said. 

Although Bullock's accomplishments have established him among respected custom call makers, his fascination with the craft remains rooted in the challenge of producing the sound of a wild turkey. 

He has worked with a variety of woods, including butternut, walnut, persimmon and black limba, experimenting with the characteristics that give each call its distinct voice. His interests have also expanded beyond traditional Cost-style box calls to Turpin-style boxes and air-operated calls, including trumpets. 

For Bullock, the process is deeply personal. Every call maker hears the voice of a turkey a little differently, and much of the artistry lies in translating that sound into something handcrafted. 

“I think every call maker has a turkey in their head that they are trying to mimic in their call,” Bullock said. “If you put a hundred different turkey hunters in a room, you go get a hundred different answers of what a hen sounds like.” 

That individuality is part of what makes custom call making so special. Each craftsman brings a different ear, approach and interpretation to the work, creating calls that are as distinctive as the people who make them. 

Yet for Bullock, the greatest satisfaction doesn't necessarily come from the finished product or the awards it might earn; it comes from seeing those calls put to use. 

“The biggest joy that I find in making calls is the photos from people who spend their hard-earned money on my calls with turkey pictures and stories,” he said. 

Knowing that something he carefully crafted helped another hunter experience a memorable morning in the turkey woods is a reward in itself. 

Throughout his journey, Bullock has remained grateful for the relationships and opportunities that call making has brought into his life. He credits the NWTF and its Grand National Custom Call Competition with providing a platform where craftsmen can showcase their work, learn from their peers and build lasting friendships. 

For him, those opportunities represent an important part of preserving the art and tradition of custom call making, but Bullock's connection to the NWTF extends beyond the competition stage. 

During his career as a wildlife officer, he spent years teaching hunter education and participating in programs that introduced young people and their families to hunting and conservation. 

He understands that protecting the future of wild turkeys requires more than a passion for pursuing them. It takes people willing to invest their time, knowledge and resources in conserving wildlife habitat and introducing the next generation to the outdoors. 

And as a grandfather, that responsibility carries an even deeper meaning. Bullock looks forward to taking his young grandson turkey hunting and hoping that, one day, his grandson would have the opportunity to share that same experience with a child of his own. It is a sentiment that brings his story back to where it began. 

A childhood friend once invited Bullock into the turkey woods and introduced him to a pursuit that would shape the rest of his life. Years later, Bullock transformed the memory of that friendship into a craft that has connected him with hunters and call makers across the country. 

His legacy isn't measured solely by the trophies on his shelf or the calls that leave his workshop. It lives in the stories those calls help create, the knowledge shared between craftsmen and the generations of hunters who will continue carrying those traditions into the woods. 

And perhaps that is the greatest accomplishment of all: creating something that allows a memory, a friendship and a love for wild turkeys to endure. 

Bid on Bullock's Legacy Callmaker Collection Auction Entry 

Bullock's No Bull custom henbox is made of chocolate curly tiger maple with a black Dymondwood lid and is hand checkered.