RIP Wayne Carlton

[GrantK]

Sad news that one of the biggest innovators in western hunting passed yesterday.

On a personal note I probably have Wayne to thank for some of my hunting obsession, growing up in Montrose where Carlton's calls was located my brother and I and a friend somehow found out that the guy we watched on VHS elk hunting videos had a office not too far across town and screwed up our courage to ride bikes over and ask him about turkey hunting...

I'm not sure what he thought when three kids, probably all under 12, walked into his office and asked how to call in turkeys, but he gave up his entire afternoon to give us essentially a turkey hunting seminar, then dug around in his desk and set us up with all the calls we would need.

Given that we had no way to actually go turkey hunting for a couple more years it took a while before we killed a bird with his calls but we eventually pulled it off, years later I would see him at sports shows and he still remembered our crashing his office, looking back I'm sure he had hundreds of things he needed to be doing but I'll always remember the kindness he showed and the genuine care for a bunch of motivated but clueless kids.

 

[Dan-06]

Great guy. Sad to see him go.

 

[Hem]

Sad news that one of the biggest innovators in western hunting passed yesterday.

On a personal note I probably have Wayne to thank for some of my hunting obsession, growing up in Montrose where Carlton's calls was located my brother and I and a friend somehow found out that the guy we watched on VHS elk hunting videos had a office not too far across town and screwed up our courage to ride bikes over and ask him about turkey hunting...

I'm not sure what he thought when three kids, probably all under 12, walked into his office and asked how to call in turkeys, but he gave up his entire afternoon to give us essentially a turkey hunting seminar, then dug around in his desk and set us up with all the calls we would need.

Given that we had no way to actually go turkey hunting for a couple more years it took a while before we killed a bird with his calls but we eventually pulled it off, years later I would see him at sports shows and he still remembered our crashing his office, looking back I'm sure he had hundreds of things he needed to be doing but I'll always remember the kindness he showed and the genuine care for a bunch of motivated but clueless kids.

Thanks for passing that story along.
Carlton, Schuh, and others of that generation the last bunch before the internet changed things up.

 

[Southern Elk]

Sad news for sure. If you haven’t watched this video, you should. It tells the story of several innovators of the elk calling industry .

 

[BuzzH]

Sorry to hear about that. The first elk calls my Dad and I used in the 80's were Carlton.

 

[NativeIndian]

Sad news that one of the biggest innovators in western hunting passed yesterday.

On a personal note I probably have Wayne to thank for some of my hunting obsession, growing up in Montrose where Carlton's calls was located my brother and I and a friend somehow found out that the guy we watched on VHS elk hunting videos had a office not too far across town and screwed up our courage to ride bikes over and ask him about turkey hunting...

I'm not sure what he thought when three kids, probably all under 12, walked into his office and asked how to call in turkeys, but he gave up his entire afternoon to give us essentially a turkey hunting seminar, then dug around in his desk and set us up with all the calls we would need.

Given that we had no way to actually go turkey hunting for a couple more years it took a while before we killed a bird with his calls but we eventually pulled it off, years later I would see him at sports shows and he still remembered our crashing his office, looking back I'm sure he had hundreds of things he needed to be doing but I'll always remember the kindness he showed and the genuine care for a bunch of motivated but clueless kids.

That's a great story. Love to hear them. Something you'll always have with you.

 

[noharleyyet]

Really liked his videos...rented as many as I could find at Hastings when the elk bug bit me a couple of decades ago.

 

[NativeIndian]

Sad news for sure. If you haven’t watched this video, you should. It tells the story of several innovators of the elk calling industry .

That's a great video. I watched it a couple years ago.

 

[reallyoldman]

I bought a guided turkey hunt for my son and myself at a RM elk fundraiser in Montrose. The hunt was with Wayne but he was not there for the dinner so I did not talk to him that night. A couple of days later he he called me in Denver and apologized for not being there and that someone else had offered that hunt with him. He said where the hunt was good for and that really there were very few birds there but we would go and give my 14 yr old son some lessons. I had talked to Wayne a couple of years earlier about a moose hunt he had made a video of so we kinda knew each other. He use to be an Orkin Pesticide guy before his hunting calls. We went on the the turkey hunt and he was great with my son and gave him a bunch of hunting gear. When we got back to Monstrose we went to breakfast and had a great visit. He use to stop by my sister's tire shop once in a while just to chat. She said you could tell he was coming as he would be bulging, turkey calling and making all kinds of sounds. He was as genuine as they come and was good friend.

 

[88man]

Sad news that one of the biggest innovators in western hunting passed yesterday.

On a personal note I probably have Wayne to thank for some of my hunting obsession, growing up in Montrose where Carlton's calls was located my brother and I and a friend somehow found out that the guy we watched on VHS elk hunting videos had a office not too far across town and screwed up our courage to ride bikes over and ask him about turkey hunting...

I'm not sure what he thought when three kids, probably all under 12, walked into his office and asked how to call in turkeys, but he gave up his entire afternoon to give us essentially a turkey hunting seminar, then dug around in his desk and set us up with all the calls we would need.

Given that we had no way to actually go turkey hunting for a couple more years it took a while before we killed a bird with his calls but we eventually pulled it off, years later I would see him at sports shows and he still remembered our crashing his office, looking back I'm sure he had hundreds of things he needed to be doing but I'll always remember the kindness he showed and the genuine care for a bunch of motivated but clueless kids.

good stuff