# Cut down D-2s



## Nitro

I received a couple of PMs regarding Olt D-2 cutdowns.

Here is a photo of a Black Monster line up..

L-R 

Dale Hamm cutdown D-2 by Olt
D-2 cut by Omar Driskell
D-2 cut by Lester Capps
D-2 cut by Kirk McCullough
D-2s cut by Billy Ray Starks 

Those that hunted in the Arkansas timber "back in the day" know what these calls can do..


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## ugabulldog56

The fourth one looks very familiar.


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## Nitro

ugabulldog56 said:


> The fourth one looks very familiar.



Does it make sure lungs hurt, eyes get blurry and create a headache after use??? 

If so, yours is authentic McCullough as well. Great callers in the Timber no doubt.

I'll give you $50.00 for it..........


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## ugabulldog56

50 bucks????  How bout a straight up trade for #3 in your lineup!


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## Nitro

ugabulldog56 said:


> 50 bucks????  How bout a straight up trade for #3 in your lineup!



Let me think ..................no. Sorry, that one is scarce...


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## duckman31822

i hunted with a guy in louisiana that had and old D2 he modified.. it sounded awesome. he siad it took some gettin used too before he could make it sound good..


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## Nitro

Cut down at work.........


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## Gut_Pile

Nice pics and calls Mr. Andy!


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## yellowduckdog

Nitro said:


> I received a couple of PMs regarding Olt D-2 cutdowns.
> 
> Here is a photo of a Black Monster line up..
> 
> L-R
> 
> Dale Hamm cutdown D-2 by Olt
> D-2 cut by Omar Driskell
> D-2 cut by Lester Capps
> D-2 cut by Kirk McCullough
> D-2s cut by Billy Ray Starks
> 
> Those that hunted in the Arkansas timber "back in the day" know what these calls can do..



How did you get a Lester Capps call? He wouldnt cut it down for just anyone! Of course this was the early 90's anything for money I guess?


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## Nitro

yellowduckdog said:


> How did you get a Lester Capps call? He wouldnt cut it down for just anyone! Of course this was the early 90's anything for money I guess?



Hunted with him a lot in the Scatters.....he and I got along fine. 

Miss him and think of him often....

" Kill them Ducks"!!!!!!!!!!!!

What was Lester's other favorite comment after 10 AM??


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## yellowduckdog

Nitro said:


> Hunted with him a lot in the Scatters.....he and I got along fine.
> 
> Miss him and think of him often....
> 
> " Kill them Ducks"!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> What was Lester's other favorite comment after 10 AM??



You know what I remember was him taking a draw off a cig and blowing louder than anyone else....did you meet him thru Monroe by chance???I miss him as well , his brother helped me set up a trailer right across the street from Hollowell (sp)which is what i hunted out of for about five years until the mice ran us out ( and I got married)...By the way I didnt mean he was hard to get along with I just remember he really didnt like cutting calls for everybody (or maybe just me)very nice guy with a wealth of knowledge


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## Nitro

Met him through Jeff Kruse and Jeff Free..I know Monroe and try to stop in and check on him when I am in Humphrey.

The coffin nails got ol' Lester didn't they..........he was a good un. 

No offense taken. I read your comment the right way.I think those days in the Scatters are gone forever. The ranks of the Olt men are getting thin...

About 10 AM if the ducks weren't flying , Ol Lester would cup his hands over his ears and ask "hear that?"

If anyone said "what Lester?"  He'd puff a Salem and say "I hear bacon frying" Time to pick up the decoys.

I'll try to scan a photo from those days and post it up. Fine fella for sure.




yellowduckdog said:


> You know what I remember was him taking a draw off a cig and blowing louder than anyone else....did you meet him thru Monroe by chance???I miss him as well , his brother helped me set up a trailer right across the street from Hollowell (sp)which is what i hunted out of for about five years until the mice ran us out ( and I got married)...By the way I didnt mean he was hard to get along with I just remember he really didnt like cutting calls for everybody (or maybe just me)very nice guy with a wealth of knowledge


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## yellowduckdog

Nitro said:


> Met him through Jeff Kruse and Jeff Free..I know Monroe and try to stop in and check on him when I am in Humphrey.
> 
> The coffin nails got ol' Lester didn't they..........he was a good un.
> 
> No offense taken. I read your comment the right way.I think those days in the Scatters are gone forever. The ranks of the Olt men are getting thin...
> 
> About 10 AM if the ducks weren't flying , Ol Lester would cup his hands over his ears and ask "hear that?"
> 
> If anyone said "what Lester?"  He'd puff a Salem and say "I hear bacon frying" Time to pick up the decoys.
> 
> I'll try to scan a photo from those days and post it up. Fine fella for sure.



Last time I was down there Free was hanging around ,but thats been 8 years ago since I moved to Miss.


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## ugabulldog56

Just grab your olt and simply utter the word "ticket" inside and the sky will turn black with ducks.


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## GSURugger

ugabulldog56 said:


> Just grab your olt and simply utter the word "ticket" inside and the sky will turn black with ducks.


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## Nitro

ugabulldog56 said:


> Just grab your olt and simply utter the word "ticket" inside and the sky will turn black with ducks.



We always said "ticka" ...............no wonder we never killed anything.....


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## Gut_Pile

Nitro said:


> We always said "ticka" ...............no wonder we never killed anything.....





must be my problem as well.


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## Fireaway

Hey Nitro can you show some pictures of the toneboard of the lester capps cutdown olt. I want to try and modify some calls, and I am curious what he did. 
Thanks


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## Fireaway

Fireaway said:


> Hey Nitro can you show some pictures of the toneboard of the lester capps cutdown olt. I want to try and modify some calls, and I am curious what he did.
> Thanks



????


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## Fireaway

Fireaway said:


> ????



Hello?????


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## illinoishunter77

Fireaway said:


> Hello?????


Can't take a hint?


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## Fireaway

illinoishunter77 said:


> Can't take a hint?



Who me??
I can take hints, but nothing has been posted at all. Not even a hint.


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## ugabulldog56

Fireaway said:


> Who me??
> I can take hints, but nothing has been posted at all. Not even a hint.



and more than likely, nothing will be posted.


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## clent586

ugabulldog56 said:


> and more than likely, nothing will be posted.



I will post...........The hint is, in my interpretation, is that there are only a few who were able to do this and each man had there own sound. I believe, and correct me if I am wrong, that Nitro is like an extension of each of those calls he has, a keeper if you will. I am sure, that every time Andy picks those black monsters up, he thinks of the man and his personal experience with each of them. Could you imagine having a story for each of those calls!! What do you think your answer would be if you asked Kirk, Lester, Omar or any of the other men famous for these calls? To a custom callmaker, that is the ultimate slap in the face, not an ultimate compliment, when you say, "Hey bud let me see your toneboard so I can copy it!". Besides, just looking at it will not get you there, there is an unbelievable amount of cutting, hard sanding, light sanding,diameter boring, trimming, cussing, throwing, picking up and trying again.  Not trying to be a butt, but this is the way I feel about the request. I know opinions are not popular here but oh well.


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## ugabulldog56

clent586 said:


> I will post...........The hint is, in my interpretation, is that there are only a few who were able to do this and each man had there own sound. I believe, and correct me if I am wrong, that Nitro is like an extension of each of those calls he has, a keeper if you will. I am sure, that every time Andy picks those black monsters up, he thinks of the man and his personal experience with each of them. Could you imagine having a story for each of those calls!! What do you think your answer would be if you asked Kirk, Lester, Omar or any of the other men famous for these calls? To a custom callmaker, that is the ultimate slap in the face, not an ultimate compliment, when you say, "Hey bud let me see your toneboard so I can copy it!". Besides, just looking at it will not get you there, there is an unbelievable amount of cutting, hard sanding, light sanding,diameter boring, trimming, cussing, throwing, picking up and trying again.  Not trying to be a butt, but this is the way I feel about the request. I know opinions are not popular here but oh well.



Very well said.


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## yellowduckdog

yellowduckdog said:


> You know what I remember was him taking a draw off a cig and blowing louder than anyone else....did you meet him thru Monroe by chance???I miss him as well , his brother helped me set up a trailer right across the street from Hollowell (sp)which is what i hunted out of for about five years until the mice ran us out ( and I got married)...By the way I didnt mean he was hard to get along with I just remember he really didnt like cutting calls for everybody (or maybe just me)very nice guy with a wealth of knowledge



As clent said & evident from my post above concerning one of the cut downs, you really had to get to know a hunter in Ark to gain trust enough for them to a) take the time to cut one for you B) show you the tone board & keep it long enough to cut one down similar ( doesnt mean it will sound the same). Now Kirk cut them down for sale , but there was a reason he did that ( which I want go into),but all in all it a secret that you are not going to get an answer to on a msg board


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## Fireaway

Either way, a simple explanation from Nitro would have been sufficient. It's fine if you don't want to post it, but ignoring a question is just plain rude. As for it being an "ultimate slap in the face" I didn't ask a custom call maker his secret, I asked someone who had a call for a picture out of curiosity. Besides the call maker is deceased, and more than likely would like his work to live on. Not saying I could reproduce it, just wanted to have a very rough idea of what was done.


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## Ducks4Me

I havent even seen Nitro on the sites at all so I wouldnt say for sure that he is ignoring you.


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## B.Beavers

Hey guys, just wanted to give ya'll the heads up that I have tracked down Kirk McCullough and he is selling his cut down D-2 Olts and DVD's agian.  Shoot him a E-mail at Kirkmahoo@yahoo.com and he will hook you up.


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## Nitro

B.Beavers said:


> Hey guys, just wanted to give ya'll the heads up that I have tracked down Kirk McCullough and he is selling his cut down D-2 Olts and DVD's agian.  Shoot him a E-mail at Kirkmahoo@yahoo.com and he will hook you up.
> 
> Thanks
> Bradford Beavers





Great meat call for the timber.  (Possibly the finest ever)..

Everybody here might want to get at least one before Kirk disappears again.


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## chundafied

Does the call to cut down have to be provided to him? Or does he have a stash?


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## B.Beavers

He has the calls, all you have to do is E-mail him.


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## MustangMAtt30

And for those who don't have a ton of money......

http://www.djcalls.com/jzcart/showitem.php?id=3163

http://www.djcalls.com/jzcart/showitem.php?id=3877

Here is some information on David Jackson taken from another message board.

My name is David Jackson and I worked for the Olts for 27 years before they closed the doors. Here is the differences on the D-2 duck calls. The O.S.-D-2 (oldstyle) also called the keyway has a hardrubber tonal assembly. The call has a high lift conture on the tonal assembly. This gives the call what old timers call the duck sound. The regular trade mark was on the side of the tonal plug 348205. This was put on the call in 1941 and the call had a hardrubber shell untill 1956. After that date they all came with a plastic shell. Also in 1956 Olts came out with the new style D-2 or just known as the D-2. The call was all plastic with a different tonal plug conture and a longer reed. This gave the call a mellow tone. In 2002 I came out with the cutdown model. I used the O.S.-D-2 tonal plug put a different reed and changed the conture on the tonal plug. This made the call harder to blow and raspier. The plastic shell also was turned around. I started my own duck and goose call business up this year. My calls sound like the Olts naturally after 27 years. Visit my web site @ www.djcalls.com. I hope this clears up your questions. If you have any more just ask I will try to help.

This is David from DJ Calls, I'm going to add a twist to everything. If you want to know who cutdown the first D-2 you will half to go back to 1906. The hard core duck hunters from Quincy, Illinois were the first to modify the D-2's. The groove was extended another 1/4" longer and the tone board was flattened and a .020 thousand reed was put on the call. The hunters said if you got more than 4 notes out of a call it was to easy to blow. The call sounded raspy and coarse and loud, but they could turn the greenheads. I know you are going to ask how do I know information this far back? My younger years were spent with many old time duck hunters. I didn't run around with kids my age. I started collecting Olt calls at age 19 and also talked to all the old time hunters about there younger days of hunting. Al Sonderman started Olt's in 1929 and he was full of information, and I got all of it before he died. He showed me all the old time ways of how to tune duck calls. Now to the later years,the last 4 years that I worked for Olts I made a cutdown D-2 version that we sold to all the stores. The package was marked like this "P.S.Olt Keyway Cut-Down". The call had the shell reversed but there were on markings on the call that said cutdown. The Olts closed the doors on April 5 2002.

The cutdowns I make are of the oldstyle D-2's. The tonal plugs are made out of hardrubber and they do have the keyway slot. I was taught how to make the cutdowns by Al Sonderman who worked for the Olts from 1929 untill his death in 1983. His son Joe Sonderman taught me how to make them also and he worked for the Olts from 1950 untill his death in 1993. Both of the men were very knowledgeable in there work. They show me how to make the cutdowns and all the other calls. Olts did make cutdowns untill 1979 but was on a limited bases. The pattern I went from was made in the early 1950's when that call was at it's best. I hope this helps all who has questions


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## dognducks

B.Beavers said:


> Hey guys, just wanted to give ya'll the heads up that I have tracked down Kirk McCullough and he is selling his cut down D-2 Olts and DVD's agian.  Shoot him a E-mail at Kirkmahoo@yahoo.com and he will hook you up.
> 
> Thanks
> Bradford Beavers



how much is he charging?


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## clent586

$125


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## MustangMAtt30

So when folks talk about "barking" with these calls what does that mean?

How do you run these things?  Just like a typical mallard call?


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## B.Beavers

I would assume when people talk about barking with them they are referring to there volume. When you get one that has been properly cut down they can be extremely loud while still having a great duck sound.


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## yellowduckdog

MustangMAtt30 said:


> So when folks talk about "barking" with these calls what does that mean?
> 
> How do you run these things?  Just like a typical mallard call?



Its not youre typical chatter....its hard to describe, I guess it is similar to a feed chatter . I can do it but you would have to hear it...maybe Kirk has a wav file


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## duckman31822

*call*

i emailed him and havent heard back from him... im interested in buying one from him


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## B.Beavers

I just got my package in the mail today


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## Nitro

Very nice!!

I have received the word that I have one more enroute...........

Is "Living for the Kill" a new DVD??


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## B.Beavers

No I don't believe it's new probably about the same age as the others.


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## dognducks

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9kABVvBD4eo&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9kABVvBD4eo&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>


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## clent586

clent586 said:


> $125



Just an FYI.........they are now $175. Guess business picked up!


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## logger12

Man you sure do know your calls.


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## 8pointduck

My first call was a D2,i wish I knew what happened to it.


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## MudDucker

Dang, that boy can blow, but he sure kicks way more than I used to.  He made the water look like a shark attack.


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## clent586

MudDucker said:


> Dang, that boy can blow, but he sure kicks way more than I used to.  He made the water look like a shark attack.



I believe there was a DAWG on that Arkie leg!


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## ugabulldog56

MudDucker said:


> Dang, that boy can blow, but he sure kicks way more than I used to.  He made the water look like a shark attack.




You outta see him do it in person.  He even gets others in the hole to do the same thing while hes doing it.


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## B.Beavers

clent586 said:


> Just an FYI.........they are now $175. Guess business picked up!



I just saw his website, the price sure has gone up. Makes me glade I got mine when I did.  I may need to get another one before it goes up again.


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## Timber Cruiser

I didn't even know Kirk had a website.  What's the address?


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## B.Beavers

http://s1.webstarts.com/KirkMcCullough/index.html

The link to it is on the description of his youtube video.


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## dognducks

clent586 said:


> Just an FYI.........they are now $175. Guess business picked up!



Now the prices is at $200. Olts on ebay have went from selling at $50-$60 to now $100 plus. I wonder who is running the market up?


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## clent586

I am doing my share.............I sold one yesterday for $90.


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## Timber Cruiser

I've sold 2 to Kirk in the last couple weeks.  His business must be booming.  Supply and demand.  Don't hate the player...


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