I had an opportunity to handle a "Sharpie Shaw" original Reelfoot call while duck hunting at Reelfoot lake yesterday. I was not able to get a picture but I was able to disassemble the call and compare the construction to my baseline design. My impressions were:
The call barrel was Walnut and about 5.5 inches long. The barrel bore was 3/4 inch and straight through.
The insert and wedge were mahogany and approximately 4 inches long.
The tone channel was tapered toward the wedge and slightly wider than the 1/4 inch width I use. The tone channel length was approximately 2.2 inches.
The exhaust is some larger than most of us presently use.
The original reed was missing from the call so I removed the tuned reed from my hunting call and installed it in the Shaw. It blew perfectly and the sound was amazing with a full range of capability including the famous Reelfoot "high ball".
I really enjoyed getting to briefly examine/study what is evidentally a very rare call.
FYI the hunt was cut short by the storm system (Gemini) that is passing through the area but we did get to work and shoot a few ducks on Friday. We always have a great hunt experience with Jamie Hamilton. The new blind is unbelievably comfortable and Jamie is very knowledge about the development of the Reelfoot call.
Fred
