Curly maple slate over slate, but the strikers are what I want to share. My grandpa made the striker on the left - acrylic with a corncob handle - in '81. It was the only striker he used from then till his last season in '91. After he passed, my father has carried it. He always has 4-5 other strikers in his pack, but I've never seen him use anything different when working a bird. Several years ago, dad was working out of town all season so I was lucky enough to use our favorite striker. That season was short....I killed two birds while using that old corncob triker in about 3 total hours in the woods. Across 3 generations, a LOT of birds have met their match in a Rist holding that corncob. To our ears, it's hands down the best sounding striker we've ever used.
The striker on the right is my reproduction. I copied every aspect as close as I could, right down to the exact same weight. And I'll be damned if it doesn't sound exactly the same. It may not be the prettiest, but it's awfully special to us. Thanks for looking!
