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Making a racket: Local hunting call company growing quickly

By Patt Keith 4 min read

HASTINGS -- KLUK Custom Calls, a Cambria County company owned by two military veterans, is making a noisy name for itself when it comes to mouth calls used for hunting.

Co-owners Brian Meese, 35, and Nathan Burkhart, 32, make each latex turkey mouth call in their newly expanded workshop off of Number 9 Road. The company was founded by Meese in 2020. He learned to make mouth calls for himself in 2017 under the tutelage of Jed Paronish of Northern Cambria, a state and national turkey competition caller.

"The main thing that separates us from every other call company is we offer our mouth calls in three separate stretches," Burkhart explained. "The stretch is the tension that is on the reed. We're the first company to ever do that."

Other companies don't identify the stretch, Meese explained. The stretch changes the pitch and tone of the call. A mouth call is placed in the hunter's mouth and against the mouth roof and the tongue applies pressure. Having different stretches allows a hunter tocustomize and create a better call based on his anatomy and makes it more comfortable, too.

"We have our calls labeled as low, medium or high stretch," Meese said. They offer a three pack of each call, so a hunter can experiment and find the one he likes best. "If somebody has a lot of tongue pressure, they might need a lower stretch, that's why we say when you find the right stretch for you, it can take your calling to the next level."

It's also taken their sales to the next level.

Meese, who served in the Air Force, took his calls to the public via online sales in 2020 and sold 700. Today, sales have increased to 45,000. It takes 135,000 pieces of latex to make those calls, Burkhart said.

They credit word of mouth from customers, attending trade shows where they network with others in the outdoor field and a redesigned website and increased social media marketing for their success. They post videos on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok and offer hunting and calling tips.

"It started slow. I sold 700 calls the first year but it was exciting," Meese said. Burkhart became involved first as a photographer/videographer for the website.

The two realized they had crossed paths while fishing several years earlier.

It was after sharing an assigned table at a wedding in October 2021 that Meese realized Burkhart, a Navy veteran, would add to the business. A website redesign by a former classmate of Burkhart's in 2023 sent sales soaring to 20,000 and allowed them to focus on the business full time. Such focus resulted in a more than doubling of sales to 45,000 after this turkey hunting season. Their calls have been purchased by hunters in every state -- except Alaska. To keep up with the burgeoning demand, they've added a full-time and part-time position in recent months to help meet the increased demand. Full-timer Laci Lanzendorfer serves as manager and high school student Noah Thomas works part time.

"I don't see any other companies doing (different stretches). It takes more time to build calls that way but it makes it worth it," Paronish said. "Brian does all the cutting on the call's top reed of latex. Brian is very particular and precise with his cuts which helps. You know if you buy one now and in a year's time the cuts will be identical -- consistency is a very good thing. Brian has the perfect blend of attention to detail and finesse to do it and to do it right."

So far, they have products in about two dozen sporting goods stores in Pennsylvania, with plans to expand further into brick and mortar retailers. John Pershing, owner of Lecorchicks Sporting Supplies in Northern Cambria has carried the turkey calls since KLUK started.

"I use them myself. I like the sound they produce and they are a really good, quality call," Pershing said. "They are really popular and people come looking for them specifically. I get a lot of good feedback."

In addition to mouth calls, the business offers box calls, pot calls, grunt tubes and predator mouth calls. For more information, visit them on social media or their website at klukcustomcalls.com.

Mirror Staff Writer Patt Keith can be reached at 814-949-7030.

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