Call Maker - Danny Bignar

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Name: Danny Bignar

City: Dubach

State: Louisiana

Country: USA

Born: 1963

Description

My name is Danny Bignar, originally from Jena, LA, I now live in Dubach, LA. I made my first duck call in 1998. My dad, Leland Bignar, and other family members were making them and I wanted to try. I didn't have a lathe or any tools. Dad drilled a bore through a block of cedar and said see what you can do. All I had to use was a pocketknife. After a lot of fussing and growing appreciation for these call makers I carved my first barrel. I had carved a duck on one side and (don't ask me why) an outhouse on the other. It was appropriate. After I finished my insert and got that first sickly quack, I was hooked. My wife, Donna, and family have been very supportive over the years.

 A lot of people have asked about the Bignar / Yule connection. Henry "White" Bignar made calls. His brother, William's son was Leland, my dad. White had another brother, Albert whose son is Albert "Sonny" Bignar. White's sister, Onie, had a son named James Yule. He's been known to make a call or two. Jame's son is Len Yule. So Leland, James and Sonny are all first cousins. There are other family members that make calls but this is the connection.

 Everything I carve is done traditionally. Strictly knives, files, sandpaper, ect. This is the way I learned and it's what I enjoy. But the greatest gift that I've received from call making is the friendship that that I shared with my dad while doing this