Archery Business Jan-Feb 2012
KNIGHT HALE 40th Aniversary A Friend A Story A Beginning David and Harold were enthusiastic hunters Hunting was important Harold says It helped feed our family of 10 brothers and sisters Sometimes if we wanted to eat we had to shoot something Today most hunters tend to believe that turkey hunting without using a call without head totoe camo a portable blind and a set of decoys is an exercise in futility But when David Hale began hunting wild birds in the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area LBL just west of the city of Cadiz in the early 60s the usual strategy was to spot a moving flock and set up an ambush To be successful hunters had to be enthusiastic and skillful because there were no blinds or decoys only a few home made wingbone calls And the only available camo was World War II army surplus Turkey hunting in the days before restoration was difficult David recalls that few birds were killed But at the tender age of 16 Harold took one of the dozen birds tagged in Kentuckys first legal turkey hunting season And David an incorrigible squirrel hunter was applying the lessons he learned in pursuit of small critters to the large bird Both David and Harold had to learn by doing because Kentucky had not had a turkey season in 35 years There were no mentors David was lucky and persistent patient and handled his shotgun skillfully so he killed a number of birds but he also knew there had to be a better way Hale believed there had to be a way 40 archeryBUSINESS January February 2012 to minimize his luck and maximize success using both preparation and skill Hale heard about a local barber who had already made a name for himself a local turkey hunting legend said one writer of the era and so David looked him up and invited him to go hunting The local legend of course was Harold Knight It was the beginning of one of the hunting communitys most enduring friendships The enduring business and partnership took a little longer but not much Walking out of LBL with a bird David met another turkey hunter a former World War II fighter pilot named Col Dave Harbour Harbour had not even seen a bird but was eager to learn David told him about Harolds calls and directed the old pilot who not only was a turkey hunter but a writer about outdoor subjects to Harolds barber shop Harbour had never seen a pill bottle before Harold says referring to that early call so I gave him one and showed him how to use it The very next day he killed a big gobbler with it and then wrote a story about his hunt After the article came out more than 3000 people contacted me wanting to buy my tube calls And thats how I got into the call making business Call making was a part time job a basement operation but soon Harold asked David to help and the two entrepreneurs began to grow a real business Two fundamental tenets of their companys success were established immediately Trust their friendship and maximize free publicity By taking writers hunting we got publicity we couldnt afford David says and so for 10 years from 1974 to 1984 we guided writers who were interested in promoting bird hunting In 1984 Harold quit trimming mustaches and eyebrows David quit counting down the 115 days his sows required to deliver a healthy litter of pig A good working partnership is founded on mutual respect While bowhunters Harold Knight left and David Hale have had their disagreements over the years their partnership is founded on shared values and a commitment to leaving the world a better place David Hale and Harold Knight here with a wild turkey are honest men true to their word says Rob Keck former National Wild Turkey Federation executive who worked with them on many restoration projects Theyre the real deal students of the outdoors and avid hunters
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