Frequently Asked Questions

What has changed this year?

• Weights are used by the computer to break ties in the competition when calls are being judged. In recent years our old weighting system has started to cause problems. In recent years the weights were .01, .02, .03, .05, .07, .10. When a call is scored whichever callmaker has the best scores for a criteria gets awarded the extra points. However if call #1 won the criteria that gives him an extra .10 added to his score, and call #2 gets .07 & .03, we would still have a tie. So thoese weights have been updated so that no weights added together can equal any other weights.
• We named the Champion of Champions award for Friction calls to the Lewis Stowe Award. We are sending out a press release for this and notifying family or Lewis that he will now be honored with a major award named after him. 
• We have opened up the judges invitational categories on the turkey side of the competition so that the judges can enter pieces to help with their costs to come out and judge our competition. The pieces entered in those categories do not need to be calls and can be collectibles or pieces that are purchased as part of their collection in past years. The split for those categories will be 70/30 moving forward. 
• Clay Townsend had a great idea last year that the organization has accepted and is moving forward with. This year we are offering a children’s workshop to help generate interest in callmaking and the wild turkey in general. These worksshops are for kids under the age of 18 and will have a variety of different callmaking classes where kids can build their own calls, paint turkey feathers, and various other fun activities. These workshops will be held in the callmaking area and are open to all. Early signup is recommended as space will be limited. Check this website for more information. 
• This year we will attempt to bring more convention attendees into our area by offering giveaways every few hours. These giveaways will replace our raffle and will hopefully draw people out to our area to pick up some free turkey calls and duck calls. We will be updating our website later with callmakers who are donating to this effort.
• Added a Champion of Champions category in hunting turkey where past Jordan and Turpin winners can compete for $500.00 and a trophy. The category has an option for a 70/30 split. 
• Added a new independant stand-alone category in Hunting Turkey for sets. This new category will be considered a major award and will be named the “Triple Crown Hunting Set”. Contestants can choose 3 types of calls to put together in a set. No more than 3 and no less than 3 must be submitted to this category and it will be considered one entry. The winner of this category will receive a major award as well as $500 in prize money. 
• Started a Rules committee to check calls on the table before they are judged to make sure that the calls entered in a category qualify for that category. The rules committee will also be able to propose rule changes to the contest committee. The rules committee will be made up of respected callmakers who have entered this competition in the past. 
• Callmakers will now have the ability to fill out an online form to have their prize money and their portion of the call sale deposited directly into their bank account through an ACH deposit. 
• We have added a new feedback section to our website where callmakers can request changes. Access to this will be granted after the competition has completed and will be by invitation to only the callmakers who competed this year. 
• We are doing a free call giveaway every hour or two at convention this year to help drive traffic out to the callmaking area. These calls will be donated by many amazing callmakers. If you would like to participate and could donate a call, please let us know.
• We opened up the youth registrations and made them free for any youth entering our competition in the youth categories. 
• Callmnakers can now request that a call does not go to the live auction. This will help the callmakers who want the call back but cannot be at convention to bid on the item in the live auction. 

I am not attending the convention but want to enter the contest. Can I still enter?

Yes, you will just need to make sure to ship your calls to us by the February 3, 2026 deadline.

Please have your calls to us by the deadline above and ship to either of the following addresses:

National Wild Turkey Federation
Callmaking Competition
535 Gary Rd.
Edgefield, SC 29824

Briana Alley
Callmaking Contest
5050 Autumn Trail
Grovetown, GA 30813

How are ties broken in the competition?

The system will try to automatically break any ties using the weights for each criteria. There are rare circumstances where the tie cannot be broken by the system and the judges have to rejudge those 2 calls to determine who wins. Below is a diagram to show how the system breaks ties using the weights. 

When does the Online Auction close?

Div 1 & 2 close February 21st and Div 3 & 4 close on February 22nd. Please check the listings for specific times.

How do I bid online for the calls that are entered into the 2026 competition?

You will first need an account with us. Creating an account is easy from the login area. Once you have an account, you will need to obtain a free bid number using a major credit card to secure any bids you place. After you have been given a bid number, you should be all set to start baidding online. 

Please note that a free online bid number will NOT allow you to bid in our live auctions in person. In order to bid in our live auctions you will need to be present at convention or have someone who is physically there to place bids for you. Please read below for more information on our live auctions.

How do I bid in the Live Auction?

In order to bid in the live auction you MUST have a live auction bid number & paddle. You must also be present to participate. If you cannot be present but would like something in the live auction, you can have a friend or family member who is at convention bid on the call for you. If you do not know anyone who is going to be at convention you can as a last resort reach out to Briana Alley the contest coordinator at (706) 814-8185 to bid on your behalf. PLEASE make sure you give us plenty of time before making that request. Live auction day is VERY busy for us and return phone calls could be slow. 

How does online bidding work?

• Online Bidding works a lot like eBay bidding in the sense that you can bid the most you are willing to pay and the current bid will be as low as the current bid. For example if you see a call you really want that is currently priced at $100 and you bid $500 for the call, the new bid will be $110 until the next bidder bids $120. You will still be the highest bidder but now you will be responsible for $130 (The amount required to outbid the new bidder). 
• Keep in mind though that bidding in the last few seconds of the auction will only extend the auctions end time to allow the other bidder a chance to bid again. 

Why does the time extend in online auctions?

We understand that eBay has a system that allows bidders to "snipe" and bid in the last few seconds to win an item from another bidder. However, many of our members who want turkey calls do not have a fast internet connection and would like a chance to bid. Allowing sniping in an auction would make it an unfair advantage to the bidder with the faster internet connection. 

Also keep in mind that this competition has the purpose of raising money for the wild turkey. The time extensions give other people a chance to bid when they are willing to pay more for an item. This results in more money for the competition and more money for the Wild Turkey. 

The best way to overcome the stress of the time extensions is to place a bid for the most you are willing to pay for the call and let it go if the piece exceeds that max amount. If your high bid is more than the other guys max he or she is willing to pay, then you will win the call. 

So how do I know if I have won?

You will be notified after the auction ends and we have verified that there were no problems with the bids. This notification will come by text message so you may want to make sure your phone number is up to date in your account. 

Where and when do I check my custom calls in at convention?

You can checkin your calls in the Gaylord Opryland Events Center  February 10th, 2026 2-6 p.m. CST

What is the difference between a bid paddle and a bid number?

Bid paddles are used for live auctions and can also be used to bid with online. They cost $10 a piece and you are allowed to take them home with you each year. If you are unable to attend the convention and pick the bid paddle up we will mail the bid paddle to you after convention and online auctions are over. 

Online bid numbers are for bidding online and are free. They do not come with any physical token to hold as a keepsake. 

How do I place an absentee bid on a call I have entered into the contest?

First you will want to make sure the call is not selected to go to the live auction. You can do this from your account area under the edit my entry option. You will then need to wait until bidding has been turned on. Once bidding has been turned on, do a search for your calls, click the little heart under your call to save it to your favorites. From there you can bid on your own calls all in one place or just watch it to see how much it sells for.

When can I pick up the medals and trophies I won as a call maker?

Sandy Brady will be shipping any trophies that have not been picked up at convention out 2-4 weeks after the convention is over. Medallions will be at the convention and are packed up into envelopes on Thursday the week of convention. They should be ready to be picked up by Friday morning. If you need them sooner please let us know and we can make an exception. 

Do I need photos?

We request that all calls have photos submitted. However, we do take photos of calls that are missing photos throughout the convention week. If you have photos you can upload them and choose not to show them until the week of convention from the account area. 

If you would still rather wait until the week of convention to upload your photos, please make sure you do so by Wednesday the week of convention so we do not upload our own photos of your calls. Your pictures will be much better than ours will be.

Why do we have a duck call competition when we are a turkey organization?

We are a conservation organization as well as a turkey organization. The NWTF efforts to preserve the habitat benefit all wildlife and not just the turkey. We also have deer calls, owl calls, squirrel calls, and just about anything else you can imagine. Mark Warmath organizes and runs our Duck call divisions of this contest and is pretty big in the Turkey world too. His efforts to make this an open contest have been substantial and often go without the acknowledgment they deserve.

Why do buyers have to pay for the medallions?

The cost to buy these medallions has gotten very expensive over the years. We have found that many of the buyers of the calls do not really care as much about the medal as they do the call itself. The buyer has the ability to purchase the medallion if they wish, but it is not required. However, PLEASE NOTE that this year the buyer will be automatically charged for any medallions if he or she has not paid for their order by the time it ships. We have for the past few years tried to reach out to find out if a buyer wants the medallions before charging their saved card. This is time consuming and holds up everyone elses shipping. Our goal is to get everything shipped in one week after the auctions close. So moving forward we will charge the cost of the medallions (if there are any available for the call) when we charge the the order and shipping to the buyers card.

I am a call maker. When will I receive my medallion for the competition and do I have to purchase it?

Hopefully we will have the medallions in time for the convention so we can hand them out to callmakers who attend. If you are not attending the convention, we will ship them out 1-3 weeks after convention. Medallions are still awarded to call makers without any cost to them.

I did not order a medallion when I paid for the auction(s) I won. Is it too late to order one?

That depends on whether or not we have already placed our order for medallions with the supplier. If it is after the order has been fulfilled we cannot complete the order. Still contact us though as we may have extra's available for sale

When does Registration open for the 2026 contest?

Registrations open December 01, 2025 9:00 am and close automatically on Feb 09, 2026 11:59 pm.

When do auctions open for online bidding?

Auctions will open on Thursday morning the week of convention. Feb 12, 2026 10:00 am

Are you bring back Bid Sheets?

No. Online auctions are way more efficient. We understand that some are inconvenienced by this decision and we apologize for that inconvenience. However, it has become too difficult to proceed with the bid sheets. Online bidding opens up the bidding to wider range of people, is prone to less human error, is faster, and has a lot less stress to deal with from everyone involved.

When will I receive the items I win in the Auctions?

Live auction items must be picked up after the live auction has completed. Online auction items will be packed up on Saturday afternoon, shipped back to the NWTF headquarters, and picked up by the company who does the shipping for us. You should expect delivery in 1-3 weeks after the auctions end. As always, if you need your calls sooner please give us a call and we can try to get your calls out sooner. There will be an additional charge charged to the buyer for shipping once your items are shipped. Insurance will be added on each package for the final value of all calls that are shipped. The second charge for shipping is separate from the cost of the calls purchased and is calculated at the time the items are shipped. Local pickup is not possible as the NWTF contracts the shipping out to a third party.