Our History
World Goose Calling Champion of Champions John Taylor was born and raised on Maryland’s eastern shore. His father, Orlando Taylor, was an avid outdoorsman and had an enormous influence on John with the outdoors since the time that he was able to walk.
John did all types of hunting, but it wasn’t until the early 1980’s that he was exposed to goose hunting by his late father-in-law, Bennett Webster. Bennett was a part time goose guide for Eastern Shore Guide Service, run by the legendary, Bo-Bo Hampton. Eastern Shore Guide Service was one of the biggest outfits operating during the heyday of goose hunting Maryland’s famed eastern shore. This operation had more World Goose Calling Champions than any other guide service. John was very fortunate in the early years to hunt with Bo-Bo and some of the top goose guides. John was amazed at their calling ability, but even more importantly, how they were able to read the birds and know just what to say and when to say it.
John was hungry for knowledge and was able to get a lot of experience in a short time from the best in the business. As John gained experience, he was convinced by some of his peers to try his hand at competition goose calling. It wasn’t until 1989 that John entered his first goose calling competition, the National Outdoor Show. John could not believe it when they announced him as the winner. From that point on, he was hooked.
Competition calling wasn’t as fun as hunting, but it was the next best thing. To him, it was a way to extend his hunting season. In 1992, after three years of competing, he made the finals at the World Goose Calling Championships. That was John’s proudest accomplishment with calling to that point. John made it to the finals again in 1996 and 1997, placing fourth place in the World Championship. It was then that he was approached by a call-maker from California, Joe Lares. Mr. Lares liked John’s style of goose calling and asked him to try one of his goose calls. John told Mr. Lares what he liked about the call and what he thought could make it better. It was then that John and Mr. Lares worked on a call that would fit John’s calling style.
In 1998, John won the Maryland State Goose. The following month, John also won the 1998 World Goose Calling Championship. After winning the World Championship, John still had ideas of what he thought could make the call better. Mr. Lares felt satisfied with the call. It was then that John decided to start making his own calls. In 1999, John and his father went to an auction and purchased an old power-matic wood lathe.
John had found a new passion, call making. He liked it as well or more than calling. He gained a lot of respect for call makers. There were so many things that could change the way a call operated. In the beginning, there were many proto-types. It was a struggle to say the least, but with John’s determination, he kept with it.
John’s first goal was to make a goose call that he would be satisfied with to use in competitions. He hoped that if he could make a call that he was happy with, eventually other people would be interested as well. It didn’t take long before John started doing well with his own creation and other callers began requesting his call. At that time, John decided to come up with a name for his call business as well as his short reed goose call. He felt that being born and raised on the eastern shore and the Chesapeake Bay area, that his call company should be named Bay Country Calls and his goose call be called "Shore Thing". John feels that because he custom makes these calls by hand one at a time, and he has tried everything imaginable, that these truly are the most realistic, user-friendly calls that are available on the market today.
John has always been a very competitive person with everything he is involved in. He strives for perfection and if a call is not perfect, it doesn’t leave the shop. He stands behind every call that he creates.
“If I could make one suggestion to fellow goose hunters, it would be to go with a call that has a track record.”, says John. “A call that has proven itself. These calls have certainly done that! Bay Country Calls exceeds the standards! ‘It’s a Shore Thing!’”
Call'em Close,
