Delta Waterfowl Mourns Passing of Duck Calling Icon

Merle “Buck” Gardner, a world-champion duck caller and passionate supporter of waterfowl conservation, died Nov. 7 at his home in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 76.

Gardner became an iconic figure in duck-calling contest circles, cementing his legacy by winning the 1994 World Duck Calling Championship in Stuttgart, Arkansas. A year later, Gardner was crowned Champion of Champions, the most prestigious honor a duck caller can earn.

In 1996, he founded Buck Gardner Calls, with an emphasis on producing high-quality, affordable calls for duck hunters. Gardner personally hand-tuned many of the calls his company produced and took enormous pride in teaching people of all ages how to blow a duck call.

Gardner supported waterfowl conservation work, including working with Delta Waterfowl to furnish duck calls for at numerous hunter recruitment events. He was inducted into the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of Fame in 2004.

“All of us at Delta Waterfowl were saddened to hear of Buck's passing. He was a stalwart of the waterfowling community, a great partner to Delta, and a friend,” said Jason Tharpe, chief executive officer of Delta Waterfowl.

Funeral services for Gardner are Nov. 21 at Central Church in Collierville, Tennessee.