Delta Waterfowl Grand National Duck Calling Contest Crowns Champion

Mike Anderson of Mankato, Minnesota, won the title at the 5th annual Delta Duck Hunters Expo

DES MOINES, IOWA — Mike Anderson, the 2009 World’s Duck Calling Champion, added another win to his resume, taking home Delta’s Grand National duck calling contest at the 5th annual Delta Waterfowl Duck Hunter’s Expo on July 25. Anderson beat out 13 other callers for the title.

The contest, in which contestants can only blow a double-reed call, was sponsored by Mack’s Prairie Wings and Drake Waterfowl. Jim Ronquest, vice president of development at Drake, was the emcee of the Grand National.

“I compete on the Main Street stage (in Stuttgart, Arkansas) and haven’t really gotten into the meat-style calling contests — this is only my fourth one,” Anderson said. “I started a duck call company in April, so I thought if I was going to sell some duck calls, I better put a double-reed together and show that I can hang with some of these young kids.”

Anderson, a 46-year-old from Mankato, Minnesota, bested Mason Tate (2nd place), Cole Foiles (3rd), Cory Niccum (4th), and Chandler Martin (5th). The top prize was $1,000 and a Benelli M2 shotgun. 

After finishing first at Worlds more than 15 years ago, Anderson took a break from competitive calling to focus on his family. In 2022, he returned and placed in the top 10 at Worlds. 

“With a double-reed, the sound is different (than a single-reed call), and there is less range,” Anderson said. “It has less volume and versatility, but we’re still trying to blow a duck call and try to emulate a flock of ducks. So, nothing changes there.”

His career started in 1999 after attending a duck calling contest. That was well before YouTube was created, so he and a friend found old VHS tapes of calling contests and watched them to improve.

“Any of us that have been competing for a while try to practice so that our routine is the same note for note just to keep our heads right,” Anderson said. “It’s such a mental game up there.”

The Grand National is one of many attractions at the Delta Waterfowl Duck Hunters Expo, an annual three-day celebration for duck hunters. The 2027 Expo is slated July 23-25 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Delta Waterfowl is The Duck Hunters Organization™, a leading conservation group founded in 1911 that uses science-based solutions to produce ducks, conserve prairie wetlands, and ensure the future of waterfowl hunting in North America. 

For more information, contact Chris Williams.