GAME COMMISSION OFFERS TWO TIME-LIMITED COLLECTIBLE SERIES Wild Turkey, Game Bird series to feature Pennsylvania-made, Pennsylvania-grown products
HARRISBURG - Following a tradition of offering high-quality products featuring Pennsylvania wildlife, the Pennsylvania Game Commission now is offering two new time-limited collectible series that will run for five years, and incorporate products grown and made in Pennsylvania, as well as the designs of an award-winning Pennsylvania wildlife artist.
Orders will be taken, through Aug. 31, via the agency's website (www.pgc.state.pa.us), mail and over-the-counter at agency offices. Delivery can be expected between October and December.
"The new collectible, numbered wild turkey calls and knives mark the beginning of two five-year series," said J. Carl Graybill Jr., Game Commission Bureau of Information and Education director. "The series also includes corresponding wild turkey and game bird prints and patches.
"In addition to starting two unique collections, you will be supporting wildlife conservation and helping preserve our hunting heritage."
The "Wild Turkey Heritage Series" features five collectible box-style turkey calls, made right here in Pennsylvania by Top Calls in Renovo, Clinton County, and will sell for $49.95 (plus tax and shipping).   Each year, the call will be made from a different species of Pennsylvania wood. The first of this series will be made of cedar, followed by walnut, cherry, sassafras and, for the final year, a combination of walnut, maple and sycamore. Each call will be individually numbered, come in a green velvet bag and feature a different scene involving the Eastern Wild Turkey.
The "Upland Game Bird Series" features five collectible mini-trapper knives made by W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Co., of Bradford, McKean County, and will sell for $74.95 (plus tax and shipping). The game birds to be featured in this series are the ruffed grouse to start out the series, followed by the woodcock, ring-necked pheasant, bobwhite quail and mourning dove. Each knife will be made with a different bone handle - bone stag, chestnut bone, old red bone, amber bone and antique bone - and comes in an attractive tin featuring artwork of that year's upland game bird. Like the turkey calls, each knife will be individually numbered.
Complementing the turkey call and knives will be a specially-designed fine-art print and collector's patch designed by Bob Sopchick, of York, York County. Each art print, which will be available either framed or unframed, and patch will represent the unique wildlife art used for, respectively, the call or knife designs.
The patches, for both series, will sell for $5.66. Also, both series framed prints, which are 13x18 inches, will sell for $179.95, and unframed prints are available for $79.95.
"The edition size in these series will be based on the number of orders received by Aug. 31, of each year, with delivery set for October through December," Graybill said. "A new call and knife, and accompanying print and patch, will be introduced every January for the next four years, and the prices will not increase. Order early to be assigned the lowest possible number in each series."
To highlight this collectible series, the Game Commission will hold a "Meet the Makers" event from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Friday, July 20, and from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 21, in the agency's Harrisburg headquarters, 2001 Elmerton Ave., just off the Progress Avenue exit of Interstate 81.
Sopchick, who also is a well-known writer, and Russ Wagner and Frank Sutliff Jr. of Top Call turkey calls, will be on hand at the Game Commission's Harrisburg Headquarters on Friday, July 20, from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
"If you've already bought a knife or a call or a patch, bring it along and get it signed, if you like, and get a lesson from the pros with your turkey call," Graybill said. "And, if you're still in the market for any or all of these new collectibles, this will be a perfect opportunity to pick them up.
"This also will be a great time to purchase 2007-08 hunting and furtaker licenses. As an added incentive, everyone who purchases an upland game bird knife or turkey call during this special event will receive, free, their choice of any of the agency's three wildlife videos: white-tailed deer, black bear, or elk. Buy both the knife and call and receive all three videos."