Jones County man owns animal calling business

John Peterson is the owner of Piedmont Game Calls and does a variety of custom animal calls.

HILLSBORO, Ga. — Georgia squirrel hunting season begins Aug. 15, and it’s one of many game animals you can get out there and track.

However, most of the critters in the game don’t just walk towards you, you have to coax them out of their habitat.

A Jones County man is in business to do just that, and he’s turned his passion into a side hustle with dreams of growing up.

John Peterson is the owner of Piedmont Game Calls and does a variety of custom animal calls.

Peterson, who still has his day job as a mechanic at Robins Air Force Base, would eventually like to run his business full time.

He loves to hunt, and it’s part of what drives his passion for making personalized calls.

Each call is different and they are works of art, but he doesn’t build them for display or to collect dust.

“I don’t want to make a call that someone keeps in a cabinet. I want to create a call that someone will use in the field and enjoy for years to come,” Peterson said.

You have seven different types of callers in your inventory.

He says that a chalkboard turkey caller is the hardest to make, because they have glass inside.

Peterson uses a lathe to make his calls, which is a machine that turns and is used to shape wood into cylindrical profiles.

“I found that when it came to lathes, I had a taste for caviar on a hamburger budget,” Peterson said.

He refrained from caviar and found harmony with the hamburger side of the budget to create his business.

It’s really no wonder Jon took to making these beautiful calls, because he loves being outdoors.

He even made his own fishing lures with his sons, and his father was a carpenter.

Piedmont Game Calls is located next to the Piedmont Wildlife Refuge, and that location is part of the reason the company got its name.

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