Everything you need to know about the Clearwater Series: For Slayer, the product is personal
By Danielle Higley As thousands of elk calls made their way into the packs and pockets of experienced outdoorsmen and women, Joe McCarthy, product innovation lead at Slayer Calls, was feeling a mixture of emotions. Chief among them was excitement—he knew the products could stand on their own. They were built, after all, on the feedback of hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of hunters, all gathered over the past year at archery events and 3D shoots. But there was apprehension, too. The general hunting population is full of personal bias. Might these biases sway the results? Someone who preferred cow calling, for instance, might not appreciate a reed like the Selway—a full-bodied, medium pressure call designed to create deep grunts and bugles. Someone with a big, barrel chest might find the Isabella—an unexpected favorite of Joe’s—too soft; especially compared to the Lochsa, with its ultra-thick latex, capable of taking any amount of air pressure. In the end, he could only sit back and wait for the comments to roll in. Which they did. Hundreds of emails and phone calls; thrilling stories of successful backwoods hunts; recaps of how each call was used; and detailed notes on the feel, durability and performance of each reed. As the 2023 elk hunting season came to a close, Joe breathed a sigh of relief. The results were in. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive. He and his team could start production in earnest. The Clearwater frame and series was ready to launch.Introducing the Clearwater frame and series
The Clearwater Series, developed by Slayer Calls’ Bill Ayer, Cody McCarthy and, of course, Joe McCarthy, contains seven elk reeds and features a revolutionary new frame, designed to fit more comfortably in the hunter’s mouth while also producing a more consistent sound and better results. As for the reeds, they’re named after the industries and topography of Idaho’s Clearwater region, home to some of the best hunting in the United States. From low to high pressure, they are The calls are unique. Not just because they pay homage to a beautiful part of the country, but because their frame is so different from anything else on the market. To start, the Clearwater frame’s structural ridge is inverted on the bottom side, making each reed fit more naturally against the roof of the mouth. Its length is also different — longer than usual, allowing the latex to stretch all the way back. Another difference is the material. Clearwater calls use heavier aluminum, so frames don’t bend or flex as much when in use. “On top of that, we went and scored a bunch of chevrons into the side of the frame to actually give it some more grip,” says Joe. “Latex is not a solid object; it's obviously stretchable and rubbery. So stamping it into those chevron grooves actually gives us a better grip.”
As a result, the latex of each diaphragm stays put, producing a more consistent sound. That means that unlike other calls, Clearwater replacement reeds all perform the same. Callers don’t have to waste time breaking in a new reed or getting used to the small, yet significant nuances that typically come with replacements. What’s more, those replacements are fewer and farther between.
“One problem that’s been going on for a long time with calls is longevity,” Joe explains. “When you put a reed in your mouth and push air across it or your tongue into it, you stretch that latex and can actually pull it out of its frame. It’s common to wear out a call in just one or two days.”
Joe’s experienced the issue time and time again. But his son, Cody McCarthy, who serves as Slayer’s coach and head of product innovation, even more so. As a pro bugler, Cody’s ruthless with his elk reeds, sometimes burning through 30 of them in two weeks.
“Our thought process, then, became focused on building a frame that would last an entire season,” Joe says. It’s an endeavor that’s been largely successful.
