That a country kid from Mississippi could build a game call company into a household brand among America’s 15 million hunters is a classic American success story. That he would use his fortune from the sale of the company to, among other things, order a custom five-gun set of Purdey firearms (makers of London best bespoke shotguns that sell for $100,000 or more—often much more), is remarkable.
For Will Primos, the journey to ordering the set of five hammer guns from James Purdey & Sons started in1963, at the age of 11 after duck hunting in flooded timber with his uncle. “He was an expert duck caller, and I was absolutely enthralled hearing him make that call sing,” he says. “That was my first experience witnessing the magic. And when I got home, I made my own call by copying my uncle’s.”
After graduating from college 1974, Primos took up turkey hunting and his life was forever altered by a chance encounter with Eleanor Roessler, the owner of a local turkey hunting camp. Seeing his interest in learning all that he could about the sport, she showed Primos the mouth calls she had made by hand. He then went home and started making and perfecting his own calls out of tin beer cans.
Game call legend Will Primos has used the Purdey shotguns on a variety of bird hunts.
As Primos says in his company biography, “By 1976, word of my new mouth calls began to spread. There was a sporting goods store in town called Hunt and Whittaker,” he writes. “I was selling my double and triple frame reed calls for $20 apiece.”
Primos at work field testing one of his many popular game calls.
Millions of American hunters joined Primos’ journey of discovery, following him as a regular fixture on outdoor television programs and through his instructional tapes and DVDs that turned a generation of hunters into multilingual game masters. The company’s well-known slogan, Speak the Language, resonated with hunters who wanted to improve both their success afield while also enjoying a deeper connection to their beloved pastimes.
For many hunters, the passion for the outdoor life comes from delving ever deeper into the layers of the experience. As Einstein once wrote, “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” As any fly fisherman will tell you, catching a trout on a fly that you tied has far more meaning than doing the same with a purchased pattern.
The intimacy of entering an animal’s world—learning how it communicates—necessitates a far more sophisticated understanding of the species. With that immersion comes greater intrigue and appreciation for the animals. Ultimately, that leads to an increased desire to conserve these species. Through that lens, Primos has ignited a generation of conservationists who care ever more about the game they pursue.
Proceeds from the sale of the Primos collection will benefit myriad conservation efforts.
After Will and his cousin Jimmy sold their game call and hunting accessory business in 2006, it resold in 2012 with 140 employees and revenues approaching $60 million. His intent when ordering the Purdeys after the sale of the company was to use them to pursue all manner of his beloved upland birds and waterfowl, but he came to the realization that the collection might be even more meaningful as a catalyst for conservation.
“I turned 73 (he could pass for 20 years junior) and realized that I wanted to do something significant for conservation. I knew I could give money, of course, but I wanted to do something that created a ripple effect—something bigger than one gift. Whatever I did I wanted a ripple to become a wave,” says Primos.
“I knew I had this gun collection that I really enjoyed but I didn’t know what I could ultimately do with it,” he says. “But then I ran into Corrine Yohann who I knew from her days working at Mathews Archery. I ran an idea by her to give these guns to her current employer, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (a Washington D.C.-based sportsman’s advocacy non-profit that works on Capitol Hill as well as in state houses throughout the country) and Jeff Crane and Kevin Perry of CSF endorsed Yohann’s plan to try and turn a million-dollar gift into something more.”
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is one of five non-profits to receive funds from the Primos gun sale.
That’s when The Truth About Conservation was launched by Primos. In partnership with the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Ducks Unlimited, National Wild Turkey Federation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and Pheasants/Quail Forever, the guns will be used to bring awareness to conservation and help support the work of these dedicated conservation organizations through a special firearm auction. As for Primos’ ripple effect, other philanthropists are already contemplating his model as they look for personal ways to pay conservation forward.
The truth is that sportsmen have long been a primary funding source for wildlife and habitat conservation—not just game species but hundreds of birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles. Primos believes it’s time to harness the passion for the outdoors to better inform the public’s understanding about key conservation drivers. Whether you hunt or not, he says, we are all beneficiaries of healthier wildlife populations, cleaner air and water, and more productive soils that are the downstream benefits of habitat work paid for by sportsmen.
Rock Island Auction, one of the nation’s leading firearms brokers, was a natural choice to handle the sale of the collection, says Primos. “They came running out of the gate and forgave the seller’s commission, which helped make this a winning model.” Rock Island has sold some of the world’s most valuable firearms, including a pair of New Model Army Remington revolvers presented to Ulysses S. Grant that fetched an eye-popping $5.17 million during a 2022 auction.
Primos (left) and Ducks Unlimited CEO Adam Putnam inspect one of the Primos Purdeys.
In addition to the five non-profit groups earmarked to receive proceeds from the sale of the Purdeys, Primos says the Chicago-based Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation—in concert with conservation heavyweight Ducks Unlimited–has been instrumental in fostering the Truth About Conservation message. “Thanks to McGraw and DU’s efforts to help create a series of IMAX films,” says Primos, “people outside of the hunting community are coming to know the importance of many of our most important ecosystems. If you don’t know about the value of habitat, you don’t work to protect it. We are all consumers of God’s Earth, but we must be wise stewards of it and make smart choices for its future.”
As for the immaculate shotgun collection, the first of the set was ordered in 16 gauge, in homage to Primos’ father’s favorite 16-gauge A.H. Fox, a shotgun Will owns to this day. When the order was made, Primos reserved five consecutive serial numbers for his vision of a five-gun, multi-gauge collection. The only problem was that Purdey had never made a hammer ejector gun in 28 gauge, or any hammer gun in .410 bore in their more than 200-year history.
As Rock Island writes, “The stage was set for a one-of-a-kind quintet made by one of the top firearms makers in the world. The Will Primos Purdey Collection is a blend of 19th century elegance and style with 21st century modern technology. According to Purdey, they produced a limited run of just ten .410 bore shotguns, including the one in this set, with no more to be made. They further state it is the only 5-caliber hammer gun set Purdey has ever produced and ever will.”
Purdey shotguns are among the world’s finest—and most expensive—firearms. Photo: Rock Island Auction
The set includes one gun each in 12, 16, 20, 28 gauge, and .410 bore. A full, detailed description on each gun will be available in the Rock Island catalog (online and print) for the December 5-7 Premier Firearms Auction but, until then, Rock Island has created an overview document. Because proceeds from the auction of the collection are going to non-profits, any amount paid beyond the appraised value of the guns will be tax deductible to the winning bidder.
“I didn’t know what was possible in this process,” says Primos, “but the awareness for conservation has gone far beyond my expectations—I’m honored and thankful. People often ask me what I want my legacy to be, but I’m not worried about that. I just want to leave this place better than I found it.”
For Primos, that means one more calling.