Legend Biography

Born July 11 th, 1946, Harry Milton “Butch” Richenback grew up destined to be involved in the
Duck Calling/hunting industry. After school he used to ride his bike to a rice field close to town,
throw out a couple of decoys, sit down and cover up with a burlap coat his mother had made for
him and commence calling ducks. This turned into a passion for blowing and eventually making
duck calls.
Spending time with the top call maker of the era, Chick Majors, maker of the famed Dixie
Mallard duck calls, Butch watched and studied every move Chick made and soon became a
helpful hand around Chick’s shop. Along with learning the intricacies of call making, he also
learned the art of blowing a duck call. Butch entered his first duck calling contest at the age of 11
in 1957, and emerged the 1957 Junior World duck calling Champion. Later, with bigger
aspirations and more tutelage from his mentor, Richenback had bigger goals in mind as he
readied himself for the1972 Arkansas State Championship. Butch never lacked confidence, and
before the event he bet another competitor that he would win the state contest and then win the
’72 Worlds later that evening. He won the bet, and became the 1972 World Champion Duck
Caller. After winning the championship in 1972, Butch was then eligible to compete in the
highly coveted Champion of Champions contest, held every five years. He won the Champion of
Champions title in 1975 and retired from sanctioned competition.
In 1976, after the passing of his mentor Chick Majors, Butch sold his first duck call. After that
first one was sold, Rich-N-Tone Duck calls was born. Since then, a combination of 61 Men’s,
Womens, Intermediate and Junior World Championship contests have been won using a Rich-N-
Tone duck call, and all of those people were either completely taught or coached by Butch
Richenback.
Butch has always been the first person to help the youth of the area. He was director of the
Stuttgart Youth Center from 1969 to 1994. Several of those 61 championship titles were a direct
result of Butch teaching duck calling through his youth calling clinic that is has been held every
year since 1969. The clinic starts in October and culminates at Stuttgart’s Wings over the Prairie
festival in November with its own contest.
Besides being busy with the duck call business, Butch had an interest in making Stuttgart a better
place and sat on the Stuttgart City Council for 8 years before being elected the town’s mayor, a
position he continues to hold today.
Although the reins of Rich-N-Tone Duck Calls are now in the hands of John Stephens (one of
the students of his duck calling clinics and a two-time World Champion duck caller in his own
right), Butch is still involved in making duck calls…not to mention coaching and teaching young
and old duck callers alike.