Our Story
Our Story
Garrett “GC” Cole was born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana, right in the heart of Specklebelly Country. Where he cut his teeth waterfowling in the ricefields & coastal marshes alongside his older cousin & dedicated outdoorsman, Michael Traub. Shortly thereafter, a trip to his first calling contest in 2003 at the age of 12 was what really lit the fire. From there, his passion took flight.
Through his teenage years, GC honed his hunting and calling skills under the mentorship of James "Manneaux" Manning, one of SWLA’s pioneer goose guides from the ‘80s and ‘90s. In 2005 at 14 years old, after a long day in the rice fields and a chance meeting with a local call maker, GC’s curiosity sparked something bigger. That night, in his dad’s shop and armed with PVC, a few hand tools, and a lot of imagination, he cobbled together his first goose call—a Frankenstein project with a sound only he could be proud of at the time. A few months and plenty of trial and error later, that homemade call earned him a top 3 finish in the Junior State Speck Calling Contest. And just like that, “G.C. Calls” was born—not a business just yet, but enough so to pursue making calls to sell out of his backpack at school for cash.
After unexpectedly losing his father in 2008, GC stepped back from his call making journey. But the break didn’t last long. With support from close friends and a fire that never really went out, he found his way back. In 2009, he started guiding for Doug’s Hunting Lodge in Klondike, LA—one of the state’s most respected speck hunting outfits and a proving ground for some of Louisiana’s finest goose guides.
Not long after, he returned to the call-making scene, teaming up with another local maker as a helper and contest caller. But eventually, it was time to fly solo. In 2015, GC officially launched Vendetta Waterfowl.
In the early days, every single call was hand-turned by GC himself on a lathe in a hot, open-air shop—no AC, all made from Black Delrin and a passion for perfection. As demand grew, he transitioned to precision-milled materials to keep up—but quality was and never has been sacrificed.
With a team of dedicated callers, Vendetta began making serious noise on the competition circuit, earning multiple state and world titles among other exhibitions. Then, in 2021, GC made his mark on the Grand National stage. His first-ever entry into the prestigious NWTF contest, a hand-turned Cross Cut Hackberry speck call took home gold. It was the first speck call in history to win the Grand National Goose Call Maker of the Year title.
Today, Vendetta has outgrown that hot little shop and become a brand recognized on lanyards & collectors shelves around the world with GC’s Signature Series limited designs. The journey from PVC to polished acrylic and world class products has been wild, but one thing hasn’t changed: every call that leaves the shop is still proudly designed, tuned, boxed, and backed by GC himself and now of course with his wife Savanna helping out wherever she can.
We wouldn’t be here without the support of our friends, family, and every customer who believed in the vision. It truly couldn’t be done without all the friends we’ve made along the way and we’re just getting started.
