Murry Burnham’s life story is the kind that would earn him the envy of millions of frustrated office workers. What could be better than earning a good living by hunting in the beautiful Texas Hill Country?

The Burnham family goes way back in Texas history. Murry’s Great great grandfather, a veteran of the Battle of New Orleans, was one of Stephen F. Austin’s original settlers and the family arrived in Burnet County shortly after it was first settled in the 1850s. Starting with a one-room log cabin, they repeatedly improved their situation until the present fine home near Spicewood was completed. Back then, of course, hunting was a necessity to keep food on the table.

Murry’s father, Morton Burnham, was just a very observant boy when he stumbled across the secret that would make him a world-famous hunter. He was hunting one night when he heard cries of distress from a jackrabbit caught in a barb-wire fence. Almost immediately three wolves raced out of the darkness toward the sound. Murry started practicing the sound that he had heard, wondering if he could lure wolves within shooting range. It worked!

Morton Burnham’s calling services were soon in great demand from ranchers overrun with predators; one year he killed 451 foxes which were attracted by his realistic distress calls. (Murry says that foxes are the easiest animal to call; he considers coyotes the smartest predator and the most challenging to hunt.)

When Murry Burnham and his brother, Winston, were growing up, hunting was a big part of their lives. They learned from their father, and took his ideas a little farther. While Morton Burnham had always made the calling sounds by squeaking with his lips, cupping his hand over his mouth to control the tone and pitch, his sons were able to make a wooden whistle with the same sound. And while their father used the rabbit distress sound exclusively, Winston and Murry came up with several different sounds for different circumstances and different prey.

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