Last (duck) call: ‘Duck Dynasty’ coming to an end

Ask Willie Robertson what stands out from his five years and 11 seasons of making “Duck Dynasty” for A&E Network and you’ll likely get a wry chuckle.

“Well, I would say I’m just amazed at how long it went and how big the show got,” he says. “I guess that’s what kind of stands out for me.”

And now, as the unscripted series draws to a close with its finale on Wednesday, Robertson finally gets a chance to take a breath.

As the CEO of Duck Commander and a primary player and executive producer on the show, he’s been not only at the center of a popular series since its creation and premiere in 2012 (and its Outdoor Channel incarnation for three seasons prior to that), but also the man calling the shots for a Louisiana duck-call company that’s grown by leaps and bounds in that time.

So with one successful concern now behind them, it’s time for Willie and wife Korie — along with brothers Jase and Jep, dad Phil, Uncle Si and the others — to have a little down time and maybe do a little traveling, fishing and hunting. And reflect a little and enjoy the fruits of success.

“Oh yeah, it’s affected business,” Willie Robertson says with a laugh of how the show has helped sell DC duck calls. “The year before the show started, we sold about 60,000 duck calls, which is pretty good in the duck-call selling realm. And then the year after the show hit, we sold well over a million duck calls.

“So business was rolling and some of that’s leveled off. I mean, it’s grown for sure, but for a couple of years there it was pretty out of control.”

As a result, the sharp spike in demand for duck calls meant hiring more employees, which also forced the need for more space and a bigger plant.

At the same time, the show’s success prompted increased demand for public appearances by Willie and the others. So around 2013, Willie found himself a very busy and popular guy. That became apparent to him during an appearance at the Daytona 500 that year, when he and Korie found themselves swarmed by fans before the race.

“I had a security guy there,” Robertson recalls, “and he said, ‘In all the years I’ve done this I’ve only seen one guy that (got a comparable reaction) to how people reacted to you and that was Clint Eastwood. … A lot of people know who you guys are.’ … But it settled down and I figured, ‘Eh, they’ll take a lot of pictures.’

“But it’s not probably as chaotic as it was in 2013,” he continues. “And they were running the show so much, too, it was out there a lot and we had all these products with our faces on them. And so they did a pretty good job of marketing.”