Ammie Paul, the son of carpenter and duck hunter Raymond Paul ( c.1840 – ?), was born and raised in the small community of Davis which is located in Carteret County, the geographic center of coastal North Carolina. Paul made a living as a blacksmith, saw mill worker, and commercial fisherman. He is best remembered for his avocation as avid duck hunter, occasional guide, decoy carver and owner of a flock of live decoy ducks. Paul was the first caretaker of the Carteret Gun and Rod Club on Core Banks across the sound from Davis.
Paul made high quality red head, lesser scaup (locally known as “black heads”), pintail (locally known as “spring tail”), black duck, Canada geese and brant decoys from scrap lumber, logs, cork and flotsam collected along the shore. The bottom of the solid wooden decoys are cut in a “V’ to steady them in the choppy waters of Core Sound. The heads are elegancy carved and often affixed to the body with a nail. His decoys “display a nicely shaped body with unusually thin heads.”
For additional information
Carteret Waterfowl Heritage, 1993 by Jack Dudley.
Decoys – A North American Survey, 1983 by Gene and Lindy Kangas.
Waterfowl Heritage: North Carolina Decoys and Gunning, 1983 by William Conoley.