The bond forged between a hunter and his dog runs far deeper than the typical pet-and-owner relationship. If you’ve ever shared a duck blind with a good retriever, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Hunting is complicated. It’s about ...
Waterfowl
The 12 Gauge Shotgun: Do You Really Need Anything Else?
There isn't much one can be sure of in this world, but you can be certain that, at close range, there is no better gun than a 12 gauge shotgun for wolverines (see below). Also, for wombats, wigeons, wapiti, wobble trap, or woodcock — and that goes ...
28 Gauge: Why a Few Still Believe in Its ‘Magic’
Within the limitations of its light payload, the 28 gauge shotshell drops small game birds and crushes clay targets with authority and a soft kick. You can shoot the 28 gauge out of lightweight, scaled-down guns that are easy to carry anywhere. ...
The Break Action Shotgun: Why It Will Never Die
Compared to a modern semi-auto shotgun, with all its firepower, a break action gun looks archaic — obsolete, even. And it’s true; break actions have changed very little in the past 100 years. But 100 years from now, they will still be here. Break ...
Ballsy Indiana Duck Hunters Set Up Near Downtown Riverfront
Two gutsy Indiana duck hunters apparently gave zero fucks about pissing off riverfront dog walkers. In a serious case of thinking outside the typical duck blind, the hunters trolled along the Jeffersonville, Indiana, waterfront and anchored up to ...
10 Gauge Shotgun: Is There a Reason for it to Still Exist?
There are definitely a few reasons to get a 10 gauge shotgun before they're all gone, and yes, they truly are vanishing from the shotgun landscape like an endangered species. That's not to say every hunter should get one. Let's break that down a ...
How To Be a Mentor to a New Hunter This Waterfowl Season
Not everyone is as lucky as I am; my father introduced me to hunting and the outdoors at an early age. He made sure my sister and I took the requisite hunter’s safety courses, then continued to show us the ropes over the years while chasing Valley ...
U.S. Waterfowl Hunters Issued Warnings as Bird Flu Cases Soar
With early goose, teal, and dove seasons opening in many places across the country, waterfowl hunters are being encouraged to handle birds carefully to prevent the spread of bird flu. The highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5N1) has a ...
Hunting Forecast 2022: Extreme Weather Could Be Bad For Hunting
Sweltering heat waves, devastating droughts, extreme flooding, and destructive wildfires throughout the country could point to a brutal hunting forecast this fall. Mule deer, elk, wild turkey, and waterfowl hunters specifically could feel the impact ...
Chene Gear: Great Waders and Giving Back With Free Duck Stamps
Chene Gear is a young waterfowling gear company out of Memphis, Tennessee, that began with waders: the base of every hardcore waterfowler’s gear list. This summer, the company is celebrating its one-year anniversary. As part of that ...
Duck Camp Drops New Zip Waders for Waterfowlers
Duck Camp Zip Waders • Easily adjustable suspension system• Quiet, durable outer material• Asymmetrical zipper allows for passthrough chest pocket• Chest panel and side daisy chains feature MOLLE webbing• Integrated, removable knee and shin pads• ...
Got a Few Million to Blow? Check Out These 7 Dream Hunting Properties
If you do any sort of hunting, the dream of owning a patch of wild game heaven has absolutely crossed your mind. Whether you’re a diehard whitetail hunter in the East or Midwest, if you chase elk and muleys in the West, or if you haunt cut corn and ...
Duck Boats You Should Totally Buy, From Functional to Fully Tricked Out
Duck hunting presents three big problems to overcome: getting to your duck spot, retrieving the ducks you shot, and hiding from the ducks still circling overhead. Duck boats typically solve the first two problems, but some badass boats solve all ...
Goose Hunting: Kill Late-Season Public Land Canada Geese
I cut my hunting teeth decoying Canada geese in the ag fields that surrounded my Coorado home. Not including the frostbite, and not having the right gear (which always sucks), I can't think of any better way to have spent my high school and college ...
Dozens of Duck Hunting Deaths and Near Misses Reported This Season
It’s been a rough season for duck hunters. During another year of changing migrations, extreme weather conditions have led to lots of close calls and even a few fatalities for duck hunters trying to tag out. It’s also led to some tight spots and ...
6 Simple Steps for Duck Hunting Creeks: Guns, Gear, and Tactics
Waterfowl hunting is some of the most fun that a guy or gal can have in the outdoors, and puddle ducks are some of the tastiest critters on the planet. Yet the barrier to entry to waterfowl hunting seems huge if you don’t have big water flowing ...
Underdogs: 4 Hunting Dogs That Beat Death and Got Back in the Field
Americans love their underdogs. The comeback story is an age-old reminder that you can’t count someone out till the final whistle, bell, buzzer, or fat lady dropping the mic. Of course, some of the best comeback stories aren’t about people. In ...
The 8 Greatest Hunting Dog Breeds of All Time
When it comes to flushing birds, retrieving waterfowl, treeing big cats, or tracking wild game, every hunter has a dog in the fight. Many hunting dog breeds are absolute killers when it comes to the chase that’s coursed through their veins for ...
Banded Birds: Why Leg Bands are More Than Mere Hunting Trophies
For serious waterfowlers, few things are more exhilarating than your retriever returning to the blind with a bird bearing bling on its landing gear. Taking banded birds is a rare thing; it’s the waterfowler’s equivalent of dropping a 150-class ...
Ducks and Coffee: Three Days in Oklahoma With FowlCo Outfitters
Watching the horizon turn from darkness to a mixture of piercing pinks and oranges reminds me of sunrises over the Carolinas’ intercoastal waterway. The way the nearly-neon colors push the night’s cloud coverage away to reveal a sky so brilliantly ...
Cold Weather Duck Hunting Gear That Will Keep You Warm and Shooting
After a long, cold boat ride, we broke ice in the hole. Then, my host dropped me, outfitted in waders, by an oak tree in waist-deep water. “Don’t fall in,” he said as I was halfway out of the boat. “It’s 45 minutes to the ramp. You’ll be dead ...
Mississippi Duck Hunting Victory: Public Land Buffer Zone Rejected
Public land hunters scored a victory last week when the Mississippi Wildlife Commission withdrew a proposal that would have eliminated 40 acres of prime waterfowl country. Partially located in the Malmaison Wildlife Management Area of ...
A Thanksgiving Duck Hunt Miracle
The Thanksgiving hunt, a red-letter event for so many hunters who look forward to the field before a day of food and family bonding, is a touchy subject at my house. I don’t hunt on Thanksgiving, nor on the day or two before. My wife, raised in ...
The John Oliver Duck Stamps Segment is Good News for Hunters
Love him or hate him, John Oliver just did something amazing for wildlife conservation with a segment about duck stamps and a message that absolutely deserves to be shouted from the rooftops. Through his television show, Last Week Tonight with John ...
Waterfowl Starter Kit: Everything You Need to Slay Ducks and Geese
If you’ve been meaning to try waterfowling and you’ve done your preliminary YouTube research on hunting ducks and geese, you can be forgiven for thinking the endeavor requires a trailer of gear, a hiding place for 12 or 13 of your closest friends, ...
Underdog Game Recipe: How to Make Amazing Sea Duck Mole Tacos
I’m a huge advocate for the underdogs of the wild game cooking scene. Organs, tough cuts, and other maligned meats are written off by many hunters who lack the ability and imagination to go beyond the familiar. But even my fancy ass can’t deny that ...
Off Script Q&A with Lee Kjos: Outdoor Photographer, Waterfowl Legend
“Way back when I was a 20-year-old snot-nosed kid, I could have photographed the Allman Brothers. But an early cold front sent a wad of mallards south from Saskatchewan the morning prior. “Had plans to shoot Willie Nelson at the Saint ...
