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Hello fellow hunters of the fowl life, I'm really wanting to reach out to all bird hunters reading this. There’s more to wild fowl hunting than just ducks huh? Where are the Pheasant hunters, the Quail hunters, the Grouse hunters? It is coming into the “dog days” of Summer and what are we going to do with nothing to hunt but wild hogs and pay to hunt exotic animals. I have a few things that keep me busy during these times and wanted to share with you and get your feedback on what you do to pass the time, great to share topics of interest in our sport to help each other pass the time and maybe even sharpen our skills during these days. September is right around the corner and those “rice rocket” Teal will be here before you know it, buzzing the rice patties and timber holes filling our sights with tasty morsels we can grill, fry, bake and overall just enjoy the fruits of our labor. Time to start booking those Teal hunts or you will be left alone hunting a creek bank hoping some may accidentally fly by. Or scanning the post on social media looking for last minute cancellations that you can get before some other hunter sweeps them up. Your best buddy, that ever ready retriever needs to be ready at all times. Work them weekly with some basic obedience commands and few retrieves will really pay off come season. Being very careful to watch them for over heating, remember they want to please no matter what and will push themselves past their break point, then you got major problems.
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Always have a first aid kit for your pup. Plenty of water, not ice water however. Learn to see the signs, slowing down on returning to you, tongue hanging out the side of the mouth limp, staggering walk. By this time the pup is in trouble and you must cool him down. Find some shade, soak his coat down, let him drink but in moderation as too much water too fast will hurt him. If you have multiple dogs in the field rotate them allowing one to rest at all times. Train early before it gets really hot and even have them train over water to allow a swim to help regulate body temps.
Skeet range, even we need tuning up and getting your hunting buddies together will be great fun and also help keep your shooting skills tuned up. I always make sure I shoot what I hunt with, meaning I have trouble shooting lead at the range that runs 700 FPS while the steel we hunt with runs up to 1500 FPS. Really messes with my lead for the first several clay birds, keeping in mind I am not the young spry shooter I was 30 years ago and repetition is critical to me to be able to maintain my shooting so I don’t get laughed out of the blind come season!
hunting. Have a great Summer one and all and we are all better if we share and treat each other like true sportsmen and part of a brother hood of “WILDFOWL” hunters. Always leave it better than you found it... Mike Harrison ProStaff @American Waterfowl Revolution
I am fortunate to have a range next to lake I love to fish, so bring your boat to the range and when done shooting, go wet a line and maybe even have a friendly tourney between you and your buddies. In closing the “dog days” of Summer can be just as fun filled as hunting season if you look for ways to make your game better every day. Hunting season is not just the dates the “season” runs but it actually to me goes all year due to all the elements of making the actual season successful. Don’t forget, Google Maps can show you some fine places to hunt right now. So get online and print those sites out and go find them. Your kids will enjoy the adventure and you can involve them on ideas of how they think the spot should hunted or even how they would set decoys. Keep the kids involved, they are the future of WILDFOWL 5
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Growing up in a hunting family I always had access to help and the equipment I needed, but tirelessly found my mind yearning to do everything myself. I didn’t want to be the girl who had to have her hook baited or birds cleaned by anyone but me. And my stubbornness to do so has shaped me into the hunter and angler I am today. I like to call it the self taught by trying all the wrong ways first and then figuring out all the right ways later… chalking that up to my stubborn streak. However this worked well for me over the years accept in the goose blind. Goose hunting was something that was always done with my dad, brother and their friends and eventually my husband. And since there is a lot of work that goes into goose hunting, blind building, setting decoys, etc., when you’re allowed in the blind the last thing you want to do is screw the hunt up for everyone else, and so I never blew a call. Well not exactly never, but the few times I did attempt it I was met with unfavorable looks from the other hunters, and comments like, “you sound like a dieing rabbit, you need to go home and practice.” So I would just sit back and let the masters work the birds and when they brought them down I was the hunter who would shoot and not be heard…at least not heard blowing a call. Fast forward dozens of seasons to my having my own blind. I still had experienced callers out to hunt several times but on one blustery day with a blizzard starting to howl my husband, brother in law and I gave it a go on our own, all of us basically non-existent in the skills of calling geese department. By mid morning we had no birds and the guys decided they better stop playing and get home to feed the cattle. I opted out of actually being responsible and decided I wanted to stay and hunt, I just knew in my heart this was going to be a good day for birds. They shrugged their shoulders and left mumbling some sarcastic form of good luck with that. I’d been secretly wanting to goose hunt on my own for some time, and now was as good a time as any to let that call screech! I let the boys get well out of range of any sound I was about to make before I started my “it’s about time Angie learned to blow a call session.” Rummaging through the calls I picked out a couple I’d tried before that I thought had sounded okay…not like a dieing rabbit like they said. I thought about all the hours I had sat in a tree stand bow hunting and listening to the geese on the river next to me and flying over and what they sounded like. And then I started to blow, and while it didn’t sound like a dieing rabbit, it may well have sounded like a donkey braying away. Hmmmm, this may be harder than I thought. So onto the next call which didn’t sound like a goose either, stupid calls I heard myself say out loud, as if the calls feelings would be hurt, and maybe they’d shape up and start sounding better. But, alas this was up to me so I just kept blowing. Standing up out of the blind I blew and blew and while no straw house fell down something else started happening, the sounds were changing and starting to sound at least like a goose, a dieing one maybe, but a goose non the less. With the snow pelting my face and the wind whipping my hair I called and called. Sitting back down in the blind I was so blissfully engaged in my calling I had no idea what was coming in. Two greater Canadians came from behind and flew directly over the blind, so close the swoosh of their wings nearly gave me a heart attack. My heart leapt out of my chest, I had birds! I dropped the call and reached for my gun only to see them put their brakes on and fly away. I frantically grabbed the call again and began a crazed, please come back to me call that I have no idea what actually meant in goose lingo, but it was working! Again they circled and came down, turning their heads and looking at my spread of decoys, and again they
braked and took off. Frantic calling round two commenced although this time I’m sure I added a little Spanish goose or maybe French just in case they were international birds. Not really, but in my mind that actually sounded cool, and as I had no idea what actual goose sounds were called I was rolling with it.. I was convinced these birds were the spawn of satan himself and were completely enjoying messing with my mind. Round and round they went, circling, setting their wings and then just as quickly as they came in, off they went again. I was one exhausted hot mess! The sweat was rolling, and I was running out of air to breath, let alone blow a call and still they wouldn’t get close enough or leave. Thankfully the adrenaline in my body wouldn’t let me quit and then it happened. Wings set , check. Feet down, check. On the ground…check! Holy goose crap, I did it! I was so excited I could not control what happened next. I burst out of the blind screaming yes…and forgot to pick up my gun. Yep, you guessed it, my spawns of satan laughed their little gray feathers off as they happily picked up and flew away. Now here’s how the emotions of a stupid, exhausted girl go. I wasn’t sure if I should cry, scream or start blowing that call again. Insert a very, very hot mess here. Adam called within a few minutes of my exhilarating disaster and as I was completely out of breath wanted to know what the heck was going on. With my flare of story telling he got the jest of the fact I landed two birds, and then the question, “did you get them,” was met with a little to much laughter on the other end of the line. And was followed with, “are you ready to quit?” Say what? Quit is not in my vocabulary sweet pea! And the recovery response of “well the snows getting heavy is all,” didn’t really erase the word quit that had previously been dropped. I was now on an Angie mission and that can be hazardous to one husbands well being. Adam knows me so well I don’t think what I came home with mid afternoon surprised him at all and I was met with his big grin when I dropped the tailgate to my pickup revealing not one goose, but my limit, five greater Canadians! Suffice to say when I called in more birds that day I never forgot to pick up my gun. I won’t say I’m a master caller, not even close for that matter. But each time I hunt my calling improves and I’ve learned to make more and more sounds, non of which sound like a dieing goose anymore. I still don’t know what most of the sounds are called, but the sounds I make work. I do things how I do them. Conventional has never really worked for me, so it’s fitting along with my unconventional calling my bird dog is a border collie. So don’t be afraid to be you, go ahead and step outside of your comfort zone, put that call in your mouth, blow until you can’t breath and watch the geese start falling from the sky. You’ll never know if you can if you don’t ever try. Angie AK Creations Tack & Trailer Sales 1-866-313-1752 http://www.akcreations1.com 7
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When they said there were 1000 ducks on a pond the size of the living room we were sitting in I simply chalked it up to them trying to maintain our enthusiasm. The following morning when we pulled the truck and decoy trailer in and spooked 1000 ducks off a pond the size of the living room I was previously sitting in I quickly changed my tune. The day before had been spent lying in the middle of field amongst a thousand goose decoys. This day would find me for the first time in a layout blind along the edge of a relatively small farm pond in Oklahoma. I had no idea how comfortable and enjoyable it could be lying on the cold wet ground. Short of having to cut a bunch of dead grass from the ditch, load a trailer full of decoys and blinds, carry out and set up all the blinds, and blend each one into the local flora, it was a relaxing and cozy morning. The round bales dotted the fields surrounding the pond and I felt like a cow should come up at any minute to see who the intruders were. Decoys had been set slightly to left of our position with a couple motorized ducks to help sell our spread. The blinds were stacked side by side by side 8 rows wide with each of us tucked way down deep. The pond was just about waist high at its deepest point and we hoped members of the mass explosion of flapping wings and feathers that exited upon our arrival would start wondering back to the comforts of our hide. With painted faces and anticipation we waited for the sun to broadcast its bright blanket of legal shooting light. In the predawn light and the early morning silence only a hunter knows, flapping wings could be heard approaching. Mesmerized I watched as a loan duck approached and hovered over my blind almost like a giant humming bird. I appreciated the fact that it was not yet shooting time and I had no choice to watch with wonderment while the bird just floated back and forth overhead as his wings seemed to flap at the speed of sound. Eventually he committed to land in our puddle and the stage was set for more of what was to come. Just a few minutes prior to legal light the guys sounded off on the calls and interested parties began to show. Unlike the mass quantities of geese that would show the day before our smaller feathered friends tended to arrive in pairs or very small groups. When the first call of “take em” sounded we were blessed with several of the incoming birds falling and the luck of catching a few of the outgoing birds as well that had joined us earlier that morning. The pure euphoria and frenzy of that first approach and throwing the blind doors open is something that everyone should make the time to experience.
Birds continued to come in for most of the morning but many flocks were shunning us for some other nearby water that was apparently more enticing. Even with that, there were only a few lulls and the shooting was good. I was late to the show a few times as more that once the ducks would unexpectedly come from my right where I had a significant blind spot. By the time I heard the call to fire I hadn’t located the birds and when I finally did they were either out of range or dead. Nonetheless, I was excited for our crew at any chance and especially when someone was able to connect. We were blessed with a low flyby of a gaggle of geese that resulted in a mixed bag and more meat for the pot. Had the birds that circled for what seemed like an endless number of rotations, eventually losing interest and continuing on, decided to drop down and join their faux buddies we would have had an epic day. Regardless, I shot a lot of rounds and we had ducks to clean so life was good. We used the afternoon to shoot some clay pigeons, relax, clean guns, and of course recap our morning success. We also took the the time to stuff speckle belly breasts with cream cheese and jalapeño before throwing them on the grill as a means to solidify this as a true hunting trip and satisfying our basic carnivorous needs. The only thing left was to determine where and for what we would hunt the next morning. Our local guides spent the evening scouting and came back and offered us a couple options. Sparing you the details (our outfitter had double booked himself), we opted to hunt another farm pond for ducks. Our group was early to rise and eager to get set up the next morning. The pond, or lake as I believe it could have been referred to as, was hidden in some rolling hills in the middle of some pasture ground. It was fairly long and not particularly wide where we set up. We weren’t promised the showing of ducks we had seen the previous day so our optimism wasn’t particularly high. But after setting up the layout blinds I couldn’t help but truly appreciate the morning for what it was. Standing there, talking and joking with close friends and even some new ones, just as the first hint of the impending sun rise was starting to show, really put what was important into perspective. The outcome of the hunt this day was not the real prize. Surprisingly the shooting started off fairly good. Being this was our third day of shooting at live birds and along with having some clay pigeons under our belt our birds to shots ratio was improving. While I wish I could say the birds poured in all morning and we just kept stacking them up, that wasn’t exactly the case. We had some chances and there were birds periodically throughout the morning but to spice it up much more than that would be a stretch. We made up for the lack of birds with playful banter back and forth and tried to savor being 9
outdoors doing what we all loved. It was an attempt to avoid the inevitable return to civilization and the stresses associated with modern life. We did our best to make it last but eventually we knew it was time to load up. Back at the camp house we made short work of the mornings birds and loaded gear and coolers into our respective rigs. Saying our goodbyes the hunt was over. Of course, we’re already planning the next one!
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Mike Bakke - Dakota Prairie Taxidermy
should leave your gun unloaded, I’ll take care of the rest because you can’t shoot” it goes on the rest of the hunt. We ended up walking almost the entire management area but ended the day with our 3 pheasants each as we stopped to take a quick break and reminisce over the tough walking knowing we still had a mile back to the truck.
A few years back, one of my first couple hunting seasons with my dad. We were hunting a 212 acre management area known as the Koldok between the towns of Tower City and Oriska, North Dakota. The management area has a mixture of prairie grass, Buck rush, tree claims and a few sloughs with deep cat tails providing lots of cover for upland, deer and waterfowl. This area is where I was first introduced to hunting with my dad and uncle. We had previously hunted whitetail deer in the area and until then we just started seeing signs of pheasants making a come back. This was a late season hunt towards the end of November where there was ice on the lake, cold wind but very little snow fall. This area is normally a lot for just 2 guys to cover and no dog, we came up with our normal plan that if we were to knock down a rooster pheasant that we would have to be on the ball to recover it or risk the possibility of losing it in the cat tails.
As we start our walk back I could feel a rustle in my vest and figured the pheasants were dead it was just nerves. Next thing I know, I’m feeling a kick in my back and hearing my dad yell “ there goes a rooster” followed by gun shots. The pheasant climbed out the side of my hunting vest and took off flying out over the lake and fell dead about 50yards out. I’m standing there in disbelief and shock that it actually happened. When the next thought was “how are we going to get that pheasant” not knowing how thick the ice is or if we’d fall in. My dad made the decision to try and recover the bird and made his way inch by inch out on the ice listening to it crack and break. With every foot step my dad takes my anxiety rises going over in my head what if he goes through what am I going to do, how far was it to the truck to get a rope, was there even a rope in the truck. He makes it to the bird and is on his way back and all I can think of is just run hurry up and get off the ice, he makes it back to shore with the bird and all he could say was “you will never live this down”. And to this day, he has been correct.
We started out zig zagging walking in and out of the cat tails and trees, with the wind that day we didn’t figure they would be in the prairie grass but holding tight in deep cover. After what felt like hours of walking the cackle of a male pheasant sounds off followed by shotgun blasts. Finally, we have a rooster in hand and then the father son joking begins, “I shot that, no I shot that, you missed” “you 13
Dakota Prairie Taxidermy Mike Bakke
Great hunts don’t always end with bagging the most extravagant of birds, but you were fortunate enough to harvest one worthy of a spot on your wall for all to admire for years to come and reminisce of the memorable hunt. What you do with it after the harvest can make or break the outcome of your mount. Here are some helpful tips to keep your bird in the best shape possible. • If youre thinking about having your bird mounted, retrieving the bird yourself and not sending the dog will help keep the feathers intact and decrease the risk of broken feathers. Do not “ring the neck” if the bird isn’t full dispatched, I recommend carrying a T pin or other related product with you to push into the base of the skull to humanely and quickly dispatch the bird with minimal damage to the neck and feathers. • Keep the duck separate. Find a cool, dry spot for the duck that is out of the sun, and away from any other possible feather damage. • Lightly dab away any excess blood, but do not wash the duck in the water. • If the temperature is below freezing, make sure your duck isn’t resting on metal, wood or the ground. Tuck the duck’s head against its chest or back, and gently smooth all of the bird’s feathers. • Tightly double-bag the duck and promptly freeze until you can deliver it to the taxidermist. Proper field care from the moment of harvest will give you the best results from your mount for years to come and your local Taxidermist will thank you.
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My First Turkey By, Holly Overman
It was a chilly, April morning in 2016 when we got ready to go hunt. Once my brother and niece arrived, we loaded up and headed out. The sun was rising when we got to our location, so my husband started calling to try and locate the birds. We slowly made our way down to the bottoms where we though they'd be. Once we heard that first gobble, we knew they were close, so we got set up in a hurry. In a nearby field there were two gobblers with their hens. One of them was strutting his stuff, so we knew he wasn't leaving them females. My husband then changed tactics and began to work on making the lead hen mad. It wasn't long before she started coming our way, and of course he followed. They were coming on my side, so it was up to me to make the shot. I raised my 20 gauge and got ready. As the hens came in, there was no sign of the tom. Then I heard a gobble to my left and that's when I seen his fan, I knew then I better move. So very swiftly, yet quietly, I adjusted my angle and waited. My heart was racing when I saw him coming over the ridge. Once I saw his head clearly, I took my aim then pulled the trigger. When I saw him drop, so did my jaw. I was in so much shock that I completely forgot he could still fly off. It didn't hit me until after my husband yelled, "Get Him" and ran to jump on my bird. Being that it was my first turkey I ever shot, guess I would forget that part. After he finally stopped flopping, I threw him over my shoulder to get him to a better lit area so we could really check him out. He was a beautiful 19-20 pound gobbler with a blue head, red and white stripped neck and a nice 10 inch beard. He had an amazing full fan and sharp 1.5 inch spurs. His coloration was incredible and I was filled with excitement and emotions. We admired him a bit longer before heading back to the truck. The whole walk back, all I could think about was how blessed I was to take such an amazing animal and how truly memorable it was to share it with those I love. 15
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Bentley Ewing is all about the outdoors and hunting. He loves to hunt for ducks, turkeys, geese, deer, squirrels and rabbits. He loves fishing, shooting his bow and playing sports too! The morning Bentley got his double bearded turkey I hear a knock on my front door and open the door and there stood Bentley with the biggest smile on his face and his harvested turkey laying on my porch. He tells me that he got his turkey and I needed to hurry with my camera because he couldn't wait for me to share it with our other AHR JR Pro Staff members. He was so proud of himself and swung his turkey over his shoulder and headed for the big oak tree to get his photos. This is definitely what it's all about; is our youth hunters. You can find more of Bentley's stories and adventures in future magazines! 17
that end of the state how the migration was held up north still and wasn't moving down through our area much because of the warmer temperatures than usual. That wasn't going to stop us ladies though. We were all about making this dream come true.
MOMENTS
By, Melissa Blair Have you ever looked at something so beautiful as this and try to burn that image into your head so you never forget it? I would hope that you answered yes to that question because if you've never experienced something this beautiful in the outdoors, you need to. As a Southeast Kentucky girl, I have never heard or grew up around duck or geese hunting. As I've gotten older, I started taking notice and thought about trying it out. I never knew if I could make it possible until Wildlife Women was formed and we started talking about learning and doing duck hunting. Luckily after a little searching and luck, we found someone to help make this dream come true. Brent Thompson from Pine Ridge British Labradors http://www.pineridgebritishlabradors.com drove a trailer full of duck and geese hunting equipment to Central Kentucky in September 2018 to teach us ladies about hunting ducks and geese. It was one of the most informational seminars that I have ever attended. When we left that evening, we all knew that Brent knew his stuff and we all had grown more excited to try this out. We set a date in January to travel to his hometown in Western Kentucky to hunt. As the date got closer, I grew more excited even though I wasn't sure how this was going to go or exactly what to expect. Everyone was talking on 18
As we made it to Western Kentucky that weekend, we sat down with Brent and his beautiful family to a delicious dinner of duck poppers and ground deer meat burgers. This was the first time for us ladies to eat duck and we weren't disappointed at all. That delicious meat got all us ladies fired up to get up at 3 A.M. and head out to hunt. We met Brent that early morning and found out what duck hunting is all about. The first morning was on a farm while the second morning was on Lake Barkley. Both mornings the sunrise was gorgeous. Such beautiful colors and a peacefulness that came with it. It wasn't until the second morning on the lake while taking a boat ride to where we were going to hunt that I was able to sit and look out at the sunrise. At that moment I sat there, being drawn to the vibrate colors in the horizon. Smiling more and bigger the longer I stared. I was drawn in, couldn't look away or maybe didn't want to look away. It was at the moment I realized how lucky I was to be there fulfilling a dream that I had always thought about. Water filled my eyes, and it wasn't lake water. It was the water that's inside you that comes from your tear glands. The tears flowed and I didn't care because the smile on my face said it all. This was my dream. A dream to come true. A moment in time that I will think about often. A moment that you would never think would ever happen but now has. It was my moment, which is more moments that I will make while enjoying the beautiful world that unfolds while hunting. More moments to be made to do more duck hunting. Make moments in life whether its in the outdoors or with family indoors. Moments that you'll always treasure and moments that will always be burned into your head like the moments I made while duck hunting.
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Hunting With My Daughters By, Kalob Poitra First off, I love hunting. I hunt everything that has a season in North Dakota. I can't give enough credit to my Dad for teaching me how to do everything I know. He taught me to fish, hunt and trap. Things that I will know how to do for the rest of my life. When we all go together we have plenty of laughs and a few good stories. Everything he has taught me I pass down to my daughters. I pass down the ways he has taught me and new tips and tricks I learn throughout the years. You learn new things just about every day. But what better way to enjoy being outdoors than with your kids. Putting smiles on their faces. When you see your child smile with pride and joy, it's the best thing in the world. It makes your day 100 times better immediately. Sometimes I just take a drive to scout and the conversations I have when it's just us, are amazing. And go all over. When I go out hunting, fishing or trapping I always bring one of my girls. Just to get them used to their surroundings. At 4 or 5 my little girl could get us home using the back roads. Which not very many people can say. All you gotta do is give them landmarks or something they understand or see whenever you go out for a ride. It goes a long ways. My oldest and second child are learning how to specify the different species of ducks and geese. They get so excited when we see them! I cant wait until this duck season. We plan on her getting her first duck. Preferably a big drake mallard. Plenty of them around North Dakota. When my oldest shot her first muskrat she was filled with joy. She was showing everyone in the family! My girls are my favorite hunting partners. Next to my dad and brother. I just enjoy passing down knowledge. Hoping they will pass it down to their kids. Hunting is more than just hunting. It is how you build bonds and friendships, but more importantly trust. If you can trust someone a few feet from you with a gun, it is pretty dang good trust. We always welcome new hunters in our group. You have to learn somewhere, you don't just come out of hunters safety an expert hunter. 20
AHR JR Pro Staff Sophia Poitra