Kind of hard to complain about killing Wyoming greenhead limits when the temperatures are in mid-60s, but that’s not always the case. Seasonably warm weather made for hit-or-miss waterfowl hunting in Wyoming, but the show must go on–you don’t know unless you go, right?! A waterfowl hunting guide for 35 years, JJ Randolph is also a world-class storyteller and human being. He talks about starting Wyobraska–y’all ain’t going believe what he traded for his first blind–why he chose Wyoming, important influences, why this area usually overwinters so many ducks and geese, waterfowl plucking, hunting strategies, Wyobraska’s client retriever policy and much more. No wonder this hunt sells out as quickly as it does.
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The quote above door reads, “Back to the New West. The Wild West I leave to you.” While many people have traveled since forever to Cody, Wyoming, to discover the Wild West, many came to disappear or to be reinvented. From the Buffalo Bill Center of the Wild West, Mckracken Research Library, Eric Rossborough provides entertaining accounts of some colorful personalities that did just that, explaining why back in the day locals never asked new folks’ names or origins. An amazing storyteller, Rossborough’s character descriptions will have you at times laughing out loud and at other times shaking your head in disbelief.
It’s a balmy 12 degrees outside, but inside a blind the size of some small homes, burning heaters have things toasty. We’re fixing to throw steaks and eggs on the griddle, too! Hunting guide Duncan Abram talks about Minnesota goose hunting, describing how he got started honker hunting, why its a pretty big deal here, why they run such big blinds, what’s his blind breakfast specialty, and much more.
Y’all can chalk today’s episode up to interesting things I’ve never, ever before heard about in goose camp. Or anywhere. According to Elroy Belgaard, vikings–and we’re talking real deal Lief Erikson stuff here–visited Minnesota more than a hundred years preceding Christopher Columbus’s “discovery” of America. There’s plenty evidence to include rune stones, moring stones, and other stuff. Why were they here, what evidence exists, what do 10 human skeletons have to do with anything, why are some scientists naysayers, who were the knights of templar—and might there really exist a raiders-of-the-lost-ark-type treasure of epic proportions somewhere in central Minnesota?!
We’re about 20 miles from the historic Gettysburg Battlefield, the waterfowl hunting has been tough even by Pennsylvania standards, but we got it done. Ramsey meets with long-time friend Nate Metcalf and Jason Cramer to talk about Pennsylvania duck and goose hunting. No differently than bs’ing in duck blinds the world over, we get into some interesting topics to include historic homes, indian sex stones, famous college classmates, and more. The things you hear while duck hunting, huh?!
Hunting from an open water blind wrapped in Christmas-smelling evergreens, we were surrounded by hundreds of longlined blocks to include many of Doc’s hand-carved “Cleveland-style” decoys, lines worth of Pat’s own functional art, and even Coop the Chicken Dog’s urn decoy thrown in for good measure–because you can never have too many decoys hunting divers on the mighty Mississippi River! Picking off bluebills, canvasbacks, buffleheads and occaisonal redheads from a nearby miles-long raft of divers, we sipped lukewarm coffee and solved world problems. Dyed-in-the-wool diver duck hunters Pat Gregory and Doc Leonard discuss old school Mississippi River diver hunting, describing what they most love about it, why they use hand-carved blocks, how it’s about more than just ducks, and what most defines this particular waterfowling experience. Good stuff to start the New Year!
Growing up deer hunting, dove hunting and fishing with a couple brothers in West Alabama, Sara Burkhalter was just one of the boys, which we talk about in depth. Inspired by her duck hunting husband, their first black lab, and what she percieves as a dramatic shift in the way our children are being influenced by modern technology, Sara interupted her day-to-day job as a contruction company owner to write a children’s book. A powerfully articulate communicator, she describes why preserving old school ways of life are important and how she hopes to accomplish that with her first and future book projects. See related link below to get a copy for your kids, grandkids or neighbors.
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It’s the week of Christmas. Coast to coast, north to south, everyone seems frustrated while awaiting south-bound ducks, asking themselves where in the hell are the ducks?! Is the sky falling? Do we really even have ducks? Or is the answer a little more straight forward? Waterfowl migration guru Dr. Michael Schummer explains what we’re seeing–or not! Using his proprietary forecast model, he even makes a prediction for the upcoming week.
How well do ducks and geese really see–and how can understanding this make you a more effective waterfowl hunter? Dr. Bradley Cohen from Tennessee Tech explains waterfowl eyesight to Ramsey, focusing on depth perception, field of view, color discernment and rapid “refresh rates.” Citing many years of in-depth research, he paints a pretty clear picture. I mean, there’s a reason they sell camo long handles and face paint, huh? Waterfowl’s ability to hear and smell are worth mentioning, but this episode is about clearly seeing waterfowl hunting for what it really is. Or isn’t. You decide.
Ramsey scratches Oregon off the duck hunting list, leaving on Virginia and West Virginia remaining. He recounts his visit with host Brandon Potter, who describes waterfowl opportunities, waterfowl species, hunting styles, and what it’s like living and raising family in close proximity to Portland, the most left-leaning, woke-assed city in America.
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Correction: In Oregon, dusky geese can only legally be hunted farther east than described in this episode. The dusky goose line is east of Benton, Clackamas, Clasp, Columbia, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Tillamoook, Washington and Yamhill counties. Simply put, east of the Cascades.
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