With waterfowl seasons shifting into full gear across the nation and the NASCAR season speeding into the Chase for the Cup there's an intersection of comparison between the two. Contrary to what casual fans believe  the drivers not in the Chase are still racing to win. No one on the track wants to lose and hunters in the field want to bag a...
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In North Carolina swan hunting has been a tradition and a pastime for years. Each winter as the migration occurs and birds move south thousands of tundra swans make their way to North Carolina. These swans migrate to many fields, ponds, impoundments, and refuges along the NC coast giving waterfowlers the opportunity to harvest one of these glorious birds. Each year the North Carolina Wildlife R...
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I must say, there probably isn't a better opportunity to bond with your new in-laws than heading out to the country to go hunting. The day after Thanksgiving I headed out with all the boys from Myrtle Beach to Bladenboro, NC. to the Allen Brothers farm and preserve. After rolling through scenic country roads, we arrived on their bea...
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HUNTERS ENCOURAGED TO REPORT BANDED BIRDS  Waterfowl hunters are encouraged to use a toll-free number -1-800-327-BAND - to report banded ducks, geese and doves they harvest.Callers will be requested to provide information on where, when and what species of waterfowl were taken, in addition to the band number. This information is crucial to the successful management ...
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One of the efforts promoted by the anti-hunting €œanimal rights extremists at The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is calling for an end to state-run Pheasant Stocking Programs. These programs provide game birds for hunting opportunities, but in Illinois, the program is under attack! NRA has been told that the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) has been instructed by Gover...
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Dogs have been bred for the purposes of hunting with humans for centuries. Whether hunting for food or sport, various breeds of dog have been used to help flush the hunted animals out into the open, to retrieve downed animals (especially ducks, pheasant, and other birds), and to sniff out and track animals for the hunter. It is with these potential duties in mind that a hunting dog should be ...
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The countdown on my computer's screen saver says it all: Nine Days, 18 Hours, 32 Minutes, 14 Seconds. To help time lapse for you, that's about sunrise on October 14, 2006 - The opening moment of pheasant season. I expect to find myself walking the five-row shelterbelt west of the Simonson farmstead near Watford City at that time. Wh...
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I love it when a plan comes together, is a cult classic phrase said countless times by actor George Peppard in his role as John Hanniba Smith on the 1980s action-adventure series, The A-Team. And who doesnt? When the pieces fall into place for that perfect hunting or fishing trip, the experience makes countless memories for everyone involved. I had the opportunity to be ...
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I have often been asked what I enjoy the pursuit of most: ducks or geese. It is a difficult question for a person who would prefer to spend his time scanning the skyline above decoys for waterfowl. For me, I cut my teeth hunting ducks at my family\'s lake cabin with my dad and relatives. On my first hunting trip with ‘the guys\', they harvested the first Canada goose ever on our lake. Fro...
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Keep your calls sounding natural sounding by sticking with the basics. Fancy calling is best left on the stage calling judges, and in most situations rarely in the duck blind. The greeting call is what I use when I first see ducks at a distance. It\'s a series of 5-7 notes in descending order at a steady even rhythm (Kanc, Kanc, Kanc, Kanc, Kanc). The comeback call is used w...
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Shortly after I began guiding goose hunts in 1987 I met Dr. Jim Cooper, one of the most highly respected waterfowl researchers in the world. He is an Associate Professor of Wildlife with the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at the University of Minnesota, and has studied Canada Geese for over twenty-five years. The first time we met I told him I wanted to pick his brain about calling, fee...
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