Duck Season Somewhere

So many of y'all requested this conversation that we crafted an entire episode around Advanced Impact and SBE3 A.I. with Benelli's Brett Maffett!  From missed birds to measurable gains, Benelli's Advanced Impact system builds on prior successes of the popular Super Black Eagle platform, and was engineered to solve real problems faced by us waterfowlers. Topics include: inertia versus gas-operated...

While passing through London enroute to the hallowed Holkham Estate--where driven shooting is said to have originated way back when--I visited the shop of Fredrick Beesley on Kings Road, established 1879, to get properly sorted. And Bradley Davis does just that. What's all the fuss about "bespoke" English shotguns, what makes English shotguns different, and why do they use two-shooters across the...

Thousands of hunter-provided samples. Real genetic answers. duckDNA is changing what we know about ducks. Dr. Mike Brasher and Dr. Phil Lavretsky break down what the project has revealed so far--hybridization trends, surprising genetic patterns, hunter participation, and where this groundbreaking, hunter-powered research is headed next!   ****** More info: duckDNA.com https://www.duckdna.com *****...

America's national wildlife refuges face a growing infrastructure crisis--ducks and hunters are suffering the consequences. Delta Waterfowl's John Devney and Jason Tharp reveal a bold new plan; break down why aging water systems along with underinvestments and staffing decreases limit habitat performance and waterfowl utilization--and why it matters. What will it take to restore federal refuges to...

With bellies full from eating 4th-generation Brunswick stew--it's a secret recipe cooked in batch sizes that'll nourish sizable zip codes--longtime duck hunter and call-maker David Gaston slides across the table to tune calls and tell stories. And always, boy does he have them: camp origins and history, memorable leg band stories, "no shoot da' ringneck," hunting in the good old days, converting f...

The Public Timber Project's shut-up-and-show-up attitude for taking personal responsibility of Arkansas public land--and now across state lines--is contagiously growing. Because it resonates among hunters and managers. Lifelong public land hunters themselves, Ich Stewart, Blakely Cobb and Jeremy Brown discuss what drew each of them to TPTP and more: the history and inevitable changes of duck hunti...

After some action-packed duck hunting with buddy Jay Prather--because it's pure full-steam-ahead, pedal-to-the-metal adventure anytime he's around--we kick back at his camp to talk about the Louisiana duck hunting, why the marsh is in such excellent shape this season, controlling giant salvania, the vanishing paradise, viral instagram posts, more. But the name McKinney kept resurfacing.  This camp...

DO NOT listen to this episode unless you can handle big boy topics. While chasing ducks on Arkansas public lands, Jeremy Brown and I huddle for a pre-meal discussion, covering everything from bacon grease to hand-made custom duck straps to conversations enjoyed while hunting ducks together in Arkansas--because where better to talk about the most things in life? And then the conversation took a tur...

After pouring post-hunt cups of hot coffee, Western Oregon Ducks Unlimited Biologist and lifelong Willamette Valley hunter, Kelly Warren, provides an insightful, been-there-done-that tour of Oregon duck hunting traditions and ongoing conservation sustaining them. Explaining how his grandfather's duck-blind lessons ignited his interests, he talks about what Alaska banding seasons taught him about w...

Hang on, boys and girls--here's a fast-moving, story-rich conversation about chasing ducks on Oregon's amazing Columbia River with a couple diver diehards--retired Migratory Bird Chief Brad Bortner and decoy carver Pat Gregory--and long-time Oregonian outdoor writer M.D. Johnson. The Columbia River shapes everything about duck hunting coastal Oregon--weather, water, ducks and even the people chasi...

Sitka doesn't just make camo gear--they've pioneered a system for staying dry, warm and hidden when ducks do duck things in ducky weather. John Smolke traces the trail from his hunting roots to the leading edge of waterfowl innovation at Sitka Gear , unpacking optifade camo origins, why-and how skin-to-surface systems work, then plunges chest deep into the new Delta VentLite GTX Zip waders --how t...

Protect--and enhance--your hearing while duck hunting without breaking the bank. HUH?! Hearing-technology insider Wes Christ, of SoundGear, grew up duck hunting in Minnesota; talks about the real damage shotgunning causes, the early warning signs most hunters miss, and why "toughing it out" costs you way more than you think. Wes breaks down SoundGear's Instant Fit, Custom Fit, and Phantom models--...

Y'all've probably heard the same thing: "If you're lucky, you get one really good dog in your life." It's true. There'll probably be a standout among all the rest. Such was Dexter to pro retriever trainer Curtis Lindsay. Y'all ain't going to believe this story. You've got to hear it to believe it. Curtis talks about traits that matter most, what you can train, what can't be trained, and how our be...

Currituck County, North Carolina shaped Chandler Sawyer long before he followed his family's tradition of shaping wooden blocks into trational decoys. Growing up in the cadence of tide, wind, and waterfowl flights, his is an 11-generation story rooted in Currituck traditions to include an old-time carver named Bob Morse. Now the director of the Currituck Maritime Museum, Chandler explains why Curr...

Our 6-part Acadiana roadtrip concludes on a bayou bank, the waft of chicken-wing smoke, fresh sawdust and wood varnishes lingering in humid air: 2 men, 2 crafts, 1 disappearing way of life. Keith Dupuy brings ancient Louisiana pirogues and dug outs back from the brink--painstakingly restoring ancient boats that once transported hunters, trappers and families throughout Louisiana's ancient marshlan...

Ancient history, agricultural lifestyle and wild geese collide on a windswept island in the North Sea. Born and raised further south, in England, it was wild geese in this relatively wild, remote place that pulled Nick, and later Alex, northward. In back-to-back conversations, they paint Orkney as it really is, talking heritage, family ties, life-shaping wild fowling traditions, and how geese rewi...

Each year, Ducks Unlimited cracks open its vault--and inside sits a treasure of waterfowling history: rare prints, hard-to-find firearms, vintage decoys, and one-of-a-kind memorabilia, and lots more! David Schuessler returns for an annual DU Into the Vault visit to talk about its origins, priceless pieces that surfaced this year, and how every bid keeps ducks flying and wetlands alive. We swap hun...

We're roadtripping through Acadiana, exploring Louisiana's Cajun heartland, where French-Acadian roots, gumbo--and today's bayou rhythms--simmer together into one of America's most distinctive cultures.  Cajun Musician J ourdan Thibodeax grew up on the muddy banks of Cypress Island, Louisiana, where French, fiddle and bayou life melded together like the holy trinity in a gumbo pot. He talks about...

The wind is howling off the North Sea, pelting the island village with rain--same as it has all week, and for most of the year. Inside, we comfortably huddle to talk Scotland goose hunting. From wild gray geese descending over stubbled fields to peat-smoked whiskey tours, dramatic coastlines, ancient stones, and hearty foods that taste of sea and soil, this exploratory couples' adventure was way m...

We're roadtripping through Acadiana, exploring Louisiana's Cajun heartland, where French-Acadian roots, gumbo and bayou rhythms simmer together into one of America's most distinctive cultures--and it's lunchtime. In Kaplan, Louisiana. Where the humble, roadside Suire's Grocery has become a cultural landmark. What began as a small family grocery has become a temple of cajun cooking, where old-world...

We're still exploring Louisiana's Cajun heartland, where French-Acadian roots, gumbo and bayou rhythms simmer together into one of America's most distinctive cultures. Today, we bail off into the Atchafalaya Basin with Scott Lagrange and Ernie Calis of Cajun Outfitters , who share what genuine bayou living really means--from their specialty of hunting and cooking monster gators to preserving Cajun...

We're roadtripping through Acadiana--exploring Louisiana's Cajun heartland, where French-Acadian roots, gumbo and bayou rhythms simmer together into one of America's most distinctive cultures.  And as we learn today, Po'boys aren't just lunch. They're like love letters to Louisiana itself. At the Olde Tyme Grocery in Lafayette --where we enjoyed the hands-down very best oyster po'boy I've ever had...

Annie Johnson stays busy--nurse, realtor, traveler, foodie, former NFL cheerleader. She shares how here grandfather sparked her love of hunting and how the outdoors continues to shape her life and identity.   Visit the Legendary Brands That Make MOJO's Duck Season Somewhere Podcast Possible: MOJO Outdoors   Alberta Professional Outfitters Society Benelli Shotguns Bow and Arrow Outdoors Ducks Unlim...

We're roadtripping through Acadiana--exploring Louisiana's Cajun heartland, where French-Acadian roots, gumbo and bayou rhythms simmer together into one of America's most distinctive cultures. Today, historian William Thibodeaux meets Dale Bordelon and me at the City of Rayne Cultural Center to talk about Louisiana's origins, Rayne's claim as Frog Capital of the World, market hunter Pie Champagne,...

Ecologist Jason Hoesksema of Delta Wind Birds offers a fresh, think-outside-the-box perspective on waterfowl habitat management in agricultural settings, connecting shorebirds to better duck hunting--why early "pop-up" flooding on harvested fields pulls birds fast, reduces runoff, helps farmers, and sets the table for wintering waterfowl. Real-world habitat tells: timing, field types, and small la...