The Standard Sportsman

Ducks started and stayed concentrated up and down the Central and Mississippi Flyways this season. That led to mixed results for the masses with a significant dependency on whether you had early habitat or not. The hosts talk through some impacts with the rafts of ducks holding tight to the north, Arkansas's habitat shortfalls, hen harvest clarity, GPS transmitter mallard behaviors. Then a li...

Hunters across the country are scratching their heads on this duck season, and theories as to why it has struggled for so many abound. Cason and Brent sift through a handful of issues that came together before and during the season that are having a bonafide impact. They also wade into whether duck seasons should be managed for maximum opportunity or maximum population. The hosts tackle a touchy s...

Do you have your own water cooler and chat room theories about what is happening with mallards and why their behaviors and migration paths are changing? Dr. Doug Osborne of UA-Monticello and the graduate director at the Five Oaks Ag Research & Education Center joins the show with a very candid look at the waterfowl science community, sex and age ratios, game farm genetics, when duck season sho...

A winter storm barreled through Kansas and Missouri, leaving nearly a foot of snow and prolonged below-freezing temps in its wake...but will that be enough to push ducks to Arkansas for the final few weeks of the season? Cason and Brent sift through some variables locally and in the flyway that could be a factor on just how many push south. The guys also get into some culture/community adjustments...

Happy New Year to all the listeners of The Standard Sportsman podcast. With jam packed schedules around the holidays, we’ve pulled portions of two highly entertaining conversations out of past episodes with John Stephens of RNT Calls and J Stephens Custom Calls and Bill Cooksey of the Tennessee Wildlife Federation.  Thanks for taking time to listen to the show during this time with family and frie...

Happy holidays to all the listeners of The Standard Sportsman podcast. For this week’s episode, we’ve pulled two conversations out of past episodes with David Snowden and Perrin Partee. David explains the rationale behind reducing the mallard hen limit to one while Perrin discusses habitat and the bounceback of the mallard population from Canada to Louisiana.  Thanks for taking time to listen to t...

With the holiday season fast approaching, the guys have a little fun with a mostly light-hearted duck season wish list. Some wishes benefit the ducks, some gear they’d like to see, and some to elevate what’s left of the season in the southern part of the flyway.  The Standard Sportsman Podcast would like to wish all our listeners happy holidays, and thanks for listening! Thank you to our sponsors:...

This week on The Standard Sportsman, the guys recap the first split of the Arkansas duck season and the outlook heading into the second season. With a significant and lengthy run of cold weather up north, ducks are on the move, but have they made it to the deep south yet? Instances of a potential Avian Flu outbreak appear to be occurring with young snow geese. Cason and Brent also get into opportu...

Retired Louisiana and Minnesota waterfowl biologist Dave Rave follows up his uber-popular “Where are the Ducks?” episode from last season with a fresh take on mallard populations, sex ratios, season frameworks, and limits. Rave details how the early start to the season in the north may be just as damaging to populations as the late January hunting in the south, SWDs, and numerous other management...

Ducks Unlimited's National Director of Event Fundraising David Schuessler shares some of the amazing items up for auction during DU's Into the Vault online auction. This is an insightful episode for collectors of DU guns, art, and other gear. David also shares how DU gets its hands on these collectibles, many of which are one of a kind. We even talk a little duck season after Schuessler&...

The 2024-2025 Arkansas duck season is upon us, with high anticipation for what the season will hold. The guys sift through feedback from their network across Canada, Kansas, and Missouri, as well as conditions and populations within the state. They also break down the midpoint theory, Halloween mallards, and a few duck-hunting culture items. A must listen to start or for early duck season regardle...

Located in Batesville, Arkansas, Rob Roberts Custom Gun Works is one of, if not the leader in performance shotguns and rifles. Rob joins the show with an entertaining take on improving your success pulling the trigger, and clears up some misconceptions and myths about shotguns. He covers chokes, forcing cones, shot strings, and shell selection and even provides commentary on Saskatchewan and high-...

Grant Sinclair (@grant__sinclair) grew up duck hunting the famed Reelfoot Lake in West Tennessee and now travels throughout the continent chasing ducks and geese. On top of being a skilled waterfowler, Grant is remarkably talented when it comes to capturing waterfowl on camera. His videos have built a huge following on social media, and the channel also serves as a platform for him to call out som...

Tom Decker is a certified Wildlife Biologist in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program. He leads the Partner with a Payer initiative and is a vital part of the communications team at USFWS. Headquartered in Vermont, Decker joins the show to talk about the ins and outs of how conservation is funded on the federal and state level, how the Pittman Robertson t...

Kolby Keith ( @livingskiestaxidermy ) hails from waterfowl-rich Kansas but spends the fall north of the border guiding for Prairie’s Edge Outfitters ( @prairies_edge_outfitters ) in Saskatchewan. Keith provides a “boots on the ground” assessment of this year’s fall flight, habitat conditions in Prairie Canada, and the “Americanization” of waterfowling north of the border. He shares insights into a...

There’s a movement afoot giving more attention to the degradation of duck-friendly habitat in Prairie Canada. As the dry conditions persist and modern-day agriculture advances, ducks are the ones paying the price. Tune in to learn more about the long-running decline and which province is attempting to turn the corner. The guys also talk a little preseason specklebelly as the early season fast appr...

Phil Thorpe has nearly 30 years of experience flying breeding population (BPOP) and May Ponds surveys for the USFWS. He provides insight into how the survey process works from a counting perspective and what he saw from the air this past spring and summer. Thorpe cuts through the data and number crunching to provide human observations about duck numbers and habitat. Send us Fan Mail All Rights Res...

The research-based Five Stages of the Hunter accurately defines a hunter’s attitudes afield and towards the resource. Brent and Cason share their journey through the stages and tell some entertaining stories from different parts of their career. They also dive into the need for companies to progress past the “Limiting Out” stage in their online branding and social media, serving as a mentor to you...

With the season fast approaching, Cason and Brent touch on a few trending topics with hurricanes and duck food. Fresh out of a kickoff meeting, they discuss year two of the AGFC Director’s Advisory Council. Then the guys wrap the show clarifying a few things regarding their personal stances on the state of waterfowling. Thanks to our sponsors: Sitka Gear, Purina Pro Plan, Lile Real Estate, Ducks U...

Willms is the Assoc. Vice President for Public Lands for NWF, an attorney and goose hunter based in Wyoming. He joins to show to discuss the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the Chevron Doctrine. Willms details what the Chevron Doctrine is, why it’s important to waterfowl and conservation and what happens next with federal agencies management of wildlife and related conservation progra...

Cheever Farley calls Texas home and focuses on resource-first management of duck properties in northwest Texas and southwest Oklahoma. He shares management strategies for this part of the world and expounds on the rapid escalation in pressure in what used to be a lightly hunted area. Farley weighs in on possible solutions to ease pressure through outfitter reform to ensure ducks and geese are arou...

Brent and Cason peel back some layers on the May Ponds, Breeding Population (BPOP), and Harvest Data reports, pulling out some intriguing details worthy of discussion. The guys share fresh insights from concerned waterfowl biologists plus breakdown key metrics that caught their attention beyond the high-level charts seen on social media. If you like to nerd out on duck stats and/or want to better...

Corporal Troy Faughn has over 13 years of experience in wildlife enforcement and specializes in waterfowl. He shares some violation stories with various rules and regs, as well as clarifications every hunter needs to know. Faughn hits on baiting, ratoon crops, party hunting, boating issues, and more. Plus, he shares some thoughts on SWDs in the public woods again and shell limits.  Thanks to our s...

Scott Stephens, Ph. D. serves as the Sr. Director of Prairie and Boreal Forest Conservation Strategy for DU. This episode was recorded one day prior to the USFWS releasing BPOP and May Pond Counts but he shares his pre-release thoughts for this year’s counts, harvest impact, speck and pintail populations, PPR conditions, Boreal Forest productivity, and more. Stephens connects a lot of dots for duc...

Representing a firm started by his father in 1993, Gardner along with a top-tier team of land specialists represent some of the finest waterfowling properties in Arkansas. We talk about current trends in the industry, what defines a true legacy property, performing due diligence on a prospective property and more. Thanks to our sponsors: Sitka Gear, Tom Beckbe, Ducks Unlimited, Purina Pro Plan and...