Duck Season Somewhere

Most pretty girls don't grow up drag racing. Taylor Bright did. We sat down at DUX to talk about growing up at the drag strip, her dad's influence and learning to drive, discovering waterfowl hunting, and the unlikely road eventually leading her into the outdoor industry with Migra Ammunitions. From fast cars and Scottish roadtrip hunts, to boat ramp tours and duck blinds, Taylor puts the pedal to the metal when she sets her mind to it!

What makes an old piece of wood worth $10,000--or way more? Antique duck-call collector and broker Ryan Graves and I explore the fascinating world of collectible calls--legendary makers, rarity, provenance, craftsmanship, and the stories that create investment-grade value. But beyond price tags, we get to the people and traditions these calls represent, and how some shaped duck hunting as know it today. Because the greatest old duck calls aren't valuable because they're old--the matter because of the stories they carry.

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Terry Denmon and I have shared duck blinds for 20 years, chasing birds from Louisiana to Argentina and beyond. Sitting down live at DUX, we revisited hunts that we'd relive tomorrow if time machines existed, unforgettable characters, close calls, traditions, shovelers, blue-winged, Mexican mallards and more. After a couple decades, number of ducks that hit the water. But memories  of people, places, jokes, and stories keep getting better with age.

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You've seen the iconic black-and-white photos—more mallards than you knew could possibly exist in one place. And you've heard the legendary name: Claypool's Reservoir. Now hear the true story behind it. Historian Dr. Wayne Capooth takes us back to Wallace Claypool's Wild Acres—the vision, investment and monumental effort behind an astonishing, never-before-or-since concentration of wintering mallards ever documented. Hear how those famous photographs were made, and how, in December 1956 the spectacle of hundreds of thousands of mallards taking flight was broadcast live into American homes. Today's incredible episode is about the fascinating history of the land, the peopl...

Jeff Foiles has walked through nearly every chapter the waterfowl world offers--from growing up hunting the Mississippi River back in the good ol' days and building one of the most recognized brand names in waterfowl calls, to a federal wildlife case that cost him his freedom and forever changed his life. We talk about the rise of Foiles Migrators, the decline of waterfowl in his neck of the woods, hard lessons learned along the way, what it means to move forward and what that daily walk really looks like. Recently inducted into the Legends of the Outdoors Hall of...

Forty years of guiding Kansas mallard hunts taught Roy Carter that shotguns don't kill ducks--diesel does. The Carter's Big Island outfitter talks location, habitat, flooded timber, moist-soil management, sanctuary and hunting pressure with his familiar, both-barrel blunt and politically incorrect candor. But the conversation turns deeply personal as Roy reflects on life beyond ducks. And no--we didn't delete any of it. Not a single word. You've been warned.

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Six duck hunting podcast hosts---Joel Brice The Voice of The Duck Hunter, Billy Campbell Dr. Duck, Jeff Stanfield the Big Honker, Joey Vasallo Midwest Flyways, Jon Sandbeck The Filthy Spoon and myself--sit down together at Delta Waterfowl Expo to talk public-land pressure, hunting behavior, and getting along. We may not solve the bigger problems facing duck hunting today, but one question matters most before opening day: How are we going to treat each other this season?

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Marty Sands has spent decades studying the massive guns that helped shape our waterfowling history. From 4-, 6-, and 8-bores to punt guns, fine English doubles and black powder, he explains why these guns were built, how they were used--some pretty amazing shooting feats even by modern-day standards--what they taught us about ballistics, how the "gauge" metric was originally determined, and how yesteryear fowling firearms shaped today's duck hunting. In hearing some of these stories, was reminded why we may oftentimes feels sentimental towards some of those killing sticks in our closets whether they're "collectible" or not.  Boom!

Finding our ways through the hills and hollows west of St. Louis, we pulled into Josh Ditch's Fowl Focus Avian Taxidermy studio to pick up a couple spell-binding dead mounts for upcoming expos, we walk past a small waterfowl aviary with "beer drinking bench," and into a surgically clean, well-organized shop. Sharing his then-and-now journey into waterfowl taxidermy and local duck hunting, he imparts need-to-know tips for turning treasured memories into memorable mounts--selecting prime specimens, caring for them afield, storing them at home, shipping them to.a taxidermist, choosing the right pose and much more. 

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Everybody sees the face paint. Few understand the job. Professional rodeo bull fighter Noah Krepps steps inside the arena where split-second decisions stand between fallen cowboys and two thousand pounds of pissed-off bull. He shares behind-the-scenes preparation, life-shaping mentors, close calls, unforgettable wrecks, life on the road and times spent in an Arkansas duck blind. 

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It's not every day that we can be heroes, but here's your chance! Cape not needed, just 3 minutes of your time!! North America's duck factory is under imminent threat. A little-know federal rule now under review could determine whether millions of acres of Prairie pothole wetlands--the breeding grounds that produce about 1/3rd of the continent's ducks and were purchased with generations of duck stamp dollars--will remain intact. DU's Scott Stephens and Dr. Mike Brasher explain in less than 20 minutes what's at stake, why you should care, and what you can do before the August 7 public comment deadline. ACT NOW...

It was as simple as sticking his boat in the mud while joy riding with his wife. And sharing it. The Wetland Gypsy built one of the most recognizable names in waterfowl hunting boats--but discovered there might be more to life than followers and fame. Former US Marine Spencer Lewis talks public-land ducks, social media, how fatherhood affected it all, and finding solid footing when the roar of the motor fades. 

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Think about it--most duck and goose calls look pretty much alike, don't they? Gilbert Randolph's don't. I mean, who ever heard of a cedar-and-slate "goose box"?! The maker behind Art Ducko Calls talks about various outdoor pursuits that lead to waterfowl hunting, call making inspirations and mishaps, goose boxes, no-two-alike creativity, hunting identity, and why duck hunting maybe needs more originality and less conformity.

Hunting's future won't be decided by seasoned veterans alone--it depends on who come next, how and what they'll learn. Bringing her legendary humor and candid insights to bear, Carli Bodiford discusses breaking into hunting without family roots, building credibility in the social media age, firearms safety, and why mentorship matters. Beyond the likes and followers, we explore what it really takes to influence the next generation of responsible hunters.

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After 4 years absence, finally returned to the remote Argentina wetland called Rio Salado. In tow were some hunters that had always wanted to return along with some others that'd always wanted to go. It was wet. Real wet. Getting there--and as we learned later, getting back out--were huge adventures. Why bother? What compels some people to go so far off the beaten path, what's it like hunting on the bare fringes of the grid, how'd it compare to times past, and will we ever again return?

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For generations, American duck hunters have traveled north to hunt Canada's prairies. Freelancing opportunities, especially, seemed endless. But times are changing. Saskatchewan recently imposed number-of-day restrictions non-resident hunters, Manitoba instituted a draw system for non-resident freelance hunters, and Alberta has tightened the number of hunting days for non-residents.  Rob Olson explains what's driving these changes, growing pressures, land access, resident opportunity, illegal outfitting and what it all means for North America's greatest waterfowl destination. Whether you hunt Canada every fall or hope to some day, this conversation offers important perspectives on where prairie waterfowling--and beyond--may be heading.

Fresh off the annual hosted couples trip in La Paz, Argentina--where hunters bring along their non-hunting spouses--Ramsey huddles up over coffee with the husbands and wives to talk about ducks, doves, pigeons, surprises, laughs, long dinners, big shoots, city tours, new friendships and things learned when birds-of-a-feather folks that didn't know each other beforehand gather for a week-of-a-lifetime trip. Whether interested in a fun family adventure yourself or just wondering why it's such a popular annual event, you'll enjoy this conversation.

More Info: GetDucks La Paz Argentina Combo https://www.getducks.com/hunts/argentina-duck-hunt-la-paz/

Mark your calendars! There's absolutely nowhere else you'd rather be--or wish you'd been--than Ducks Unlimited Expo in Memphis, July 31-August 2!!!  DUX brings the entire duck hunting world under one roof. Logan Nevins joins me to talk about the Ducks Unlimited Expo--gear, events, retrievers, calling, conservation, family and friends. More than another outdoor show, DUX is where duck hunters meet the brands, biologists, dogs, callers and conservation work shaping the future of ducks and duck hunting. You can't get it scrolling online!  Stop by and say hello to me and Char Dawg, there's nowhere else we'd rather be and look fo...

Talk about a fresh perspective! Doug Osborne (Osborne Lab, Snowden Waterfowl Center of Excellence, University Arkansas Monticello) and I spent a week together not only hunting ducks but, importantly, laying groundwork for first-ever duck banding and GPS studies in Argentina. Why's it needed there, what's really known about Argentina ducks, their movements and behaviors? How's the habitat compare to North America--and what might be learned of benefit to us? What are the challenges and cultural barriers, and how's the North American Model look from south of the equator? Plenty interesting stuff to think about. 

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Mark your calendar--Delta Waterfowl's Duck Hunter Expo will be in Des Moines, Iowa, July 24-26. Chris Williams and Eric Lindstrom join Ramsey to preview the calls, dogs, gear, banquets, conservation work, partnerships and duck hunting culture that'll all be packed into one amazing weekend y'all don't want to miss! Come by and say hello to me and Char Dawg, we look forward to seeing y'all there.

DETAILS: Delta Waterfowl's Duck Hunter Expo, Des Moines, Iowa, July 24-26 https://deltawaterfowl.org/delta-waterfowl-expo/

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Nothing at all to do with duck hunting. Everything to do with discovery. Catching up with one of my oldest buddies, Kurt Munding, we recall memories from way, way back when. It was Summer 1990.  Times were different. We were as young, as strong, as polar opposite, and as free as we'd ever be. Together, we discovered coast-to-coast America--and ourselves--at about 50 miles per day.  On bicycles.

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Mark your calendars--Dallas Safari Club's Summer Expo and Foundation Gala lands July 23-26 at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Texas, bringing outfitters, gear, hunting stories, conservation, auctions, family events and the broader hunting community under one roof! Dallas Safari Club's Brian Fienhold, tells us all about it, describing event happenings, explaining the bigger conversation behind such events and why hunters from all walks of life will have a great time!  RECEIVE 25% DISCOUNT ON DAY PASSES USING PROMO CODE "DUCKS25" https://www.biggame.org/summer-expo-information/

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Melissa Ridgeway didn't set out to become one of the South's best-known antique decoy dealers. What began as collecting a few decoys for her husband became a 40-plus-year journey through antique decoys, sporting art and hunting collectibles. And the stories she can tell! We discuss Mason decoys, collector favorites, what makes old decoys valuable, what buyers should look for and avoid, and why these working-class artifacts still speak to both hunters--and non-hunters--of all ages.

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Corey Lucas doesn't just create decoys--he creates stories. We talk about the pink-eared travel decoy project, its conservation impact in Australia, the inspiration behind Cedar Run's new Storyteller package and Mason line, and why craftsmanship still matters in today's mass-production world. It's a conversation about hunting, friendship, faith, community, purpose--and leaving something meaningful behind.

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Madison Grimm was the youngest artist to win the National Duck Stamp Contest at age 6--and went on to win it 3 times. Her father, Adam, is a 3-time Federal Duck Stamp winner, too, but this father-daughter conversation goes beyond wildlife art. Encouraged by neighboring farmers, Madison founded Second Chance Flight to rescue duck eggs and ducklings during spring operations, later releasing them back into the wild. What began as a simple concern for prairie ducks became a hands-on education in community, permits, politics, patience, and real-world, every-duck-matters conservation. It's  a story about what happens when someone decides that doing so...

Wild pig hunting may be great sport, but the grim reality is that feral swine are one of the most destructive biological forces in the American South--and Jody Acosta and team are deep in the frontline trenches fighting them. Constantly. As Delta Wildlife's Nuisance and Invasive Species Program Manager, Acosta is helping landowners combat millions of dollars in agricultural losses. From Delta culture to the hard realities of modern conservation, Acosta shares stories from the field, lessons learned the hard way, why this ongoing fight matters more than most people realize, winning strategies, biggest surprises, how--and why--rules of engagement...

Most hunters complain when something doesn't work. Instead, Drew McIntosh started loading shotshells in his garage. And somewhere between garage experiments, ideas around a mysterious-something called "jungle load," trail and error, cocktail napkin sketches, and a stubborn refusal to settle? Migra Ammunition was born. But this episode ain't about ammo. It's about obsession, risk, belief, faith, and building something real from the ground up.  

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Delta native, lifelong duck hunter and longtime engineer Bill Sheppard discuses what "restored hydrology" really means in modern times. From original floodplain landscapes to early Wetland Reserve Program projects, we discuss wetland designs over time, how water moves, functions and changes across a heavily altered landscape, engineered wetlands versus ephemeral rain-driven water, challenges of long-term management, and the factors theater continuing to change water at the landscape level. It's practical, experience-driven conversation about restored wetlands--because waterfowl habitat means water--and why we should probably be thankful for decades of restoration work.

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Purple Heart recipient, world turkey slam hunter, waterfowl 41 completer, hunting guide, father coach, and founder of Ultimate Veteran Adventures--Joe Wesner has already packed a lot into a single lifetime. But somewhere between overseas deployments and chasing ducks across the US, his mission changed. Joe talks about service, hunting, recovery, family, and why helping veterans reconnect outdoors matters more than tags, trophies and record books. 

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Most of us duck hunters look at water on today's landscape and think we're looking at duck habitat. But Dr. Kurt Getsinger knows better. Shooting ringnecks defined his boyhood--and lead him to a lifetime studying what's happening beneath the water's surface. Remembering Mississippi Delta hunters, water, and especially the mallards before large-scale reforestation changed the landscape, Getsinger discusses submerged aquatic vegetation, emergent marsh, and why some of the most important duck groceries are oftentimes the ones we never see. We discuss how hardwood conversions altered waterfowl use, waterfowl habitat complexes, why emergent marsh is America's most imperiled wetland habitat...

Scott Gilliland has spent his lifetime studying common eiders, visiting some of the harshest and most remote environments on earth, but this conversation goes way, way beyond this beautiful sea duck species. From Arctic field camps and sea ice to Inuit communities that have coexisted with eiders for generations, Gilliland shares stories of adventure, isolation, survival, and a remote northern world that most of us can only imagine. This episode explores people, places, and cultures surrounding sea ducks as much as the birds themselves--and what the Arctic taught him about it all.  

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Every duck hunter in the Deep South is asking the same question: where are the mallards--heck, where are the ducks? Mississippi State waterfowl researcher James Calicut joins me for a grounded, honest conversation about what seems to be happening across the Lower Mississippi Valley. We discuss weather, habitat change, agriculture, hunting pressure, habitat loss and what hunters are seeing from the blinds these days. Importantly, he shares a few preliminary insights from a growing number GPS-marked mallards, pintails and gadwalls he's tracking to determine whether these species are gone or simply redistributed.  

Pursuant to crop retirement programs, over a million acres marginal, flood-prone sites have been restored to mostly even-aged hardwood plantation the Arkansas-Louisiana-Mississippi delta, but what are the benefits and near-term tradeoffs? Dr. Brian Davis discusses new graduate research examining Wetland Reserve Easements and what they're doing well--improving water quality, supporting biodiversity, restoring broken landscapes. But today's conversation also provides thoughtful insight into what could be one of the most pressing habitat questions facing Deep South duck hunters and waterfowl conservationists today. At least for the time being.   

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Donald Jackson has spent a lifetime in wild places--as a hunter, outdoorsman, US-Marine-turned-Peace-Corps volunteer, fisheries biologist, conservationist, writer. But this conversation cuts way-to-the-bone-deeper than biography. It's about memory, meaning, loss, conservation, faith, and the meaningful things the outdoors teaches us over a lifetime--if we're paying attention. Listening. An amazing storyteller, Jackson describes the people and experiences that shaped him, what science can and can't explain about the natural world, why certain moments outdoors never leave us, what remains after decades spent chasing wild things across changing landscapes--and maybe why any of it even matters in the first place.

Black-bellied whistling ducks are expanding fast--and they're not acting like traditional ducks. Anything but. Waterfowl scientist Kevin Ringleman explains why these adaptable birds thrive in modern, man-altered landscapes while other species struggle. From agriculture and habitat shifts to behavior, movement, and nesting ecology, this conversation explores what black-bellieds may reveal about the future of waterfowl in the world we've created.

Teddy "Double Wide" McRainey makes his living seasonally slinging crawfish and boiled peanuts in Mississippi--to include a couple top-selling flavors a life-long Mississippi boiled peanut fan like myself had never imagined. Having eaten more crawfish in an 8-minute contest down in New Orleans than most people could--or would--consume in a weekend, he's also training for Guiness Book of World Records. But that's all now. Back then he was slinging something else and shares his story today so that others might learn from his mistake.

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Located on the town square in small-town Raymond, Mississippi, you'd think you'd stumbled into a meticulous museum when walking into Raggio Custom Calls shop. Except that call maker Josh Raggio is wearing a sawdust-powdered work apron, bent over a sizable, project-covered work bench, carefully considering an especially sentimental undertaking.  A sign over his lathe reads, "Remember Why You Started." And that's exactly where we start in our long past-due visit.

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Most people know DJ Horton is a Senior Pastor near Spartanburg, South Carolina, and hosts  From the Pulpit to the Pickup podcast. And he hunts--deer, ducks, squirrels, rabbits and especially turkeys. We talk first hunts, early mornings, and the kinds of lessons learned only while patiently sitting still long enough. Somewhere along the way, the conversation turns to the gap between what a man says he believes and how he actually lives his life---whether in a duck blind or real life. No sermon. Just a real-world, grownup conversation that might stick with you longer than the fading memories of y...

Fresh back from an epic Gould's turkey hunt with oldest son, Forrest--and no idea where he got the turkey hunting fever, not from his Dad, that's for sure--and we recount our time together high in the Sierra Madres, one of the most beautiful parts of Mexico encountered. We talk about the people, food, environment,  those huge Gould's turkeys, of course, and Forrest teaches ol' Dad a couple things about a proper turkey hunting mindset. Am still not a turkey hunter--ain't teaching this old duck dog new tricks anytime soon--but it was a heckuva father-son adventure regardless. (Note--we're not booking t...

Most hunters are building a brand...and don't realize it until it's too late. Names get taken. Products get copied. Partnerships fall apart. IP attorney and Oklahoma duck hunter Jansen Rigney, at Black Dog Law Intellectual Property, has seen it all. He shares real stories from the outdoor industry, mistakes that cost people everything--and what to do if you've got the next million dollar idea. 

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