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The Ultimate Duck Boat: What the Pros Prefer

December 22, 2022   |  The Duck Blog

Duck boats vary almost as much as duck hunting situations, ranging from light shallow-draft rigs that can jump a beaver dam to hulking vessels that appear ready to cruise through icebergs at sea. Obviously, one style or type of boat does not fit every situation. But if you’ve spent enough...

3-Year Story Ends with Giant Buck During the First Sit of the Season

December 20, 2022   |  From Rack Reports

Michael Reed of Midwest Whitetail has been killing big, mature bucks for decades. In fact, he moved to Iowa to live and hunt in one of the top states in America to do just that. This season, he shot another one. The buck lived on a property Reed purchased in...

Season Splits: Do They Help Duck Hunters?

December 15, 2022   |  The Duck Blog

Starting a good argument among duck hunters doesn’t require much. Just mention a hot-button topic, stir the pot with a loaded comment, and then enjoy the show. And if you really want to see fireworks, spark a debate about duck season splits. Using splits — that is, separating duck season...

Monster Mass on 235-Inch Kansas Non-Typical

December 13, 2022   |  From Rack Reports

Following the 2021 Kansas deer season, farmer and hunter Darin Williams learned about a world-class buck in the neighborhood through an outfitter friend. The outfitter’s client had gotten so rattled by an encounter with the buck that he shot underneath it at 20 yards. “I farm most of the ground...

How to Hunt Giant Canecutter Rabbits

December 8, 2022   |  From Articles

"Hunting swamp rabbits is the most challenging small-game hunting there is. Hunting cottontails is kid stuff compared to this.” My longtime hunting companion, Jim Spencer, of Calico Rock, Arkansas, uttered those words during a hunt in the eastern Arkansas river bottoms. We had just seen one of the big swamp...

Mud, MAX-7, and Louisiana Mayhem

December 8, 2022   |  The Duck Blog

I’d been warned about the mud. Still, as I hopped on the back of a four-wheeler, felt those big tires churn into the greasy road, and watched my soil-splattered rental car disappear into the night, I thought I might have underestimated the situation. But with duck camp ahead, I figured...

The Mid-Gun-Season Blues: When Times Get Tough

December 7, 2022   |  Brow Tines and Backstrap

After the barrage of cannon fire you heard opening week, do any big bucks still roam the timber? You start to wonder. But remember, an old hip-swaying, big-racked whitetail is the ultimate survivor. Hunting one is never easy, especially during the middle of gun season. But hang in there, and...

10 Colossal Duck Hunting Screw-Ups

December 7, 2022   |  From Articles

An old saying holds that life is tough, but it’s tougher if you’re stupid. Duck hunters might interpret that to mean waterfowling is inherently difficult, but becomes much tougher if you make silly mistakes. Think about it. Waterfowlers already deal with multiple variables such as weather, other hunters, and the...

Reasons Why Late-Season Deer Hunting Sucks … and Why It’s Great, Too

December 6, 2022   |  From Articles

The big buck ambled through the snow-laden hayfield 180 degrees behind me. I was sitting on the ground overlooking a river bottom that wraps around the field edge with my muzzleloader on my lap when I craned left and saw tines. Unfortunately, several deer were between me and the bruiser...

Tricks for Finding Lost Hunting Arrows

December 2, 2022   |  Brow Tines and Backstrap

KKTV in Colorado reported that a bow hunter had to be airlifted out of the wilderness near Steamboat Springs after he was impaled by an arrow and broadhead apparently fired and lost by another hunter earlier this season. Routt County Search and Rescue said the hunter accidently walked into the...

Our 20 Best Tips for Hunting Diving Ducks

December 1, 2022   |  From Articles

Diving ducks have an allure for a unique cadre of waterfowlers. Just check out the number of big duck boats across the country and the crush of black-and-white decoys in catalogs. Although divers might not receive the respect given to mallards and pintails, they can be tough to hunt. Moreover,...

How to Find Ducks in Dry Fields

December 1, 2022   |  The Duck Blog

Most field hunting articles start with a brief thought about putting in windshield time to find ducks and then delve deeply into setup tactics, decoy placement, and concealment concerns. That’s almost comical, because sometimes the toughest element of a field hunt is locating birds and obtaining permission. Sure, driving along...

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