Duck "Tenderloin Style" Sandwich

I made this yesterday for dinner with a few ducks from a hunt the day before and it was tremendous! Try this some time.  It's super easy and one medium to large duck will make 2 sandwiches.

1.  Take half a duck breast and butterfly cut it in half 
2.  Season with cracked pepper and sea salt
3.  Pound it out flat with a tenderizer mallet to about 1/4" thick
4.  Cover in breading ( I used Hamms Breading )
5.  Pre-heat a pan with about an 1/8" or more of oil
6.  Pan fry the duck about 2 min. a side until crispy
7.  Place on a paper towel to cool and soak up some grease.

While the duck is cooking prepare the rest of your sandwich.   I like to lightly toast my bread if I don't have any buns and top it with lettuce, sliced red onions, pickles, and mustard.   Slap this all together with some french fries, and I promise it will not disappoint.

Make your duck decoy spread STAND OUT

Every backwater and pothole along the Illinois and Mississippi rivers has the standard 24-48 mallard decoys huddled in a "J" hook with a spinning wing decoy in the hole.    This season take a step back, think outside the box to add something different to your spread that can make you stand out. The best thing you can do is to look at real ducks, watch how they loaf and feed in the situations you are hunting and try to mimic that setting with your decoys.   Watch ducks, listen to ducks, read ducks as they approach and land into other ducks.  This really is the best advice someone told me years ago when I was first starting out.

Rig'em Right Jerk Rig $29.99

Every situation is different but for smaller back waters I could take or leave a spinner decoy but I always have a Rig-Em-Right Jerk Rig   in my pack.    For me,  movement, realism and concealment is the most important things for a small water setting.  I like to mix some pintails in with my most realistic mallard decoys and will even bring some coots for confidence decoys placed near me on the edge.  

GHG Oversized Canvasbacks  $54.99 per 6 pack

On the river or bigger water I like to add GHG Oversized Canvasback Decoys on the tips of the decoy spread.  The white really adds to the visibility and pulling power from a great distance.  I also like to use a few spinning wing decoys in the landing hole.   I like to set the majority of my decoys behind me upwind (if possible)  and set my best decoys on the front line of the spread.

GHG Pro-Grade Full Body Snows $129.00 per 6 pack

For field hunting ducks I like to have as many full body duck decoys as possible right next to my blind.  That being said,  the most important decoy for a duck field hunt is a motion wing decoy.  I have had great success harvesting ducks in the field over only spinners and I say the more the merrier.   Usually when targeting ducks I will use snow goose decoys off to the side for better visibility.    This is not a numbers games on how many you you can put out like late season or spring snow goose season.  I like a few dozen high quality snow goose decoys like the GHG - Full Body Snow Goose.

Good luck this year and I hope next time you are setting decoys you can benefit from these tactics.  If anything watch the ducks, listen and learn.   

Pro Hunters Avoid These Whitetail Hunting Mistakes.

Advice on effective whitetail deer hunting by the pros at Knight & Hale Game Calls.

The white-tail deer rut is the single most talked about aspect of hunting, yet may also be the most commonly misunderstood. The rut can be broken down into three distinct phases: the pre-rut, peak of the rut and the post-rut.

Pre-Rut Phase

Prior to the increase of deer activity leading up to the pre-rut phase, bucks will spend the majority of their summer in all-male groups of three or more, commonly referred to as 'bachelor groups'. These bachelor groups will most often be seen late in summer evenings feeding together. As autumn nears and the velvet begins to peel from the bucks' antlers, hormone levels in each buck begin to spike, and the group's collective tolerance begins to wane. It as during this same time, when the antlers cease growing and begin to calcify, that the bucks begin sparring with each other to vie for hierarchy. As hormone levels continue to increase the bucks break out of their groups and spread out in search of their own turf.

Top Pre-Rut Mistakes

1. Leaving the rattle calls at home during the early season. "What most hunters don't realize is that rattling is very effective in the early season, because bucks are doing a lot of sparring at this time," said Chuck Tiranno, an Ultimate Hunting Team member of the Knight & Hale Game Calls pro staff. This is not the time to mimic a violent battle between two 140-class bucks, but instead lightly tickle the antlers to create an image of two bucks testing each other.

The breaking up of bachelor groups signals the approaching pre-rut. During the pre-rut, does are not ready to be bred, but bucks will keep tabs on them. Bucks go about their business of making scrapes, rubs, feeding and occasionally checking out the does.

When the bucks disperse from bachelor groups, each usually stakes out a territory to call home. Each buck will create a series of rubs, or a rubline, on trees surrounding the perimeter of its home turf.

2. Hunting a perimeter rubline for more than a day or two. "If you find a fresh rub, look around to see if you see more through the woods," Tiranno said. "If you see more and they appear to be in a line, often this is the buck's perimeter and not his bedroom. A cluster of rubs, and not a line, is indicative of the center of a buck's home turf."

Likewise, there will often be a series of scrapes along this perimeter rubline. "The scrapes - called secondary scrapes - will be fairly small and don't feature a licking branch. Primary scrapes most often will also have a licking branch, an overhanging limb that the bucks rub their heads on, and primary scrapes are where you want to be."

3. Not hunting a primary scrape. Primary scrapes are visited by bucks of all ages. Look for a larger-than-average scrape that features a licking branch. If it appears fresh, with few leaves over the soil and a pungent musky odor, it's a hot spot. "When hunting a primary scrape, freshen the scrape with some buck or doe urine, and be sure to bring a deer call. Primary scrapes are like a website's message board. All kinds of deer troll by and check to see whose been by, and leave a message or two of their own." As the pre-rut continues, bucks will pay more and more attention to the does and will begin the chasing stage. The does still are not ready to be bred, but the bucks will begin trailing them sometimes to the point of chasing.

Peak-Rut Phase

Key to this buck activity is another key whitetail hunter word, "estrous." "The word 'estrous' means that an animal will stand for mating and not run away," Tiranno said. "So the peak of the rut is when most of the does are standing where you hunt." As the peak of the rut nears, bucks will spend their time near does, keeping constant tabs on their receptivity. At the peak, a buck and a doe will travel and bed together for a day or so, then the buck will move on to find another receptive doe.

Top Peak-Rut Mistakes

1. Hunting a buck's home range during the peak of the rut. "Hunting a buck's bedroom during the peak of the rut a hit or miss situation," said Tiranno. "A buck may not return to his home range for several days. It's old advice but it rings true: hunt the does during the peak of the rut to find the bucks."

Hunting big bucks during the peak of the rut features an air of unpredictability. When a doe is receptive to a buck, the two will remain together for eight to 24 hours, then the buck is off to find another doe. This makes funnels and "shortcuts" important hunting location. Shortcuts are void areas such as an open pasture between two patches of doe-rich woods or cover. Old country cemeteries are classic shortcuts. Whereas a buck normally would use a drainage or thin line of timber to travel from one patch of cover to another, at the peak of the rut that same buck may cut straight through the short cut.

2. Not utilizing calls, scents and decoys during the peak of the rut. The time just prior to, during and just after the does are standing for bucks in your area - a span of about 10 days to two weeks - is when hunters should use all of the tools the hunting industry has provided to draw in mature bucks. These tools can work anytime during the season, but mature bucks may be more receptive during the peak of the rut. Here are a couple of considerations concerning using these tools.

"Anytime you use a deer call, you're positioning the deer downwind of you, so you'd better be as scent-free as possible. And, if you're not using scent in combination with calling, you're going to cut your chances of getting that buck," Tiranno said. Tiranno is a pro staffer for Code Blue Deer Scents, and swears by Code Blue's one-deer-to-one-bottle guarantee. "Nearly every other scent company's urine is a blend of urines from many different deer. Code Blue's urines are from a single animal.

"When you call, the buck usually heads downwind to scent check. If you don't have some buck urine or Tarsal Gland out, your calling won't be as effective."

Post-Rut Phase

Peak breeding activity often dies out just as quickly as it starts, which is literally overnight. Cruising, trailing, chasing all abruptly and suddenly come to an end. Big bucks that were extremely visible during the previous two weeks have now disappeared. Heck, you're not even finding any fresh rubs or scrapes - or any other fresh sign that could indicate where the bucks might have gone. Now what do you do? Hang it up for the season?

Top Post-Rut Mistakes

1. Putting away the deer hunting gear after the peak of the rut. Bucks return to their home territories and recuperate after the physically demanding peak of the rut. Feeding is important during the post-rut, as is resting in a secluded area unaffected by hunting pressure. A mature buck may move its home range if hunting pressure during the peak of the rut has burned out its original home, which happens often on public land or other areas with heavy hunting pressure. However, studies have shown that bucks often don't move to the next county, but will stay in smaller secluded spots near where they were lived before the craziness of the rut.

2. Not using peak-of-the-rut techniques during the second estrous cycle. Most does were bred during the peak of the rut, but the bucks still maintain some contact. About a month after the peak of the rut, does that weren't bred come back into estrous, causing a smaller, less activity charged rut peak. Use the same tools and tactics used during the peak of the rut to take a mature buck during late post-rut.


3. Watching football during extreme cold. While the suggestion of shunning the race or the National Championship seems absurd to many, horrible weather during the late season may be the very best time to score a monster whitetail. Chris Parrish, better known as the guy whose won two Grand National and two World Championship turkey-calling contests, lives for single-digit-temperature deer hunts. "You don't have to be out there before dawn, freezing your tail off," Parrish said. "Deer will feed every four hours or so during super-frigid temperatures, and that means that sometime during the day they will have to feed. Wait until 11 a.m. or so and hunt a secluded food source for several hours during midday." He's not suggesting heading out in a snowstorm, but just after the precipitation ends, mature bucks will head to the food.

Archery Deer Hunting Starts Fast

Through Sunday, October 5, 2014, Illinois archery deer hunters harvested a preliminary total of 4,915 deer, compared to 2,611 for the same period in 2013.  Rains during the first 3 days got the season off to a slow start, but hunters did well on the weekend in spite of somewhat windy conditions.

Harvest consisted of 70 percent does and 30 percent males (3,439;1,476). 

Top five counties were Pike (175), Fulton (171), Jefferson (148), Adams (106), and JoDaviess (98). 


Click Here for table of county results.

Mojo Floater

The MOJO Floater has been one of the most popular decoys MOJO has offered; however, the original model was not as realistic looking or as stable as it could have been. MOJO has completely redesigned the floater from end to end to be realistic looking and practically unsinkable, based on a specially designed decoy body in the correct stretching position and utilizing a "snap on" durable float that makes it highly stable and practically unsinkable. Complete with rechargeable battery charger and is remote capable. Available in Mallard Drake Floater (HW7101).

2014 Top Selling Broadheads

Which broadhead to use?  Expandable, fix blade, 2 blade, 3 blade, carbon, stainless.... so many options.   This years best sellers are made up of household names like Muzzy, NAP, G5, Swhacker and Rage.  Well here is our list of what you guys and gals are actually shooting.

1.  NAP - Spitfire is a expandable 3 blade broadhead with a 1-1/2" cutting diameter 

2.  Rage -Hypodermic is a 2 blade rear deploying broadhead with a 2"+ cutting diameter 

3.  Swhacker -  is a 2 blade expandable broadhead with a 2"+ cutting diameter  

4.  G5 - T3   is a expandable 3 blade broadhead, 100% Stainless with a 1-1/2" cutting diameter 

5.  Muzzy - MX is a fixed 3 blade with a 1-3/16" cutting diameter 

2014 Duck Blind Drawing Dates Set

    June 16, 2014 

SPRINGFIELD, IL – Waterfowl hunters are encouraged to mark their calendars for upcoming waterfowl hunting blind site random drawings to be held at several public hunting areas in Illinois this summer.

Duck and goose hunters must register in person for waterfowl blind site drawings and must be present at the drawing – held at each location designated below immediately after the registration period – to claim their blind sites.  Mail-in registrations are not accepted.  Blind allocations for these sites are good for one year. To participate in a drawing, applicants must present a 2013 or 2014 Illinois hunting or sportsman combination license and a 2013 or 2014 Illinois Migratory Waterfowl Stamp at the time they register, unless exempted by law.  Applicants must be at least 16 years old by the date of the drawing.

Applicants needing to purchase new licenses and stamps should do so prior to the drawing.  Most blind drawing locations will not have license sales available.  Licenses and stamps are available at any DNR Direct license and permit vendor, through the IDNR website at www.dnr.illinois.gov, or by calling 1-888-6-PERMIT (1-888-673-7648).

Registrants are no longer required to possess a valid Illinois Firearm Owner’s Identification (FOID) card from the Illinois State Police to participate in blind drawings.

Also, in order to be an eligible applicant for the drawing, the participant must not have his or her hunting privileges suspended or revoked by the IDNR or any other jurisdiction at the time of the drawing.  Out-of-state residents must have a 2013 or 2014 non-resident hunting license for Illinois and a 2013 or 2014 Illinois Migratory Waterfowl Stamp.

The schedule for 2014 blind drawings is listed below:

SATURDAY, JULY 26, 2014 (Blinds allocated for one year)

• Chain O' Lakes State Park and Redwing Slough/Deer Lake State Natural Area, Lake County: registration for both sites 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at Oak Point day use area, 1/5 mile east of the Fox River on the south side of Illinois Route 173. Hunters will be allowed to register for only one of the two sites.

• Des Plaines State Fish and Wildlife Area, Will County:  registration 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the site office, two miles northwest of Wilmington off exit 241 on Interstate 55.

• Kankakee River State Park and Momence Wetlands, Kankakee and Will Counties: registration 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. for both sites at the Kankakee River State Park office, five miles northwest of Bourbonnais on Illinois Route 102.  Hunters will be allowed to register for only one of the two sites.

• Mazonia State Fish and Wildlife Area, Grundy County:  registration 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the site office just off Illinois Route 53, two miles southeast of Braceville.

• Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area, DeKalb County:  registration 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the park office.  Directions - go 2½  miles south of Shabbona on Shabbona Road, turn east on Shabbona Grove Road and go ½ mile (office is on left side of the road).

• Sinnissippi Lake, Whiteside County: registration 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at Harry Oppold Marina, on Stouffer Road on the east edge of Sterling.

• William Powers State Recreation Area, Cook County: registration 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the boat launch, 126th St. and Ave. 0, Chicago.


SUNDAY, JULY 27, 2014 (Blinds allocated for one year)

• Anderson Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area, Fulton County: registration 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the area check station, 13½ miles southwest of Havana on Illinois Route 100.

• Clear Lake, Mason County:  registration 10a.m. - 2 p.m. at Sand Ridge State Forest Headquarters, 25799E CTY RD. 2300N, Forest City.  Phone 309-597-2212.  Follow the signs from Manito or Forest City.

• Lake DePue State Fish and Wildlife Area, Bureau County: registration 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at Oak Grove Park, ¾ miles west of DePue on Illinois Route 29.

• Marshall State Fish and Wildlife Area, including the Sparland Unit, Marshall County: registration 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the area check station, five miles south of Lacon on Illinois Route 26.

• Rice Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area, Fulton County:  registration 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the area check station, three miles south of Banner on Route 24.

• Sanganois State Fish and Wildlife Area, Cass and Mason Counties: registration 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. On the east side of the maintenance building, two miles north of Chandlerville on Illinois Route 78 (follow the signs to Sanganois).

• Spring Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area and Pekin Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area, Tazewell County: registration 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the south park office area, two miles north of Manito on County Rd. 16 (Manito Rd.) and eight miles west and south on Spring Lake Rd.

• Starved Rock State Park, LaSalle County: registration 10 a.m.- 2 p.m. at the Point Shelter day use area on Illinois Route 71, about four miles east of Illinois Route 178 or 5½  miles west of Illinois Route 23 in South Ottawa.

• Woodford State Fish and Wildlife Area, Woodford County: registration 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the area check station, 5½ miles north of Spring Bay on Illinois Route 26.


Mississippi River Unclaimed and Unregistered Blinds

Mississippi River Pools 16, 17, & 18 (second year of two-year allocation). Pool 16 - unregistered blinds and blinds not passing inspection may be claimed on a first-come, first-served basis by calling the district wildlife biologist between 8 a.m. and noon at 815-273-2733, two weeks before the opening day of duck season. Pool 17 and 18 - use the same procedure, except phone 309-344-2617.


Additional hunting information and maps on the above sites can be accessed at http://dnr.state.il.us/lands/landmgt/hunter_fact_sheet/index.htm 

Follow IDNR on Facebook and Twitter

Bucks apparently locked in winter fight appear after thaw

Moline, Ill. — One point hunters all agree on: Sometimes nature plays a role in a deer’s demise, and sometimes that role seems cruel.

Dick and Tootie Brodersen, who live south of the Quad Cities on a home overlooking a 5-acre pond, recently learned that lesson.

“We see lots of deer, many more does than bucks, year-round,” said Dick Brodersen, who enjoys observing deer, turkeys and the many other critters on his land. “I don’t hunt, but some relatives occasionally hunt on our land.”

Early this spring, as winter finally loosened its grip, the Brodersens noticed something unusual on the surface of their pond.

“I saw what looked to be a hump in the melting ice,” Dick Brodersen said. “As I walked closer there were two humps. Getting as close as I could, the humps were dead deer – two bucks that had floated to the surface – and their antlers were locked together.

“We got a rope, tied it on the deer and pulled them out of the pond with the 4-wheeler. Their bodies were in perfect condition – no wounds. One of the buck’s antlers had 13 points, the other 9 points.”

In wake of the find, Dick Brodersen has developed a theory.

“I think the bucks were fighting on a narrow peninsula of land that protrudes into the pond,” he said. “The side slopes from the top of the peninsula to the water are kind of steep. I think in their fighting, the bucks slid down the slope and into the pond that had yet froze over, got exhausted and died or drowned. The pond froze over that night, it snowed and covered their grave ‘til ice-out.”

Husband and wife pulled as hard as they could, but were unable to get the antlers apart, so they used the 4-wheeler and rope to get them apart. The Brodersens called the DNR, and a CPO issued a salvage tag and the heads are in process of becoming European mounts.

“We hope to get the antlers back together in the same position we found them in and mount them together on a wall,” he said.

-Outdoor News

Duck Stamp Price Increase Vital to Wetlands, Refuges

A lot has changed since 1991. The price of a Federal Duck Stamp has not. For the last 23 years, duck stamps have cost $15. Members of the United States Senate are trying to change that. They hope to increase the price to $25.

The Federal Duck Stamp is officially named the Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp. Whatever you call it, it's vital to waterfowl habitat restoration and protection.

According to the Ducks Unlimited website, "Since its enactment in 1934, the federal duck stamp program has protected more than 6 million acres of wetlands - an area the size of Vermont - through expenditures of more than $750 million. This has contributed to the conservation of more than 2.5 million acres in the Prairie Pothole Region, including the protection of 7,000 waterfowl production areas totaling 675,000 acres."

The current price of the Duck Stamp is not up to date with inflation. In fact, the Federal Duck Stamp has lost 40 percent of its value because land prices have tripled since its price was last increased in 1991. With its buying power greatly reduced, the amount of habitat the Federal Duck Stamp can protect is also greatly reduced.

"For the last few years, I have actually been buying two duck stamps just to help conserve more waterfowl habitat. Nothing is more valuable in the fight to protect wetlands and nesting habitat than the Federal Duck Stamp. I absolutely believe the time has come to increase the price," said Jeremy Stephens, a regional director with Delta Waterfowl.

Federal Duck Stamp sales matter immensely to waterfowl conservation because 98 percent of funds collected go directly to purchasing or leasing wetland habitat for protection in the National Wildlife Refuge System. Just to emphasize the point, that means 98 cents of every dollar spent on Duck Stamps is directly tied to on the ground habitat.

Whitney Twaney, a government affairs representative with Ducks Unlimited said, "Some people look at increasing the price of the Duck Stamp as a tax increase, but it's absolutely not. Sportsmen, specifically waterfowl hunters, buy these stamps voluntarily."

Sportsmen buy the stamps, yet the public benefits by having improved habitat for wildlife. This is just another example of hunter conservationists stepping up to do more than their share to protect habitat and promote healthy resources.

"The last duck stamp price increase occurred in 1991, when it reached its current level of $15. Back then gasoline was selling for $1 a gallon. Today a gallon of gas costs three to four times that amount. The price of land has likewise increased, but duck stamp revenues have not. We appreciate the introduction of a federal duck stamp increase bill by Senators Begich, Baucus, Coons and Tester to meet very real on-the-ground wetland habitat conservation needs. We are committed to seeing this legislation signed into law and look forward to working with senators on both sides of the aisle to enact this," Ducks Unlimited CEO Dale Hall said.

Waterfowl hunters are a passionate group of conservationists. I doubt you will find many, if any, who are opposed to paying $10 more per year to hunt, when they know the trade off is protecting waterfowl for future generations.

--Brandon Butler

Wheelin' Sportsmen Take Home More than Turkey from NWTF Hunt

EDGEFIELD, S.C. - At the 11th running of the NWTF Wheelin' Sportsmen Ultimate Turkey Hunt at the Savannah River Site (SRS) in Aiken, South Carolina, hunters took home 22 turkeys and a lifetime of memories. The annual event is made possible through a partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Department of Energy.

Robert Honicutt, an SRS Wheelin' H

unt first-timer, carries out his turkey after a successful morning hunt.

The 29 hunt winners, who came from Pennsylvania to Florida, along with their guest and volunteer guides, are the only visitors allowed to hunt for turkeys at the SRS each year.

Dallas Ybarra, 21, a North Carolina native and student at University of South Carolina, took his first ever turkey on the opening morning of the hunt.

"I had my head down and when I looked up he was there. It gave me a sense of wonderment," said Ybarra. "I thought [after filling the tag] did I really just do that? It is nice that the NWTF and volunteers are willing to go out of their way to help me get hunting experiences."

Ybarra followed up his successful morning hunt by harvesting a second bird the next morning.

Robert and Dennis Honicutt, twin brothers from South Carolina, were also drawn as hunt winners this year. Robert, a first-time hunt winner, took two mature gobblers the first morning, the first turkeys he had ever taken. Dennis, a second time attendee, was not successful this year though he had taken birds the last time he attended the hunt. The best part was that father, Preston, got to enjoy this experience with both of his sons.

"The NWTF Wheelin' Sportsmen program is designed to engage or reengage individuals who may not otherwise be able to get outside and pursue hunting adventures due to a disability of some kind," said Mandy Harling, NWTF Hunting Heritage Program manager. "It is only with the incredible support from our volunteers, partnering organizations and sponsors that we are able to offer these individuals such a unique and exciting opportunity."

Other sponsoring organizations included The University of Georgia Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Cabela's, Aiken Sertoma Club, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, Wackenhut Services Inc. - SRS Team and Savannah River Remediation.

The NWTF Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt. initiative is a charge that mobilizes science, fundraising and devoted volunteers to give the NWTF more energy and purpose than ever. Through this national initiative, NWTF has committed to raising $1.2 billion to conserve and enhance more than 4 million acres of essential upland wildlife habitat, create at least 1.5 million hunters and open access to 500,000 acres for hunting, shooting and outdoor enjoyment. Without hunters, there will be no wildlife or habitat. The NWTF is determined to Save the Habitat. Save the Hunt.

For more information, contact Peter Muller at (803) 637-7698.

The Saga of 1969 continues – That First Pronghorn

Excerpts from “An “Autobowography” of the Past 55 Years of Archery” 
--By Tom Dorigatti 

The last blog was about a great spot and stalk on a giant pronghorn buck. The stalk was too 
successful, and I not only got too close; I also thought I didn’t have the angle and passed up a sure shot because of past rifle training, not realizing that an arrow would not have ruined the animal’s meat from stem to stern. I’m now better prepared to handle the up close and personal situation needed for me to get close enough to a pronghorn to put him down. Read on… 

Equipment: Here is a listing of equipment used during the 1969 Bow Hunting season: 
Bow: Bear Kodiak Magnum recurved bow, 50#@28” draw length. Dacron String, no bow sights, combination gap shooting/instinctive. 

Arrows: 2016 24SRT-X aluminum with index nocks and Chartreuse Feathers fletched full helical. Spare arrows were 11/32 Matched set of Bear Port Orford Cedar arrows, brown in color, with white feathers fletched full helical. Those spare arrows are going to come into play, but not for the reason you may think! Read on…. 

Broadheads: 125 grain Bear Razorheads with inserts. Everything hand sharpened. 

Release style: Fingers on the bow string, apache style, with Bear 3-fingered shooting glove. 

Quiver: 4-arrow Kwikee Quiver, mounted on the riser. 

Arrow Rest: Arrow shot off the shelf of the bow. 

Clothing: State law required blaze orange hat and blaze orange vest or jacket. I wore Levis and 
standard hunting boots. No Camo gear whatsoever. 

Hunting style: Spot and stalk. 

My First Pronghorn Taken with a Bow. 
OK. I now know to look around me for does hiding in the grass. I am (or me and Jim are) $75 
ahead due to my magnificent “skid shot to the head” of a fox. I know that it is OK to take a Texas rear-ender shot with a bow and arrow from behind a big game animal. I’m ready for anything now, correct? Well, almost. This is the last week of pronghorn season in that area. I get out of school by 3:30PM and can be out in the hunting area easily by 4PM. I have all the gear in the car and my wife picks me up at the school saving me a ton of time. I get to the hunting area, change into my jeans and orange top and orange hat, and off I go to try to spot and stalk a buck “anagoat.” It isn’t long and I’ve spotted a good enough buck that I decide he is a taker and that I had a good stalking angle on him. This time, the stalk went really well. I got to within 20 yards of him and set up for the shot. He raised his head but doesn’t panic. I let the arrow fly and it is a good shot; I’m going to nail this sucker….NOT! I am not kidding you, that animal turned right away from my arrow just before it got there and it slips right by him. He moves to about 30 yards, about the limit of my effective range, and turns broadside again. I drew back on him and made another shot I was sure was going to double lung him. Once again, he turns away from the arrow just before it gets there! This time, however, he takes off well out of range. He pulls the same stunt as the monster I talked about earlier; he adds insult to injury by just walking away from me! I go pick up my arrows wondering just what the heck was going on. I then realized that I didn’t have any more sharpened aluminum arrows with me. I had that set of wood arrows with the same style of broadheads on them back in the car. Those wood arrows shoot really close to the same at close distances as those aluminums, so I figure, OK. I’ll use the wood arrows for the next stalk if I get so lucky as to find a buck to stalk. 

About a half-hour later, I find another buck and pull a nifty trick on him by going around and 
coming over the top of a hill from behind him. He is less than 15 yards and he, too, doesn’t panic and take off; he just stands there like, “Where did you come from, and what do you want”? I drew back, let the arrow fly, and double lunged this one! He went about 40 yards and piled up. I had my first pronghorn with a bow! Finally! He wasn’t a monster by any means, but I had pulled a successful stalk and made a good solid killing shot. I hadn’t overshot; I hadn’t hit him in the horns; I hadn't skidded one by him, and I hadn’t hesitated. All was good, including the perfect arrow placement! Not too bad for shooting without any sights on the bow at all, a Kwikee quiver and in Levis and blaze orange! In retrospect, I did figure out what the problem was with the aluminum arrows, or at least it is my best guess. The aluminum arrows were bright silver in color with no non-reflective coating on them. The Port Orford cedar arrows were a dull brown in color and offered no means of glare or reflections. What I think went on with the two previous misses with the aluminum arrow was that the pronghorn, since they have such precise vision, actually saw the arrow coming at him and turned away from it just in time. That is the only explanation I can think of for the animal turning away like that and not taking off in a hurry. I wasn’t the threat, but that “thing” coming towards him was, so he turned away from the only threat he saw. Another lesson learned: “Do not hunt with bright silvery reflective arrows. You must dull them down somehow.” Believe me when I tell you that those arrows did get dulled down. 

Keep reading the blogs and excerpts from my upcoming book. This 1969 bow hunting season was far from over! 

Tom Dorigatti, author of “ProActive Archery”, “The Puzzled Archer”, and “The Puzzled Cyclist.” 

DU, Partners Celebrate Louisiana WMA Enhancement Project

LAFAYETTE, LA - Louisiana residents and visitors will have improved and increased opportunity for waterfowl hunting and wildlife watching on the popular Sherburne Wildlife Management Area. Ducks Unlimited has partnered with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) to create additional wetland habitat on the South Farm Unit of the WMA, which will open new areas for public waterfowl hunting and provide increased habitat management capabilities. Project partners gathered today at the WMA to celebrate the site improvements.

"This project is the first one in the state supported in part by Louisiana DU license plate sales," said Mike Carloss, DU manager of conservation programs. "This gives DU members and supporters a terrific, tangible example of what supporting Ducks Unlimited means for them in Louisiana."

Located between Lafayette and Baton Rouge, south of US 190, Sherburne WMA provides many metropolitan residents the opportunity to enjoy hunting and other outdoor recreation. This project not only improves waterfowl habitat on areas already open to hunting, but also opens two new units for pursuing waterfowl.

"Sherburne is a favorite duck hunting spot in this part of the state for wildlife management area users," said Robert Barham, LDWF secretary. "Projects such as this improve habitat and expand opportunities for public hunting, and are great examples of cooperative efforts that enhance what we as a department can do with limited resources."

Partners gathered to dedicate the project to the late John W. Barton, Sr. of Baton Rouge. Barton was a dedicated outdoorsman, Ducks Unlimited supporter and friend to all who met him.

"John had a large impact on me, but he had an even a larger impact on wildlife and the people who enjoy wildlife," Jeffrey Svendson, DU Diamond Life Sponsor and friend of the Barton family, said. "This is a great project to honor him and his strong belief in wildlife and wetlands conservation. Projects like this wouldn't happen without a lot of people like John willing to donate time and money for the preservation of our great outdoors and all the critters that live in it."

Partners on the project include LDWF, Ducks Unlimited, the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana, North American Wetlands Conservation Council, the Irene W. and C. B. Pennington Foundation, friends of John W. Barton, Sr., Wetlands America Trust and The Mosaic Company, which has operations near Baton Rouge and contributed to the project.

"We were excited to partner with Ducks Unlimited in restoring critical habitats for waterfowl in Louisiana," said Gary N. "Bo" Davis, Mosaic Senior Vice President of Phosphate Operations. "By enhancing water delivery to the habitat at Sherburne, the function of the Atchafalaya Basin will be greatly improved. The health of the basin is crucial, as it captures overflow that would otherwise flood the Mississippi River, one of America's most important waterways."

The Story of the Great Fox Shot

“The Story of the Great Fox Shot”
Excerpts from “An “Autobowography” of the Past 55 Years of Archery”
By Tom Dorigatti

Welcome back, readers.  In the previous blog, I told about pulling a nice stalk on a big buck pronghorn only to be foiled by a pair of pronghorn does I hadn’t seen that were lying down watching out for that big buck.  The 1969 hunting season was continuing like the 1968 hunting season, with me making rookie mistakes.  Let’s pick up the continuance of the fall pronghorn season and my adventures with trying to bag my first pronghorn with a bow and arrow.
Equipment: Here is a listing of equipment used during that 1969 Bow Hunting season: 
Bow: Bear Kodiak Magnum recurved bow, 50#@28” draw length. Dacron String, no bow sights, combination gap shooting/instinctive.
Arrows:  2016 24SRT-X aluminum with index nocks and Chartreuse Feathers fletched full helical. Spare arrows were 11/32 Matched set of Bear Port Orford Cedar arrows, brown in color, with white feathers fletched full helical.
Broadheads: 125 grain Bear Razorheads with inserts.  Everything hand sharpened.
Release style: Fingers on the bow string, apache style, with Bear 3-fingered shooting glove.
Quiver:  4-arrow Kwikee Quiver, mounted on the riser.
Arrow Rest: Arrow shot off the shelf of the bow.
Clothing: State law required blaze orange hat and blaze orange vest or jacket. I wore Levis and standard hunting boots.  No Camo gear whatsoever.
Hunting style:  Spot and stalk.

The Story of the Great Fox Shot.
Jim and I didn’t get another good opportunity for a spot and stalk that day.  It seemed that about every time we’d find something worth going after, they would “make us” or whoever’s turn it was would manage to screw up worse than the pronghorn buck and the buck would get away.  We nevertheless had fun because we saw a ton of huge “goats” that first day out.  Guns were firing all around us, but always in the distance, because “road hunters” didn’t want to hoof it out away from the main course and into the Bad Lands where we were hunting, and of course we were thankful for that, too.  The bigger bucks were out where we were, or so it seemed, anyway.  Either way, we didn’t run across other hunters and that made our lives easier.
The next morning we were out bright and early and while coming back from yet another failed attempt at a spot and stalk by Jim on a huge pronghorn buck, we spotted a fox.  He was about 30 yards or less away, and we could see his head and the upper half of his body because he was in a small ditch.  He was stopped, looking right at us, but apparently he didn’t know we had spotted him, so he just froze and wasn’t moving.  I drew back the bow and launched the arrow.  I hit well short (hey, for once, I didn’t over-shoot, hoo-rah!), and the arrow skidded along and out of sight.  A big old cloud of dust went up, and Jim shouts, while looking thru his binoculars, Great shot, Tom!  You nailed him right in the head; he’s flopping around out there!  That was one helluva shot!  I had no more made a good shot on that fox than the man in the moon.  It was a super fantastic clear lucky shot; lucky in that the arrow skidded just right and ricocheted to nail him in the head before he could move and run off.  But hey, Jim and I split that $75 bounty so what the heck.   I did break down and tell Jim that I saw the arrow hit short and skid/ricochet into the fox.  He was busy watching in binoculars and hadn’t seen the arrow on its way in the direction of the fox.  Glance offs might not count for score in target shooting, but hey, in bow-hunting, sometimes a skidder is as good as a double lunger!  We didn’t have to chase that fox at all.  He went down immediately.  Hey, I didn’t hit him in the ears; I didn’t hit him in the horns and knock him down, and I didn’t shoot over the top of him either.  I’m making some progress here!
Stay tuned for the next story about a great stalk on yet another huge pronghorn buck….

Illinois Whitetail Alliance update

Spent a short period of time at the Illinois Deer & Turkey Classic today and, as near as I could tell, the most interesting deer-related thing going on in Springfield was the Illinois Whitetail Alliance.

Members of the new deer advocacy group had a 2.5-hour meeting with Department of Natural Resources director Marc Miller on Friday. While I don’t know what will come of that meeting, I can say the Alliance is on its way to shaking things up in Illinois.

Let’s face it, Illinois deer hunters are an unhappy lot in the wake of a 2013-14 hunting season that saw the deer kill decline by 18 percent.

This year’s preliminary kill total of 148,569 for all deer seasons was down 32,242 and marked the eighth straight season of population decline. It was also the lowest gun season total in 23 years and lowest total deer harvest since 1999.

Faced with those facts, a group of Illinois hunters has formed the Illinois Whitetail Alliance. The goals of the organization, whose founding members include former Department of Natural Resources Director Brent Manning, are outlined in a proposal recently released to the public.

Manning praised the DNR for a recent announcement about possible regulation changes. But he added, “Many other recommendations have been made with the best interest of Illinois’ deer herd in mind. The entire Alliance proposal is well thought out, and deserves consideration.”

Alliance member Kevin Chapman, a past Illinois Bowhunters Society president and Springfield conservation legislation watchdog, said one goal is to be proactive, instead of reactive.

“In the past it seems like everyone has wanted to sit back and complain about what the DNR did,” Chapman said. “I don’t think an organized group has wanted to take the initiative to make suggestions.

“Many in the Alliance have been involved with Illinois deer management issues for over 20 years, and have witnessed the rise and fall of Illinois deer hunting. Most hunters are passionate about the future of one of the state’s greatest natural resources. That’s why some of the best deer management ideas in the past have come from the hunting public, including the current statewide two-buck limit.”

Hunter’s passions have not been lost on DNR upper management. As Manning noted, in a recent press release the DNR said it “plans to revise deer population objectives for more than 40 counties beginning with the 2014-15 deer season, following a two-year review of Illinois deer management.”

“In these counties our strategy is shifting from deer herd reduction to maintaining or increasing deer populations,” said IDNR Director Marc Miller.

DNR is also considering limiting over-the-counter firearm permits and seeks hunter input at www.surveymonkey.com/s/IDNRdeerSurvey.

But the Alliance is asking for greater changes, as outlined in a presentation Chapman will make Saturday (4:30 p.m.) and Sunday (11 a.m.) at the Illinois Deer & Turkey Classic.

He is also scheduled to speak March 2 at 12:30 p.m. at the Elmwood All Outdoors Show in Elmwood.

Chapman believes in parts of Illinois the deer herd may be down by as much as 50 percent with a statewide average of 30 percent.

For proof he points to the continued decline in deer harvest totals and in deer-vehicle accident totals (DVAs). Based on 2012 numbers, DVAs are down 25 percent or more from the peak in 2003 ­– which Chapman notes, “was really before we even started seeing the effects of EHD in 2012 and 2013).”

“I know DNR has to balance this between all stakeholders, but whatever the magic number is, I think hunters are taking notice that the herd is below the acceptable level they want to see,” Chapman said.

Alliance members were scheduled to meet with Miller after Heartland Outdoors went to press.

The plan outlined by the Alliance heading into that meeting included the following five points:

1) Enact an immediate five-year moratorium on any new legislation or administrative rule change that could result in the expansion of any deer hunting season, add any additional weapons, or increase the deer harvest in any way. After five years, an independent review of the deer management program would be performed by a qualified source.

2) Reduce the pressure on the overall deer harvest, particularly on female deer, by implementing the following:
a) Eliminate the current late winter deer season (LWS)
b) Move all future antlerless-only (A-O) seasons to mid-September
c) Implement a one-buck and one-doe limit in counties where an additional A-O season is not needed
d) Eliminate all over-the-counter (OTC) gun permit sales, and OTC archery sales after November 1

3) Implement a statewide one-buck limit, all seasons combined.

4) Implement new regulations on non-resident (NR) permits including an immediate elimination of the OTC A-O permit, unless the NR has purchased a regular combo permit.

5) Enact stricter penalties for deer hunting violations that involve “willful intent” which would result in a two-year suspension of hunting privileges for the first offense, five-year suspension for the second offense, and permanent loss upon the third offense.

Members of the Illinois Whitetail also include outdoor writer Les Davenport, whitetail habitat consultant Don Higgins and biologist/forester Lee Mitchell.

Hunters in Illinois took a preliminary total of 74,355 deer during the 2013 firearm season, 3,546 deer during muzzleloader season and 3,012 during the youth season. All totals were down from 2012.

Bowhunters shot 57,290 deer, compared with a harvest of 59,805 in the 2012-13 archery season. Late-winter and special CWD deer seasons had a combined harvest of 10,366, down from 14,723 in 2012-13.

Chapman concedes many other Midwestern states experienced similar harvest declines this year.

“I think everybody kind of adopted the same principles. It’s the same story everywhere,” he said. “All the other DNRs are just realizing we did a little too much and now we need to tweak it back the other direction.”

Chapman said he hopes the Alliance can help the Illinois DNR reach the same conclusions as it reviews deer management.

Alliance members urge hunters to contact their local legislators. The group also has a Facebook page with 1,615 members.

- Jeff Lampe 

- Heartland Outdoors

That First Real Bow Hunting Season, circa 1969, Nice Pronghorn…BUT..

Excerpts from “An “Autobowography” of the Past 55 Years of Archery

By Tom Dorigatti

Ok readers; let’s turn back the clock some 45 years to 1969.  I had moved to Casper, Wyoming and was teaching at East Junior High School in Casper, Wyoming.  The teaching assignment was the best of both worlds.  I was teaching French and Earth Science; both of which were elective courses.  Life was good in the teaching, life was good with the family because we were expecting our first child in February 1970, and in addition to all this, I had found and become a member of the Red Arrow Archers Archery Club in Casper and had experienced my first outdoor field archery tournament in early August.  I also met some great archers and bow hunters, one of which took me under his wing and set up a hunt for mule deer that I will remember the rest of my life.  But I am ahead of myself here, so let us get on with these true stories about that “First Real Bow Hunting Season.”  The facts are true and no names have been changed to protect anyone!  Keep reading.

Hunting Season, October, 1969.

I managed to get lucky and get a pronghorn (antelope) permit for the Poison Spider hunting area West of Casper for the fall of 1969.  Since the indoor target season wasn’t going to start until November, I still had some time to go hunting.  I was quite successful in finding some BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land and also got permission to hunt on some private land if need be.  I still had a 50# Bear Kodiak Magnum recurved bow (compounds weren’t available in our area just yet) and I also had my matched wooden hunting arrows, along with some 2016 24SRT-X aluminum shafts that a club member, Art Cox had given me.  He had given me two dozen of them, so I took one dozen and made hunting arrows out of them after having tested them to see how they flew. They flew just great out of the Kodiak Magnum!  HMMMM…2016’s flying great out of a 50# Kodiak Magnum with 125 grain Bear Razorheads on the end, and the same arrow flying great out of a Bear Polar target bow at 35#@28”?  I only mention this in passing…or is there a reason for me mentioning this? Well of course there is, but that, too is another story to be told.  Read on.

I was still shooting bare-bow (no sights) for hunting, with fingers on the string, since I felt more comfortable hunting in this manner.  (In 1969, release aids weren’t yet in the game of archery and bow hunting).  In the early fall, I had met another fella that was a bow hunter and he also had a pronghorn permit for the same area.  However, he worked late during the week, so he could only hunt on weekends.  The hunting season always opened on a Saturday, so Jim Lewis and I were out there early on Saturday for the opening day.  It is important to know that in Wyoming, back in 1969, we did not yet have a special pre-season for bow hunting!  That was to happen, however in 1970 or was it 1971?  Not to matter, I would have bow hunted anyway.  The big thing was that in order to hunt, you had to wear a blaze orange cap and so many square inches of blaze orange on your torso, and in addition to that you were competing with the rifle hunters to boot!  It is obvious that if blaze orange was required, then camouflage clothing was out of the question!  Competing with rifles and not having Camo gear didn’t seem to matter much either as you will soon find out.

Nice Big Pronghorn Buck, BUT...problems arise!! HRUMPH!

Jim and I both knew that the road hunters would be all over the place.  We had pre-scouted and found a spot a few miles away from the beaten path. This was where several large bucks were frequenting.  The pronghorns did go for water early in the mornings and late in the evenings, but neither Jim or I wanted to sit at a waterhole or windmill and fight the mosquitoes and boredom, so we elected to go into the back territory and spot and stalk our “goats”.  At first light, the rifle shooting started off in the not so far distance.  We had spotted a couple of really nice bucks and I decided to try to pull a stalk on one of them.  There was plenty of higher sage brush, a couple of deeper gulches, and some other “stuff” that would provide cover.  In addition, the wind was in my favor.  I had about 300 yards or so of stalking to do. I was able to move reasonably well to within about 80 yards or so before things got a bit dicey.  I then had to basically start to do a slow belly crawl, moving a few feet, stopping, watching for rattle snakes and other creepy crawlers, cacti, rocks, scorpions, etc, and then moving a few more feet onward.  All the while, this buck kept feeding and his head was away from me.  I knew full well, however that their vision was very acute and sensitive to movement and that they also had uncanny peripheral vision, too.  Thus getting up super close behind one would be tough, but not impossible.  I got to within about 30 yards or so when the buck turned dead broad-side to me, still grazing and oblivious to my presence.  I then moved maybe at most another 2-3 yards and I heard this snorting off to one side of me.  That buck didn’t lift his head; that buck didn’t turn to look over my way; that buck simply put it into high gear and high-tailed it right outta there muy pronto like somebody had lit a fire under his butt!  I remember thinking quickly, that buck didn’t snort, his head was down, so what the….and then I looked over and about 15 yards away, still lying down were two doe antelope, looking right at me!  I hadn’t seen either one of them; I was so intent on stalking that buck (and watching for rattle snakes, ha), that I hadn’t seen those two does lying down.  That ole buck wasn’t as stupid as I thought he was; he felt safe because he knew he was safe…guarded by those two does!  Oh, how I wanted to shoot one of the does out of spite, but of course, that would have meant the end of my season by taking a doe.  Not hardly; not on opening day. 

Yet another lesson learned about bow hunting…or was it one forgotten and re-learned as in “pay attention to what is around you”?  Seems I’m screwing up by the numbers on my quest for my first big game animal with bow and arrow, doesn’t it?  Just the previous year, I had skillfully stalked to within 20 yards of a huge mule deer buck and taken the shot.  The arrow had gone right where I was looking too.  Nailed him in the antlers and knocked him off his feet.  I thought I had a spine shot, but no, he is only stunned and got back up, violently shaking his antlers trying to get the arrow out of them and stop it from rattling around!  He ran off, all the while acting dizzy and shaking his head.  I saw him a few days later, but couldn’t get close enough for another shot.  Yes, the arrow was still stuck in those antlers, too.

The saga of my first full season of bow hunting will continue in the next episode….

DU Pleased NRCA Providing Innovative Ways to Conserve Grasslands

BISMARCK, ND- Ducks Unlimited applauds USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) increasing its efforts to work with landowners in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) to conserve grasslands and wetlands. Agriculture Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Robert Bonnie announced today that NRCS is committing up to $35 million over the next three years for prairie conservation in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa.

"We are pleased to see NRCS renewing its commitment to grassland and wetland conservation in the PPR, which is so critical to waterfowl production," said DU CEO Dale Hall. "We're seeing unprecedented pressures to convert native prairie and drain wetlands. We need to look for new ways to make conservation programs more economically competitive and attractive to landowners." 

Conservation Reserve Program acres have dropped substantially over the last few years and these trends are expected to continue. "This investment by NRCS will keep grasslands and wetlands intact by helping farmers and ranchers conserve working lands for livestock production, hayland and wildlife habitat," Hall said.

As part of the 2014 Farm Bill, NRCS will offer private landowners a mix of financial and technical assistance opportunities to restore wetlands and grasslands and help mitigate a recent regional trend of conversion to croplands.

The farm bill also includes a "Sodsaver" provision, which reduces crop insurance subsidies for farmers and ranchers who convert native grasslands for crop production.

Thanks to a NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant awarded in 2011, DU and several other project partners are also working on a pilot project in North Dakota to create new carbon credit opportunities for landowners who permanently protect grasslands. The project partners are currently validating this program and hope to have it available to producers in late 2014 to early 2015. 

2014 Snow Goose Season

As the 2013-14 hunting season comes to a close, spring snow goose season is ramping up. 

"During the 2013 Midwinter Survey, biologists counted 4,614,000 light geese, a 15% increase relative to the 2012 index of 4,021,200, and a record high for the third year in a row." - US Fish and Wildlife Service

It seems as though the 2014 season should be a good one. If you're new to snow goose hunting or just looking for the latest and greatest gear, here is a guide to assist you in having a successful season. 

Getting Started:

When snow geese start to move into your area it is crucial that you DO NOT hunt the roost; this is the cardinal sin of goose hunting. You can hunt all season around the roost or once on the roost.

Weather plays a key role in the success of a hunt, so plan accordingly. It's very difficult to decoy snow geese on calm, bluebird days. The best days are windy with low cloud cover. A strong wind creates a lot of movement in the decoys and forces the birds to fly low. Bad weather also seems to disorient the flocks and makes them more willing to decoy. Snow and Blues are known to migrate year-round on a south wind. Don’t be afraid to hunt all day as they also tend to migrate in the middle of the day.

Decoys:

There are a lot of snow goose decoys on the market these days and every hunter as their preference on brand, type, and how to set up. This is simply a guide as to what products we have had success with in past years.

Dakota Full Body Decoys

Dakota's full body snow and blue goose decoys are pricier than some prefer, but they are a great looking, durable decoy that you'll have for a long time. 

They come in 2 body styles, a relaxed upright or a feeding posture. What makes this decoy so appealing to hunters is its ease of use. The decoys are constructed as one-piece body, with no removable parts, and a one-piece motion system that can be attached or easily unattached with one step. That means there are no lose head connections or having your decoy blow over or off its base.

Dakota EVA Snow Goose 6 Pack - $169.99

Dakota EVA Blue Goose 6 Pack - $174.99

Avery Greenhead Gear Decoys

Avery's NEW Pro Grade line of snow and blue goose decoys has everybody talking. These decoys have tremendous detail and are reasonably priced.

The full bodies were created, tested & approved by the world’s most respected snow goose hunters! Rock solid one-piece construction eliminates broken heads and body splits while the New RealMotion® II System offers hassle-free set ups and pick-ups. Snap back RealLegs™ along with anatomically perfect bodies with highly detailed paint schemes provide unprecedented realism. Four unique bodies ranging from 19” to 22-1/4” in total length. 

Pro Grade Full Body Snows 6 Pack - $129.99 (Feeders) (Actives)

Pro Grade Full Body Blues 6 Pack - $129.99 (Feeders) (Actives)

Pro Grade 5/8th Snow Shells 1 Dozen - $159.99 (Feeders) (Actives)

Pro Grade 5/8th Blue Shells 1 Dozen - $159.99 (Feeders) (Actives)

Tip: If you only have a small spread, leave a lot of space in between decoys. You can make 100 decoys look like 150 by spreading them out or you can make them look like 50 by packing them tight.

Tanglefree Slammer Socks

Typically, having a large spread works to your advantage. Using Tanglefree's Slammer Socks is a great way to build that massive spread you've always dreamed of. 

Developed in conjunction with professional guides, the Slammer Socks are the next generation of wind socks. Built with durable, light weight components, these decoys will allow you to fool one of the most difficult birds to decoy. These socks are designed to last and are great for use in any weather conditions.

Slammer Socks Snows 12 Pack: $44.99

Slammer Socks Snows 144 Pack: $499.99

CLICK HERE for the full line of Slammer Socks!

Sillosocks

Feeding flocks of snow geese are in constant motion. Decoy spreads set in feeding fields should mimic this motion. This is best accomplished with wind sock and motion decoys.

New improved printing and fiberglass mounting pole are now included.This decoy proved deadly on our hunts this spring. Used alone on a short fiberglass pole or on a rotary machine these are a must for any hunter. - Snow Goose Flapper: $24.99

A perfect solution for no wind days. Combined with the flapper decoy these have proved to be deadly on waterfowl in the field. The diameter is around 14 feet from tip to tip and comes with a speed control and remote to adapt to wind conditions. 
- Tornado Rotary Machine 4-arm: $299.99

The Sidewinder machine will give your Sillosock flyers a new look. This 12 volt machine moves 2 Sillosock flyers horizontally. It looks like geese jostling for position right before they touch down. They also do this when the are feeding as they jump over the top of each other looking for food. - Sidewinder: $129.99

CLICK HERE for full line of Sillosock products

Also, check out our full line of Deadly Decoys HERE

Calls: 

Haydel Blue & Snow Goose Call: $11.99
Zink Storm Snow Goose Call: $103.99
Hamms Snow Goose Call: $114.99
RNT Quackhead Snow Goose Call: $19.99

Bring those circling snow geese within gun range, with extreme volume capabilities in the all NEW SUPER SNOW CROW PRO from FOXPRO. This caller comes standard with 100 high quality FOXPRO sounds and can store and access up to 1000 sounds. This is the BEST electronic snow goose caller on the market!

FoxPro Systems Super Snow Crow Pro: $799.99

Suggested Snow Goose Sound CD's - 

Snow Reaper: $24.99
Snowbait: $24.99

Blinds:

You must make your blind disappear, and we mean disappear, like nothing’s there. This can be done by keeping blinds well mudded and setting up in low spots or areas of a field with taller vegetation.

Tanglefree Dead Zone Layout Blind: $219.99

Avery Finisher Layout Blind: $259.99

Tip: Hunt the weather. If possible, hunt on days with wind. The harder the wind blows, the farther down wind you should position the blinds in the spread.

After The Hunt:

Clean your birds quick and easy with the Wild Wing Slinger from Deadly Decoys!

Truck Kit: $179.99

Table Top: $129.99

Be patient and persistent. There is a reason these birds live long lives – they are wary. However, there is nothing like having several hundred to several thousand geese circling and descending upon your spread. Have fun and good luck!

If you have any questions feel free to shoot us a message HERE. If you are planning on buying more than five dozen decoys, give us a call anytime to discuss discounted pricing.