Outdoor-Z

Since retro is king, how about the old band, Blood,Sweat, and Tears, from the sixties or seventies? Well, that could easily be the theme for our 2011 hunting season so far! In fact, with so few memorable moments it’s been nearly a complete disaster with a few exceptions.

Of course the high light of the season so far has been the trip to North Dakota in early October. Its there one often gets a feel for the upcoming waterfowl season. Fortunately my crew had some lady luck smile on us and we bagged limits nearly every day.

Experts predicted an extraordinary waterfowl season, with record numbers of birds. Yet in northern Missouri, we seemed to be in a desperate plight, with a lack of ducks during our sixty day season. To say that we were jinxed would have been a mere understatement of infinite proportions. Only experts can predict the future, mere mortals simply try to do their best inside the real world. For most of us, efforts proved to be futile, with few shots fired and fewer feathers in hand than previous years.

Over the course of a duck hunter’s life there exists the possibly of many new acquaintances. Whether its an chance encounter, an introduction between colleagues, or as a member’s guest; there is always room for another hunter in the blind. Once more new partners do not always come in human form.

Luckily, there have been some unique opportunities available this season. Of course having my daughter, Kylee in the deer stand with me will always rank as one of my greatest thrills. Misfortune has caused her deer tags to go unfilled so far, but I don’t recall any lack of confidence. In fact one of her statements, “at least I got to shoot AT a deer” really stuck with me during the season.

After years of strictly bow hunting, I dusted off my old rifle and was fortunate to take a nice buck. It was strange to reach into a Fiocchi box and grasp a metallic cartridge instead of the plastic hull of a shotgun shell!

So even though our season has been just fair to date, this year has been fantastic to a couple fellow archers. In fact, our I.T. guy, Joe Frye arrowed his best buck to date.

What’s more a good friend of ours, Tom Hipskind, returned from Iraq and filled his archery tag with an enormous buck. If ever just rewards are due this is truly one of those times!

Searching the horizon, watching and waiting, seems to be the common practice.

Setting out decoys, chatting and snoozing have all taken more time than has shooting or even calling.

If it were not for some of the special moments and friends this season would have been a total bust. Yet, there is still hope for tomorrow and the possibilities that exist therein…

If you frequently watch the Sportsman’s Channel, its possible you may have seen an episode of Drake’s Migration Nation TV show. Migration Nation is a waterfowl hunting show hosted by renowned dog trainer J.Paul Jackson. Recently we had the opportunity to join the crew on a duck hunt in Missouri.

Currently the Migration Nation is in its second season on TV, with shows currently airing weekly. The thirty minute program was the brainchild of Drake Waterfowl Systems, the premier provider of high quality waterfowl clothing and accessories.

Host J. Paul Jackson,let me in on a secret. The show had been planned a few years ago but just didn’t work out as intended. A pilot episode had been filmed yet that version just didn’t seem to be what Drake was looking for and the project was shelved.

Subsequently, J.Paul and Drake co-founder Tate Wood gathered up the project ideas in October 2009 with plans of being the show to fruition. Once the pair began to brainstorm about the possibility of improving the show format they came up with several ideas that would lend themselves to constructing a unique waterfowl show.

The duo initiated a budget, changed the name of the program to “Migration Nation”, hired David Weldon as cameraman and he eventually became the producer as well. Once again a pilot episode was shot although this time with better results. After a few minor tweaks, the project was set in place and things began to progress quickly.

In the original season, there were eleven episodes including one where the crew hunts the Eastern Shore. Here J. Paul showcased some of the museums, history and local culture of the area. This was to become a trait seen in most Migration Nation productions. One of the key ingredients of Drake’s Migration Nation is to film and showcase exceptional story lines and people who “go the distance”. Additionally, the crew hopes to take the viewer to locations not seen on other mediums.

In fact the Migration Nation has immigrated to unprecedented sites such as the Big Horn River in Montana for an exceptional open water Mallard hunt, as well as hitting Texas peanut country for a waterfowl hunt with a little unique Texas heat. They are always on the lookout for a novel twist or tale of a rare individual who goes above and beyond the normal waterfowler to reach his or her goal.

After conversing on the phone and via emails for months, I was invited to get a rare behind the scenes view of how the show is put together in the field while filming a show for season three. This episode was to showcase the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the improvements they have exerted to offer some of the nation’s best waterfowl hunting opportunities.

I joined the Drake crew consisting of host J.Paul Jackson, videographer and producer David Weldon and second videographer Matt Gray, in Nevada, Missouri. After an initial meet and greet we headed for a establishment to eat and chat with Chris Daniels the MDC biologist supervisor for Schell-Osage and Four Rivers waterfowl areas.

Sloppy weather conditions were on the forecast for the next several days eliminating several filming options. I learned from the crew that it was senseless to shoot ducks unless the hunt could be filmed and that exposing the costly camera equipment to moisture was not a feasible option. Thus we had to enter the “draw” for a blind at  Schell-Osage in order to keep the gear dry and film at the same time.

This resulted in a unique experience itself as the location has been a prosperous facility since the nineteen seventies and home to a variety of duck hunters. In fact the staff pointed out a couple “old timers” who hunted the area daily and were frequent visitors when Schell-Osage first opened. Once again J.Paul and crew discovered a story line about Going the Distance and were able to gather film footage from a couple wily veterans of the southern Missouri duck scene.

Unfortunately for us, I was placed in charge of drawing for our hunting location. In Missouri, many waterfowl facilities require that hunters register and draw for their hunting locations. At Schell-Osage that takes place at 0445 hours! Everyone gathers at the headquarters and places their names onto a list. Then at the predetermined time, the staff allows one member from each group to draw a numbered “pill”. Obviously the lowest pill number gets the first pick of all available blinds and or locations. I drew pill number thirty-seven, which gave us the final choice of blinds! So much for any preconceived favoritism!!

We loaded up the boat and headed toward our blind with the highest of hopes. Since  the MDC allows only four occupants per blind we were maxed out with J. Paul, two vidoegraphers and myself. I can personally attest that an eighteen foot boat fills up rather quickly with just four men, one Lab and film equipment ! Luckily it was a short trip en route to our day’s blind.

Fortunately, we drew out a well constructed pit blind in the center of a flooded corn field. The blind was situated perfectly for the conditions allowing us to have the wind at our back. While David and Matt assembled their gear inside the covered pit blind, J. Paul and I placed the decoys in a likely manner to entice some Missouri greenheads.

While we waited for sunrise and the light rain to quit falling, I was able to quiz both J. Paul and David about the intricacies of producing the show. Normally the staff requires three days afield to gain enough footage to produce one twenty-two minute TV show. Occasionally in that time frame circumstances will provide material for two episodes but that is rare.

David requires enough daylight to film the hunt and even with the best digital equipment filming does not begin until well after legal shooting time has come and gone. Its senseless to shoot at fowl that can’t be filmed and likewise will count against the hunter’s bag limit reducing the opportunity to gain additional footage.

David also elaborated about the editing process which compromises the majority of his workload. I had no idea that an editor spends forty to sixty hours viewing and shaping the raw hunting footage into an captivating TV show. David also must create many of the commercials and background material required for the format of the network. Additionally once I learned the cost of air time, cameras, travel expenses and salaries, I realized that producing a quality waterfowl show such as Drake’s was no easy or inexpensive task!

Much to the dismay of our entourage, we struck out on our first day in the blind. It seemed that an aura surrounded our blind as we witnessed few ducks close enough to work and none appeared to have any future on TV ! Thus after several hours were retreated and found solace at a diner to lick our wounds and examine our options for the next day.

After consulting the weather channels and MDC staff, we made the decision to attempt Schell-Osage once more since moisture was forecast once more and having a roof over our head would allow the crew to film in conditions other than a downright deluge.

At the sound of the buzzer I rose and gathered my gear. We were prepared to spend every minute of legal shooting time in our blind , in hopes of gaining enough footage for a show. This time I declined to draw, hoping that the host’s fortunes would bring us better luck. Number thirty-five was not any improvement and should have been a precursor of things to come.

David and J. Paul were able to interview several of the “old timers” and learn how things have changed throughout the past four decades at this duck park. Several admitted that through the management skills and efforts of the Missouri Department of Conservation there were more ducks now than in previous years. Chris, Josh and all the MDC staff at the facility went out of their way to help hunters with information including daily and seasonal success charts as well as personal their experience and knowledge.

Before long we found our way to the boat launch and were en route to yet another permanent blind. This time we chose a moist soil area that had been harboring a good number of ducks in days past. Once more the conditions were gloomily, low clouds with intermittent mist and little wind to speak of.  Not exactly ideal but as I learned from the crew, you have to hunt and film the conditions when on scene with the Migration Nation.

Fortunately both David and J. Paul advised me they had always been fortunate enough to gain enough footage that David could construct an episode from. We would hunt hard and let the cards fall as they may. David and Matt filmed J.Paul doing the intro, as well as how and why the blind was chosen. Once decoys were set we climbed into the structure leaving Matt on the backside to film from a different angle than David. I can attest that during lull periods in a blind time can pass ever so slowly yet that wasn’t the case with the whimsical host. In fact Jackson kept amusing us with Cajun jokes while the crew joined in with their own hi-jinx.

As most duck hunters can attest, there are times that the ducks choose to be anywhere besides where you are! This was one of those situations. We were forced to watch group after group drop into blinds just a half mile away. Nothing seemed to change the minds of overhead waterfowl. Neither ringing high ball calls, feed chuckles, nor lack of calling helped yet we persisted and tried every method and technique known to mankind.

Still it wasn’t until fifteen minutes left in legal shooting time that the ducks began to pay heed to us. AT that point we finally began to work a few groups and actually fired a shot or two prior to losing camera light. It was with regret that we began to pack up the operation and as luck would have it, that is when the ducks came to our hole like bees to honey.

Although I was able to garner enough information for the story, it was doubtful David would have enough material for an episode at this time. Quite possibly the crew would have to return to Missouri later in the season. Fortunately, J.Paul admitted this was the first instance in three seasons of filming that required a return trip.

With empty game bag, I reluctantly packed my truck for the drive home. Still, the past several days were a famous time. I was able to meet a trio of genuine guys who share their passion of waterfowl hunting with viewers the world over. It became obvious that Drake’s Migration Nation, “Goes the Distance” itself. The crew puts forth the maximum effort to film under all circumstances good or bad.

Every hunting trip doesn’t translate into full bird straps or recovered leg bands. Often times it’s hard work,heartache, and hours spent with good buddies but hey isn’t that what real waterfowling is about? Drake’s Migration Nation show may be the closest thing to the ideal duck and goose hunting production. Hey don’t take my word for it; check it out for yourself! For show times and more information on how to join, visit, www.drakesmigrationnation.com

Hopefully, there comes a point in every outdoorsman’s life when they are able to give back in some assorted way. Whether that be teaching a young apprentice the outdoors life style or working with a conservation group. Since her birth, I have had the fortune to introduce my daughter Kylee to God’s great outdoors. Lately at age eight and a half, she has shown the desire to hunt deer.Thus has begun the instruction into rifle marksmanship and basic woods skills.

Of course, she had been shooting a pint sized .22 rimfire rifle for sometime now. Yet lately, whether it was her desire to hunt deer or the fact that she has grown physically and mentally, but her shooting skills have really expanded well. We have consistently shot boxes and boxes of Fiocchi rimfire ammo at targets and metal plates. Once her confidence increased, we began to consider switching to a larger caliber rifle designed for youth hunters.

A search of the latest centerfire rifles turned up the new Savage Axis Youth model. Introduced in 2011, this Savage rifle is designed with the smaller frame hunter in mind. A scaled down stock, well engineered recoil pad and shorter barrel than its larger, full sized brothers, this rifle fits pint sized hunters perfectly. We selected the .243 caliber as the low recoil would allow her to get comfortable and gain the confidence needed to successfully take mature Whitetail Deer.

Once we picked up the Savage Axis, I began to compliment it with an optical system. I chose an Alpen Apex 3×9 scope, which would add a bit of weight and therefore soak up more recoil as well as provide excellent vision at all hunting ranges. Once mounted,the Alpen produced unbelievably clear and precise point of aim that impressed the young hunter as well as the father. I knew Alpen had a great reputation for quality and ruggedness, which I knew might be tested somewhere down the road!

After bore sighting and breaking in the new barrel, we began the slow process of acclimating to the new rifle. I had purposely chosen her rimfire rifle in a bolt action, since I knew it would be likely that whenever she moved up to a centerfire rifle it would likewise be a bolt gun as well. Keep the action choice in mind when you purchase the child’s first gun, whether that be single shot break action, semi-auto or bolt action. It really helps them grow accustomed to the dynamics and safety of the weapon(s).

Once we familiarized ourselves with the slight differences in the two rifles, we spent time practicing placing the rifle on safe and taking the safety off. After gaining some muscle memory in that skill, it was only then that she took her first shot with the .243. I had reloaded some reduced recoil loads for the initial test firing. although we would soon be switching to Fiocchi factory loaded ammo with 70 grain bullets.

After a couple shots, she had no flinch or trouble handling the recoil, so we continued to fire more and more ammo at each range setting. Throughout the course of the summer, Kylee has become a proficient shooter. She still spends plenty of time plinking away with her rimfire rifle, but she gets more and more range time with her deer rifle as the season approaches. This first year she will be shooting off of a rest in the field just as she does at the range.

This is another great idea for the summer. Build a blind that incorporates some sort of rifle rest for the young hunter. Whether that be a simple bi-pod or such device, a strategically picked low tree limb with a stool placed behind it or a plywood box blind with windows set low enough for a young hunter to comfortably shoot their rifle, it’s your choice.

We picked an area where we consistently view deer entering and exiting a grain field. Shots should be under one hundred yards so there will be maximum potential for success. The blind was built for comfort as well as concealment, since young hunters can’t always sit perfectly still! It’s also close to home, so we can frequent the spot often for short periods of time if needed. Another good idea is to build your stand or blind ahead of time if possible. This way the creatures grow accustomed to it and feel at home in and around the blind.

Lastly, be sure to outline what will take place when entering and exiting the blind or stand site. Be sure the young hunter knows how to safely secure their rifle inside the stand. Talk about what will happen when a deer shows up and how the rifle will be mounted and fired safely. Be sure to know all back drops, so that there will be no safety issues.

Take the time to teach the anatomy of a a deer’s body. Once the young hunter knows where the vital areas are located its time to instruct them on shot placement. I like to have the hunter practice shooting at those deer silhouette targets that have the vitals exposed. This just continues to reinforce the point of aim for a novice hunter and they can be used again and again if you take the time to tape up bullet holes.

Once all of these topics have been discussed and practiced, its time to prepare for the actual hunt. Be sure to re-zero your novice’s rifle with whatever hunting ammo they will be using. We will be making the switch to Fiocchi, 95 grain ammo, so her rifle will probably have to have the Alpen scope adjusted sightly. A few practice shots to get accustomed to the minor change in recoil and we will be set for the opener of youth season!