January 13, 2023 Waterfowl Gear You Need What should you buy now to get ready for next year? By : Justin Hunold First Birds, on the First Day The early bird gets the worm, or something like that. Listen, as waterfowl hunters we are constantly in a quest to be the first, or the earliest or chasing that prime opportunity. First at the ramp, first to a spot, first fresh birds, first shooting light, opening day, first season, early Teal, early goose….you get the point. But listen, right now, as we creep into seasons closing, you should be first in line to fix or amend the shit that broke or didn’t work this past season. You can never be too early to start getting ready for next season. Here are some things you should be looking at getting right and tight for fall’s first flight. We all have gear on our list. Right now is an amazing time to scour those clearance sales and find next year’s best gear at a discount. Will it be the newest pattern or the coolest thing on the block, maybe not, but will you or the birds actually notice? Also probably not. Here’s a secret its not just changing of the seasons that prompt good prices for consumers, but also for retailers on the wholesale level. So, check those sites for chances to get gear at amazing prices. Maybe someday I will go over the pricing theories at a retail level, but let’s just say at some point that old inventory is costing more than it’s worth to not discount it. Decoys are hard to store for retailers and normally get a big late season discount for sake of floor space. Decoys- Decoys are big, bulky, heavy and hard to display. Think about it this way, how many Lucky Craft lures can a store fit in the area that a box of full body Canadas take up? The answer is a ton, and they retail for $15 a pop. So, decoys are something that gets discounted heavily quickly. Keep an eye out for whatever you need to fill out your spread. I promise if they fooled birds the past few seasons next year’s model probably won’t do it any better. Camouflage Clothing- So, the model here is let’s have some legacy products, think Bottomland, and then let’s release the new stuff every few years because hunters are trendy and like to match. When those new patterns hit they may look great, they may help you blend in better, but they certainly boost sales for the camo company releasing them. When this happens you will see deep discounts in the flagship camo from the year before. You may also see this when an apparel company loses the licensing rights to that particular camo, or a sponsorship change on a major player of the prostaff. Whatever the reason, jump on last year’s clothing now in prep for next year. Hunting Accessories- Calls, Choke Tubes, Blind Bags, Muffs, Blinds, Decoy Rigs the list goes on. Remember that in a lot of retailers the waterfowl aisles turn over into the spring turkey aisles. That change over normally leads to some chances at high end gear at a lower price. Full Disclosure, I worked in big box retail for a long time and some of my most expensive and best sounding calls came out of the display cases when it was time to turn those aisles over. The sweetest sounding turkey call I’ve ever owned was an Original, first production year Primos Power Crystal and that was because it was good and broken in when I bought it out of the display case for next to nothing, even though that call isn’t expensive to begin with. Don’t get me started on my Original BGB Wide Open… My Muff straight up unraveled on me on its second hunt this year. You know the kind that hold shells and some gear and snaps to the D rings on your waders? Yeah mine came apart on hunt number two and I just never replaced it this year. I tried to limp it along with paracord and zip ties like any good redneck but man it sucked. I’ll be getting a new one from somewhere else this off season. Some other things I will be packing in my blind bag before I put it up are a few pairs of elbow length rubber gloves, because they are light, cheap and totally waterproof, and at least one extra headlamp and a pair of inexpensive sunglasses. I’d rather bring the extra couple ounces out on every hunt and always be prepared than not have the stuff when I need it. Kinda like a side arm. Also most of this will have reviews from the previous season, and post on social media and videos showing use in the field on YouTube. Just like voting, you should be using your gun early and often Now, between waterfowl and turkey season is a great time to get more familiar with your gun. I have specific guns for both of these seasons. Now that I am done chasing quacking birds and will shift to chasing gobbling ones I will be taking my Masai Mara apart and cleaning it thoroughly. I will also take my Gordion Turkey out and check the optic and make sure it’s pattern and point of impact is still as perfect as last year. If I want to make a change in chokes, optics, ammo or slings now is the time. Since I will be shooting my turkey gun I will also bring out my waterfowl gun and check all of the same stuff. I want to make sure I’m very familiar with where my guns shoot, if I need to make any shim adjustments, choke changes or even if the shells I bought mid season on a suggestion are doing what I’m thinking they should. If I were you I would be looking over Market Place and Craigslist for a new to you boat or watercraft if that’s on the books. This is the time of year people start to unload that stuff. The reason the timing of now is important is because people are generally looking to get out of that stuff at a reasonable price. In two months spring will be here and they will want a premium on watercraft, they’ll take less in January and February in most of the country. Is any of this earth shattering? No. But I’m covering it because today I hung up my decoys for their spring and summer slumber and thought about what I should be using with them next season. I pulled my Masai Mara out of its case and set it out in line for a good cleaning. And I threw that piece of shit muff into the garbage where it belonged when I took it out of the box. This season is done for me as of today. But next season started as soon as I typed the first word of this article. I’m so happy it’s always hunting season.
October 14, 2022 Wool something Your Grandpa was Right About : Why You Should Be Wearing Wool for Hunting Season By Justin Hunold I was in a white leather seat slipping and sliding down a dirt road, my wool pants couldn’t grab traction in that Lincoln Town Car. My grandfather, two weeks fresh off being splayed open and having a widow maker aneurysm removed from his abdomen, had decided that the opening day of New York deer season was no time to take “bed rest” as a serious notion from the doctors that performed the surgery. I was young, my dad had to work but sent me as the legal guardian of my grandfather and told me not to let him touch a deer. We were both stuffed into wool head to toe, wool and cigarette smoke because my grandfather practiced strict scent control. This was my first introduction into wool hunting clothing. It wouldn’t be my last sit in those woods or those pants, but as the years went on my ideas about deer hunting terrain features changed and so did my ideas of what wool pieces worked. This is a quick run through that journey to this point. The next impression about wool left on my buckskin story blanket of hunting came just a few short years later after reading all about the Benoits. I read the original How To Bag The Biggest Buck of Your Life and decided I would become a deer tracker. Larry Benoit expounded on the benefits of wool in that book. He wrote of its warmth, stealth and ability to insulate when wet. All of these are true, so with that in mind I bought my first set of brand new dedicated hunting clothes. Decked in my Columbia Gallatin Wool Jacket and Pants and a set of Lacrosse boots I tracked a 3 pt (in the eastern sense, spike and crotch) in the snow and shot him at 15 yards with a borrowed .308 Winchester. It happened so close and so fast I remember essentially only using the front sight to place the shot. I was sold, wool was it for me. My bowhunting career started in earnest the following year, and although I loved how quiet my wool set was, the wind seemingly cut through it like a Morakaniv knife through my finger (ouch!). So, I decided wool wasn’t where it was at and bought synthetics for years. I have owned every single synthetic fabric I can think of in every layer for which they would be practical. They have their place, and I now use them in conjunction with wool. Author wearing both a First Lite Brimmed Beanie and Cabela’s Merino Wool Jacket Many hundreds of hunts later and many articles of hunting clothing gone by I have come full circle. I currently run all wool as next to skin layers. I wear wool socks daily not just during hunting season and there is still nothing as quiet or warm when wet. My base layers can be stretched to multiple days of use because wool naturally holds no odors. I use the Black Ovis NWT merino wool base layers. They are awesome. I have three sets and rotate them throughout hunting. They have held up well and come in different colors and weights. I tend to lean heavily on the 250 weight. I also use Obsidian Pants and a First Lite Brimmed Beanie. I mix in fleece and wind blocking layers and some insulating layers with those pieces but wool makes up the majority of my system. Wool is a solid choice for waterfowl as well. With the ability to insulate even when wet, wool beats synthetic in a lot of ways. You can often find me in a wool waterfowl sweater during those cold mornings hunting divers on big water. Bottom line is wool keeps you warm, even when nature is giving her best effort to make sure you’re not. If you go far and hard, you work up a sweat even if you’re trying not to. Wool will help you keep that funk down and stay warm even after you saturate it. It is all natural and the better the Merino the more comfortable you’ll be. Merino is as comfortable as your favorite cotton underwear but it won’t get you killed. I hate when grown men say the word “comfy” unless they are talking to a child but good merino wool can be downright comfy. You also don’t have to spend a ton of money on wool. I have bought some of my all time favorite pieces at Military Surplus stores and second hand. Remember a green wool shirt is a green wool shirt no matter whose tag is on it. Those military, green, wool, fingerless gloves are the bees knees for a lot of chilly hunting situations. You can still use your electronics, gun or calls with your fingers exposed but your hands generally warm. I think if people take from my mistakes and go with these pieces early on they can save themselves a lot of money, aggravation and be more comfortable in the woods. We are out there to have fun. Speaking of funk grandpa’s scent control regime wasn’t far off. Carry milkweed, hunt terrain and learn to play the wind…smoking is not encouraged.
