MOJO’S Duck Season Somewhere Podcast
John Devney, Delta Waterfowl
It’s late-May, the Dakota prairies are in great shape. Already there are bright yellow, little mallard and pintail fuzzballs on the scene, preparing for the flight south this fall. John Devney of Delta Waterfowl is an avid duck hunter, a natural born communicator. He and Ramsey talk about favorite North American duck species (it’ll probably surprise you) and favorite places to duck hunt in the US. Low on the water and coming in hot like decoying ringnecks, their conversation dives into lots of interesting waterfowl hunting topics. What’s going on with specklebellies in the Deep South as compared to the Pacific Flyway? What’s happening with pintails – they’re probably shooting too many in Mexico, right?! And what about all of today’s many modern hardcore hunters traveling to Canada – that’s certainly impacting the fall flight, huh? Federal stimulus dollars galore are being spent to mitigate coronavirus, but how will the 2020 Pandemic affect waterfowl conservation efforts, such as banding and censusing? All of that and more in today’s episode of Duck Season Somewhere.
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Wyoming Duck and Goose Hunting
The fabled North Platte River slithers through the American West, holding enviable numbers of Canada geese and mallards. WyoBraska Waterfowl’s JJ Randolph has guided along Wyoming’s North Platte River since forever. With the storytelling ability of someone that’s guided for decades, he describes getting started, important influences, and why this region holds so many waterfowl – all where one of the Wild West’s most historically significant events occurred.
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Tom Beckbe Traditions
The Tombigbee River flows into the rugged Mobile-Tensas Delta of southern Alabama, the backdrop for today’s guest. Radcliff Menge describes how he became involved in the outdoors industry, and how family hunting traditions shaped Tom Beckbe’s company vision and the classic Tensas Jacket. Roots run deep.
Corey Mason, Dallas Safari Club and Wildlife Conservation
Corey Mason meets with Ramsey during the “COVID Pause.” Growing up hunting with family in west Texas, he chased his passion through college, eventually becoming a waterfowl biologist for Texas, Parks and Wildlife. As Executive Director of Dallas Safari Club, Corey passionately describes to Ramsey the importance of hunting anything anywhere to wildlife conservation worldwide, how hunters from all walks of life can engage collectively to meaningfully move the needle, and why all of us hunters worldwide are in this together.
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Zach Meyer, WildEar
Zach Meyer, formerly of WildEar, meets with Ramsey during Dallas Safari Club, telling him about his earliest introductions into hunting, about how he became a lifelong waterfowler with the single pull of the trigger. They share a few humorous tell-tale stories about shotgun-related hearing impairments (spoiler alert, Ramsey can’t read lips on TV screens). The two part ways after Ramsey receives an invite to experience something he’ll never do in Mississippi.
Ottawa Valley Ontario Canada Goose Hunting
It’s late-April and Ontario’s Ottawa Valley is quiet. But this fall it will fill with raucous, migrating honkers gorging themselves on local crops before beating their way further south. Ryan Reynolds, Apex Waterfowling, and Ramsey touch base during the “Covid Pause.” How does Canada goose hunting in Ontario’s Ottawa Valley differ from western provinces? What’s unique about interior Canada geese as compared to other subspecies? Ryan offers his candid appraisal of shotshells and the two hatch plans for the upcoming season.
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Lee Kjos, Wild Ducks in Wild Places
Lee Kjos and Ramsey Russell visit over hot coffee before Dallas Safari Club Convention, immediately stepping into a memory-filled swamp of hunting wild ducks in wild places, past duck hunts, real duck hunters, waterfowl conservation narratives. Kjos shares his “Walter Mitty Moment.” They then wade through a waist-high slough of ducky topics that hunting buddies usually do.
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Banned 12-gauge Shotguns in Canada?!
Last week, the Canadian government by-passed parliamentary procedures by implementing a 25 years-old, never-before-used provision to ban “black guns.” This week, a real bombshell exploded when it was learned that this “ordering council” creates a real gray area regarding the legality of 12-gauge and 10-gauge shotguns. Fake News? Can American duck hunters take their 12-gauge shotguns to Canada this fall?! In this special episode of Duck Season Somewhere, Tony Bernardo, Executive Director, Canadian Shooting Sports Association explains to Ramsey the implications of this ruling for Canadian and American duck hunters.
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Ben Webster, The Dream Job?
It’s late-April and because COVID-19 protocols have prevented his guiding spring snow geese in Canada, Ben Webster of Big Kansas Outdoors is home in central Kansas. Ben tells Ramsey why and when he got into guided Kansas duck hunting. What are some of the good and bad aspects of operating a professional guide service? What qualities does Ben really look for in prospective waterfowl guide-staff? What all goes into the Dream Job?
Related links: Big Kansas Outdoors
Martha Ciaffoni, Famous Argentina Hostess
It’s about an hour preceding showtime – hectic opening morning of Dallas Safari Club Convention. While putting finishing touches on the GetDucks exhibit, Ramsey Russell introduces long-time Argentina hostess, client relations specialist and trusted friend, Martha Ciaffoni. Martha is an integral GetDucks Argentina duck hunting team member for over a decade. How’d they meet? What funny, stressful, and memorable events shaped their working relationship? What’s it like taking care of so many US duck hunters each season? The conversation ends, until next year, as people begin flooding through the doors.
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