As many of us know, hunting and fishing are about much more than hitting your daily limit, filling a tag, or mounting a trophy on your wall. Although those can be rewarding in their own ways, there are many other factors that make us proud to be outdoorsmen and women. It's about passing our love for the outdoors along to the next generation, forging lifelong friendships, advocating for conservation, and gaining a profound understanding of the landscapes and species we pursue.
We’ve highlighted the core pillars that keep us setting alarms for 3am on opening day of duck season, training a dog that "will be ready next season", spending hours tying flies that you can find at your local fly shop for less than $3, and hiking miles just to bust two coveys. Follow along and we'll share with you what it means to be a part of the Duck Camp community.
The Tradition
Tradition starts with the outdoorsmen and women who came before us. Whether that was your mom, dad, grandpa, aunt, friend of a friend, or even someone with a trusty YouTube channel who you may not know but sure feels like you do.
We all appreciate the people who took the time to introduce us to the complicated and rewarding world of hunting and fishing. They taught us how to tie our first knot, blow a duck call, lay out a decoy spread, and remember the bug spray on a teal hunt. Armed with this knowledge, we are prepared to mentor the next generation of hunters and anglers, passing on our passion for the species we pursue and the preservation of their habitats.
"I feel our time on earth, regardless of our pursuits, is measured not by what we'll accomplish but by how we proceed with our intent. An internal code of conduct is alive and real in each one of us. Personal success is profoundly measured by how you, I or anyone acts when they are alone. We've all learned this through our forefathers and the traditions they paved before us, and our job as outdoorsmen and women is to always pay it forward beginning with our children."
- Andy Mill
The Camaraderie
It's tough not to form a bond with someone who's willing to wake up at 3 a.m. to brave cold, wet, and uncomfortable conditions, chasing birds season after season. This obsession isn't unique to duck hunting; you can find this level of dedication woven into every pursuit.
Early mornings and unforgiving landscapes become all the more worth it when shared with the right people. Building a relationship with a guide you've booked for years, even after they've called you a list of names we won't repeat, meeting new people at your duck camp who will become close friends for years to come, and sneaking out of work early for a "doctor's appointment" to scout a new plot of land with a buddy you only see during hunting season- these experiences turn the pursuit into something more than just a hobby.
"Being in the outdoors replenishes our souls. It slows down things you take in, yet when done alone, leaves us wanting to share with others. Have even one person or a dedicated group we can count on to join us in those endeavors whether pleasurable or grueling makes all the difference. The shared experience makes us laugh harder and dig deeper knowing we have others around us to take part in these pursuits."
- John Dunaway
The Pursuit
The pursuit starts well before landing a fish or pulling the trigger, and sometimes you may not get to do either. It's sitting in a duck blind before shooting light, observing the environment wake up around you, loading your rods into a drift boat after rigging them on a river bank, letting your bird dog out of its kennel and seeing their pure excitement, pulling out just the right amount of line, and hearing the drag on your reel. For us, a day spent on the water or in the field is a day well spent; anything else is just a bonus.
"It's all about those special places that you can just feel it, you feel something shining through you, takes away all the cares of the world, where you can forget about all the stuff you gotta deal with when you leave there. Sometimes you wet a line, sometimes you just enjoy the sunrise, the cocktails around the campfire with your compadres, hearing and bull elk bugle through the valley and know that nothing else in the world matters right then and there."
- Lacey Kelly
The Bonds
Now for your hunting buddy that has never slept through a hunt, showed up late to the blind, forgotten shotshells or dropped your shotgun in the marsh - your bird dog. Your trusty (or sometimes not-so-trusty) bird dog is a piece of the hunt you'd love to be able to pass down through generations.
Although that's not a possibility, we cherish the seasons we spend with them. From their first retrieve to their final outing, they're there through thick and thin, whether we're bagging limits or they're frustrated for not having the opportunity to retrieve a single bird. Through countless hours of off-season training and moments of blood-boiling frustration, you create an unbreakable bond.
"From the beginning of my career, it's always been about the dog. I've always said that if I didn't have or couldn't have a dog on the hunt, I don't know that I would ever go again. From guiding hunts to training dogs for the public all these years, there is nothing more pure than watching that bond we build during the first full season. Hunting and training labradors has carried me all over the states allowing me to experience new styles of hunting and build closer bonds with other hunters."
- Jeremy Criscoe
The Tools
There's gear that gets worn out and replaced over the seasons-rods, reels, shot shells, boots, and plenty of others. But there are also tools that we develop deeper bonds with and gear that can be passed down through generations.
Grandpa's old shotgun might not cycle like it used to, kick a bit harder than you'd like, and be a pain to clean, but no other gun floods back memories like his does each time you pull it out of the case.
Every time you head to the blind, dove field, or range, a part of him is right there with you, and you'll be able to pass those memories and the stories that come with them to your kids when the time comes.
"There are some inanimate objects that become more than the sum of their parts. My grandpa's Remington Sportsman 58 is one of those. Every time I pull it out of the case, it brings back the vivid smell and image of his office - covered in photos of his hunting trips and taxidermy. It reminds me of his character, his obsession with the outdoors and his love for his 13 grandsons. That Remington is more than a shotgun. It's a memory. And one I hope to pass onto the next generation."
- Grant Watson
The Meals
The gathering that comes post hunt - dove poppers in the field, fresh backstrap cooked over a campfire or grilling burgers at a family cookout months later. These are moments that help you appreciate the food in front of you - developing a deeper understanding of where our food comes from and feeling a sense of responsibility to not let any go to waste.
After a successful hunt, your mind races with ideas for preparing wild game and the excitement of sharing it with others. And when you impress the person who usually doesn't like the taste of wild game, you know you've done something right.
"In our world we eat what we take from the land. Streams, mountains, and grasslands all provide the ingredients. One plate, one fire, one pan. It all tastes better under the big sky."
- Seth Siegel Gardner
The Conservation
To conclude this series we saved one of the most important pillars for last. There's a common misconception that hunters deplete rather than enrich environments. In reality, we are a group of people championing conservation, and deepening our connection to the landscapes and wildlife we pursue.
We take pride in leaving the land better than we found it and ensuring that these species are healthy and thriving for many seasons to come. We are advocates for local and national conservation efforts and are committed to sharing these values with the outdoors men and women that will utilize the same lands and waterways that we have.
"To conserve is to preserve the land with the future in mind. As a guide, my passion is found beneath the water, and all that flourishes around it. My time on the water is as intimate as a prayer with God. At heart, I relate back to my cowboying days; to which I've never seen cattle grow on dirt, and l've never seen fish thrive in mud. It's up to the "cowboys" to manage our "ranch" and preserve the grasses and fight all things that get in the way of its growth. I intentionally practice catch and release with my clients, not because I have to, but because l've never seen a business stay open by killing its own employees."
- Owen Gayler