A Letter to the Waterfowl Hunting Community

Zach Scholl

Zach Scholl, photo by Derek Testerman

I’d like to start with a disclaimer, I do not believe there is a hard definition of the RIGHT way to pursue waterfowl, but there are some ways and/or mentalities in waterfowl hunting that I don’t agree with. Consider this an open letter to the community of waterfowl hunters. 

Many of us were taught the “right” way to hunt by a mentor of some kind. For me, that mentor was my father. My earliest memories were getting up to watch him and his buddies get together out front of the house, often laughing and playing with the dogs, waiting for that one guy who somehow is always late. Before I was old enough to join in the fun, I’d go back to bed after they left, and then wakeup some hours later and wait for them to return. Looking back, the smiles on their faces when they got back, never seemed to correlate to the number of birds they were unloading. In fact, whenever asked “how was the hunt” it rarely ever was accompanied by a number. Even on the skunks, the response was something like “nothing was flying, but we had a blast”. I believe we are losing that mentality. Because of losing that mentality, new, possibly detrimental thought processes are taking its place. In the age of social media, the numbers, clicks and pile pictures have taken a front seat. A hunt without a limit is turning into a “bad” hunt. Last I checked, our families aren’t going hungry because we couldn’t kill a duck. Somewhere along the line, hunting has changed from an exercise in appreciation for a natural resource, to consuming that same resource. This pile or bust mentality has lead to numerous problems (as I see them) to include but not limited to party hunting, flock shooting, and sky blasting. To me, all of these practices are a problem that is stemming from one thing: a decrease in respect for the bird. I am not writing this to call out or shame anybody, but I do believe that if this consumer mentality continues, we are going to have bigger issues down the road. Here’s the kicker: it’s OUR fault. We, the hunters who grew up on the water and in the fields, tagging along with our dads or other mentors are the reason that all of this has become so prevalent. Hang on, we hunt the “right” way, why is this our problem? Because we have failed to do what our mentors did for us, and that is educate a new class of outdoorsmen. We have gate kept, scolded, and discouraged this new class and as a result, they have turned to YouTube and social media for mentorship, and in those places, clicks drive traffic. Now this would be wildly hypocritical as a waterfowl guide for me to say considering that Maverick as a whole depends on social media for much of it’s marketing. But take a scroll through our pages. You won’t find a pile picture. And we hope that you won’t find anything that could be construed as disrespectful to the bird. I am not writing this as a piece on why social media is bad, because like anything, it’s all in how you use it. This new class of hunters are getting much of if not all of their training and content regarding the outdoors in that unchecked space. In that space we have people posting pictures of piles of geese (where nobody has any idea which ones they personally shot), we have videos of people placing a flashy gold chain on a birds neck and doing some silly dance. We have brands with “pro staff” models that prey on guys who just want to be included, and in return for being able to say that they are on a staff and a nominal discount, these guys are probably the bulk of the company’s sales. We have videos of dogs breaking early and getting shot over (I understand that it happens, but why shoot, no bird is worth your dog, and why post that and promote a clearly unsafe environment to people who may not know any better?). There are tons of videos of these insane 60+ yard shots. I will give it to you, that’s an impressive shot, but just because advancements in ammo allow us to make shots like that doesn’t mean we should. I could go on, but you get the point. The new class of hunters are getting their “how” and their “why” from this content, and it is negatively affecting the community as a whole. 

Let’s get back to the long distance shooting issue (that is a very nice way of saying sky blasting). Obviously, we shoot bismuth. However, this is not a plug for any specific brand, nor is it a confirmation that xxx shell can kill at a long distance. The reason for shooting a premium shell boils down to the same thing I discussed earlier: respect for the bird. That is the point of a more lethal product. When we shoot a bird we want it dead before it hits the water. Clean and ethical. Can these shells get the job done at further ranges than steel? Technically yes. But again, it doesn’t mean that taking longer shots is the right thing to do. But longer shots are becoming normal and are a point of pride for many on the socials. Hell, new clients give us weird looks when we don’t call the shot when birds are on their first pass at 40yds. We would rather have them at 15, feet down, toes dragging, to give everyone their best opportunity to make a clean kill that minimizes suffering. Wounded birds are a pain, and even though we have phenomenal dogs, no one wants to send their dog to struggle through 70yds of ice or mud to retrieve a wounded bird. If you’re having trouble getting the birds close, hide better, call better, set a better spread, there is a laundry list of things you can do before you start taking pokes and wounding birds. 

To wrap things up, I realize that I have been fairly negative throughout this letter, and those of you who know me well know that I try not to be such a downer. But when asked if I wanted to write something for the blog I took some time to think and originally I was going to write about some of my phenomenal experiences with guys who I consider mentors in the space. But that made me realize that not everybody has that, and as a result the culture of waterfowl has shifted. Respect for the bird has taken a back seat and we (as a collective industry) have switched to being consumers. We are the example to the rest of the outdoor industry as to what happens when a group doesn’t bring in the new class. I know this isn’t an apples to apples comparison, but I think it’s a story worth telling. We had Kile Jones and Forrest Carpenter come out for a hunt with us and I was a little star struck going into it. I mean these guys have made a living in the hunting industry, were always in front of the camera, winning calling competitions, and most people who chased birds knew who they were. I think this was my second year guiding, and I had been watching those guys on socials for years. From the second they hopped into my truck those guys might as well have just been hunting buddies I had known forever. They were just normal dudes, who love it when the birds do it right. It blew my mind when they offered to sit in a garage between hunts and helped to teach me some sounds I heard them make on a goose call that I had never tried to reproduce before. We also had multiple discussions about the impact that one of their mentors, the late Tim Grounds had on them. That’s when I started to realize that no matter how big or small these guys who are the faces of brands and companies seem, many if not the majority of them are great dudes who will give you the time of day if you just reach out. Fast forward a few years I still reach out to both guys for advice or just to catch up. Advice from Kile lead me to harvesting my first long beard. I knew he was the kind of guy who is willing to help anyone out of his love for those birds so I felt comfortable reaching out. The waterfowl and hunting community at its core is a welcoming and friendly space, you just need to know where to look. DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK!

To wrap things up on a positive note, we got ourselves into this situation, therefore we can also get ourselves out of it.

To the turkey hunting community: learn from our example, and mentor the new hunters. 

To the guys who had a mentor: thank them. Take what they taught you and don’t gate keep it, spread it to the new guys. Teach them to love and respect our waterfowl, not just to consume them. Teach them to love the effort and the process, not the end result.

To the new guys: I promise you there are so many guys who just love to hunt, love the bird, and love the outdoors. And those guys will be more than happy to give tips and talk about anything that has to do with this great passion. Don’t be afraid to DM anybody who you look up to or approach them at an outdoors show and ask your questions. No matter the follower count and sponsor numbers, most of these guys are some of the friendliest bird nerds out there. I would just caution you to vet your idols. Is what they put out there on the socials respectful to the resource or is it glorifying their ability to kill and kill a lot?

To the industry as a whole: We need to be better. If this letter pisses you off, I am probably talking to you. If this letter strikes any sort of chord in you and brings back good memories of maybe not shooting and just enjoying a large flock of birds finishing the right way, and you not ruining the show to harvest a few birds, you are the type of person who we need to step up.