Offseason Improvement Guide; Get 1% Better Everyday

It’s April, if you’re like me, you’re prepping for next season. If you’re a diehard waterfowl hunter, the season doesn’t really ever end, it just has different cycles. I like to refer to what we’re in now as a “work up”. It’s time to re-evaluate, learn from the previous season, and address how you’re going to improve for next season. Below, I’ve outlined a guide to follow. It doesn’t have to be your waterfowl bible, but it can help kill the offseason blues, and you’ll improve as a hunter along the way. My rule is really simple, get 1% better everyday. You can accomplish that in a lot of different ways. Here’s a few ideas to help you along the way!

1.) Find a mentor: 

I like to talk so this may come as a surprise, god gave you 1 mouth and 2 ears for a reason. I bring this up, because we all have so much to learn from previous generations, or hunters who have truly perfected their craft. One of the best parts of the current waterfowl industry is access. Most of your “big names” are really approachable individuals who are more than happy to help. Don’t hesitate to reach out to them. I have several mentors that I’ve learned a ton from. My task is for you to find a mentor to talk to once a week or once a month, whatever you can fit into your schedule. Come prepared, ask questions, and really listen to your mentors responses. A good starting point isn’t “why do you love waterfowl hunting?”. A good starting point might be something along the lines of, “why do you hunt beans when it rains or why do you run black and white silos in the snow?”. Listen and learn! 

2.) Spend time with your calls: If you haven’t cleaned your calls from last season, clean them. Calls are no different than any other tool in your kit, take care of them! Use warm water and get all of the dirt, food, etc out of the call. Make sure the calls are dry before you reassemble them. Once you’ve cleaned your calls, it's time to work. For reference, I practice 3-4 days a week. Reps are good, but good reps are the best. It’s important not to just get on your call and let it rip. Make sure you’re focusing note by note and cadence by cadence. Pretend that you’re in a hunting scenario and react to the different scenarios you might see on any given hunt. One of the best parts about social media today is how much solid teaching is available. You have guys like Kile Jones, Fred Zink, Cory Loeffler, and Jim Ronquest to name a few making videos for FREE on how to present air properly and how to improve your calling. That’s equivalent to having Tom Brady teach you how to throw a football. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day, your calling won’t be perfect in a week. It’s a process, enjoy it. 

3.) Find ways to Improve your Property/ Properties: 

I want to specifically focus on hides here. If you can build a permanent blind, do it! It’s hard to beat a massive permanent blind that protects you from the elements and provides cover. That big permanent blind is great, but the most important piece of the conversation has to be how you’re brushing it. I like for my blinds to match what I’m hunting from a habitat standpoint. To birds, I want my blinds to look exactly like the habitat they’re utilizing. If my blind is in a bunch of pines/ cedars, that’s what I brush with. If my blinds are in a marsh, I’m using switchgrass. Make it natural and THICK, you’ll kill more birds. If you’re unable to build a permanent blind, pick up a Lucky Duck 4x4 blind. I have hunted every A-frame on the market and nothing comes close. The frame is sturdy, it has dog holes, and it even has gun holders. More importantly they are easy to brush. Additionally, they come with overhead covers. This is HUGE for hunters who utilize A-frames. Why? A frames, if not brushed properly have a massive black hole in-between both sides of the blind. If you get birds over top, you’re done. In the offseason specifically, focus on what brush you’re going to use and how you’re going to acquire it. Lastly, If you have the budget, pick up synthetic grass if it matches the habitat your hunting. Brush your blind in once and you’re set as long as you’re not leaving your covers on after and in-between hunts. 

4.) Shoot and Shoot a Lot: 

It’s pretty rare to be able to show up to a hunt without having picked up your gun in 6 months and shoot like Billy the Kid. It’s also rare to be standing in a blind with your gun shouldered and birds in front of you. Find a trap and skeet range where you can practice real life hunting scenarios and get as many reps as you can. Another good task to accomplish is to pattern your gun or guns. I’ve found that Kent’s shells pattern exceptionally well in my guns (I shoot Benelli’s). 

5.) Repaint your decoys: I am borderline psychotic about my decoys and how they look. I am always looking for an edge, great looking decoys seem to help us out a ton. I’m a huge believer in the importance of contrast. For my goose decoys, I focus on black and white contrast. I really focus on the heads because they seem to take the biggest beating. Most of my goose decoys are flocked so I simply put a thin (non gloss) layer of black Rustoleum over each head. For ducks, I focus on the whitest sections of the decoys bodies and follow the same recipe. It goes a long way and it’ll save you a ton of money each year.