The New Guide & Haybale Honks
ario and the FA crew head to Saskatchewan with Tyler Mann of Saskatchewan Goose Company. He is training a new guide or should we say his young son to eventually take over the business. We sit under huge spins of snow geese and Jase gets a workout picking up birds. The second part of the episode sits us on a fenceline chasing giant honkers for an afternoon hunt. We are hunting a hay bale field but we need to arrange some bales before the set up begins. Lots of birds and lots of fun as always.
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SGC Combo, Whiskey Teal & Sask Blues
Mario and the FA crew are in Saskatchewan with Tyler Mann of Saskatchewan Goose Company for an all out combo hunt that showcases all of what Saskatchewan has to offer. We then have an absolute bucket list shoot for Blue Geese in the spring season in Saskatchewan. Last but not least we head to Nebraska for a Teal shoot that happens so quick it is over before you know it. The most Teal I have personally ever seen in one hunt.
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Being Relentless with the Leupold Crew!
We are in Mario's home state of Oregon. We see a ton of birds on the sheet water for this hunt including the Unicorn of the Northwest, a Eurasian Wigeon. We also get bombed by a pile of Teal, Spoonbills, Wigeon, Pintails and an occasional Mallard in late January. The real treat is sharing the blind with some great friends from Leupold Optics. Tim and Riza Lesser, Shawn Skipper from Leupold and the President and CEO of Leupold Bruce Pettet and his yellow lab. Also in the blind are James MacDonald and his Raspberry donuts vs David Bingham of Major League Soccers FC Charlotte and his giant cookies. What snack wins? You also get to join us for the world class tour at the Leupold facility with Pete Mo and see how the highest quality optics on the market are made, tested, and sent out to customers. Incredible time with tons of knowledge on the brand and its history.
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Got Em All and Sunrise Specks
We have tons of ducks and snows in the decoys, and we have some young hunters getting to experience their first real waterfowl hunts and one lucky young hunter getting to shoot his very first ducks and snows. Sunshine, wind and an afternoon hunt make for a perfect mix to make a few piles for some great kids to chase and retrieve. I am not sure who is happier, the shooters or the kids picking up the birds. Lots of fun and smiles on this hunt, that is what it is all about. The second hunt is in Saskatchewan known for its sunrises and this one is absolutely world class. The spotters saw nothing but honkers in this field, but for some reason a ton of specks moved in and the first group caught us off guard but after that it was on. Tyler at Sask. Goose Co had us on the X for this hunt and the backdrop is breathtaking. Kyle and Colter from Weatherby and the crew help us limit out on darks as we have the time of our lives.
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Hunting with 2 World Carving Champs: Pat Godin & Wayne Simkin
Mario gives you a front row seat to hunting with 17-Time World Decoy Carving Champion Pat Godin and 2-Time World Decoy Carving Champion Wayne Simkin. Both carvers are from Canada and absolutely love waterfowl and carving. You get to see what goes into a carving, from start to finish. What really goes through the mind of a World Champion when they are hunting or in the shop and the tradition of carving. We share a big blind in Missouri with the Rogers Sporting goods folks and shoot a few wall hanging specimens for us to admire and talk about.
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6-Time World Decoy Carver Tom Christie is a Hell of a Shot!
Mario sits in a blind and spends time with Tom Christie, 6-Time World Decoy carving Champion. Tom is an incredible shot and loves being in the outdoors and hunting birds. He loves the tradition of carving and hunting and showcasing his skills to try and replicate the birds he loves so much. Hunting with us are 17-Time World Decoy Carving Champion Pat Godin and 2-Time World Deocy Carving Champion Wayne Simkin and the folks from Rogers Sporting Goods in Missouri. We admire some of the most incredible Mallards, Gadwall and Wigeon next to our decoys to show you how close we can get to the real thing.
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Shooting Greenheads with 3-Time World Carving Champ Jamie Welsh
Mario sits next to 3-Time World Decoy carving Champion Jamie Welsh from South Carolina. Jamie has been carving for a long time and loves the tradition of carving and hunting and showcasing his skills to try and replicate the birds he loves so much. Jamie has done a ton of decoy carvings for us at FA including the "FAN FAVORITE", and we hunt over them and also discuss them in the shop after the hunt. Great insight into the process of carving decoys and the final outcome when it hits the market. Joining us on this hunt are Dan Compton and Matt Sprouse from Federal Ammuntion as Shannon and Vince Peisert host us at their incredible lodge in Missouri. Vince owns Great Guns and Shannon runs the Rogers Sporting Goods store in Liberty Missouri.
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The 2-Shot Contest & Revenge with a Side of Popcorn Geese
It is that time again when we head to Torrington, Wyoming for the Annual Goshen County 2 Shot Goose contest. Last year was a 0-4 for Tyler Mann and Mario, but this year they are hoping for a little revenge. Kyle and Colter from Weatherby have their team ready and newcomers John Serrano and Alex Langbell from Gundog Outdoors have their team entered. The day after the contest Mario and Tyler Mann get some revenge on the geese as they hunt with Kyle and Colter from Weatherby. Jett will do all the retrieving as we try to get some redemption on the geese. Good times in the cold with the crew, what else can you ask for. After we leave Wyoming, we make our way back to Central Montana to chase birds with John and the crew. Let me ask………. have you ever seen a burnt corn field?……I mean burnt right to the ground with the smell of burnt popcorn. Well, this is a first for me and the rest of the crew as we hunt one of those fields for geese. See how it turns out for us.
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Monguls in the Fog Part 2 & Youth Hunt Gone Wild
We revisit Monguls in The Fog! The first version of Monguls in the fog was as up close and personal but Part 2 is lessers, specks and ducks in your face at Sask Goose Company in Saskatchewan. The birds work our spread as tight as you can get and the way we have our hide they have no idea we are there. Joining us on this hunt is a unique crew: Kyle and Tyler from Weatherby and Chris Renee their pro staffer as well as Adam Patterson a dealer for Weatherby. On the FA side of things Mario is joined by his longtime friends, Kjartan Lorange aka the “VIKING” from Iceland and Juho Ristikankare from Finland and Brad Fenson Freelance outdoor writer. Tyler Mann of Saskatchewan Goose Company organized a youth hunt with the Cater Lake Wildlife Federation for the end of the week while we were up hunting. Mario and the crew volunteered their time to stick around and make sure these young hunters have the time of their lives. The geese totally cooperated and worked the decoys so all our young hunters could get some very close shots. Tons of laughs + good shooting = a pile of geese Any time you can get new hunters in the field is a special hunt for sure.
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Montana River Mallards & Wild West Ducks Part 2
Mario hits the river in Montana with all the guys from the Weatherby office for some cold temps and some shiny green. Jett gets a real workout as the mallards do it dirty right in our face. This is a very special episode as it features two newly released products in the Waterfowl world. The first is the long-awaited release of a true extreme waterfowl shotgun from Weatherby, the Sorix. The next product that is unveiled in this episode is Federal Ammunitions brand new shotshell for waterfowl called UltraSteel. It comes in different loads and shot sizes and there are also stacked loads as well with two different sized pellets. It is nothing but hot centers and tight patterns for the mallards in this episode.The last part of the episode takes us out west to Oregon where in certain places you can shoot your limit of 7 ducks with 7 different species hanging on your strap. One of my favorite places to explore and hunt is on the Columbia River. It is one of the wildest rivers in the west as it is unforgiving as it has taken anglers, hunters, boats, motors, equipment and pulled them to the bottom of its waters. Mario gets to take some folks that have never hunted a big river, like Kyle from Weatherby, and his dad Dirk. We also get to take Shawn Skipper from Leupold Optics and David Bingham a goalie who plays for a Major League Soccer club and who just happens to have his brand-new boat. Expect some wet weather and some big water as we put the Weatherby guns to a real test in the NW Weather.
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Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em, The Frontrunners & On the Snow Line
Mario heads to Canada for spring snows with a huge crew. The first set is a corn field for a nice snow shoot with a lot of adult birds in the area as well as some great looking blues. Tyler Mann at Saskatchewan Goose Company is always a blast to hunt with and Brad Fenson, freelance outdoor writer is also with us and a few other guys we hunt with throughout the year. Scouting was the key, and we found the birds in a few places, but we also had to juggle what fields were being worked on by the farmers and hoping we hit the right fields at the right time. We had a great hide on this hunt and the snow goose chairs were perfect for how high the corn was. The next set for snows has us on a brush line and the snows have no idea we are there as the Knockout blinds just absolutely disappeared in the brush. Wind at our back puts the adult snows and blues right in our face, plus we get a closeup look at some specks and honkers as they transition back to their nesting grounds. Last but not least, as the snows fight the snow line every year it turns into a perfect storm on this hunt. If you are in the right place at the right time when they get stopped it could turn into the best hunting of your life. This year they got caught because there was no open water north of them and they had to stay where they were and wait for the hard ice to thaw. Lets just say, things got a little greasy or better yet, a lot greasy. Tyler from Saskatchewan Goose Company, Brad Fenson outdoor writer, Tyler from Prairie Sky Outfitters and more folks join us for one heck of a trip. Nothing like spring snows to cure the duck depression.
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Barnacle Geese in Sweden & Greylags in the Swaths
If you are putting your bucket list together, I suggest a trip to Sweden to chase Barnacle Geese and Greylag Geese in the lush fields of Iceland. The Barnacles are the snow goose of Europe, and it takes big spreads and lots of madness to get them close to harvest them. We are joined by Dan and Jake from Federal Ammunition as we test out the new Hevi-Bismuth. Jani and Juuso from Wild Experience.FI are our outfitters on this trip and they are as hardcore as it gets. They are waterfowlers that put their clients on the birds, while also protecting the crops for the farmers. We had an absolute dream hunt for one of the prettiest geese to chase in the world. The second part of this episode we go back to our roots and what made Final Approach the company it is today. Layout blind hunting in a field for geese. The only difference is we are shooting Greylag and Pinkfoot geese in Iceland. This is an in-your-face episode with decoying geese up close and personal. The Knockout blinds are hidden in barley swaths and the birds have no idea we are waiting for them to drop in. Hope you enjoy the laughs and working birds and if you might need some translation as the Iceland guys always have something fun to say, just not all the time in English.
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Chasing Turkeys in Washington & Montana
This is the first episode of our new turkey hunting series Called The Last Strut! This series is dedicated to turkeys and turkey hunting across the U.S and Canada. Mario goes late season spring turkey hunting with long time friend Cody Reeves who is a turkey junkie and his hunting partner Kyle. There is only one thing Cody wants to chase more than longbeards and thats honkers. It is springtime and the high mountains of Eastern Washington have some of the most incredible scenery to turkey hunt. We run and gun several areas and have a ton of hens come in to see whats up, but it is late season, and the weather is hot. The other part of this episode is totally opposite. We go from hot to frigid cold for turkeys in Montana. Mario is joined by Kyle Killen from Weatherby Firearms and John Serrano is our host. The spring weather has turned back into winter with some blowing snow, wind and low temperatures. We ended up hiking about 15 or more miles in just a few days to chase these birds. We finally come up on a group with one strutter in it and put the spot and stalk on him. See how it turns out.