Todd Brillon asked:

When you think of incredible Mallard hunting, only one place comes to mind; Stuttgart, Arkansas. Stuttgart is known as the Rice and Duck Capital of the World.? Hunting waterfowl in Southeast Arkansas is not considered a pastime, but rather a way of life. Anyone who enjoys wing shooting at its finest must make this trip to the Mecca? of duck hunting at least once in their lifetime.

Below you will find some interesting questions and answers about duck hunting in Arkansas.

Question: When is the best time to come and hunt in Arkansas?

Answer: Depends on the season. Weather, water, and food sources all play a role in your hunting success. By planting food supplies you put the odds in your favor for having 60 days of quality hunting. While it doesn’t guarantee anything, it always helps to put the odds in your favor.

Question: Do I need waders?

Answer: Yes, waders will cover any hunting situation you face while also providing extra insulation to keep you warm and dry.

Question: What kind of ducks are hunted?

Answer: Generally the Mallard duck is the most popular duck among hunters. Early in the season you will have a very mixed bag wherever you are hunting. By mid December the rice fields and timber will produce mostly Mallards. Reservoir hunting and bayou hunting will always produce a mixed bag for the entire season. It all depends on the hunting area.

Question: Should I bring my dog?

Answer: Dogs are welcome but must be controllable. Often times the hunting is fast and furious for the first hour of the hunt. If one person in your group is trying to train a new dog during that time, the success rate could be greatly diminished.

Question: When should I book my hunt?

Answer: Arkansas sets its duck season at the end of August. As soon as you can get your party together it is a very good idea to send your deposit and book. That way you get the days you want. I realize it’s often a hassle to try and get four or five guys together to book a December hunt in August. Plan ahead because booking is usually on a first come first serve basis.

Question: Will my group be mixed with another group?

Answer: Guides usually do not like to mix groups when they are taking hunters. It all depends on the size of your group. If you bring at least four hunters, you will be guaranteed to be hunting only with your group. If you bring eight hunters, they will most likely split your group down and take two groups of four. It isn’t feasible to pay a guide to take one guy hunting and burn down a hole. Anyone who tells you they are willing to do that is probably not being honest.

Question: What type of shotgun and shot size should I use?

Answer: Most adult male hunters prefer a 12 gauge shotgun for duck hunting. They typically shoot a modified choke and shoot number 2, 3, or 4 steel shot depending on where they are hunting. Some hunters who are experienced marksman prefer to shoot a full choke and increase their range. It depends strictly on the preference of the hunter.

Where to lodge: Retriever Lodge is a duck guiding operation that specializes in small groups. We hunt exclusively on private ground and offer some of the finest rice field and flooded timber hunting known to the area. We provide the atmosphere of a buddy hunt? rather than that of a commercial operation. This helps to guarantee an enjoyable hunt, and gives you a true experience of an Arkansas duck hunt.

Retriever Lodge hunts exclusively on privately owned ground. We own several thousand acres of prime duck hunting habitat in the heart of Arkansas County. We have rice fields, soybean fields, dead timber reservoirs, bayou hunting, and green timber hunting. All of our hunting areas are managed to provide optimal hunting. The key to good duck hunting is food. We plant many of our areas exclusively for the ducks. Most of these crops are left standing and periodically flooded throughout the season. We plant rice, milo, and millet in all of our reservoirs and green timber holes. We do not hunt any of our hunting areas over twice a week, and try to let the ducks rest in these areas as much as possible. During the season we check each of our hunting areas to prepare for the next days hunt. Last year Retriever Lodge killed 2505 ducks on our privately owned ground. Two of our groups killed over 225 ducks in a 3 day period. We manage year-round for the ducks. My family owns a fertilizer plant and farms, and we use our labor to work on our hunting areas in our spare time. Two of my employees are basically working on hunting areas full time. I also fly my airplane to scout hunting areas so we don’t disturb the ducks. We take the time and dedicate ourselves to provide exceptional hunting. I personally do not like to go on a bad duck hunt and I really don’t like taking people on a poor hunt. While we can’t guarantee success, we do everything possible to put the odds in our favor.

See our site at Retrieverlodge.com

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Abhishek Agarwal asked:

The United States has many forests, but all of them cannot be counted as public hunting lands. Compared to many other states, Minnesota can provide a fair number of public hunting lands for the eager hunter. Also, plenty of resources are available to provide information regarding these lands. As a matter of fact, Minnesota public hunting land maps are readily provided by the Minnesota DNR or Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

All the public hunting properties looked after by the state of Minnesota can be pinpointed on the Minnesota public hunting land maps. Hunting regulations and rules slightly vary in each type of land.

According to the Minnesota public hunting land maps, hunting areas in this state have been categorized as follows–

(1) Wildlife Management Areas.

(2) State Forests.

(3) Wildlife Protection Areas.

(4) National Wildlife Refuges.

(5) National Forests.

(6) Industrial Forest Lands.

(7) County-owned Lands.

Each kind of land is described below–

(1) The Department of Natural Resources looks after uplands, woods and wetlands listed as “Wildlife Management Areas”. Public hunting is allowed on these locations during the normal hunting season.

(2) There are 56 forests belonging to the state. Covering an area of three million acres, these “state forests” are home to animals like bear, deer, ruffled grouse and moose. The public is given access for hunting in these areas.

(3) Some areas are under federal protection, yet open for limited public hunting. These “Wildlife Protection Areas” consist of a few uplands and wetlands. The Minnesota Public Recreation Information (PRIM) maps will lend Minnesota public hunting land maps to search for these locations.

(4) The US Fish and Wildlife Service gives access to Minnesota public hunting land maps as well as hunting laws related to its 8 “National Wildlife Refuges”. Hunting is restricted to certain parts only, and the harvest allowed is limited.

(5) The 2 “National Forests” of the state are Superior and Chippewa. A hunter can get Minnesota public hunting land maps for directions to these northern forests from the US National Forest Service, since hunting is allowed on these properties.

(6) Large companies dealing with forest products also own “Industrial Forest Lands”. Hunters are geneally allowed access to these properties during the regular hunting season, unless a company wants to use its land for another purpose.

(7) Landowners who have not been able to pay their taxes, lose their properties (generally forested areas) to the government. They are then considered as “County-owned Lands”. There are Minnesota public hunting land maps to provide directions as well as the list of hunting regulations to be followed. Each county has its own hunting laws. Also, the acreage varies from place to place.

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Jaden Skiver asked:

Hunting dogs are certainly the best possible ally of the hunter, as they sniff and scavenge for prey in the deepest and darkest brush of the forest. There are many different possibilities for a hunting dog type that you can take on your next trip. The type of dog you should take on your hunting trip should be directly related to the type of hunting you are planning on. If you are planning on hunting fur-bearing animals, for example, you would be more satisfied with a hound than you would be with a terrier. Regardless of what dog you choose to take with you on your next hunting trip, you can be sure that you will have made a new friend by the end of the journey.

The most common main category of hunting dogs is the hound. Hounds are actually divided into two categories from there: the sighthound and the scent hound. As their names imply, each sub-category of dog type refers to a certain skill that the dog tends to be more proficient in. Sighthounds, like the Whippet, are adapted to hunting because of their visual acumen. They practice a method that is known as coursing, referring to the notion of spotting the prey from a long distance and following it in a quick pursuit. Scent hounds, like the Coonhound, work by scent rather than sight. They tend to pick up on a trace of the prey from the ground and follow that scent, hopefully to the prey. Scent hounds often work in packs and are regarded as having some of the most sensitive noses of all other dog types.

The next classification of dogs used for hunting is the gun dog. These dogs are used mostly by short range hunters using shotguns. There are three sub-categories of gun dogs: flushing spaniels, pointing breeds and retrievers. Again, their names are reflective of the particular skill that the dog has to offer the hunter. The retrievers, once known as water spaniels, are great for finding and getting shot or killed game for the hunter. If the hunter kills a duck, the retriever heads over to pick it up and brings it back to the hunter. The pointing breed, such as an English setter, tend to “point out” the prey by pointing at upland birds or other upland animals being hunted. The pointing breed of dogs sometimes also help flush the prey out from their hiding spot. The flushing spaniels, such as the English Cocker spaniel, are used to locate and spring the prey for the hunter. They are trained to remain close to the hunter, ensuring an easy kill.

Still another popular type of hunting dog is the terrier. Terriers are used to hunt mammals, for the most part. These animals, such as the Lakeland terrier, are used to locate the actual den of the animal and spring or capture the animal. Some terriers are bred to kill the animal at the animal’s den. A large number of terriers are used to hunt what are known as “pest species”. The pest species refer to groundhogs, hunted by the Jack Russel terriers, or the badger or fox, hunted by the Fell terrier. The legality of some of these hunts is in question, so you may want to check your local regulations before you set upon and hunt a fox.

There are many particulars that make using hunting dogs a popular option for hunting. Whether you choose a sighthound or a scent hound, you can be assured that your companion hound will be working for you at finding your prey. Using a gun dog can not only provide great companionship, but it can bring prey right to your doorstep and literally take the hunt out of hunting. Terriers not only make a vigorous hunting companion, but they also make for a nice domesticated animal. Make sure that you consider the hunting dog type before you go out on the hunt so that you can bring the best possible breed with you and land the best possible kill for this hunting season.

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Ron Victor asked:

Summer camps are special camps offered to kids, children and adults to enjoy their summer. Summer camps are camps offered for kids, teens, girls and boys during summer. Overnight camps, youth camp, children’s camps, boy’s camp, adventure camp, arrowhead camp, coed camp, kid’s camp, girl’s camp, residential camp, sleep away camp and teen camps are offered to the people around the world. Summer camps will be offered by the specialized institutions, schools and many other academies. Generally, this kind of camps is offered in most of the states and countries and they are offered for the benefit of the customer.

It is a special camps offered during summer for kids, children and adults. Summer camps satisfy the requirements of the people around the world. Summer camp come up with special and different kinds of summer programs and the people seems to enjoying the special programs offered. Overnight camps, children camps will be very interesting and almost every student participating will be enjoying. Overnight adventures can be enjoyed by girls, boys and teens and coed camps are also offered in the summer camps. Children camps are special camps which should be taken by the children during their holidays.

Summer camps for kids are special camps which should be organized, supervised and controlled by experts, professionals and many other individuals. This kind of camps will be offered to the people based on the individual age limit, interest and health condition. The prices vary for the camps offered and the each camp for kids, teens comes up with variable price consideration. Huge number of institutions, schools and academies are interested in offering the camps for the kids and adults during their summer for competitive price consideration.

It is said to be the best, exciting, wonderful, educative experience for the people who requires. Students will be more educative if they choose the right camp for their summers to spend their holidays. Summer camps comes up with innovative, specialized programs such as guitar, singing, dancing, horseback riding, indoor games, outdoor games, fashion design, Hollywood stunt, extreme action adventure, water sports, secret agent, broadcast journalism and acting. Children, kids and adults gain more experience and knowledge from the field and help them to settle at the time of need.

Different programs will be available in the overnight camps and the camps will be more exciting, educative and more useful for children, kids and adults. Educational camps, outdoor camps are offered for reasonable and competitive price consideration and with the help of the experience and knowledgeable professionals and experts. The main purpose of creating summer camps is to develop the creativity and extra activity of the kids, children and adults and to learn skills and knowledge in the field. This kind of activity develops self confidence, friendly relationship among the people.

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Jenny Wolkowitz asked:

Many parents joke that they are going to have to take out a second mortgage to pay for college, but what about for overnight camps? What are the costs and is it worth the benefit? We help send our kids to college because we know that this investment will help them secure better-paying jobs and a brighter future. For a camping experience, however, is it worth it?

For some of us, camp was one of the most cherished growth experiences in our childhood and we feel the gift of camp is one that we will bestow upon our kids no matter what the cost. For those of us who did not grow up as campers, we have to decide what all the buzz is about and make a determination if we can afford it or not.

As a former camper, counselor and teen tour leader, I believe that camp is a priceless gift that you can give your child (of course, as long as you find the right fit). Camp experiences pay off in all sorts of “emotional intelligence” dividends: self-esteem; self-reliance; self-awareness; empathy; the ability to listen, cooperate and share; self-control; the ability to wait in line (delayed gratification). Research shows that developing these skills leads to greater success in school and deeper and healthier relationships. And these early, positive growth experiences are fairly good indicators about our success as adults. So, now that you are convinced that camp is all it is cracked up to be, how much does it cost and how are you going to pay for it?

Types of camps. There are two types of camps: agency camps and private camps. There is a pretty big price differential between the two. If cost is a concern, agency camps – like YMCA, JCC – make camping much more affordable. They can do this because they are subsidized by agencies, therefore making your summer tuition less. You can expect to pay about $500 – 650 a week.

Private camps are not subsidized, so the camper is paying for all of the costs to run a camp: insurance, staff, equipment, capital improvements. In the Midwest, you can expect to pay between $750 – $1000 a week for a private camp. In Missouri and Southern Illinois, private camps are a little cheaper because they do not offer the extensive water sports, like sailing and water-skiing, like camps in the Upper Midwest (Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan).

Discounts. There are other ways to save, as well. At most camps, early enrollment discounts are offered. So, if you do your homework early enough, you can take advantage of this discount. In addition, if you are trying to provide a camping experience for more than one child, be sure to ask for a sibling discount (assuming that one camp can suit the needs of all of your children). Lastly, if you are looking at camps on the East or West Coast, be sure to ask for a “Midwesterner’s discount.” Our camps in the Midwest are traditionally less expensive (if you can believe that after looking at the costs of camps).

Extras. When budgeting for camp, you should also ask the program director about extra costs such as optional activities, spending money, special clothing and equipment, or trip insurance. A camp may offer horseback riding, but is there an additional cost for participating in this activity? When your son or daughter goes to the camp store, do they have an open-ended account or is there a set amount? If it is open-ended, you will be the one responsible for that bill at the end of the summer so you should have a conversation with your child about proper spending. If there are out-of-camp trips, you should find out whether or not those are included with your tuition.

Scholarships. Almost every camp – private or agency – offers some amount of need-based “camperships.” Jewish Federations, church groups and YMCAs give out scholarships for camp. Many private camps have foundations to send needy kids to camp which, besides being a good thing for those kids, help to diversify their population. Most camp directors are altruistic, giving individuals that would like to see every child in a camp. Some camps even give “scholarships for life.” So, once a child qualifies, they are promised that scholarship for however long they attend that camp. For older kids, there are programs like Summer Search (www.summersearch.org) whose aim it is to send at-risk youth to leadership development programs like wilderness trips.

Camp is a wonderfully enriching gift you can give your child. If you want to send your child, there is probably a camp out there to welcome them. Happy camping!

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