Happy Holidays

Hello All,

I know that we have been slacking on getting up our weekly posts but what it comes down to is that we are just too excited about the holidays and finally the homecoming! 

Darcy will be coming home very, very soon and with that plus the holiday excitement we have decided to take a break from the blog and focus on the awesome things we will get to do when Darcy gets back to Utah and out of the sandbox!  So sorry for the break, but we will be back around the middle of January! 

 Happy Holidays to you all and enjoy your own breaks!

Tip of the week: #1-Decoy Spreads

I’ve tried all the other decoy spreads and my preferred method would definitely be the J-hook.  I started off with the “U” shape because that’s what everyone had said works the best, but from my own personal experience I have had the best success with the J-hook.  Pictures one and two both depict an obvious “J” set up on the water; the “J” can be turned anyway to accommodate the direction of the wind.  Keep in mind the ducks will fly into the wind to land, so keep the open end of the “J” away from the direction of the wind for the optimal set up.

 

 

Be sure to only use the J-hook set up if you have at least 18 decoys, anything less than that and your “J” will be too spread out.  After you get your “J” set up place any extra decoys at the bottom of the “J”, or the flat part of the curve.  This way ducks won’t be tempted to land on the other side of your decoys and will be more likely to land in the kill zone. 

 

If you have a mixed decoys try to keep the flocks together; I personally always use mallards as the main decoys or for my “J” set up and then I will scatter out the other flocks so for example: I’d have pintails past the bottom of the J so that they are away from it but close enough to be in the main group, then I will place some teals up towards the top and so on and so forth

The last photo shows what I would do with under a dozen decoys.

I pretty much use this one whenever I’m walking long distances or its starting to get to be towards the end of the season and ducks are becoming decoy shy.  There isn’t much to it when it comes to setting it up; I just try to build a barricade of decoys about ten yards out in front of where I am.  This way no matter what way the wind is blowing the ducks will be able to fly in to my kill zone. 

The biggest tip that I have ever received for setting up my decoy spreads is random placement: if it looks perfect, it’s wrong.  Just try to get the basic shape down; if you’re stressing over placement, you’re simply doing too much work.   

Best Beginner Tip - Buy the Best decoys you can afford.

When it comes to duck hunting the most important part besides scouting and finding a good location is having decoys that do their jobs.  Decoys are without a doubt the one thing that you should not go cheap on.  Think about it this way; ducks shouldn’t see you, or your gun, or any of your equipment besides your decoys...but they are supposed to see them!  You already have to go out of your way to hide from the ducks because their eyes are so sharp, you don’t think they wouldn’t look twice at a cheap decoy?  Dakota Decoys have definitely gone out of their way to make sure that every little detail looks right.  You may pay around $170.00 for a dozen decoys, but it will be worth it in the end.  Another thing to consider is that  you may not be the best caller if you’re starting out, or you may not be the best caller period, so  having good looking decoys will help make up for lacking a good call.  I give Dakota Decoys 5 out of 5 stars hands down, I knew that I had good looking decoys when I was hunting in a crowded area and my decoys kept pulling ducks from the everyone else’s set ups.  Keep an eye out for this week’s tip/story on decoy set ups and what spreads work best for beginners.

Be sure to like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Grafs-Hunts-Reviews/1433905890157186 to stay updated, and keep a look out for our occasional give aways!

Poodles…Not just a show dog!

So, poodles as hunting dogs?  Like most people I had my doubts on whether or not using poodles to hunt was really a good idea.  My mother breeds Standard poodles, just for that purpose; hunting!  My father has always had a standard poodle as his hunting companion and when I went home to Ohio on leave, I thought why not take the poodle out so we can jump shoot some woodies in the creek.  I was mostly curious to see if the poodle could hunt like a lab, or if they even compared at all.

So my Dad and I loaded up Bea (pronounced like Bee) and took off towards the “honey hole” creek.  Once we got down there I was really eager to see how she would perform so I asked my Dad if I could take her to the other side of the creek with me; She followed me over there but it wasn’t hard to see that she wanted to be with my Dad.  My father and Bea have a very close bond, and to me this is absolutely amazing.  That’s just the type of bond I want with my hunting dog.  Now some people may want a dog that will hunt with whoever takes them out, but for me it’s more personal and I wouldn’t have it any other way than me and my dog out on the hunt.

So off we went to the other side of the creek, but we ended up back on my Dads side; Bea just didn’t want to be away from my Dad.  Now Bea was in the zone; running around sniffing the ground, but always keeping my dad in her sights.  I heard some wood ducks splashing around and whistling, I went over to investigate and sure enough; there were 3 woodies splashing away in the honey hole.  The hen was the first to spot me and I was busted!  They took off and I was able to fire two shots and dropped a nice Drake woodie.  To my surprise Bea came up and investigated what was going on instead of shying away from the shots.  It was like she knew that there was something to retrieve and she was eager to get started. 

As we walked down to the edge of the water, all I had to do was point and say “Bea”; now she didn’t sprint and leap into the water, she was graceful and very precise and headed straight forward towards her target.  We have a saying in the military; “Slow is smooth and smooth is fast”, meaning that if you do it slow, you won’t make mistakes, and no mistakes makes the whole process faster.  She didn’t splash around in the water and was very relaxed while retrieving and I thought that it was just plain weird because she normally has such a high drive personality.  It was interesting to see her put on her game face for the retrieval; she seemed like a refined retrieving machine, putting all her energy straight into getting that bird.  When it comes to Bea and retrieving, she just plain enjoys it… in a sense it’s her bread and butter. 

While I was home we went out three more times, and came back with 9 woodies.  My Mom even came along once to see how Bea was doing with us; she got some film of Bea retrieving and a better sense of ducks and how they operate.  The last hunt that we went on with her I started to feel that bond that I had so craved the first time I saw it with her and my father.  My mom captured that moment perfectly in the picture below, I’m already looking forward to taking her out again next fall when I’m home to get some more Ohio duck hunting in.  In the end though, the most important hunting partner in my life is the person who has taught me all that I know about the outdoors: my Father.   I might just have a soft spot for standard poodles since I grew up with them, but I would take Bea out again anytime. 

If you’re interested in more information on Standard Poodles and or hunting with them, be sure to check out my mom’s website: http://www.autumnshadesstandardpoodles.com/

 

Rockin’ Hevi Metal & Blinded by Blindside

This past week I used Hevi Metal and Blindside 3” number 2 shells; I used Hevi Metal first and was eager to see what they could do since I couldn’t find many reviews on the product.  Needless to say I was pumped to find out how well they performed!  I did not have a single cripple and they had great knock down power; no one likes to chase after a crippled duck and risk losing them or having them hobble off injured.  I got excellent patterns out of my Browning A5 in a modified choke and the only complaint I have (now had) was the price; after using the product, it is well worth the price for the high quality they produce.

When it came to using Blindside, I was pretty excited to try it out; I had read great reviews on them in numerous places so my A5 was itching to shoot some birds out of the sky with these shells.  It would be an understatement to say that I was disappointed with the outcome.  I don’t claim to be the best shot in the world, but I would find myself looking at feathers flying off of ducks and then watch the ducks keep on flying by saying “So long, Sucker!”  I don’t have all the time in the world to hunt so if I shoot something, I want to know that the shells I have will drop the birds… When it comes to choosing shells, I’ll stick with Hevi Metal.

Prices for Hevi Metal run around $27.00 a box, and $21.00 for Blindside; 6 more dollars for no cripples and sure kills?  Yes please.  Over all I give Hevi Metal 5 stars all the way across the board and Blindside gets a rating of 3 stars.  Next week I will be reviewing Dakota decoys, I should be getting my GoPro in the mail this week so fingers crossed for a video along with the post J 

Thanks for reading and please don’t hesitate to ask questions or give suggestions for more things to review!





 

Be sure to check out Hevi Shot on their website or on Facebook:

http://www.hevishot.com/

https://www.facebook.com/hevishotammo

New generation A5, not just for the new generation of hunters

To start off, the humpback design on the A5 is what sold me; I’m a little bit of a taller person with a longer neck and it seems really easy for me to get on the gun to fire with the raised sight plane.  The auto load feature for the browning is an A+++++, recoil is not horrible ...still worse than a gas driven gun but overall not bad at all.  The A5 is a very smooth swinging gun; when I’m leading a duck, the A5 feels like an extension of my arm instead of a forced movement.  The new invector DS choke system is very easy to clean and keep clean, and there is no cycling problems on all loads from 8-BB’s.  The only negative that I really found would be the paint chipping on the feed for the shells. 

 

The link below is the direct link to the A5’s on the browning page; here you can find all the available styles and prices.  The version that I have is the Mossy Oak Shadow Blades, 12 Gauge, 28 inch barrel, and 3” chamber.  I was able to purchase it for around $1400.00 from Scheels All Sports.

 

http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/finder.asp?f1=029B

 

I had previously never used the A5 auto loading system; I’ve found it to be efficient and quiet handy.  Overall I give the Browning A5 and 4.5 out of 5 stars.

 

I wanted to thank you all for reading my blog and please don’t hesitate to comment with any suggestions on more information on the reviews if there was something I did not mention that you are curious about J

About me

My name is Josh Graf, I am 25 years old and currently employed with the United States Military.  I live in Utah with my wife who is currently in training to become a true pioneer woman ;)  She’s enthusiastic for now although she is currently deployed so we will see how it goes once she’s back in the states. 

 I have always had a passion for the outdoors and all that it has to offer; I started hunting at age 11, expanding to waterfowl at age 17.  Hunting has been a part of my life ever since, I’ve spent my springs/summers fly fishing (still trying to teach that to the wife, she hasn’t quite conquered the whip).  Now that my wife is deployed most of my mornings I can be found out duck hunting; testing equipment, finding out what is the most effective and taking pictures of the great outdoors.

I wanted to start this blog to give people good, honest reviews.  I go through blogs from other folks and while helpful, they sometimes seem like they’re just trying to sell whatever it is their blog is about.  I hope to purchase a GoPro in the future so I can enhance my blog and give you all a first person view of the hunts and the equipment being used.