Greenhead.net - The Arkansas Duck Hunting Magazine

Staff

Kris Adkins

Feather Farms (west of Stuttgart)
Duck Call: J.J. Lares
Retreiver: Dixie
Favorite duck hunting weather: Fog or rain

Kris started hunting with his father Dennis at the age of four on their farm. The Adkins had been leasing the land from Bud Carter, a local farmer, but in 1993, they purchased the property and named it Feather Farms. Kris is passionate about waterfowling and calls it his "obsession." "I live to duck hunt," he says.

Kris hunts anywhere from 50-55 days a year. He hunts across Arkansas with friends, but for the most part, hunts his farm on 300 acres north of Hilldebrands Reservoir on Highway 165 between Humnoke and Stuttgart. It is privately owned by his father, Dennis Adkins. The property is all flooded fields and includes a 20 acre trophy bass lake. Kris believes there is nothing better in the world than getting ready for duck season -- rushing blinds and pits, getting all the decoys cleaned and ready, tuning the calls, cleaning the gun. After that, Kris takes comfort in watching all the hard work put in every year pay off.

Brent Birch

Gee Ridge Duck Camp (Hildebrand's Farm, just east of Humnoke)
Duck call: Rich-N-Tone Short Barrel
Retreiver: Ridge
Favorite duck hunting weather: Cloudy, drizzly, 35 degrees with 10 mph north wind

Brent started tagging along with his dad around age 7 to some minnow ponds outside of Keo, and then moving on to Crockett's Bluff in the White River bottoms. Highly fortunate to spend the last 30 years hunting Hildebrand's farm at Gee Ridge, Brent enjoys world class Arkansas field hunting with his dad Bob, two sons Reid and Fuller, and good friends Benson Cashion and Rick Griffin. In the past last few years, he has taken a particular interest in hunting specklebelly geese which has provided a good alternative when the ducks don't want to participate. 

Brent's greatest memory to date was when his oldest son dropped his first mallard drake at age 7 with the single shot .410. He's looking forward to son #2 getting his first one this upcoming season. To quote Brent, "Passing along the knowledge and sharing the experiences is what it is all about".

Anthony Cassinelli

Trapper's Island (Cache River Bottoms near Gregory)
Duck Call: Echo
Retreiver: Molly
Favorite duck hunting weather: Clear and cold

Anthony's dad and grandpa introduced him to duck hunting whe he was 5 years old, and he has been hooked ever since. He usually hunts around 50 days a year chasing ducks in the green timber of the Cache and White River bottoms.Per Anthony, hunting mallards in the Arkansas flooded timber is an unbelievable experience for any outdoorsman.  Anthony's family duck club  was featured in the Arkansas Duck Hunter's Almanac.  The sport of duck hunting allows him to spend time with family and friends in the wealth of opportunties provided by Arkansas outdoors.

Greg Churan

Duckhead near Casscoe, AR

Dog:Trigger
Gun:Browning BSS
Duck Call: Haydel DR-85
Favorite hunt:  Crescent Lake at The Bottoms on a flight day...

Basically duck hunting was in Greg's blood at birth. He was fortunate to grow up with a private hunting farm/lodge in north Missouri know as "The Bottoms". Here, and at a very early age, Greg had learned pretty much everything about ducks, geese and hunting them that a fellow could know. He has been hunting in Arkansas since 1996, private and public.  Greg is in a club known as Duckhead in Casscoe is looking forward to extending the tradition to his 8 year old son Jake.

Matthew Finley

Private ground near Des Arc and the Grand Prairie from public waters of the Cache and White River to the Big Ditch.
Duck Call: RNT Bois d'Arc Old Style
Retriever: Sadie
Favorite duck hunting weather: Clear and Cold in the 30's with a light breeze preferably during a New Moon phase

Matthew grew up hunting ducks and quail with his father and grew up exposed to some of the finest duck hunting in the state of Arkansas. He feels very blessed to have gotten to go on hunts with his Dad as early as 5 and killed his first duck when he was 6 at Lost Island just outside of Stuttgart. The big greenhead still hangs in his Dad's office at home to this day. The Finleys hunted Lost Island and Circle S during Matthew's younger days. Hunting and fishing down on Mill Bayou with his Dad were some of his best memories as a kid. Hunting the big old cypress blinds on Jacobs Lake and Little Pecan will always stick in his mind. Matthew feels very fortunate to have the exposure as a youth to some of Arkansas' most storied hunting grounds. He admittedly did not know until late high school or maybe even college everyone did not kill a "limit" each time they went to the blind. Per Matthew, "Truly blessed is the only way to describe it".

Scott Perry

East Lake near the White River NWR (Crockett's Bluff/Maddox Bay/East Lake Areas)
Duck Call: Olt ("Old-Style" Modified) and RNT ("Old-Style")
Retreiver: Buck
Favorite duck hunting weather: Just after a cold front (new water, blue sky, high pressure, 30 degrees, light breeze)

Scott Perry has been an avid duck hunter for 35 years and has hunted from one end of the Arkansas Delta to the other. He has managed and guided at two commercial green-timber duck hunting clubs (McAlister Club and Benson Lake). In 1993, he founded a collegiate chapter of Ducks Unlimited at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. In 1996, he co-founded the duck hunting clothing company, McAlister. He recently founded the public awareness campaign, Conserve Game - Hunt With A Trained Retriever, as a conservation initiative. He is a staunch conservationist and considers himself a waterfowl hunting purest sticking to the philosophies of his mentors: Nash Buckingham, Edgar Queeny, Wallace Claypool, and George Purvis.

Jimbo Ramsay

Tryin' One Duck Club (Stuttgart area)
Duck Call: Rich-N-Tone
Retreiver: Ramble
Favorite duck hunting weather: Cold and clear

Jimbo was born in Pine Bluff and has been hunting ducks since he was 5. Jimbo killed his first duck that year and hasn't quit since. He is lucky enough to have a couple of private clubs in which his family holds memberships, but Jimbo spends a bunch of days on public ground as well. He will pretty much go where the ducks are. He averages over 40 days in the woods or in the fields every season. He enjoys hunting ducks more than anything. Jimbo loves chasing turkeys in the spring and spends some time on the deer stand, but there is nothing better than standing in ankle-deep water with his buddies and family on a winter day. He enjoys the social aspect of duck hunting and the challenge of doing it right. Jimbo is opposed to the spinning wing decoys and thinks that hunters can do anything they need with a jerk string and a duck call -- just find where they want to be!

Kody Riggan

Squareshooter Hunting Club in the Black River Bottoms
Duck Call: Refuge Invictus
Retreiver: Bouncer (HRCH Country Boy's Bar Brawler)
Favorite duck hunting weather: Clear and upper 30's with a 5 mph south wind

Kody began duck hunting when he was 11 years old. The following year, he went hunting with his Dad's best friend and after limiting out ten people in an hour in the flooded timber, he has been addicted ever since. Kody used to measure success on how many ducks shot in a day. Now that his kids like to hunt, his attitude toward duck hunting has taken on a different approach. Nowadays, Kody simply looks at how many birds they get down into the trees and if they don't kill a limit, then no big deal. Kody hunts around 30 days a year, over half of those with the kids.

Joel Whicker

East Lake near the White River NWR (Arkansas/Monroe Counties)
Duck Call: D-2 Olt
Retreiver: Rhody
Favorite duck hunting weather: Clear, cold, and a nice breeze

Joel started hunting about 27 years ago with his father who was a very avid outdoorsman. They spent every opportunity possible together at their club in Money, Miss. Joel misses his dad greatly and thinks about him every time out in the field. Joel grew up in a time and area where he would duck hunt every morning before high school. He remembers countless times he and his buddies would come running into the school as the bell rang -- decked out in full hunting attire, still wearing waders with guns in the truck.

After college, Joel moved to Arkansas and has continued his love of the outdoors. According to Joel, "Arkansans should be proud and thankful of the wonderful opportunities that the state provides for public hunting. I have had the luxury of hunting many of the states finest private clubs and honestly feel that our public hunting rivals any of these."