By Waterfowlers, For Waterfowlers: Hard Core Decoys
January 6, 2012
Breaking news – it has just been announced that Hard Core Decoys is now owned by Hard Core Brands International, LLC and Jim Shiefelbein…click here to read the press release.
Not every company can live up to its tagline, much less its name. Hard Core Decoys, manufacturer and supplier of premium waterfowl decoys, is one that can. Hard Core Decoys makes decoys for the true “hard core” waterfowl hunters out there, the ones that hunt 99% of the days open for waterfowl season, missing that 1% for a brother’s wedding or a friend’s homecoming. That much was evident as I spoke with Vice President Mike Galloway on the phone: he was on the road in the Mississippi Delta, looking out for birds in the midst of a hunt. I was lucky enough to catch him for the low-down on just what Hard Core Decoys is all about.
“What sets us apart from our competitors is that our products are made by waterfowlers, for waterfowlers,” Galloway says. Every member of the staff, from the creators and manufacturers to (of course) the pro staff who put the decoys to the test out in the field, participates in the pursuit of the elusive game. “We’re not just some conglomerate that absorbed a decoy maker. We’re the guys who are part of the sport,” Galloway continues. “When we make decoys, we don’t just pick one body and put four different postures on it. Each one of our decoys is dynamic and as close to reality as possible.”
Galloway is drawn to the sport, and by extension the industry, for the camaraderie and the social nature of a waterfowl hunt. “I love to deer hunt, but that’s basically a solo activity,” Galloway explains, continuing that “waterfowl hunting is a communal activity. While you’re out there, you share stories or a cigar with your buddies in the covert. You watch that Mississippi Delta sunrise together, and if there’s anything in this world that will make you believe in God, it’s that.” On his own dedication to the hunt, Galloway adds “in pursuit of waterfowl, you’re actually hunting. There’s serious thought involved – you mess up a single thing or improperly position a single decoy and those birds aren’t coming anywhere near you. It’s chess and it’s checkers: you’ve gotta think, but you’ve also got plenty of action and in the end you’re having fun.”
Hard Core takes that deep sense of community and the “team hunt” attitude into their products. They make decoys not only that the consumer wants, but that they want. “We wouldn’t put our name on a decoy that we wouldn’t use or stand behind ourselves. Our decoys perfectly recreate resting postures, sleeping postures and every possible true waterfowl position – no detail or expense is spared in the creation of our products,” Galloway asserts.
Everything Galloway told me about over the phone was backed up by Rick Carone, one of Hard Core’s pro staff and an expert waterfowl hunter who I spoke to after interviewing Mike. He sang the praises of the decoys themselves, saying “partly, they’re the perfect replication of a real goose. And what’s more, they’ve got so many different poses that it allows you to make your decoy flock so much more dynamic and realistic. Not all decoys do that.” Then, touching on the camaraderie alluded to by the Hard Core VP, Carone detailed a “wounded warrior” hunt they took an Afghan vet on during his recent return to the United States.
“Mike [Galloway] sent an email around to all of us asking if we’d be able to lend a hand, and he immediately got an overwhelming response in support,” Carone says. Echoing what Galloway had just told me minutes before, Carone added that “we went out to hunt with the vet and shared stories, from war and from hunts. We thanked him for his service, got his own opinions on what was happening overseas and then some. It wasn’t just about the birds but about the fact of being out on the hunt with your friends, new and old.” Straight out of the battlefield and into the wetlands, Hard Core remains dedicated to those who dedicate themselves to the pursuit of difficult game.
In addition to their personal commitment to their work, they go beyond the call of duty and back up their products with promises unique to the industry. For one thing, they absolutely guarantee delivery to retailers. “That’s a huge thing in the decoy market,” Galloway explained to me, “a lot of the times companies oversell and under deliver. Not so with us.” Adding to that, Galloway says “if you have an issue with one of your decoys, we guarantee that when you call Hard Core you will be speaking directly with a member of the Hard Core team who will help you out, not some call service in India.”
One thing you can’t say about Hard Core is that they’re static or stuck in their ways. Galloway could hardly contain his excitement over the phone, telling me that very soon they’ll be “blowing the doors off the outdoor industry.” As much as I pried, Galloway’s lips were sealed about the details.
Whatever happens in the year to come, you can be sure to hear about it first on Outdoor Hub.
Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - By Waterfowlers, For Waterfowlers: Hard Core Decoys
Winter Rabbit Hunting, Making the Most Out of Winter
January 3, 2012
The snow falls as does the temperature. After a stretch of several months with a revolving door of human activity, the fields and forests now more closely resemble a ghost town. There’s no reason to go out there anymore. This is the perception of those that do not seek out the cottontail rabbit. They sit huddled in their warm homes, left to reflect on their exploits in October and November. Their guns and bows have been put away in storage, and their attention has shifted to football, shoveling snow, and maybe the occasional trip to ice fish or snowmobile.
For me and others like me that follow beagle dogs in snow after the ubiquitous cottontail rabbit, this is the season that we live for. There was a time when small game like rabbits were the object of all hunters young and old alike, but the proliferation of the white-tailed deer has changed the focus of the American hunter. I hunt deer too, but secretly I relish having the winter to myself, or seemingly so, to run my beagles after cottontails. After months of sitting quietly in a tree or in a blind waiting for luck to chance my way, I’m ready to get out into the stillness of a frozen world and listen to a chorus of excited hounds in full chase, ready bust the brush to make something happen, ready to holler and laugh with a companion at a shot made or missed on a returning rabbit. The season is mine.
Perhaps it is the seeming loneliness of the cold winter landscape that adds to the bond felt between my hunting companions, mostly close family members, and myself. We are out there, the only humans within sight partaking in a unified goal. An effort we take very seriously and attempt with great intensity, yet at the same time one we address with the light-heartedness and total enjoyment that makes undertaking such a task in relatively harsh conditions fully enjoyable. Our faces get beaten red from the chaffing winds and the bright sun bouncing off the snow-covered ground. If the snow gets too deep, the legs throb from lifting and setting back down of tall heavy boots. We work up a sweat that soon chills the body in an attempt to roust our quarry from their hiding places. But the broad smiles we share cannot be hidden, even as our lips crack and bleed in doing so. Like minded hunters make for a fun hunt even when the rabbits are not running. The season is ours.
And then there are the beagles, the true stars of the show. For those that have never hunted behind beagles, ones that come from hunting lines that have been raised to hunt, you simply cannot realize the drive of these little hounds. Pound for pound, I’d put a beagle against any other hunter, man or beast, for pure drive after game. I see what these dogs run through time and time again, never ceasing, never giving up, and I am filled with love and admiration at a fellow living thing that not only feels the passion for the chase as I do, but one that exceeds it. The effort I put into hunting rabbits pales in comparison to that put forth by the beagles. Similarly, the great pleasure that I derive from hunting rabbits also pales in comparison to that which my beagles get. I don’t know if dogs can technically smile, but one look into my beagles’ eyes after running a rabbit tells me that they’ve achieved a happiness that the human spirit, burdened with our responsibilities and troubles, can never hope to reach. To hear a brace of beagles running a rabbit in a frozen swamp, the music of their voices piercing the crisp air and knowing that they will circle that wily critter back to you, is to know heaven. One cannot feel cold when he knows that as that distant howling gets louder and closer, the object of the chase is coming your way and you need to start scanning for the little brown jet through the brush. The moment of truth approaches and the heart begins pounding as the realization of the coming shot approaches. The season is theirs.
And I would be remiss in failing to mention the cottontail rabbit, a creature which is prey for so many hunters, man and beast. Such a simple creature that lives a simple life, eating and breeding as much as it can in a short amount of time, as if knowing more than any other creature that its time on this earth is short. No game animal so closely matches the tenacity and drive of its pursuers as the cottontail rabbit does to the beagle. So closely matched are the two that the existence of one without the other seems like it would put the universe out of balance. And while the cottontail seemingly has the world against it, Nature takes care of her own. Don’t pity the rabbit, for it will quickly make a fool out of you if you think twice about pulling the trigger on one. I’ve emptied a 12 gauge autoloader at racing rabbits only to see them waving that cotton-ball tail at me as if giving me the middle finger as they ran off laughing. You bet I feel respect and admiration for those rabbits we chase, and it’s probably not a stretch to say I feel a love for them too. This season is all of ours.
Outdoor Hub, The Outdoor Information Engine - Winter Rabbit Hunting, Making the Most Out of Winter
Starting Out Young
May 24, 2010
by Mac Moad
Tanner Colten Moad, 5 years old, is one of the coolest kids I know. The youngest of 4 children of mine, Tanner never stops moving.
Before gun season in central eastern Oklahoma, the traditional bow season usually takes priority. I had taken the first week of bow season off from work in an attempt to tag out early at the request of my wife Lori. In her mind, if I was to tag out early, my deer season would then be “dear” season, with lots of additional chores getting done that get overlooked during each year’s deer season. Read more
Picture This: Mac the Dog
May 24, 2010
Send Pictures to:
Todd Krater
U.S. Hunting Today
Managing Editor
todd@ushuntingtoday.com
Note: If you want a picture posted and do not have a digital copy I would be willing to scan it for you. Please contact me for details.
US Hunting Today reserves the right to refuse any picture for any reason as well as edit it where appropriate.
Bow Hunting Grand Slam 2007
February 3, 2010
By Mac Moad
The first week of October was finally here. The first three days were spent in my favorite stand watching 3 raccoons in which I had named Larry, Curly, and Moe. The mother raccoon was slightly bigger than the two younger ones, and seemed curious to every movement surrounding them. The days here in eastern Oklahoma in October were still in the 80’s with mosquitoes buzzing everywhere. I was wondering if it were still to hot to hunt and questioned myself again over and over. Each day so far, I had hunted morning and evening with only a few does showing up.
Read more
Calling Elk Bow Close
January 20, 2010
Whether hunting public or privateland, the fundamentals of calling elk remain the same.
By Michael Waddell
We heard the bull bugle at first light and snuck into his core area. When I hit a lick on my bugle, the bull simply came unglued and stormed our position like a tank, crashing through brush and small lodgepole pines like they were atchsticks. Before we could react he was in our lap and we were pinned down, myself hiding behind a camera, too afraid to even touch the tripod for fear of my shaking hands would run the footage. All I could see of my partner edged against a stunted pine was the tip of his undrawn arrow shaking uncontrollably on the rest. Before a shot presented itself, the bull smelled a rat and disappeared as quickly as he arrived.
A Warning To Outdoor Users About Echinococcus, From Worms
December 18, 2009
This is a warning to outdoor users about a potentially deadly biological event that could result from one’s curiosity to poke at and kick through scat from wolves, coyotes and foxes. Of course not everyone knowingly does this but many hunters, trappers and simply the curious, want to know what these animals have been eating. Read more
Picture This!
November 15, 2009
With all the great stories, equipment, adventures and people out there I thought it would be great to get some pictures. If you have any pictures from a hunt, your gear or best of all you geared up that would be great. If you send in pictures I will post on our site as well as putting some of the best pictures on all our sites.
15 Spring Turkey Questions Answered By The Pros
March 10, 2009
By Scott Ellis
Spring gobbler season is now on the horizon and felt it was time to touch on some important questions that are asked frequently by turkey hunters across the nation. I have enlisted the assistance of two my friends Sadler McGraw and Chris Kirby to aid in answering the questions. We will all shed different light with our opinions on these commonly inquired about topics.
Sadler McGraw has established himself as one of the most prolific competition callers in the last decade. He is a member of the Woodhaven Custom Calls Sting Team since it‘s inception five years ago. His list of accolades includes, 14 Alabama state titles, Yellville National and Southern Open Champion. As well he has been runner up at the World, Grand Nationals, US Open and Grand America calling competitions. He is also no stranger to friction divisions winning the 2008 World, 2008 Yellville National and 2007 US Open. He has won or placed in over 50 contests, including owl hooting divisions. Read more
The Art Of Setting-Up On Turkeys
March 14, 2008
By Blaine Cardilli
~Ever wonder why some set ups work and some don’t?~
As a die hard turkey hunter and seminar speaker for both “Hunters Specialties” and “Northwoods Adventures TV“, I get asked a multitude of questions each season on how to set up on turkeys. Do you use a decoy? Do you roost birds every time? Do you ever “run-and-gun”? How important is specific camouflage design? Well, for me, the most important aspect of the hunt is a good set up so let’s start there.
Here in the Northeast, our turkeys tend to start gobbling in mid-March and strutting activity becomes widespread about the same time. It’s then that I’ll put my scouting tactics into overdrive, even though the season doesn’t open until the very end of April. Why? Because good preparation will always tip the odds in my favor. Read more
