Bird Camp Diaries: October 2009

Bird Camp Diaries are nothing more than whimsical monthly musings. We hope you find them entertaining, and sometimes thought provoking.

Calling All Pheasant, Duck and Gander Commanders

bird camp diaries: October 2009, Autumn is a great time for many reasons; hunting being top of the list. There's playoff baseball. It's good sleeping weather. And it's also the perfect time to get that beard growth in full swing.

There have been some outstanding beards throughout outdoor history (i.e. Marty Stouffer, Jeremiah Johnson) and it remains standard practice that every true outdoorsmen sport at least one massive "mountain man" or "commander" style beard in their lifetime (the term "commander" a tribute to the Duck Commanders).

Personally, my facial feature has been in force since the end of August, and the extra protection came in quite handy over the weekend's pheasant hunting/waterfowling combo. Not only did it help maintain core body temperature and provide much needed wind resistance, but it acted as the perfect absorbent of face paint.

Many in my hunting circle have also joined in this ambitious beard quest, and I invite you to let it grow as well. If you have any sweet beard photos, send them to ahauck@pheasantsforever.org.

If you have story ideas, dog photos, pre-1980 hunting photos and requests for future On The Wing consideration, please send correspondence to ahauck@pheasantsforever.org.

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