Range the Traveling Decoy

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Range is a traveling decoy that’s passed among a handful of water fowlers who take him hunting in different states across the country. At the end of the season he will have visited Michigan, Missouri, Georgia and Texas and he will be sold on eBay with the profit going to charity. When I was approached about participating in Range’s journey this year, I jumped at the chance.


Shortly after he got to Georgia, I took Range on a couple deer hunts just to get him acclimated to Peach State. We didn’t have any success on these trips, but Range started feeling at home in the Deep South.

Welcome to Atlanta, Range.

Last Saturday I was finally able to take Range out for some waterfowl hunting. I got in touch with Chris Scalley and he sounded interested in taking me and Range out for some duck hunting. Chris took us to some private property with swampy flooded timber. Turns out it’s a very small world. Chris is also a fishing guide and I used to see his River Through Atlanta truck and boat all the time when I lived in Roswell, GA right on the Chatthoochee River.


Our party ended up with 11 mallards, 1 wood duck and 6 Canada geese. One of my favorite parts of the hunt was watching Chris’ dog Jesse. She was a natural hunter! She had a great work ethic and did a great job retrieving our birds.


To read another account of Range's travels, check out this story from Hunt Ducks Hook Fish. Look for more about Range in the future!

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