The Standard Sportsman
Lifelong Arkansas waterfowlers Brent Birch and Cason Short discuss duck hunting's past, present, and future with various thought-provoking leaders in the duck-hunting community. The guys will discuss days afield, waterfowl conservation, and stewardship with the goal of leaving the sport of duck and goose hunting better than they found it.
Presented by Yeti, Tom Beckbe, Lile Real Estate, Sitka Gear, Purina Pro Plan, and Ducks Unlimited.
Episodes
158 episodes
Breaking Down the Midsummer Hot Topics, Part 2
Talking season is in full swing, and the waterfowl expo circuit isn’t far behind. Cason and Brent preview their upcoming appearance at DUX in Memphis, where they’ll record a live podcast, before wading into several hot-button management issues....
Breaking Down the Midsummer Hot Topics
The midsummer doldrums have set in, but duck season is beginning to work its way back into coffee-shop conversations. Cason and Brent weigh the duck hunting pros and cons of permanent daylight saving time before heading down a rabbit hole conne...
More Public Land, More Ducks?
Overcrowded public ground and limited flooded habitat have some duck hunters calling for the state to simply buy more land. Ohio recently put $50 million on the table, including matching federal funds, to expand public hunting access. So, what ...
Is Arkansas Still the Duck Hunting Capital of the World (Holiday Replay)
With the holiday weekend here, we're taking it back to the very beginning. This week's episode is a re-airing of a conversation recorded in September 2023—before The Standard Sportsman officially launched. Cason and Brent tackle a ques...
Anne Marie Doramus
As her historic seven-year term on the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission comes to a close, outdoorswoman, conservationist, and avid duck hunter Anne Marie Doramus joins the podcast to reflect on her time helping guide one of the nation's prem...
Rob Olson and the Fight for Canada's Waterfowling Heritage
Canadian waterfowling finds itself at a pivotal moment. As more American hunters head north in search of ducks and geese, participation among Canadian residents continues to decline, raising questions about the future of the country's hunting t...
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Early Summer Roundup
With spring planting season winding down, attention turns to the work that pays dividends for ducks long after the combines are parked. Cason and Brent discuss Louisiana's newly announced black-bellied whistling duck season and debate whether d...
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Brandon Stafford, Lile Real Estate
Brandon Stafford has spent more than 20 years in the Arkansas land business, witnessing firsthand the dramatic rise in agricultural and recreational land values. In this episode, he shares insights into the evolving market for duck-hunting prop...
Questions & Answers
With Cason out on vacation and the holiday week keeping things short, Brent takes the controls for a rare solo episode...no guests, no script, just stories and insight. Using the Executive Q&A featured in
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Duck Band Stories
As the Memorial Day holiday weekend approaches, the guys swap stories about duck bands they’ve harvested or witnessed firsthand over the years. Some are the kind every waterfowler dreams about, while others are almost too wild to believe. Along...
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Travel Ball, Outfitters, the Lacey Act & Outlaws
Youth sports and duck hunting may seem worlds apart, but beneath the surface they share a common thread: money. In this episode, the guys dive into the growing influence of dollars and commercialization in both arenas, and what it means for the...
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Danny Fulton-The Fulton Farm
Danny Fulton joins the show to tell the story of building a duck property where most wouldn’t expect one, along the Ohio River in southern Indiana. In a region outside the traditional waterfowl spotlight, the Fulton family has transformed a cha...
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Skot Covert, The Duck Hunting Meteorologist
Weather gets talked about a lot in duck circles—and for good reason. It affects everything, from breeding habitat to migration timing to what your mornings in the blind look like. On this episode of The Standard Sportsman, the guys sit down wit...
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Rules, Regs & Reality: A Late Spring Update
Planting season’s here, but so is a lingering drought that won’t let go. The guys talk tough conditions in the southern flyway, brighter signs from the breeding grounds, and how it all ties together. They also tackle the growing role of politic...
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Raising the Next Generation of Stewards
With so many distractions pulling at kids today and duck hunting facing a downturn, it’s fair to wonder...will the next generation stick with the sport long enough to see things turn around? Cason and Brent dig into that question, sharing stori...
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Hunter Johnson
Habitat manager Hunter Johnson returns to share his spring plans for three very different properties under his care. From dealing with flooding to battling drought conditions, Johnson relies on a deep toolkit of strategies to create ideal habit...
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Five Stages of the Hunter-Easter Replay Edition
Originally aired in October of 2024, the hosts break down the classic, research-backed framework known as the “Five Stages of the Hunter”, a model that explains how a hunter’s motivations and mindset evolve over time. Originally developed by be...
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Grant Sinclair & Lee Kjos on the New Regs in Saskatchewan
Grant Sinclair and Lee Kjos are two well-known voices in the waterfowling world, bound by decades of freelance duck hunting in Saskatchewan. Kjos’s connection to the prairie goes back more than 50 years, hunting alongside his father, while Sinc...
Positivity & Projects
Duck hunters often spend more time arguing with each other than focusing on the things that could actually improve the future of duck seasons. In this episode, the guys discuss what the waterfowl community could accomplish if more hunters ralli...
What's Stirring This Spring
Duck season may be in the rearview and the clocks may have sprung forward, but the forces shaping future seasons are anything but quiet. From a struggling farm economy and tensions abroad to legislation on Capitol Hill and some thorny cultural ...
Justin Reif, Fallout Farms/Create the X
Justin Reif is a self-taught habitat manager who, through years of trial and error, has learned how to consistently attract ducks to his family farm just west of Lake Erie in Ohio. Adapting to shifting migration patterns, changing landscapes, a...
AGFC Commissioner Philip Tappan
Philip Tappan has spent the past four and a half years serving on the Arkansas Game & Fish Commission and now chairs the Rules & Regulations Committee at the AGFC. With the Commission’s proposed changes for the 2026–27 and 2027–28 seaso...
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John Adams, Natural Gear
Arkansas duck hunter John Adams, Head of Sales & Development at Natural Gear, joins the show with the kind of perspective that only comes from decades spent on public ground. From the “glory days” of Arkansas timber to the realities of toda...
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Duck Hunters are Discontent...But Why?
Duck hunters have always been prone to grumbling, but lately the frustration feels different...deeper, more widespread, and harder to shake. Across flyways and duck camps, many waterfowlers share the same sentiment: they don’t feel heard. In th...
The Season That Was - Recapping Duck Season
The 2025–2026 duck season proved one thing: success depended on where you stood and when you showed up. With mallard numbers down and dry conditions gripping much of the Mississippi Flyway and Central Flyway, many hunters faced a hurdle right o...
