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Mario is joined by 3 of the 4 decoy carvers for Final Approach. In this episode everything comes full circle and everybody jumps into a waterfowl hunting conversation.
ep. 57: The Dream Team – How World Champions Carve Decoys
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Mario is joined by 3 of the 4 decoy carvers for Final Approach. They discuss their techniques for creating first place prize winning carvings. Grab a notepad and a block of wood and get ready to carve like the champs.
56. The Dream Team – Origin
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Mario is joined by 3 of the 4 decoy carvers for Final Approach. They discuss all things hunting and decoys.
55. Professional Soccer Player & Waterfowl Hunting NUT
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The FA Podcast is graced with a professional athlete in this episode. Mario is joined by a new friend of his who is a waterfowl junkie but lives a totally different lifestyle than most of us. David Bingham is a professional Soccer player for the Portland Timbers and waterfowl nut case. We talk about what his life is like playing a professional sport, then having his off-season during waterfowl season so he gets to chase birds constantly. His love for snow goose hunting started in California and has grown more and more each year. The white addiction has been rough for David as it has gone from having hundreds of snow socks, to thousands of socks and one trailer, then escalating to full body snows filled in one trailer and socks and more in another trailer. The struggle is real for a snow goose guy……………up at 3am, grinding all day with a big spread to put out and pick up, cleaning lots of birds to everything in between. David is also a hardcore dog trainer and that came from an early age with his dad who was in the dog training game a long time ago. He runs a race horse, not a duck dog! Nitro is every bit of what his name is, he is fast, long and lean and built to motor. We discuss how much time training takes up and what the results can be like once you have that fully trained and committed dog. Great fun on this podcast and a different perspective on waterfowl hunting.
54. The Secrets Of Optics For Duck Hunters
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On this episode of the FA podcast Mario is joined by Tim Lesser, the Vice President of Product Development and Marketing. Tim started in the outdoor industry as a big game guide in the West and worked his way up the ladder at Leupold, the leading brand in optics in the world. Mario has known Tim for over 15 years and they have always kept in touch and hunted whenever possible. Tim and his wife Riza enjoy waterfowling when they get the chance to go so we try and get them out any time we can. Mario has always used Leupold products as the home office is only 15 minutes away from home in Oregon and he has always had friends working there that liked to duck hunt and get out in the woods. The time was perfect to strike up a partnership and make Leupold one of our Web Series Partners. This year will be the first year that you will see the famous Leupold logo on “THE LAST PASS” Web series on YouTube.
We talk about the Leupold brand, the strict quality control it has and what makes it the most successful brand in rifle scopes, binoculars, rangefinders and now protective eyewear. Tim hands off some great insight on what all those numbers mean on your binos or rifle scopes and how you can use those to pick your next pair of glass or make sure you get what you need for the job you are doing. Lots of great information about using optics in waterfowling and a few hunting stories to go with all that info. Hope you enjoy it.
53. European Hunting Tour pt.1 | Finland & Sweden
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On this Episode of the FA Podcast Mario’s guest is Juho from Uittokalusto which is one of FA’s biggest distributors. They are located in Finland and we had the chance to head there for an unreal bucket list trip. Mario started his trip in Finland, then to Sweden and last but not least Iceland. This podcast focuses on Finland and Sweden and the species of birds, the seasons and the unbelievable time they had in Europe on this trip. They talk about the incredible dog work and how Finland and Sweden have a rich dog hunting tradition. They have dogs for hunting deer, moose, waterfowl and more. Definitely some species were checked off the bucket list. Get a first hand look into hunting waterfowl in Europe.
52. The Newest Shotgun For Waterfowlers
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On this episode of the FA Podcast Mario talks with the guys from Weatherby as they launch their new 18i shotgun, 3 inch model. They run through the specs of the gun, using it up in Canada and the trips that the guns were used on. We are also introduced to the new Weatherby Marketing director, Tyler Grethen. He is another bird fanatic as well as a big game chaser so we talk about the Weatherby shotgun line up, what is happening for the company and some things coming in the future. If you are looking for a new shotgun listen to what we have to say about this legendary brand and what they are up to. You might just find yourself a new model to put in the safe.
Episode 51: The Carver of our Full Body Honkers
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Oregon, USA – On this FA Podcast we talk to the final carver in the Final Approach carving team. Tom Christie, from Nebraska started carving in 1986. He is a 6 Time World Decoy Carving Champion and his eye for waterfowl and birds is unmatched. Tom not only carves and paints with the best in the world but his sketches before he starts carving are world class as well. We talk about those sketches and how they were so good and thought people would like them that we put them on some of our FA t-shirts this year. Tom has done a lot for FA including our Live Wigeon, Live Pintails, Live Gadwall and coming soon to a store near you, the brand new Live Full Body Honker decoys. They will be in a class all itself when they arrive this fall. We discuss his new book that is out, his website with all the instructional videos as well as how much he likes getting out in the field like all of us and hunting.
Episode 50: The Man Who Carved our Hollywood
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Oregon, USA – This week we keep our Final Approach Carver podcasts going with Jamie Welsh. Jamie is a 3 Time World Decoy Carving Champion. He started carving in 1988 and won the Worlds in 2002 for Black Belly Whistling ducks, in 2005 for a Black Brant and in 2014 for Pie Billed Grebes. Jamie is a very accomplished carver and we talk about his influences in carving and who helped him along the way. We talk about all the FA decoys he has done for us that are just incredible. The Northern Shovelers or Spoonies, the Full Body Snows, Blues and Full Body Specklebellies as well as the brand new Live Lesser Canada Geese that are just hitting the market now. Jamie has an eye for detail and is never satisfied but I can tell you all of us are. Hope you enjoy spending some time with South Carolina’s own.
Episode 49: He Made Our #1 Selling Decoy
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Oregon, USA – Today we are joined by Wayne Simkin, two time World Decoy carving champion. Wayne has been a part of the Final Approach carving team since we started bringing the brand back. We talk about what got him into carving and all the details he looks at when carving birds. We enjoy his passion for carving and listening to him talk about his favorite birds to hunt and to carve. Wayne has carved our #1 selling decoy, The Last Pass Canada Goose floaters. He has also done our Last Pass Speck, Snow and Blue Floaters. He has also carved our Greenwing, Bluewing and Cinnamon Teal decoys. We even get into talking about what is new for this year from Wayne. They are the Live Honker Floaters with several different packs and poses to choose from.