Outfitting

We are now booking for the 2009-2010 snow goose season
  http://www.mdc.mo.gov/hunt/wtrfowl/info/seasons/

Dear Hunt Customers,

Thanks for your interest in my hunts. I hope your experience will be everything you have hoped for. There is nobody out there who will try any harder than I will to see that your hunt is the best it can be.

 We have had some really bad weather the last few seasons and it has caused me to change some of the hunt situations. I will no longer take a party out when we have hazardous road conditions or freezing rain. The road conditions will be evaluated just prior to the leave time each morning with help from the local weather forecasters. A threat of small snow amounts is one thing, a major storm with large accumulations or freezing rain/ice are another thing altogether. Safety on my hunts are the most important thing and past experiences have made me more cautious of bad weather. We lost the first week of the 2009 Conservation Order Season but that was due more to the lack of power in Sikeston and closed roads in the hunt area because of the once-in-a-lifetime ice storm. I will make every effort to make the hunt happen but weather related cancellations can happen with little or no warning and will be subject to rescheduling but no deposit refunds. The rescheduling will take place during the remainder of the current season when dates are available or during the next years season. If these conditions are not acceptable, please consider not booking the hunt.

New for the 2010 Conservation Order will be an additional permit, a Conservation Order permit. The cost of this permit is $5 for Missouri residents and $40 for non-residents. This permit is required along with the Missouri Migratory Bird Permit ($6). For hunts taking place before the Conservation Order, there will also be a small game hunting permit ($11/day non-resident) required for each day hunted. These permits are available online from the Missouri Dept of Conservation or in Sikeston at license vendors. No licenses are required for hunters less than 16 years old. PLEASE NOTE: anyone born after Jan 1, 1967 are required to have and possess a Hunters Safety Card to buy Missouri license!

I will only be allowing one dog per hunt party. I may or may not have a dog with me this season. The dog allowed will be up to the party. It must be a steady dog that has hunted in lay-out blind hunts. All dogs will be tied until the all-clear signal is given and the dogs then released. This is not the place for dog training so please honestly evaluate your dog’s abilities. A bad dog is worse than no dog and can ruin a hunt for everyone. A dog that is not behaving under these guidelines will be removed from the hunt and no refunds given. If there are combined groups on a particular day, the first group that booked will be given first opportunity to bring one dog. If they choose not to bring a dog then the next group will be allowed one dog and so on. All dogs must be in a concealed area next to the handler’s blind. A camo vest or dog blind is required.

All hunters will be required to have any items taken along on the hunt be camouflage. No bags, gun cases, clothing, etc will be allowed that aren’t waterfowl pattern camo. Camo or white full-face masks will be required of each hunter and will be worn at all times when in the blinds. These are the responsibility of each hunter. Please don’t bring guns that are not camouflaged or matte black. A shiny gun is unacceptable and will spook geese as fast as a shining face.

I will only be providing the hunt location, blinds (white coats and back boards in some cases), and decoys. Licenses, guns and ammo, clothing and boots, food and personal items will be the responsibility of each individual hunter. Only one gun per hunter will be allowed in the field. Extra equipment can be left at the parking area of that hunt.

The hunt will be from ½ hour before sunrise till 2pm. There will be no partial day rates and no refunds if the party decides to end the hunt early. If a member of a party decides to not hunt for any reason and the majority of the group hunts, no refunds will be given. This includes sickness. We will discuss the hunt prior to leaving the motel or at a designated meeting place. No time will be allotted for breakfast prior to the hunt. We normally stop for snacks and gas on the way to the hunt area. If a hunter or group is late to leave any designated place at a designated time, they will be considered to have cancelled and no refunds given.

All members of a hunt group will be required to help unload gear, set up decoys and blinds, keep the hunt area cleaned up and take up and store gear after the hunt. NO EXCEPTIONS! All bird cleaning is the responsibility of the hunt party. All dressed geese are required to have one feathered wing left attached.

This season all hunts will be $200 per hunter per day. Hunters under 16 will be allowed at $100 per day but each under-aged hunter must be accompanied by a paying adult hunter. A 50% non-refundable deposit is required for each hunter for each day they schedule to hunt. I accept cash, checks or credit/debit cards for deposits. Balances of hunt rates must be paid upon arriving and before the date of the first scheduled hunt and must be paid in cash. Waiver forms and hunt rules will be sent to each party when the hunt is booked. These must be signed by each hunter and sent back with deposit monies within 2 weeks of the packet being sent out. Deposits not made within 30 days of the scheduled hunt will be considered cancelled and the booking dates given to those on the waiting lists. Parties will be no more than 7 hunters unless prior permission is given at the time of the booking. If a small party wants to have the hunt to themselves, they will have to pay the costs of 7 hunters. Small parties will be combined to no more than 7 hunters. Last minute bookings will be paid in full prior to the first hunt date. 

This season hunters will be allowed to bring their own layout blinds as long as space allows. The blinds must be camo in a pattern that will blend in with the hunt location. ATVs can be brought to be used to carry personal blinds out to the hunt area. Hunters must provide their own means of carrying their own special gear to the hunt area. I will provide the means of getting hunters and gear from the parking area to the hunt field. If we have decent weather conditions we may hunt using tyvek suits or white coats/raincoats and ground covering with back supports that I provide.

Hunters are welcome to use snow goose calls along with the electronics as long as their calling is compatible with the hunt. I will be calling the shots when I feel the geese are in proper range. I may ask hunters to help with this if conditions dictate. Hunters who shoot before the shots are called or do other things that cause the other hunters to be less successful will be removed from the hunt with one warning. This has been a problem in the past and will no longer be tolerated! Unsafe gun handling or other acts that might lead to injury or property damage will be grounds for AUTOMATIC ejection from the hunt with no refunds or chance to book future hunts.

Most hunters find that 3 or 3 1/2 inch steel or other non-toxic round in large shot sizes (2,1,BB, BBB) work best for the snow geese. I try to keep the shots at 40 yards or less. It will be the decision of each hunt group to decide if they want me to shoot during the hunt. I do keep my gun available for cripples but will keep it unloaded if that is the wish of the hunt party.

I want each hunt to be successful and memorable. I will do everything possible and legal to make this happen. There are no guarantees of numbers of geese taken. Many conditions out of my control affect this. I will guarantee that I will never give anybody a reason to say I didn’t put out my maximum effort for each hunt.

GOOD LUCK and SAFE HUNTING.

DOUG WYNN

I can be reached by mail at 5 Rivers Outfitters, 157 Chase Loop, Benton, KY 42025. By phone at 270-703-7600 or 270-527-7410. By e-mail at    mrdux@refugemail.com

I base all my hunts out of Sikeston, Missouri and use the Super 8 Motel there for lodging. 1-573-471-7944 Be sure to tell the desk clerk that you are booking rooms for a hunt with 5 Rivers/Doug Wynn.