Franchi Short Film Unguided Celebrates the Soul of Waterfowl Hunting

The September 12 launch of Unguided—a new short film presented by Franchi in association with Fiocchi and Banded—drives right to the heart of the waterfowl hunting. Delivered through the experience of friends and fellow Wyoming big game outfitters, Unguided perfectly underscores the true reasons dedicated waterfowlers return to the stubble fields, marshes, and flooded timber year after year.

For Dustin Decroo, owner/outfitter of Bighorn Outfitters and Tony Larsen, owner/outfitter of American Outfitters, a waterfowl adventure is a much-needed respite after four grueling months of guiding clients on their dream hunts.

"Being an outfitter, there's a lot of stress involved," says Decroo. "You care about that client who's saved up a bunch of money over the years to go on this hunt. Sometimes the money is not as important as it is the preference points because it takes so many points to draw these tags that you don't want to feel like he wasted the last six, seven, eight, ten years on this hunt. So, there's a lot of pressure involved. And that's why I love bird hunting…nobody asks me, 'What does that duck score? What's that goose score?' The whole burden of all that's lifted and it's 100-percent about having a good time with your buddies."

As viewers will note in the film, the duck blind offers the perfect venue to not only satisfy the wild callings in all of us but to also capture the fun and joy of spending a long day in the field with friends and faithful companions. On this Missouri hunt, Larsen brought his aging retriever, Wilma, for what would likely be her last hunt.

"We really don't care about having a master hunter to, you know, go out and pick up our birds," Decroo continues. "To be very honest, it's much more entertaining to watch Tony go out and try to chase the birds down, and then chase Wilma down."

It is that kind of joking and friendly banter and having the time to do so while waiting for the next flock of birds to be flagged and called into range, that makes waterfowl hunting so appealing to so many.

Larson sums it up best:

"Two separate feelings that come from waterfowl hunting. One positive is that you get to go hunting with the boys, right? So, it's just camaraderie. Whether you limit out or don't limit out, you have a cold day, a warm day, you got blue skies, you've got overcast skies, whatever…it doesn't matter. The camaraderie and the joking around…learning different things…But it's camaraderie. Altogether. Right there. And then the pressure. For me, there's zero pressure. Cutting loose, breathing free, having fun with your buddies…" That is what waterfowling is all about.

To experience the film, click here.