Est. 2020
The Hunting Blog for Tips, Gear Reviews & Real StoriesBorn in the field. Built for the obsessed.
Hunt Bums is the hunting blog built by hunters who live it. Field-tested gear reviews, proven hunting tips, and honest stories. Waterfowl, big game, upland, and firearms. Written from the blind, not a desk.
Who We Are
Hunting Tips & Gear Reviews You Can Trust
Hunt Bums is a hunting blog founded in 2020 and written by five active hunters across the United States, covering waterfowl, big game, upland birds, firearms, and field-tested hunting gear. Every article comes from a hunter who has actually carried the gear, walked the fields, sat in the blind, and done the work. No recycled content from people who don't hunt. No paid-for opinions dressed up as reviews.
Our hunting tips are earned through seasons of waterfowl hunting, deer hunting, upland bird hunting, and public land hunts across the country. Our gear reviews are tested until they fail. If we recommend it, we've used it.
The Hunting Blog Built by Hunters Who Hunt
Most hunting blogs recycle the same advice from writers who never leave the house. Hunt Bums was built because we were tired of it. Every piece of content on this site is written by an active hunter with real field experience, from waterfowl hunting and big game hunting to upland bird hunting, firearms, and hunting gear reviews.
Since 2020, we've published over 100 articles covering decoy strategies, shotgun reviews, public land hunting tactics, and everything in between. In 2026 we went further and published The State of Waterfowl Hunting survey results, a community-sourced study built from 400+ hunter responses across all four North American flyways. Our readers include first-time hunters learning the basics and 30-year veterans looking for an honest take on the latest gear. That range is what makes this hunting blog different.
Gear Reviews Tested in Real Hunting Conditions
Our gear reviews don't come from unboxing videos or manufacturer spec sheets. We take every product into the field and use it through an entire season before writing a word. Recent reviews include the Browning Maxus 2 Wicked Wing, the Shield Sights RMSx, and the Browning Citori 825.
Shotguns get cycled through thousands of rounds. Waders get dragged through mud and flooded timber. Optics get fogged, dropped, and rained on. When we publish a gear review, it's because we've put enough rounds, miles, and mornings into that product to give you an honest recommendation. That's the standard at Hunt Bums.
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Find Your Pursuit
Waterfowl
Duck and goose hunting tips, decoy strategies, blind setups, and migration reports
Explore →Big Game
Deer hunting, elk tactics, and big game strategies on public and private land
Explore →Upland
Pheasant, quail, and grouse hunting with dogs across the country
Explore →Gear
Honest reviews on shotguns, waders, optics, decoys, and hunting apparel
Explore →Firearms
Shotgun and pistol reviews, field comparisons, and long-term accuracy tests
Explore →Start Here — Field Guides
California Duck Season 2026–2027
Dates by zone, the 7-duck limit, pintail and scaup rules, stamps, fees, and refuge rules.
Complete GuideCalifornia Duck Hunting Guide
Refuges, rice blinds, gear, weather, scouting, and beginner waterfowl tips.
Buying GuideChoosing the Best Upland Shotgun
25 picks from entry-level to premium, 12 vs 20 gauge, and bird-specific setups.
Beginner GuideTurkey Hunting for Beginners
Proven calls, setups, and gear to help you bag your first gobbler this spring.
Fresh Tracks
Latest From the Field
New gear reviews, hunting tips, and field stories. Straight from the blind, the timber, and the high country.
Trump’s 2026 Hunting Executive Order, Explained: Public Land, Lead Ammo, and What Changes
Nobody Gets Lucky for Five Months Straight
The State of Waterfowl Hunting 2026
Includes the logo, styles, chart values, interactions and automatic full-width host integration. No Divi row or module width changes are required. Report styles are scoped to .hbsw; only the report's actual ancestor wrappers receive the host-integration attributes....
Choosing My Saddle Hunting Setup (And Why I Picked It)
What Made Me Start Saddle Hunting After Years in a Tree Stand
El Niño Is Coming. It Probably Won’t Save Your Season.
The State of Waterfowl Hunting: 2026 Survey Results
We asked. Hunters answered. The results of the first community-sourced study of waterfowl hunting in North America are now published, built from 400+ hunter responses across all four flyways. What it actually costs to hunt. Where public land access is working and where it's failing. What's keeping the next generation out of the sport.
The full results are free and open to everyone. No paywall. No gatekeeping. Just what waterfowl hunting looks like right now, straight from the hunters living it.
Methodology and question wording available on request at contact@huntbums.com.
Hunt Bums Annual Research
For the Tried & True
This Isn't a Hobby. It's a Way of Life.
For the hunter who sets the alarm when the world is still dark. Who drives hours for a maybe. Who sits in the cold, in the rain, in the nothing, waiting for everything to come together in a single second. For the ones who lost the bird, missed the shot, got skunked, and came back the next morning anyway.
For the first-timers learning what a greenhead sounds like at 30 yards. For the veterans who still get chills when the first flock drops in. For the public land grinders, the club hunters, the dog people, the bow hunters, the shotgun loyalists, and everyone in between. This is your hunting blog. This is your crew. This is Hunt Bums.
5 Writers. Multiple States. One Mission.
Every tip, review, and story is written by someone who has been in the field.
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