Duck club managers spend countless hours throughout the year preparing properties for a roughly 90-day window when ducks winter in Arkansas. Wearing every hat there is, their responsibilities range from planting duck habitat to brushing blinds to ensure ownership and their guests enjoy their days afield. These guides serve a crucial role that benefits the hunter and the waterfowl they pursue. They aren’t too shabby on the business end of duck call either.
Jeff Rounsavall
Jeff Rounsavall (pictured at top), manager of Greenbriar Lodge in Hazen, certainly knows the lay of the land.
“My dad and grandparents were all farmers and hunters, so (winter) was … their slow time of the year. They’ve always had a love for the land and outdoors – everything from duck hunting, deer hunting, fishing,” Rounsavall said. “I’ve just followed in the footsteps.”
Growing up south of Hazen, Rounsavall started hunting when he was around 5, and by 18, he and his brother, Kevin, were already entering the guiding field. A few years later, they were called to Greenbriar Lodge.
“They were doing corporate hunts out here, and they were looking for guides from around this area,” he said. “Somebody had given them our names and … the first time we set foot on the property, it was just hallowed ground.”
Rounsavall and his brother began guiding corporate hunts in 1997 and continued for about four years. The club changed hands in 2001, and the property manager role was vacated in 2006.
“They approached me with the job, which was kind of surprising. I was farming with some of my family. That’s really all I had ever done,” he said. “We decided to make the move out here, and it turned out great for all of us.”
Greenbriar has 1,000 acres of timber with ag fields for food plots and rest areas. The lodge has been working through a habitat management program for over 10 years. Thinning down the timber, which helps to open the canopy and encourage new tree growth, and making “wildlife improvement cuts” — i.e. removing undesirable vegetation and getting rid of trees not producing acorns — are some of the ways Rounsavall and the Greenbriar team keep the land a haven for ducks.
As a guide, Rounsavall is all about the experience, whereas many duck hunters are all about the limit. He wants his groups to see that the sport’s limits are fun, but the enjoyment found in taking in the experience makes for the most memorable hunts.
“Most mornings, we’re able to show everybody what it looks like when we break ducks down into the trees and have a big bunch hovering over the decoys,” Rounsavall said. “But we still have slow days like everybody else does. The duck numbers are always going to be up a little or down a little, but if you treat people with respect, whether you’re hunting with old friends or new friends, you can’t ever have a bad day in the duck woods.”
Trent McCarley
Trent McCarley’s hunting history started when he was young, and it has some impressive family roots.
“My grandpa moved here when he was 13 and fell in love with duck hunting,” McCarley said. “He just taught me everything that I know. He and my dad taught me how to hunt and not only how to hunt, but the love of the sport of hunting. I started running with him around the age of 6, and I really can’t wait to teach my son.”
McCarley said his biggest help came from hunting with his grandfather.
“He used to guide at Russell McCollum’s Wildlife Acres, which is now Witt’s [Stephens]. So it was kind of crazy that I got to hunt there as a kid,” McCarley said.
When the land was sold, McCarley thought he’d seen his last hunt there.
Today, the land is known as Screaming Wings. And McCarley manages the property.
“It’s pretty cool how dreams do come true. I never dreamed I would ever hunt out there again. And here I am managing the whole property,” McCarley said. “It is the world’s greatest career.”
McCarley’s guide process centers around everyone having a safe experience while keeping in mind each is in a different hunting headspace with varying levels of experience.
“There’s not just one version in there that you’re trying to show the experience to,” he said. “You want to get everybody involved.
“I love watching the way they work to the call, watching the wing beats change and then just absolutely love watching them finish.”
McCarley credits other mentors: legendary guide Sam Leder, Butch Richenback of RNT Calls and David Starks, a World Championship and Champion of Champions duck caller.
“My biggest reward is introducing the new hunters to the sport. Watching them light up when the ducks break the trees — there’s just nothing like it,” he said. “I show them what I know and try to help them understand the love that I have for duck hunting. I’m trying to pass that on and, overall, give them a very memorable and great experience.”
McCarley said the best advice he could give to a newcomer is to just spend time on the hunt.
“What I mean by that is you have to be out there and watch the duck learn. Watch the way they react to the call and basically study the animal. Watch the wing beats, listen to how they sound,” he said. “Learn your mistakes – don’t be afraid to mess up … they say you’ve got to live through the bad ones to see the good ones.”
