Lev Bradford
President, Bradford Marine and ATV
Number of days you hunt a season: Hopefully over 30
Where do you hunt? Arkansas and Jefferson County
Club name: Drakes Landing
What kind of gun do you use? Browning Cynergy Over & Under
Favorite duck call? I have two: DC Mondo and an old short call that has to be 25 years old
Preferred wader: camo or solids? Chene wader — camo since I wear an old wax canvas coat
What’s your go-to duck hunting story? I have been very fortunate to have so many wonderful duck hunting stories, but my most memorable has to be hitting the mallard limit with my buddy Roger Smart. This hunt started out with Roger being late and my son Bo choosing to deer hunt instead of duck hunting. It was my first year at Drakes Landing and the water was very high, and the fog was thick. I got turned around (still do not know how that happened) and did not want to waste any more time and mess up Bo’s deer hunt, so I called Stephen Harris to come get me going in the right direction. Water high, foggy and no ducks. Mid-morning, Bo called me and told me he was ready to quit deer hunting, so I went and picked him up and asked him if he wanted to go hang out in the duck blind. He asked me how many ducks we had killed, which was zero. I dropped him off at camp and went back to pick up Roger. For some reason, I got out of the boat and 20 minutes later we had a limit of mallards. To this day I still cannot believe it!
What got you into duck hunting? My high school friends from Pine Bluff got me into duck hunting. When you get to hunt some of the best flooded timber ever in Jefferson County, it does not take many hunts to create a passion. When the woods were closed to rest the ducks, we then would hunt the scatters. I think about those days often.
What is your most unusual “must have” in the duck blind? I get really upset with myself when I forget my Coke Zero or Diet Mountain Dew!
Favorite meal after a hunt? The one and only Greg Trulock Burger and an ice-cold beer!
What stage of the hunter are you? Sportsman (Measures the total experience — appreciation of outdoors, the animal being hunted, the process, companionship of others and conservation.)
What’s your favorite memory of hunting with your children? My dad really did not like to hunt much. When I had children, raising them duck hunting was mandatory. They grew up at duck camp. I have both of my kids’ first ducks. My daughter Ellyson killed her hen dead, and my son Bo winged his drake a few years later. Memories that will last a lifetime.
Which Arkansas executive calls ducks the best? Larry Stone, a longtime family friend from Pine Bluff; I still remember him calling ducks down in the scatters like it was yesterday. Larry would come out of Bayou Meto with ducks when no one else would.
Why do you duck hunt? Friends, family, dogs and memories. There is nothing like duck hunting, even when you don’t even kill one duck. I just cannot explain it!
