Most waterfowlers dream of bird-filled skies and Ramsey Russell, owner of GetDucks.com, makes that dream a reality. GetDucks.com specializes in worldwide waterfowl hunting and wing-shooting. They offer waterfowl hunts in nine different locations including Argentina, Mexico, and New Zealand.
Russell, a very passionate and avid duck hunter, first had a love for deer hunting. While attending Mississippi State University, he earned an internship in South Texas at a white-tail deer ranch.
“While I was there, a funny thing happened. We were shooting so many does, managing and thinning the herd, that it turned into work, hard work. In addition, we maintained windmills and planted food plots.
Every time the wind would blow out of the north, all the tanks (known as ponds elsewhere besides South Texas) on the 170,000 acres would fill up with ducks. There were multiple species of waterfowl, more than I had ever seen in my life. Something about it, not sure what it was, but it changed me. After years of deer hunting, the waterfowl thing, it was just something that made my heart beat fast,” Ramsey said.
That fall in South Texas provided Ramsey with an eye opening experience. He spent days studying many different species of ducks not native to Mississippi. Also, he developed a friendship with a co-worker that afforded him the opportunity to go on a guided Snow Goose that year near El Campo, Texas.
“As a little Delta boy, you always saw snow geese flying over, making stops for food and water before heading further south and west, but you never heard about anyone in the 70’s or 80’s hunting snow geese. Everyone was always chasing Canada Geese or ducks. Having the opportunity to go on this goose hunt made me realize the world is a lot bigger than Mississippi in terms of waterfowling,” Ramsey said.
From then on, the spark for duck hunting was lit. While Ramsey was completing his Master’s degree, he got a job with the College of Forestry Resource Services. This job allowed him the opportunity to travel back to Texas several times to hunt. He eventually began traveling to other hunting locations around North America, such as Canada.
While his first hunt in Canada didn’t go so good from a kill perspective, he continued to research waterfowl outfitters and found “the one”. Each year he returned to Alberta with more and more friends to the point that the outfitter asked me one day ‘I want you to be my booking agent.’ I asked ‘What in the world is a booking agent? I’m a government forester’. He said ‘Naugh~ Naugh!! I need you to help book hunts up here in Alberta’. He went on to explain what all you do, and that was it,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey began GetDucks.com in 2003 and owes a lot of his success to DuckSouth.com. “I know it is called Ducksouth now, but back in the old days we called it MSDucks. Hardin Phillips or Webfoot was a loyal member and through this website, we became good friends. He actually built my original website for me,” Ramsey said.
Through MSDucks, Russell was able to build many lifelong friendships that not only helped him in the early years of his business but also impacted his life as well. “Back in the old days, if you weren’t on MSDucks, you were missing out. GetDucks.com was still a part time business, and MSDucks provided me an excellent opportunity to network. MSDucks, I mean shoot man that was real love. It was a small, tight-knit community of waterfowl hunters. It is an important part of my life and an important part of my success,” Ramsey said. “Most of my first clients with GetDucks were members of MSDucks. A lot of men who might not even post, have become not only clients but have become friends. “
Ramsey and Justin Harrison (Gator) from Ducksouth
Way back in the early days, we started having events known as Teal Socials for members of DuckSouth. One year we had over 50 people from five states attend the social. My wife and I still talk about a lot of our old friends because my sons grew up around friends I met through MSDucks. In fact, the boys still refer to them by their usernames such as Mr. Bigwater or Mr.Webfoot instead of their real names.” Ramsey said.
Msducks Teal Social and Hunt
The food at the Teal Social is as great as the hunt
Ramsey is passing his love of waterfowling on to his boys!
Through the years, Ramsey’s business has continued to grow and gain popularity as one of the leading waterfowl outfitters in the industry. “We are up there with the big boys now,” Ramsey said. A unique aspect of GetDucks is Ramsey’s desire to customize each hunt for the individual duck hunter. “I see so many people in this industry chasing the crème de la crème, the one percenters. You see it in their sales pitch, ‘We’ve got five-star lodges,’ blah blah blah. That ain’t us man. What we got worldwide is real duck hunts for real duck hunters. If you want the five star Four Seasons-nobody can touch experience, take your wife to Italy. If you want to shoot the (bleep) out of ducks, call me.”
This picture is exactly what Get Ducks is about. It is great hunting and good times with those we love.
