gunner's legacy in saskatchewan

08-08-243 mins read

   BACK TO PACK NEWS

Saskatoon is the fifth Flyway Series release from GUNNER, which features limited-edition colors that draw inspiration from iconic destinations and honey holes within the four North American flyways. Limited quantities available. A portion of Saskatoon-edition products proceeds will be donated to Ducks Unlimited Canada.

Available August 15, 2024. Sign up to get 24-hour early access.

A few years ago, Addison booked a bucket list trip for he and Gunner with Black Duck Waterfowl up in Saskatchewan to hunt duck and geese in the “Land of the Living Skies.” Getting Gunner (the dog who inspired our company) from Nashville to Canada for this “one last hunt” wasn’t seamless but it was worth it – the last afternoon of the trip the crew took 7 mallard limits in an hour in those dry fields, and Gunner was a machine.

Watching him out there reminded Addison again what he owed that dog – a family, a company and over a decade of memories. And it was that trip that inspired the 2024 Flyway Series collection. Read about his most recent Saskatoon trip with Chevy.

Earlier this year I flew up to Canada with Chevy. I had an epic bucket list trip with Gunner in Saskatchewan his last season – it’s the hunt that inspired this year’s Flyway Series ‘24 release. We were headed back to give Chevy his first go in the area and capture the Saskatoon collection in the process. It surpassed my expectations.

Chevy has the exact same drive as Gunner, and he’s at the age where he progresses more and more each hunt. It’s bittersweet hunting with him after losing Gunner, but Chevy impresses me every time we’re out in the field (I think I even called Chevy “Gunner” a couple of times in the field – they are so similar in so many ways). 

It was fun to get to hunt with him in the spring right out of turkey season and the longer we hunted, the more fun the trip got. Chevy picked up close to 40 birds each day, including some that felt like were about a mile away. It was a little tricky for him, because every retrieve was a total blind but he absolutely killed it. I was proud of him and I think our bond was really evident in how we trusted each other with each retrieve.

The very last one of the trip was a banded bird, and it was one of those rare moments where everyone was super hyped up. The bird had covered the whole flyway up to Alaska, so it was cool to see it all tie together to the Flyway Series.

Giving Back

For every Saskatoon Kennel, Food Crate, or Bowl that our GUNNER customers purchase, we will be giving a portion of proceeds back to Ducks Unlimited Canada. In addition, when customers choose to donate $1 at checkout to the organization, GUNNER will equally match that donation in honor of the customer's gift.

Want to shop the Saskatoon drop before everyone else? Sign up for our SMS messages to get early access. You don’t want to miss this.