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Memories of ducks and dogs

Rugby man preserves memories of waterfowl, upland game hunts

Kim Fundingsland/MDN John Seil, Rugby, relaxes alongside a mural of Drake, one of his favorite Labrador retrievers. Seil has traveled extensively to harvest all huntable species of North American ducks and waterfowl.

RUBGY – John Seil is passionate about waterfowl, upland game, and dogs. He’s hunted from Alaska to Maine to the Rio Grande, extensively in his home state of North Dakota and in the deserts of the southwest.

His home and “man cave” is graced with museum quality taxidermy of colorful waterfowl and stunningly patterned upland game birds, each with a memory attached to it. Does he have a favorite place to hunt? Somewhere that stands out above the rest?

“The Bearing Sea has me so captivated. I am just in awe of that place,” responded Seil. “The rollers. The black beaches and the stark emptiness of it all.”

Seil has several eiders among the impressive display of waterfowl in his man cave, some that were harvested at the Bearing Sea. He remembers each opportunity, every scene presented before him at one of the most remote places on Earth. Unfortunately, said Seil, it was hunting without a favorite Labrador retriever at his side.

“I’ve yet to see any dog turned loose in the Bearing Sea. It’s the currents. Not the cold water,” explained Seil. “You could lose a dog in a hurry in those currents. They can’t some back.”

Seated on a couch in his display room, next to a mural of Drake, his first Labrador, Seil recounted many of the circumstances surrounding his harvesting of every huntable species of duck in North America. The accomplished waterfowler carries with him a tremendous respect for the game he covets, identifying on the wing birds that were fully mature and could be preserved by skilled taxidermists.

“I don’t take a bunch. I’m not after young birds,” said Seil. “Sometimes I have a guide with me that helps pick out birds.”

He takes it a step further too, gathering sand or rocks or samples of vegetation from the vicinity of his hunts, items that will be invaluable to taxidermists creating original and meaningful mounts intended to preserve special memories.

Seil does extensive research before embarking on any hunt. Of particular interest to him is locales where certain species develop their most fantastic plumage. An example, he says, is pintails in Washington state and Columbia River diving ducks that are “the most beautiful in North America” with indescribable scenery and tactics.

Among the most stunning mounts in his vast display are wood ducks taken in western North Dakota. He’s taken a ring-billed duck from the Tennessee River, a red head duck and greater scaup from the Columbia River, and a bull canvasback in late November from his home state.

“The waterfowl community is kind of like a fraternity,” said Seil. “True waterfowlers have a bucket list of the top 10 waterfowl places to go and North Dakota is one of them, particularly the Devils Lake area.”

Whenever possible, Seil has had a favorite Labrador at his side. Deuce, now deceased, and Trey, followed in the footsteps of his beloved Drake.

“Emotions and hunting and dogs, it’s all one,” said Seil.

Seil is in the process of interviewing people who have shared hunts with him and his dogs, inquiring in particular about memories of how the dogs added to the experience. He is compiling the information for the purpose of writing down his experiences to share them with family members, young and old, to give them a lasting and better understanding of his passion.

“I can hardly express it,” remarked Seil. “Sometimes I don’t even want to tell the stories to some people because there’s people that will never be able to do this.”

While a writing project occupies much of the retired waterfowler’s time, so too does another equally challenging endeavor. With his waterfowl collection complete, he has turned his attention to upland game. Ask him where any species of upland game lives and he very likely can give you the answer.

Seil has taken both sub-species of dusky blue grouse, or mountain grouse, in the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana and in Colorado, ptarmigan in Alaska, ruffed grouse and spruce grouse too. Focal points of his collection include scaled quail, Mearns quail, and Gamble’s quail.

“I started on quail in Arizona and have three more species to get. California valley and mountain quail are in the same area,” said Seil. “And I’ve got to get an Alaskan sharptail. They are bigger and darker than our sharptails. There’s also a sub-species in part of Colorado. It’s a short season for them. They are smaller than a sharptail here and lighter colored.”

Of course, Seil has had experience in the field with a variety of shotguns in almost every kind of environment and weather condition. He doesn’t hesitate when asked about his favorite shotgun for upland game.

“I use a .28 gauge Beretta semi-auto on quail. It’s 5 1/2 pounds. They work. They don’t jam,” assured Seil.

In the hope of developing a place to introduce his grandchildren to hunting, Seil has done extensive restoration work in conjunction with Ducks Unlimited on his own land which, he says, “turned out great.” So too has his remarkable collections of waterfowl and upland game.

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