We just got home from South Padre Island, TX where we hunted ducks with Austin Outfitters.

What an awesome time.   Greg Windham, my brother Kip Speigner, and I left Christmas night going down there.  When we got there Yancey Griffith and Jeff Austin of Austin Outfitters told us that we would see more ducks than we have in our entire life.  It held true.

The hunting was awesome.  We were shooting out in the bay which is saltwater of course and the temps never got below 70.  It was quite the vacation!  We set up in blinds that were constructed by Austin Outfitters overlooking the bay.  The blinds were mostly setup just off of little islands out in the bay.  It was beautiful.  You could look out in the bay at any time and see thousands and thousands of ducks sitting on the water and flying.

We killed over 60 ducks total while we were down there.  Mostly Redheads, a few pintails, buffleheads, and bluebills.  Most of all of those were drakes because there were so many ducks that we could just pick out the drakes to shoot.

We had so much fun!  This will be one of the best waterfowl shows ever to air by anyone.  The Flextone calls worked great and the Realtree kept us hidden in the blinds Jeff and Yancey built.

Justin

We just returned last night from Illinois and Kentucky.  Of course, in Illinois we were hunting at our favorite place, The Bottoms.  I was fortunate enough to take an awesome 155” 9 point 30 minutes after I got in the tree.  Thomas did a great job capturing the hunt.  It was so cool!

Also, while at The Bottoms during the first shotgun season, I filmed Josh Turcott and Jordan Williams.   Josh had a great hunt and called in a 135” 8 point and put him on the ground.  Jordan, had an awesome encounter with a monster 170” 10 point and unfortunately missed him at 60 yards.  I know he hates he missed, but that is just part of hunting as this young hunter of only 15 years old will learn.  What an awesome experience just to be able to see a buck like that though.

In Kentucky, Joe, Greg, and Thomas put a lot of leg work in and Joe was able to take a nice 125”  8 point.  What a great trip for the Reality Check team.

Special thanks to:
Jeff Williams, Thomas Boutwell for doing such a great job on the camera, and all the folks at The Bottoms and Kentucky.

Justin

What a busy time of the year for ROP!  Greg, Thomas, Joe and myself are leaving on Nov. 17 to head to The Bottoms again to film the manager's sons, Josh and Jordan during the first shotgun season.  From there we are heading to Kentucky to do a little rifle hunting.

Hugh Stovall and Tommy Martinere, new additions this year, are filming in southern Illinois now trying to take a big buck with a bow.  They are also going to be hunting during this first shotgun season.

Ashley and Brian are going to be heading back up there soon.

I will be sure to keep you all posted on what is happening.

Justin

ROP is excited about filming this year for our new show, Reality Check which will air on CSS in July of 2006.

We just returned from The Bottoms in Illinois .  What a week.  Everyone in camp saw a lot of shooters and were able to take quite a few.  Other hunters took a 168" 10 point, 175" 11 point, and a couple of misses.  Our very own Greg Windham took the largest buck he has ever taken by way of a beautiful 155" 9 point.  I was lucky enough to film that one.  Also,  our good friend, Brad Snellgrove took his biggest buck to date, a 145" 9 point which was filmed by country music singer, Kevin Wheldon.

We had a great time and look forward to heading back up there to film the first shotgun season.

Also,  Ashley and Chris were at Ashley's lease in southern Illinois and had some great encounters with some monster bucks.  Hopefully, they can close the deal on the next trip.

Justin

The Bottoms

The afternoon of November 4 was really special for Reality Outdoor Productions. Greg Windham and Justin Martin were hunting at The Bottoms in Gallatin County , Illinois . This trip was special because they were joined by good friends Brad Snellgrove and his Dad, Rick Snellgrove.

Good times are always a must when hunting with Jeff Williams and the whole gang at The Bottoms, but this trip was extra special.

“We hunted really hard and just did not have a good opportunity at a good buck until the last day. Greg and I were swapping up the hunting and Greg was fortunate enough to make good on the opportunity to put his biggest buck to date on the ground via his Mathews Outback.” Said Justin Martin. “I could not believe we did not have big bucks all over us the whole week. Everyone else in camp had opportunities at shooter bucks every day. Brad, had multiple sightings and encounters with monster bucks, but was unable to close the deal until the last afternoon. That last afternoon was incredible! Never before in the history of ROP have we killed two bucks on film in the same day, much less, in the same afternoon. That is typical of what happens here at The Bottoms though. We always seem to break new records when we come here.” Martin explained further.

There were six other hunters in camp at The Bottoms while the gang was there. The other hunters were able to take two deer in the 160s range, one deer over 170”, and one deer in the 140s.

To sum it up, The Bottoms was on fire and our guys from ROP were able to take advantage of it. Look for these hunts on our new show Reality Check on CSS coming in July 2006.

Check out The Bottoms online at www.gallatinbottoms.com or contact Jeff Williams at 618-269-3099.

By Justin Martin

The Bottoms Youth Hunt

We at Reality Outdoor Productions were lucky enough to be a part of a special youth hunt held at The Bottoms on October 8th and 9th.  There were 21 youth hunters on hand to take part in the special Illinois ,doe only, shotgun youth hunt.  Out of the 21 young people participating, 14 of them were able to take does.

"We were really happy to be a part of the youth hunt at The Bottoms.  The Bicketts who are the property owners and Jeff Williams, the manager, did an excellent job providing for the youth who participated." said Justin Martin, Co-owner of ROP.

Not only were the deer plentiful and the action hot and furious, there were plenty of activities for the young hunters to take part in during the mid day hours.  Everything from Semi-trucks, tractors, atvs, and doziers were available for the youngsters to drive under direct adult supervision.  Also, Kevin Weldon, an up and coming country music singer was on hand to provide entertainment.

Tim Bickett really believes in helping young people who may never get a chance to do something like this again.  "Activities like this simply instills self confidence in young people when the are able to achieve tasks and take part in things that other kids may not." Bickett explains.

"ROP was really proud to be a part of this event and we look forward to producing this into our show, Reality Check.  Six young hunters took six does in front of our cameras this weekend.  It was a blast just as much for us to be a part of as it was for the kids" said Ashley Butler, also Co-owner and Chief Editor for ROP.

The weekends events ended with an awards ceremony where the hunters with the top three weighing does each took home a prize.  Also, every youngster that took part received a participation certificate.  What an amazing weekend.

Special Thanks goes to The Bicketts and Jeff Williams of The Bottoms for making such an enjoyable weekend for everyone involved and for doing such a great deed for the community.

Check out The Bottoms at www.gallatinbottoms.com

by Justin Martin