torn out makes a difference."
But the weather has remained in his favor. "We had a good
summer," he said. "We were dry in early June. That allowed
chicks to hatch, and they didn't have to fight the cold, damp
rain every day. And not a ton of hail. But we had plenty of
rain the rest of the year to help with grass for cover and bugs
for food."
Because of these conditions and the fact that hunting
remains such a huge tradition in his family, Justin knows
he won't be the only hunter in the field this fall. He will
continue to hunt with his brother and his English pointer
throughout the season, and his 73-year-old dad will still run
blocker for their group.
Plus, there are the additions of his 16-year-old daughter,
Ella, and his 14-year-old son, Teegan. "We started them as
soon as they could come and walk," he said. "Then we started
youth hunts." They were put on wild birds immediately, and
Ella and Teegan have even taken shooting a step further by
trapshooting for the Ashland Gun Club and even competing
in the state championship in Doniphan.
Just like the days when his granddad would shut down the
mechanic shop in Geneva to hunt on opening day, Justin has
kept his family's hunting tradition alive. Each opening day is
a holiday. Each gravel road is a reminder of an old memory
and a chance at a new one, just like every bird that rises from
the point of one of his dogs.
N
Justin hunts many of the same places he did as a kid. This season, because of the weather
conditions throughout the spring and summer, he has high expectations for Nebraska's upland hunting.
December 2025 • Nebraskaland 47
