Landing Zone Outfitters
Beavertail Prostaff
Otter Outdoors Prostaff
Contributor to Minnesota Flyway
FLYWAY
What was the first duck you ever shot, where did you shoot it, and what kind of gun did you shoot it with?
MEILLIER
The first duck that I ever shot was a drake wood duck. I shot it on the Shell Rock River in Glenville, Minnesota with a Remington 870 pump that I got from my dad.
FLYWAY
What is one duck you haven't shot but really want to?
MEILLIER
I have not shot a drake pintail and I really want to because I think that they are a great looking duck.
FLYWAY
What is your favorite duck or goose to hunt and why?
MEILLIER
My favorite goose is the Canadian Goose because they are such a big bird and you can hunt them on the land or water. With the call you can make many different sounds and talk their language. When I was younger, I always saw them flying over me and always wondered how I could hunt the geese. So I did a bunch of research and taught myself about field hunting for these geese.
FLYWAY
What is your greatest hunting memory?
MEILLIER
To tell you the truth, it was in November of 2009. There were 10 of us in southern Minnesota in a corn field that was holding about 2500 Canadians. The next morning we had 20 geese and 20 mallards down in less than a hour and a half. The weather was dark and foggy. The geese sucked in to the spread.
FLYWAY
Do you believe in strategizing your decoy placement, or do you believe you can just throw them out there and still have success?
MEILLIER
It all depends on what they look like in the field while you are scouting. If you a field with 3000 geese in it, you could set out 15 decoys and probably have the same success as if you were to set out 60 decoys. But if you are in a traffic field, then you are going to need everything you have with a very attractive spread.
FLYWAY
If you could go on a dream hunt with any 3 people, alive or deceased, who would they be, where would you go, and what would you be hunting for?
MEILLIER
Jeff Foiles, Phill Robertson, and Tony Vandemore. I would go to Saskatchewan, Canada and we would be hunting in a field for honkers and mallards.
FLYWAY
Tell us about Landing Zone Outfitters, where you are located, and how LZO came to be
MEILLIER
Landing Zone Outfitters is a Minnesota based company that hunts all over the state of Minnesota. Instead of hunting in one area, we find areas from southern Minnesota to the northern tip. Landing Zone Outfitters was just an idea since I was 10 years old. As I got older, I learned to hunt waterfowl very well from water to land. I taught myself to duck and goose call through out the years and have become a strong and successful caller. In college, I worked at Cabelas which through a friend, I met my business partner. After 3 years I now have permission to hunt all over the state of Minnesota, including a team of callers with knowledge that are among the top in the state.
FLYWAY
What are some of the challenges and stresses you face as being the owner/guide for LZO?
MEILLIER
Challenges would be keeping clients happy in and out of the field. Creating a good time for the clients while at the same time making it a learning experience would a another challenge. The stresses of being a owner/guide would be when the birds do not cooperate when you want them to. Competition in the waterfowl industry gets greater and greater everyday, so you always have to be thinking of the next best thing to get the birds in the clients face.
FLYWAY
What can hunters who decide to use LZO expect on a guided hunt?
MEILLIER
A client can expect to walk out to their blind in the morning with everything set up for them. The day is meant for their to shoot their gun, and that is the extent of their work. They would get a morning and night hunt or until their limit is reached. LZO's goal is to give the clients a hunt like no other.
FLYWAY
Are there things you see or hear about other hunters doing that bother you?
MEILLIER
ROOST BUSTING! How frustrating it is for a hunter to do all of their scouting and do their homework ahead of time to show up on the morning of their hunt and have someone drive by, jump out and hunt in the roost and ruin a whole day of hunting. Another thing that bothers me is all of the trash talking people do about hunters/companies. For example, if one person gets a field, the other hunter will trash talk them because it was their field last year when it really is a first come first serve.
FLYWAY
What is your favorite gun to hunt with?
MEILLIER
The Benelli Super Black Eagle 2, 26 inch barrel. The reason for that is the quick shooting and it is light weight.
FLYWAY
What calls would we currently find on your lanyard?
MEILLIER
I have a Calef Blondie Double Reed, a Foiles Straight Meat Honker, and a Foiles Showtime.
FLYWAY
Do you prefer hunting the fields or on the water, and why?
MEILLIER
Fields because I am a strong believer of letting the birds roost at night. The reason for this is because it attracts more birds and keeps them in the area longer. And to tell you the truth, shooting them out of a blind feels much better than shooting them out of a boat.
FLYWAY
How and when did you become so passionate for waterfowl hunting?.
MEILLIER
It all started on the Shell Rock River when I was 8 years old watching 40 wood ducks land in my spread and hearing their whistles and wings. I knew at that point I was going to do this for the rest of my life.
Minnesota Flyway would like to thank Ben Meillier for taking the time to answer our interview questions. To see more of Landing Zone Outfitters visit landingzoneoutfittersmn.com
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