In this series, we take a deeper look at waterfowl guides from across the country whose passion for this lifestyle is unrivaled, unbroken, and downright obsessive. Each of these guides also carries with them a tool. One that many would also consider is unrivaled, regardless of the model, color, pattern, or age. A Browning shotgun. Browning Firearms has been around since the late 1800s, and over the course of that time, their firearms have been the top pick for hunters in many pursuits. Including their shotguns among many waterfowl hunters. From the prairies of Canada to the timber of Arkansas, guides and hunters alike have relied upon & trusted the famed ‘golden trigger’ season after season.
For this Behind the Guide feature, we sat down with guide Nick Costas. Nick was introduced to waterfowl hunting during his youth and has since dove in head first. Spending most of his Fall/Winter guiding in Saskatchewan, Nick has established himself as a professional waterfowl hunting guide.
Split Reed: Who are you, and what do you do?
Nick: “My name is Nick Costas, and I own Thunderbird Outfitters in Saskatchewan, Canada. We offer all-inclusive waterfowl hunts, and I absolutely love my job. We offer Fall and Spring hunts, and I spend about three months out of the year up here. I have also guided in Kansas, but I’ll be guiding in Texas this year for the regular season.”
Split Reed: Growing up, did you have an outdoor/hunting background?
Nick: “I didn’t start waterfowl hunting until right out of high school. I played sports, I loved being outside, and I liked fishing, but I didn’t grow up hunting. A friend of mine invited a couple of us down to his Hunt Club in North Carolina when I was a sophomore in high school, and we shot a bunch of birds and thought it was freaking awesome. In the years after that, hunting also provided a positive outlet for me to focus on when I was getting my act together and getting sober. My sponsor was big into hunting, and I started to hunt and hang out a lot with him and his buddies. I eventually moved out West, hunting a lot more, and quickly realized that I wanted to spend more than just the weekends doing this. Around that time, I ended up buying a camera and getting into hunting photography, as well as guiding Spring snows in Arkansas. Eventually I ended up working with the team at Dive Bomb Industries and then later helped to start Split Reed. After a handful of years of that, I needed a change and wanted to get back to actually hunting more than the content side of things, so I finally decided to start my own outfitter.”
Split Reed: What is it about Saskatchewan versus the other Canadian provinces that made you want to start a lodge there?
Nick: “Saskatchewan is my favorite place I’ve ever hunted. When you get up here it just feels different. It’s almost a freeing feeling. You just sleep, eat, and hunt. I don’t get much happier than when I’m up here. There’s just not as much noise and bullshit to deal with. I really enjoy hunting there, and I love snow geese. The volume, the quality, and the people are what do it for me. I decided that I wanted to spend my time in my favorite place and make a living doing what I love. I’m incredibly fortunate that people want to come out with us and grateful that we’ve been able to put on some great hunts and have people keep coming back.”
Split Reed: From the moment you started to love waterfowl hunting, what were the formative steps that got you in the headspace that you might want to do this for a career?
Nick: “I genuinely enjoy taking people hunting. I enjoy taking a group of guys, them getting to see something incredible and making memories that’ll last a lifetime. Sometimes I think I care too much. I really want people to have a good time because it actually matters to me. It’s not like they paid and I don’t care if they shoot anything until we go eat breakfast. That’s just not who I am. Part of me also loves the challenge that can present itself while guiding. When the clocks are ticking down, and we’ve gotta make something happen, like getting on a buzzer-beater feed at night or the flip side when we’re beating them in the tail, and you just can’t miss. Eventually, you’ll have a bad hunt that brings you back down to earth, but it’s a fun game to play. Every day is different. I get to meet a lot of cool people, and overall, it’s an awesome job. I get to work with my buddies and hunt birds for a living. You can’t really ask for better than that.”
Split Reed: What is something guiding has taught you about yourself or guiding in general?
Nick: “You can only control what you can control. You can control your preparation; you can control your attitude, your effort, and your focus. But you can’t control your results. For example, you could scout all day long, find the best feeds, and have the best gear and the best setup, but you cannot control how the birds act. If they migrate, if they fly in the morning, there are so many different things that can happen. There are a million different things that can happen out there and a million lessons to learn from each one of those outcomes. You could have two weeks where you think you couldn’t have a bad hunt if you tried. And then you’ll have a day where you pray to shoot 15 or pray to shoot 10. It’s all about staying balanced and trying to be consistent. You’re gonna have good ones and bad ones, and whenever I have a bad hunt, I can promise you that won’t be the last one I ever have. You just can’t get hung up on stuff like that. All I can control is my effort and my attitude toward the situation I’m in.”
Split Reed: What was your introduction to Browning shotguns?
Nick: “During the early days of Split Reed, we were fortunate to get early access to the Maxus II to test it out and create content for the launch of that shotgun. We had established a great relationship with the team at Browning, and they really took care of us. If you’ve followed Split Reed long enough, you’ll probably remember the Maxus II Launch Film that we shot. That was my first real exposure to their guns. Our team headed out West and had some incredible shoots with those guns. They are super smooth, recoil easy and I felt like I just shot super well with it. I’ve always had gas guns because I personally like how they function, and I’ve been shooting a Maxus II since that day.”
Split Reed: What Brownings do you hunt with?
Nick: “So I have 4 Maxus IIs. I have a Wicked Wing, the Old School Camo, one in Shadow Grass, and then I have one in Bottomland. I don’t know how to explain it, but that Bottomland one has something about it, and I just feel super confident with it. I’m not trying to sound like I’m some crazy good shot, but I feel like I just hit twice as many birds with that thing. Who knows, maybe I’m just fond of the Bottomland camo on it.”
Split Reed: What is one memorable hunt you’ve had with your Browning?
Nick: “That’s a hard question. I’ve had so many memorable hunts. I had a 2 man public timber hunt in Arkansas with Cade Trickey that was pretty memorable. We both shot our limit of green heads, and with a lot of my hunting and time outdoors being tied to work, that hunt meant a lot to me. And if you’re wondering, I WAS shooting that Maxus II in Bottomland that day.
Another memorable hunt, I’d say, was our time out West hunting and shooting for the Maxus II Film. At the time, it was a big project for us at Split Reed, and the team at Browning had put a lot of trust in us to get it done, being a relatively new media company at the time. Fortunately for us, we had timed it perfectly. It was cold, there was snow on the ground, and we were able to go on some incredible hunts. You know, we had one hunt where we laid up against old washers and dryers like this field was basically a junkyard. We threw our layouts with snow covers up against them, and we just had an epic duck hunt. Clear, blue bird sky, super cold, mallards in the sunshine in a snow covered field. Just one of those hunts you can’t beat. I don’t get to fun hunt as much as I used to. And for this project, I was hunting with my good friends, and we don’t get to do that as often now, so that was just a special trip all around. Like now, I love the heck out of my job, but my job is hunting, so I don’t just get to go on fun trips anymore. You can’t take those for granted. Looking back, that’s when I first fell in love with shooting a Browning. It was just an all-around cool experience; I was getting to test and shoot a shotgun that hadn’t even been launched yet with some of my good friends. To be honest, it felt like we were hunting with 20 gauges with how smooth and light those guns recoiled. Those hunts and that opportunity are why I still have that Maxus II in my hand today.”
Split Reed: In your own hunting pursuits and with your experience as a hunting guide, why do you continue to shoot Browning Firearms?
Nick: “I personally prefer gas guns, like the Maxus II. I think they are smoother and just more enjoyable to hunt with. The Maxus II fits me well, and I think I shoot well with it. I also like how fast the actions are, and I can pretty much take one apart and put it back together with my eyes closed at this point.”
Split Reed: How would you describe the relationship between a waterfowl hunter and their shotgun?
Nick: “I think outside of just being a tool for the hunt, your shotgun can also be a window back into every hunt and memory you’ve had out in the field. Every dent, ding, and scratch is a reminder of all the places you’ve been and hunts you’ve enjoyed with that gun, and the people you hunt with. For a lot of guys, I think there’s also a certain level of comfort and confidence that having a gun for a long time will give you. If you put my gun in a lineup with a bunch of other guns, I’m always going to pick my gun. There are guns that just fit right. They just feel right when you swing them, and you pick them up. You build a relationship with a shotgun because you’ve killed a lot of stuff with it, missed a lot of stuff with it, and it’s been a lot of places. You build confidence with it over time, and it just becomes your gun. Like the Maxus II in Bottomland, I mentioned earlier.”
Split Reed: As a guide, is there any piece of advice you’d want to share with waterfowl hunters?
Nick: “Give more than you take and be thankful. Be thankful for whose land you’re on, and don’t make a mess. That goes for both private ground and public ground. Don’t get caught up on numbers. Enjoy the whole experience of the hunt, not just the numbers. Make sure you’re having fun. It’s not all about the limits.”
Split Reed: As a guide, what is your ‘why’ for continuing this pursuit?
Nick: “I believe it’s what I’m supposed to do, what I need to be doing, and what I feel like I should be doing. I love to bring a group of people out, show them a good time, and get to work with some really good dudes. We all work together. It almost feels like being in sports again just to be a part of a team working towards a common goal. That’s really rewarding for me. Every day is different, and you know, sometimes you have a terrible day, some days are a blast, and some days are hilarious. It’s all just part of the game. I still catch myself thinking that I’m so lucky; I can’t believe this is my job. That’s when I think you know you’re in the right career. I genuinely enjoy taking people hunting here, showing them my favorite place in the world, and putting them on awesome hunts. Seeing them smile, knowing they’re having a great time and that my team and I were able to do that.”
Split Reed: As waterfowl hunters, we are all big gear junkies, and we love to go back and forth with each other about what we like and what we don’t like when it comes to gear. I think this is very true, especially when it comes to shotguns. Based on your experience, if someone came to you debating on pulling the trigger on a Browning versus a different brand of shotgun, what would you tell them?
Nick: “I’m a big believer in not half-assing whatever it is you’re doing. So, if you’re going to get a shotgun and start duck hunting, go all in. I will never be a guy who just ducks hunts on Saturdays. I’ll either quit and deer hunt, or I’ll do this. I have the same philosophy about my gear. If I’m going to buy a shotgun, I’m going to buy a good one. I’m not gonna buy some $400 pump-action just because I’m getting started and have it for a year, realize I like hunting, and then go buy something nice. Browning has been a long-trusted & reliable firearm brand. They’ve been making guns longer than any of us have been alive. So, if you’re not looking to skip steps and you want something that’s tough, reliable, and will likely outlive you, then Brownings is your answer. Get yourself a good gun and commit to it because if you can’t commit to getting yourself a quality firearm, then why even bother?