Brotherhood Outdoors

When Brett Graham, an IAM Local 839 machinist from Wichita, Kansas, learned Brotherhood Outdoors was looking for Union members to guide the show’s host, Tom Ackerman, on a hunting or fishing trip, he immediately submitted his application. Still, he never expected to find himself taping an episode with Ackerman and a couple of his own buddies a few months later.

  A husband and father of three, Graham has been a dedicated machinist and Union member for more than 26 years. Through his association with the IAM, Graham’s wife, Dana, who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis 16 years ago, has been able to live a relatively normal and active lifestyle because of the unparalleled healthcare benefits they’ve offered.

  "The love of my life wouldn’t have lived as long as she has and had the quality of life she enjoys without my Union looking out for us," said Graham. "We know that we can tackle just about anything thrown at us because my Union and my company have our backs."

  Graham’s enthusiasm for his Union is closely matched by his passion for the great outdoors. Hunting since the age of five, Graham couldn’t imagine a life without it. An avid upland deer and small game hunter, his true passion lies in the pursuit of waterfowl.

  "I remember watching the old American Sportsmen TV show one Sunday afternoon, when I was 10-years-old," Graham said. "I saw host Curt Gowdy hunting ducks and thought ‘that really looks cool. I’m going to do that someday.’"

  Through trial and error and lots of perseverance, Graham not only became an accomplished waterfowl hunter, but he made the leap to part-time hunting guide. With the help of his son, Logan—an active member of the Army National Guard—he’s able to share his passion for getting up in the predawn hours, setting out just the right decoy spread and waiting for the exhilarating sound of wings with other sportsmen and women from around the country.

  His love for waterfowl hunting goes hand in hand with his love for Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, known as a rugged, curly-coated, fiercely loyal breed. Graham even named his guide service, Liberty Chesapeakes, in honor of the best dog he ever owned.

  A long time member of Ducks Unlimited (DU), Graham is a huge advocate for waterfowl habitat and especially National Wildlife Refuges. Every year he donates a father-son/daughter hunt to a different chapter of DU in Kansas to help raise necessary conservation funding.

  On the first day of the hunt, Ackerman joined the Liberty group to set up near the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Kansas for two days of goose hunting. Located just outside of Stafford, the refuge sees more than one million geese, 250,000 Sandhill Cranes and 100,000 ducks during its peak season.

  The first day proved to be tough on Graham and his Union buddies—Bradley, a firefighter, and Dave, a college teacher. The group quickly realized that hunting and taping a hunt for TV are two very different things, and they left the field with only eight birds.

  As day two of the hunt rolled around, the winds changed. Brett worked his magic on the decoy layout, the weather shifted in their favor and the hunt was on! After a full day in the field, Brett could only describe the hunt as "lights out." Tom agreed, calling it the best day of goose shooting he’d ever experienced.

  Waterfowl experts and novices alike will get a thrill out of this episode of Brotherhood Outdoors. Tune in to Sportsman Channel on Thursday, July 14 at 8 p.m. (ET) to catch the action as Brett, Tom and a few of Brett’s hunting buddies make hard shots look easy and a few easy shots look, well, entertaining.