Browning AURIC has you Covered
Shawn Swearingen for SPLIT REED
As this was my first trip to the famed prairies and ag fields of North Dakota, the weekly weather forecast on my computer browser was refreshed several times a day. The biggest and coldest front of the winter for the area held off until the first morning’s hunt. Sustained winds of 20 to 30 miles per hour out of the north with temperatures only in the teens made it difficult to hold on to corn stalks as we brushed the layout blinds. Snow flurries arrived later in the morning as we started picking up the decoys after we witnessed limits of mallards fall into the spread thanks to the good shooting of dedicated hunters armed with Browning Ammo being sent downrange out of a mix of Maxus II and A5 twelve-gauge shotguns.
The temperatures dropped continuously each day. The second morning saw clear skies and the temperatures struggling to make it to single digits, while the third and final morning of hunting never made it above zero. This is typical of the area in November, though you never know exactly what you’re going to face, so it’s best to be prepared for bone-chilling winds and icy flurries. Each day though, we were bundled in the Wicked Wing® Browning gear with the new AURIC camo pattern which allowed us to stay warm and hidden despite the best that mother nature threw at us.
The AURIC pattern developed by the team at Browning is designed to primarily be used in cut agriculture fields and in wetland scenarios. As a technical interpretation of these environments, it displaces the hard silhouette of the hunter’s shape during overhead and fly-by encounters. As Browning says, atmospheric optics and white-light color scattering react with the yellows and tans to reduce any optical footprint.
Even then, it did well in mixing with the cut cornfield debris, dried grasses, and all the while mixed with snow.
The Insulated Bibs paired with the Cold Front Parka and liner was our go-to setup the entire weekend, with varying base layers underneath. In the strongest north winds, I turned my back to the gusts, flipped up my parka hood, and immediately made a warm and functioning cocoon as the mallards worked their way in. The slash pockets in the parka were in the right places as we watched the flocks approach from our views in the layout blinds. The snow flurries and wind seemingly repelled off of the outside of the parka shell, while allowing excess body heat to vent.
Personally, I’ve always had difficulty finding the right fitting gloves to keep my hands warm and dry without the bulk so that I can still effectively call and load a shotgun. While handling decoys, brushing blinds, and moving all of this in the snow and bitter temperatures, the Decoy Glove excelled. The PrimaLoft Silver insulation in all of the Wicked Wings® kept us warm but was the ideal thickness in the gloves without being cumbersome.
The balance of warmth and bulk carried over to the bibs too. There was no feeling of being the “Marshmallow Man” [Ghostbusters] when I needed to scramble back to the blind after picking up geese in the corn stubble as someone yelled that another flock was on the way. The taped seams kept the internals dry and the warmth inside when walking through any deeper snow drifts. The full-length zippered legs were also a great surprise making it easier to get in and out of boots as well.
Despite the blizzard conditions and bitter temperatures, we stayed warm and hidden. It passed the North Dakota tests. We scouted every evening and worked hard to put birds on the dirt every morning. It was miserably cold, but thanks to the Browning Auric Camo line, we hardly noticed and we’re able to have successful hunts in below zero temps. I boarded my plane home grinning ear to ear, reminiscing of the repeated flocks coming in on a wind-blown string.
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