Peragon® Ambassador-Darryl Moore

At Peragon^®, we’re truck people. We’re engineers and builders and experts, and we go to work every day with one goal: build the absolute best truck accessories we possibly can. It’s almost an obsession. But we also know that for most people trucks and accessories aren’t the end goal. It’s actually sort of the other way around: trucks and good gear are what make your great adventures possible. So, when we see people who approach their own lives with the same passion we have for designing and building our covers, we want to see how we can work together to build better adventures. Step one, we have to get to know them. Welcome to the Peragon Ambassador program; we’ve got someone you should meet:

Darryl Moore is a duck hunter and fisherman from Camden, Arkansas. If you follow him on social media (dmoore23_ on instagram or find videos with Darryl on 24.7 Hunt on YouTube) you know he’s in the field a lot…like any chance he gets. In between fall trips across the continent to chase ducks, fishing large mouth bass, and time at home with his wife and three kids, we found a time to sit down with Darryl to talk about what got him started in the outdoors, must-have gear, and how others can launch their own adventures. Here’s what he had to say:

Peragon: First off, where are you from?
Darryl: I’m based out of Camden, Arkansas. It’s the south part of Arkansas. We’re right near the Louisiana line. We’re actually like 30 minutes from Louisiana, so down south.

Peragon: Did you grow up there or is it somewhere that you moved to?
Darryl: Yeah, I was born and raised in Camden. Moved off, went to college in central Arkansas, and then me and the wife got married and we moved back to Camden. She’s from Raiders which is like 30 minutes away. So, we just moved back south to a small town and we love it.

Peragon: Tell us a little about what you do in the outdoors?
Darryl: I like to hunt anything. I like to fish for anything. I do it all. I just love the outdoors. I started fishing when I was like three or four with my grandpa and he kind of taught me everything about fishing. Then he bought me my own rifle when I was seven. So, that’s how I got into hunting and just grew up with a love for it, you know. 

Darryl: I was never one of those kids that wanted to sit and play video games all day. I always wanted to be outside. There was something about fishing and hunting, I just had that drive for it, and here we are now doing it full-time, doing it for a living. 

I love it. I think duck hunting is what most people know me for. That’s what we have a big YouTube following for. But I hunt everything. Deer, ducks, hogs, coons, squirrels, rabbits, pheasants. I mean, if we can hunt it, I’m hunting it.

Peragon: What’s your favorite fish to go after?
Darryl: My favorite fish is a largemouth bass, probably. They’re one of my favorite fish to catch. Either that or bream—which would be a bluegill— but that’s the name they get around here: bream. Peragon: Are you big into cooking your harvest too?
Darryl: Yeah, man. I mean I like to cook quite a bit. But I feel like the point I’m at now—traveling, doing all these great hunts—I get so much, we give more away than I actually cook myself. It’s fun, you know, when you get to feed people.
I’ve got a list of people I text and say “hey I just got this and I’m getting it cleaned. You want it?” and they’ll take it. There’s only so much that me and my family can keep before it’s like “well, the freezer is completely full.” We’re three deep freezers in and we’re not buying another freezer! So, it’s good to share with people.

Peragon: You mentioned learning to fish with your Grandpa, who took you duck hunting for the first time?
Darryl: Duck hunting for the first time, was actually one of my good buddies in high school. His name was Kyle. Him and my other buddy Dawson. They were the first people who took me duck hunting. I was a big coon hunter and deer hunter. But my family didn’t duck hunt. At first I kind of didn’t want to go, but they finally convinced me to come duck hunting. Man, I went that first time when I was 16 and I fell in love. I’ve been hooked ever since and I’ll probably be doing it the rest of my life, honestly.

Peragon: When you take someone else duck hunting for the first time what’s the most important thing you try to teach them?
Darryl: For me, the most important thing is obviously safety, but after that it’s just enjoying the moments. Don’t get caught up in the killing of it. I think the beauty of it is calling to them and just watching them react and do their thing. 

Being fortunate enough to hunt all over the country,—from Canada all the way down, chasing ducks all over the country—everywhere they’re at, they act a little bit different. In Arkansas, we hunt ducks in flooded timber. That’s what everybody wants to do. Everyone hunts ducks in flooded timber. But you go up to Canada or the Midwest, and they’re hunting in dry fields. And watching how a duck reacts in a dry field is so different. 
So, I tell people, just enjoy the moments. Enjoy the different things you’re going to see with the birds, how they react to calls, how they react to each other, and don’t get caught up in the shooting. Just enjoy the sport.

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Let’s talk gear.

Peragon: What are the top three pieces of gear that you count on for all your adventures?
Darryl: Oh, that’s a tough one!
Peragon: Is it easier to pick the top five?
Darryl: Okay,

1. I wear some of the best clothing, so I’m going to go with my Sitka Gear. If it’s raining, being able to stay dry; if it’s cold, being able to stay warm; if it’s hot, being able to stay cool. That’s all really important. I think the right clothing is a crucial part of what I do.


2. Next is definitely my Peragon Tectonic^™ bed cover on my truck. When I’m traveling, I carry so much gear. Obviously, I can’t put it all on the inside of my truck, so I love putting stuff in my bed and being able to lock it up, keep it protected.
 

3. From there, it’s going to be a reliable boat that’s sturdy, that’s not going to take damage from hitting rocks, hitting trees or whatever. A boat that’s not going to flip easy. For me, a Havoc Boat is the best boat on the market for what I do. It’s just an all-around great aluminum boat.


4. Next up—and maybe this isn’t what people think when they think of gear—my duck dog, Blaze. She’s a black lab. She’s really crucial to what I do. I duck hunt from September to January and she’s a very important part of that, and I would never leave her out of anything.


5. Last, I have to throw in a cooler—my Yeti. That’s important. You’re transporting food and drinks in and bringing your hunt get back out. Just getting everything to and from where you’re going, that Yeti goes with every time.

Peragon: What about a Peragon^® Tectonic^™ cover helps you have great adventures?
Darryl: I hunt a lot of public land, so there’s a lot of other people around and I might be gone from my truck for 14-15 hours. Keeping stuff dry if weather comes in, keeping stuff protected, keeping stuff locked up and secured, that’s important. And then being able to put gear on top, it means there so much more space to work with for getting things to where I’m hunting or fishing and back.

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What’s your advice?

Peragon: What’s the number one piece of advice you’d give to someone looking to get into the outdoors?
Darryl: If I had one piece of advice I’d give somebody looking to get into the outdoors, I would tell them to find somebody that’s doing what you want to do—somebody older that’s in the game—and try to kind of take them as a mentor. Learn what to do and what not to do. Learn the safety aspects of it. I’m really big on safety, because it can turn bad really quickly. 

Try to learn those unwritten rules too. You know what I mean? Like there’s some things that aren’t technically illegal, but they’re things you should know. Like for instance, in duck hunting, we don’t want to set up right on top of somebody else. Even though, yeah, you can do it. And yeah, it’s legal to be within 100 yards. But really you want to give people room, let everyone enjoy their own hunt.

So, get with somebody that’s in the game, whatever pursuit you’re trying to get into and just learn from them. Take in as much knowledge you can. Maybe get a couple people because everyone does things a little differently.

Peragon: Thanks for taking time to talk with us today, Darryl. Last question: where to next?
Darryl: Yeah, of course! I’ll leave tomorrow and be gone for 10 days. I’m going to Idaho and then California, Nebraska. And then when I get back, I’ll be deer hunting here at home for like two weeks straight.

Peragon: Good luck and enjoy the hunt!
Darryl: Thanks, man.