George Bird Evans wrote in An Affair With Grouse, “…for the gunner who feels as I do, each shot is enough to lift him for a day; and for that one moment of glory when he hits, he is the point, the flare of fan, the roaring gun and the slant and the falling bird while that moment lasts.” 

As Evans so eloquently depicts, few moments in our outdoor lifestyle are as exhilarating as flushing a pheasant or covey of quail and feeling the rush of excitement from shot to retrieval. While shotgun hunting for birds can be traced back to the 16th century, upland bird hunting in America, as we know it, took flight late in the 19th century. It remains one of the most popular forms of hunting today, ranking third behind big-game and small-game hunting. Based upon the 2022 National Survey of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation, more than 14 million Americans hunted (2.8 million for migratory birds), spending over $45 billion. Of the 2.8 million migratory bird hunters, the most popular species pursued was the ringneck pheasant, and wingshooting enthusiasts tallied more than 23 million days afield. 

What does this mean for retailers? Latest estimates put migratory bird hunting spend at $2.2 billion annually — yes, billion! Check out this short list of upland bird hunting apparel to help your sales take flight!

Alps Outdoorz Upland Game Vest X 2.0

Over the past 12 years or more, I have put Alps Outdoorz products (from bowhunting and waterfowling to upland hunting and even camping) through rigorous field tests and have always been impressed with the results. Quality, reliability, innovation and affordability are all cornerstones. Of course, since Alps Outdoorz’s founding in 2007, this has been Dennis Brune’s focus. For wingshooters, a great representation of these cornerstone qualities is the Upland Game Vest X 2.0. 

More than just another bird-hunting bag, the Alps Outdoorz Upland Game Vest X 2.0 is a multipurpose hunting vest perfect for wingshooting as well as small-game pursuits. Designed for carrying and shooting comfort, the Upland Game Vest X 2.0 features a vented back, thin shoulder straps, magnetic shell pockets with non-slip flaps, expanded game bag, a roomy rear pocket and a coyote-brown/blaze-orange finish. An industry first, the Upland Game Vest X 2.0 also includes a removable waist belt with MOLLE straps, and an adjustment range of 26 to 62 inches. www.alpsoutdoorz.com

Filson Mesh Game Bag

For more than 125 years, Filson has been the brand of choice for countless outfitters nationwide, especially in the northwest, and for good reason. C.C. Filson moved to Seattle, Washington, in 1890, and soon after, in 1897, he began supplying prospectors heading out to the Klondike Gold Rush. Founded that same year as Filson’s Pioneer Alaska Clothing and Blanket Company, Filson maintains a reputation as a premium brand that discriminating outfitters trust. Of course, offerings have grown quite a bit to include top-shelf upland bird hunting gear like the Mesh Game Bag. 

Constructed of 11-ounce cotton oil finish Shelter Cloth, polyester mesh and nylon webbing, the Filson Mesh Game Bag is the perfect combination of lightweight to mid-weight for hunting in warm and cold climates. The mesh back keeps your customer dry and allows the vest to breathe. Two oversized front pockets are perfect for holding a box of shotshells and other gear, and the rear game bag is large enough to hold a full limit of birds. Side pockets are sized to hold water bottles, while adjustable shoulder and waist straps allow hunters to get the perfect fit when adding or removing layers. The Filson Mesh Game Bag also features daisy-chain web-strapping to hold additional gear and a blaze-orange finish on front pocket flaps, sides of the game bag and throughout the mesh back. www.filson.com

Gamehide Shelterbelt Upland Jacket

Founded in 1994, Gamehide, operating in Minnesota, is devoted to producing affordable, innovative, premium-performance hunting apparel designed to “enhance your hunting experience.” For decades, Gamehide has made good on its mission, ensuring hunters remain comfortable and dry in tough climates — cool on warmer days and warm when temperatures plummet. Of course, Gamehide apparel also is purpose-driven — and the Shelterbelt Upland Jacket is an example. 

Made from ripstop cotton, the Gamehide Shelterbelt Upland Jacket is ready for gritty hunting in tough environments. The Shelterbelt Upland Jackets boasts a full front zipper, large zippered front pockets, an oversized front shell pocket and a rear, blood-proof game bag with zippered top. Traditionally styled, the Shelterbelt Jacket includes blaze-orange on the front pockets, shoulders, upper arms and throughout the back. Sizes range from medium to 4X. www.gamehide.com

Browning Upland Jacket

John Moses Browning needs no introduction to industry professionals. While he founded Browning in 1880, he produced his first single-shot rifle two years earlier — it was patented in 1879. Now owned by Herstal Group, Browning has produced firearms consistently for 144 years; however, arms manufacturing is only part of Browning’s story. After acquiring Barth Leather Company and Caldwell Lace Company in 1968, the company set its sights on hunting apparel. For more than 55 years, Browning has applied its “Best there is” approach to quality and reliability to hunting clothes in every niche, upland wingshooting included. A fan favorite your hunting customers are sure to appreciate is Browning’s Upland Jacket. 

Designed for comfort, durability and warmth on cold days in the field, the Browning Upland Jacket boasts a 12-ounce cotton canvas shell; over 400-square-inch, blaze-orange polyester overlay; soft, brushed Tricot lining; two-way front zipper with storm flap; and adjustable cuffs. Other features include a large blood-proof front-load game bag, shell pockets, D-rings for hunting dog accessories and two zippered front pockets. The jacket’s shoulders accommodate Reactar G3 pad pockets, and sizes available range from small to 5X. www.browning.com

DSG Upland Performance Fleece Jacket

Founded by outdoor enthusiast Wendy Gavinski, DSG (Doing Something Group) Outdoors is headquartered in Wisconsin. Like other apparel lines, DSG was founded out of frustration over the lack of outdoor apparel for women, especially skiing and snowmobiling; however, the company quickly migrated to other niches of outdoor recreation, including hunting and fishing. Today, DSG Outdoors offers a full line of hunting apparel for women for every pursuit, including upland bird hunting. An upland hunting garment most popular among women hunters is the Upland Performance Fleece Jacket. 

As the name implies, DSG Outdoors’ Upland Performance Fleece Jacket is made from soft, durable fleece, perfect as an outer layer to keep hunters warm on cool days, or mid-layer when it gets downright cold. the Upland Performance Fleece jacket’s styling is a quarter-zip pullover with long sleeves, complete with thumb holes. The jacket features zippered chest and handwarmer pockets and two-tone stone and blaze-orange finish. Sized and styled for women, the Upland Performance Fleece Jacket is available in sizes from XXS to 4X. www.dsgouterwear.com

Duck Camp Short Sleeve Upland Hunting Shirt

Founded by Sim Whatley in 2018 and headquartered in Austin, Texas, Duck Camp grew legs out of “frustration with the quality and fit of hunting clothing.” As a guy with a handful of Duck Camp shirts in my closet, I can attest to their light weight, breathable material, comfort, durability and quality. Even today, with scores of hunting-brand shirts to choose from, my Duck Camp shirts still get wear-time at least once per week. Don’t let the brand name fool you though — Duck Camp caters to more than just waterfowlers. Case in point, the Short Sleeve Upland Hunting Shirt. 

Constructed entirely of nylon supplex fabric, the Upland Hunting Shirt is quick-drying and breathable, soft to the touch and exceptionally durable. Additional features include pin-oak-colored styling; blaze-orange shoulders, upper back panel and chest-pocket flaps; mesh ventilation system and UFP 30+ protection from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. Duck Camp’s Upland Hunting Shirts are available in standard shirt-length sizes small to 3X, as well as tall profiles, large to 3X. www.duckcamp.com

McAlister MST Upland Tech Shirt

Drake Waterfowl, established in 2002 by Tate Wood and Bobby Windham, was founded with a singular mission: to offer the industry’s best waterfowl hunting gear and apparel. Based in Olive Branch, Mississippi, the company has been led and operated by diehard waterfowlers since day one. A year later, Drake Waterfowl purchased McAlister Hunting Clothing. In September 2021, Drake Waterfowl was acquired by Ohio-based Weinberg Capital Group; however, the same holds true — Drake Waterfowl products are designed by hunters for hunters, and the McAlister line remains quite popular! One exceptional McAlister offering is the MST Upland Tech Shirt. 

Designed for comfort, durability and robust movement, the McAlister Upland Tech Shirt is constructed of khaki-colored, 97% nylon and 3% Spandex, with brown, 100% polyester abrasion-resistant forearms. The traditionally styled, long-sleeve, button-up MST Upland Tech Shirt also features blaze-orange shoulder patches, a left-chest vertical Magnattach pocket, right-chest vertical zippered pocket and integrated lens cloth. Size offerings are small to 3X. www.drakewaterfowl.com

Gamehide Heavy-Duty Briar-Proof Upland Pant

Heavy thickets and thorns are no match for Gamehide’s Heavy-Duty Briar-Proof Upland Pant. Constructed of rugged, 1000-denier nylon with a reinforced seat and crotch, Gamehide’s Briar-Proof Upland Pant is designed for comfort in extreme upland bird hunting environments and features front slash-pockets and a rear pocket. A heavy-duty hook and D-ring keep hunters’ hands free and working-dog controls close by. To keep your customers dry, Gamehide’s Briar-Proof Upland Pant also boasts a water-repellent coating. Waist sizes range from 32 to 48 inches with a 32-inch inseam. 

Danner Sharptail Boots

Charles Danner set out to build boots as tough as the Northwestern adventurers and blue-collar workers who depended upon them. Since 1932, Danner boots have represented the Great Northwest well, morphing into a legacy brand trusted by millions of demanding adventure seekers and workers. Today, nearly 100 years later, Danner Boots ranks among the top hunting boot brands worldwide, and Sharptail Boots are great examples of the kind of footwear heritage-minded retailers must carry for serious upland bird hunters. 

Exceptionally dependable and comfortable in the roughest, wettest terrain, Danner 8-inch Sharptail Boots are built to handle whatever your customers’ upland hunts throw at them. Danner’s Sharptail Boots boast full-grain leather and 900 Denier nylon uppers, waterproof and breathable Gore-Tex liners, Terra platform for lightweight stability and support, OrthoLite footbed, TPU shank and an all-terrain, slip-resistant rubber outsole. www.danner.com

Irish Setter Wingshooter Boots

Since 1950, Irish Setter has self-labeled their boots “finest in the field.” Not without merit, like Danner, Irish Setter is a legacy brand steeped in nearly 75 years of a heritage-rich reputation built step-by-step by America’s extreme adventurers and backbone laborers. Irish Setters’ most readily identifiable attribute is the reddish-orange Oro-Russet leather present in the company’s earliest boot models, and still present today. True to the Oro-Russet leather hallmark for upland bird hunters is the Irish Setter Wingshooter. 

True to Irish Setters iconic look and style, Irish Setter Wingshooter Boots are “the original boot,” constructed of genuine Oro-Russet leather with a comfortable, all-terrain, self-cleaning, white-wedge rubber sole. The Wingshooter also boasts Irish Setter’s popular UltraDry weatherproofing system, steel shank in the midsole for better foot support. For hunters who recognize just how important foot protection and comfort are on the hunt and on the job, Irish Setter’s Wingshooter Boots, available in 7- or 9-inch styles, are a top choice. www.irishsetterboots.com

LaCrosse Uplander Boots

Originally launched in 1897 and based in its namesake of La Crosse, Wisconsin as the La Crosse Rubber Mills Company, La Crosse Footwear drew immediate popularity with its Grange rubber boots. Interestingly enough, in 1994, the company acquired Danner Boots. In 2012, LaCrosse and Danner were acquired by ABC-Mart, a Japanese company, and both brands are now headquartered in Portland, Oregon. As one might hope, ownership by ABC-Mart hasn’t seemed to affect build quality. LaCrosse boots continue to be recognized worldwide as a leader in outdoor recreation footwear, hunting included. For upland bird hunting, your hunting customers are sure to love the aptly named LaCrosse Uplander Boots. 

With an iconic styling nod to decades past, LaCrosse Uplander Boots are constructed of a genuine, distressed, full-grain, oiled leather upper and dark-brown rubber lower. The sole is a premium, handmade, natural-colored rubber with vulcanized construction and a slip-resistant, Rope Cleated, all-terrain outsole. Boot-height is 10 inches. Great for hunting in tough conditions, the Uplander Boot also features a steel shank, aircushion footbed and a waterproof lining. www.lacrossefootwear.com