Freezing

This weekend was Illinois muzzleloader season and it was pretty cold. Friday I went out and sat from sun up til sunset and didnt see a single deer. Saturday morning i woke up and it was pouring down rain so i slept til maybe 7 and then the rain let up a little so i headed out. I got in the stand at 7:45 and sat all day and still didn't see anything. I did manage to get soaked though. Sunday I went out again and finally saw some deer but nothing big enough that i wanted to shoot. It was a pretty crappy weekend

ice

I just got off the phone with my boss and he says most of the holes down at the duck club are froze up. The ice isnt very think but it is a pain i the butt. If the hole is covered in ice there is no where for the birds to land so you have to go walk around infront of the blind and bust up the ice to make a hole. Also just getting to the blind through the ice is a workout.

shotgun seasn

This is my favorite weekend of the year. We get our hunting buddies together and head to deer camp. There is a lot of drinking and laughs at deer camp. Someone is constantly giving someone crap for something they did. It is good fun though. We also kill some deer. This weekend I killed a 8 point and a doe, my little sister killed a doe, Tony, our buddy, killed a doe, and my dad killed an absolute hog of an 8 point. It was a great weekend and I'm aleady looking forward to next year

Youth duck season

Well youth duck season was this weekend. I was going to take my twin brothers, but I decided to work instead. All morning Saturday and Sunday I heard almost nonstop shooting coming from the club so I'm guessing they killed some birds. Well i sure hope they did as much as they shot. Today when i go down to work on the one pump I'll look at the kill sheets and see how they did.

Bambi

Sunday night i went deer hunting when i got off work. I got a text around 430 from Cory, a guy i hunt with saying he just shot a doe. After dark we all meet at the guy who owns the properties house and head out to find the deer. Cory says its probably about a hundred pound doe which is nice sized. we find where he shot her and his arrow is there covered in blood. we have a good blood trail and find the dog ... i mean deer after about 60 yards. My dad instantly starting laughing and giving him crap because of how small the deer was. I drug it out of the bottom of a sink hole without field dressing it after it was field dressed we threw it in the gator and went to the shed. The deer weighed a whopping 50 pounds tops. we have pictures of me holding the deer by the back legs off the ground with one hand. It was tiny Tonys dogs were bigger than the deer. I am suprised it didnt still have spots as small as it was

It's Coming

Duck season is getting closer. I'm starting to see more and more people down at the club finishing things up around their blinds and putting out their decoys. One day this week were supposed to make a ton of decoy weights for my boss's decoys. were gonna melt down lead and put it in muffinpans tomake the wieghts. I guess there is only one month left until duck season opens on thanksgiving. I bet that makes some familys mad because i know people go hunting instead of eating with the family

Finally stuck one

Last Thursday ifinally hada nice sized doe get close  enough for a shot. I had deer infront of me since about 4:45 but I never had a big enough one close enough. Bambi kept walking right up to my tree but all the bigger ones kept hanging back just out of range. Finally right before dark, 7 does took a trail that would put them at 11 yards. When the first doe, which was also one of the bigger ones, got to where i could stick her, I sent a rage broadhead through her lungs. She went about 50 yards before fallin over. The blood trail was awesome. It literally looked like someone ran down the trail with a bucket of red paint whcih made it easy to follow since she fell out of sight. She ended up weighing 116 and we got 47 pounds of meat off of her for sausage or burger.... yum

work

well this past week i had to go take care of something down at the duck club. the grass on the levis needed to be mowed so i mowed most of it also i had to mow some holes infront of the blind. this seemed crazy to me when my boss told me it because the water is 2-3 feet deep out infront of some of the blinds. so i did hat i was told and took the tractor at there. i had to go stupid slow but i didnt get stuck and the grass got cut. now hopefully come thanksgiving the hunters will kill some birds there. then i backed into a tree and bent up an arm on he mower so i had to go take it apart and weld a plate on it to support it but i think i got it fixed

stuff

well I've been wanting a chocolate lab to train to find shed antlers and i finally got one. I went and got her thursday night. Mom thought i was joking when i told her i was going to get a puppy so she was kind of mad when i brought her home but she'll get over it. Also deer season is here !!! so far no kills but im sure within the next week or two ill stick at least one doe

the banquet

I went to the DU (ducks unlimited) banquet last weekend and it was alright. after the first hour it kind of starts to get a little boring. The food was good and i ended up winning a a pretty nice gear bag. One thing I noticed was how word got out that we were killing alot of teal at the club. Members from other clubs kept coming up and asking about our season and everyone would say we killed a couple and then theyd say they heard we slaughtered them down there. I also noticed that this was much smaller than the turkey banquet i attended. I dont know if that means less people duck hunt or maybe people were just busy. Also there were alot less prizes . Is that because duck hunting doesnt have the support of turkey hunting or did they put less work into this banquet ? these are some questions ill try to figure out as i continue my research.

Ducks Unlimited

Today at work Charlie asked me if I wanted to attend a Ducks Unlimited Banquet with him and some members of the club. I said sure and he bought a ticket for me and my girlfriend to go. It is this Saturday. For those who don't know, Ducks Unlimited is a national duck hunting club. They do everything from fight for hunting rights to actually going out and planting cypress trees in the swamp. I have been to similar banquets for the NWTF (National Wild Turkey Federation) and am looking forward to see how this compares to that. I am sure I will have fun and will probably have to remind myself to take notes on how the club interacts with other clubs and hunters.

redone letter

Dear Mr. Nadziejko and class,

          This letter is me asking for your permission to research a waterfowl hunting club. The club is called Fort Charters Waterfowl Club and is located in Prairie du Rocher, Illinois. I deer hunt just down the road from this club, and for years I have heard almost constant shooting coming from the club in the morning hours. I have always wondered what it was like to duck hunt and what the club did. This past year the owner of the club hired me to help him cut brush on one of his properties. I never actually got to work on the wetlands property until recently.
        I plan on getting maps of what the area looked like before it was drained for farmland. The whole entire lowlands used to be swamp, and I would like to see what the club has done to return the area to its natural state.  Based on what I've seen, I am confident that the members of this club will be coincidered a subculture. They are different than any other kind of hunters. They endure the worst weather imaginable for just a few minutes of excitement. Due to my employment there, I have almost endless acess to the property and many members to interview and learn from about the clubs doings. I was actually invited on my first duck hunt ever by some of the club members earlier this week so I am still learning. Frankly, I have no idea what they are talking about sometimes so this will be an opportunity for you to learn as I learn. Once again, my employment with the owner of the club, Mr. Frederick, will ensure that I get as much time in and around the club as possible. I also plan on watching the outdoor channel, reading one of the many waterfowl magizines, and using certain websites as other sources. I am also attending a Ducks Unlimited banquet with the club members to see how they interact with other clubs and duck hunters. Ducks Unlimited is a national duck hunting club and does alot for the duck hunting community. I hope you give me permission to do this topic because I love the outdoors and would greatly enjoy to research this subject. 
                                                                                                        Thankyou,
                                                                                                                Brock Durbin

Permission letter

Dear Mr. Nadziejko and class,

          This letter is me asking for your permission to research a waterfowl hunting club. The club is called Fort Charters Waterfowl Club and is located in Prairie du Rocher, Illinois. I deer hunt just down the road from this club, and for years I have heard almost constant shooting coming from the club in the morning hours. I have always wondered what it was like to duck hunt and what the club did. This past year the owner of the club hired me to help him cut brush on one of his properties. I never actually got to work on the wetlands property until recently. I plan on getting maps of what the area looked like before it was drained for farmland. The whole entire lowlands used to be swamp and I would like to see what the club has done to return the area to its natural state. Based on what I've seen, I am confident that the members of this club will be coincidered a subculture. Due to my employment there, I have almost endless acess to the property and many members tointerview and learn from about the clubs doings. I was actually invited on my first duck hunt ever bysome of the club members earlier this week so I am still learning. Frankly, I have no idea what they are talking about sometimes so this will be an opportunity for you to learn as I learn. Once again, my employment with the owner of the club, Mr. Frederick, will ensure that I get as much time in and around the club as possible. I also plan on watching the outdoor channel, reading one of the many waterfowl magizines, and using certain websites as other sources. I hope you give me permission to do this topic because I love the outdoors and would greatly enjoy to research this subject.  
                                                                                                        Thankyou,
                                                                                                                Brock Durbin
      

about me

Hey whats up? This blog is for my english 102 class. My name is Brock Durbin, and I graduated from Red Bud High School in 2010. I'm very outdoorsie. Almost year round i am doing something that involves hunting or fishing. I absolutely love to bow hunt. It is a challenge and such an adrenaline rush when you finally get a deer within range. Any time I'm not in the woods or at school you can find me either working or with my lovely girlfriend, Monica. I work for a guy who runs a duck hunting club so i enjoy doing my current job. It gets me out in nature which I like alot. I drive an 05 dodge ram hemi. I have two older sisters, one younger sister, and younger twin brothers. In May I taught myself to do a wall flip. The day after I taught myself this, I slipped and broke my elbow. I had to have surgery and now have seven screws and a metal plate in my elbow. So my summer was pretty boring. When I'm not laid up though, I love to go boating. My grandma and grandpa take all us grandkids out and we ski, tube, and kneeboard. well if you wanna know anything else just ask.