Walker pintail drake will be hot item at Henry Decoy Show

The NWTF banquet last Saturday was a great success in that the food was good and all the items up for raffle or bid were great. Chairman Kurt Freeberg informed me two days later that they had surpassed last year’s total for the banquet and that the committee was happy about that. I sure thought the prizes were good this year.

Several local people travelled to Springfield last weekend to the Deer and Turkey Classic. Some of us were disappointed that it had moved because Peoria was one hour closer. I find that show interesting because it is an Illinois show featuring mounts from Illinois hunters.

Sunday will find many duck hunters and decoy collectors traveling to Henry for the 45th annual Henry Decoy Show. This is really a great show because it is close and features many of the Illinois River Valley’s fine duck and goose decoy collectors. One of the items for sale will be a very rare hollow head pintail drake by Charles Walker of Princeton, estimated to go for $35,000 to $45,000. Visit www.bcrnews.com for a look at this beauty.

I have also found this show to feature some of the best collectors of outdoor books. They serve a great breakfast and lunch in the school cafeteria along with a great selection of pies.

The doors open at 8 a.m. and the show continues until 2 p.m. Come to Henry— it’s a great show.

Speaking of great shows, there is another one coming up in exactly one month. On March 7, the Pheasants Forever will host its annual banquet at the Met. Get that on your calendar right now. Doors open at 5 p.m. dinner at 6 p.m. and auction at 7 p.m.

Now, I haven’t got all the info for the raffle and auctions, (live and silent), but I found out that one of the main guns will be a Browning Maxxus, 12-gauge automatic. There should be at least seven or eight different guns available for some lucky hunter to take home that night. One gun will be auctioned off to ringnecks only.