Young hunters enjoy successful hunts

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The trees in Bureau County have begun their annual parade of colors. It is so great that we can enjoy this act of nature.

A week ago, there were two great activities for Illinois youth — Illinois youth deer hunt and Illinois youth duck hunt. I am not sure as to how many participated in these hunts, but I did hear of some success.

Ian Carl, a 9-year-old fourth-grader at Bureau Valley North, accompanied by his father, took to the timber and got to their blind by 6:15 a.m. Before long, Ian saw a deer emerge from the timber about 60 yards away, but it headed into a cornfield. Shortly afterwards, a buck came out from the same spot. But instead of going into the corn, he headed right towards Ian and his dad, Glenn. When the buck got about 20-25 yards from their hiding place, he stopped and turned sideways.

“Take him now,” advised his father. Ian dropped the buck right in his tracks.

When I talked to his dad, he told me that Ian was still shaking and super excited when they walked to the deer to check out Ian’s first deer.

“I have been hunting for over 30 years, but this was the best ever,” Glenn said. “My son was so happy, and I was so proud of him as a young hunter.”

Ian’s buck field dressed at 176 and had a beautiful 8-point rack. Congrats, Ian!!

The same day, Cody Griffin, a freshman at PHS, took to the timber accompanied by his mom. They saw a few deer and four turkeys, but it was too early. Then they had to wait. Finally, at 9 a.m., he got his chance. The deer was over 100 yards away, but he decided to try anyway. He hit the deer but it was still standing, so he shot one more time and it dropped. This was Cody’s fourth deer harvested, and it weighed 130 with a five-point rack. Good goin’, Cody.

That same day, two other young hunters went the other direction. Austin Schindel and Aaron Carrow wanted to try duck hunting. Their day started out at their guide’s house at 4:30 a.m. and they headed to DePue to get in the duck drawing.

Their guides were Anthony Cain and Kenny Kramer, former PHS Sportsman Club members, who simply love to duck hunt.

They got the second draw and chose a good blind. When they got there and got their decoys out, ducks were already flying. Five minutes later, Austin dropped a pintail. They hunted a few more hours and Austin continued his marksmanship by downing a widgeon and three wood ducks. Aaron missed on his attempts but thought he was starting to get the hang of it.

They returned on the next day with the same enthusiasm. Again, they didn’t have to wait very long. A big greenhead came straight to the blind, cupped his wings, and prepared to land. This time, Aaron was ready. He beaded in on the mallard drake and dropped him. The drake was wounded and started to swim away, so Aaron popped him again and the dog retrieved Aaron’s first duck.

Aaron was so excited he was still shaking 10 minutes after the dog brought the duck to the blind. Soon after Aaron got his first duck, Austin dropped a Canada Goose, which was his first Canadian. Good job, Austin and Aaron.

Anthony Cain told me, “I had a blast. It made me think when I was a youth and got a chance to do this. It was really fulfilling to see these two guys enjoy their hunt. I enjoyed it very much.” Thanks for taking them, Anthony!

Final note: The youth pheasant hunt is Saturday, but you must call Eric Paull at (815) 646-4844 to sign up and receive info. And you must have a hunters’ safety card and be 12-18 years old.

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