Three years ago I resurrected a dream that I had since I was a youngster.  Ever since the first time I saw a pair of woodies settle onto a small pool of a creek behind my house I was in love.  I didn't know what they were, only that they were the most beautiful birds I had ever seen.  I spent my youth studying birds and waterfowl because I loved to hunt and draw.  I wanted to be the artist who illustrated the hunting & fishing magazines that I devoured.  I wanted to travel the world and hunt quail, pheasant, doves, woodcock, ptarmigans, and especially ducks.  I had one obstacle to my dream, I had no one to take me.  My Dad travelled all the time and the few times we had together were spent either fishing or in a deer blind.  I must have asked him dozens of times to take me on a duck hunt, just him and me.  The reply was always the same...'duck hunting is cold, wet, and miserable.  You have no Idea son, you'll hate it.'

 Fast forward about 25 years.  I'm married and have a 3 year old daughter.  She is showing signs of taking after her old man.  She loves animals and the outdoors.  There are no dolls or dresses here just an insatiable curiosity and dirt under her fingernails.  In my mind my life flashes forward 14 years.  My little girl is all grown up and she dating boys, I wonder where the time went and why I didn't share time with her and my passion for the outdoors.  I decided at that moment I was not going to be like my Dad.  I want to take my girl hunting.  So I decided to learn the art of waterfowling.  On my first trip out, I waited at a stock tank with 3 decoys thrown into the water.  I hid in the brush and watched the sky.  I had no Idea what to expect.  Time passed and I knew that i was wasting my time.  Out of nowhere a pair of ducks come dropping in.  I never saw them in the sky, they simply dropped in.  I jumped up and they furiously tried to reverse their descent as I fired at the one closest.  It crumpled!  I was pumping adrenaline, I ran to get the bird.  It was so beautiful I could't believe it.  My first duck after all of those years dreaming.  I had to use my ID book to find out what it was.  It was a Gadwall drake.  I was hooked just like that. 

I soon found myself in the craziest situations.  Laying in the mud in the biting cold at 6 am.  Standing in chest deep freezing cold water, trying to hide beside a log only 12 inches high, all to harvest a bird with a pea sized brain that always seemed to outsmart me.  My Dad was right. It was cold, muddy, wet.  But he was so wrong about the miserable part!  I love waterfowling! 

My dream is to learn everything I can about this sport.  I want to be able to share this with my daughter (and now 2 sons!).  I have learned a lot through trial and error, books, magazines etc. but I  need to get out with some experienced duck hunters to really learn.  It would be awesome to go with a father/son to show me how it is done!

Keep 'em coming. This is going to be fun, but I bet it will also be hard to pick out a winner.

Keep yer eyes peeled!

Can TexasHuntFish.com employees participate?  I wanna go duck hunting with duckwhacker and wingdinger.

We do not discriminate based on age, race, religion, gender, or employment.

Keep yer eyes peeled!

My hat is off to you and Wingdinger!!!

You guys are awesome!

Give us some more entries. We will shoot up some ducks.

Don't Shoot Yer Eye Out!

My father raised me to love hunting and to love and respect the outdoors.  I have yet to try hunting for any type of game that I did not enjoy.  I went duck hunting once when I was around 12 years old.  I came home with one duck.  I was very proud of that duck.

I am now 37 years old, married, with two children. I have a 4 year old daughter and a 1 year old son.  My 4 year old daughter is already becoming an avid hunting enthusiast.  I still hunt every chance I get.  My hunting is pretty much limited to deer and dove, due to the fact that I only have 15 acres with a small stock tank to hunt on.  This year I am expanding my hunting in two ways.  I bought a second hand bow from one of my friends, and will be joining the wild world of bow hunters.  I also plan on trying to call in some turkeys. (at my 4 year old daughters request)  I don't really think there are any near my land, but if it helps build her interest it is well worth the time and effort spent with her outdoors.  I would love the chance to further my hunting experiences and knowledge even more, but at this time in my life there is no way I could afford or justify the expense of paying to hunt.  After returning in December of 2005, with my National Guard unit, from our tour in Iraq I decided to return to school.  This has left us a little tight financially.  In a couple of years we will hopefully have leveled out and I can start pursuing my hunting dreams and wishes a little more thoroughly.  But untill then I am pretty well locked into, and very thankful for what I have.  A duck hunting trip with experienced and knowledgable duck hunters would be a great learning experience, heck it would be a great experience period.  It would be a breath of fresh air that I would be very grateful for.  I would love to come home and see the wondrous look in my daughters eyes as I explained to her what I experienced. 

Thanks for giving everyone here at THF this opportunity.

Guns don't kill people....Its those pesky little bullets making lots of holes that all the blood leaks out of.

man, these entries are gonna be hard to beat!!! im glad im not the one deciding

This is a great idea, contest or not. It is interesting to hear stories from people who share the same passion for the outdoors as I do. My hat is off to you guys for putting this together.

A little about me...

I was so fortunate growing up. I lived on a 3500-acre ranch in western Montana with trophy deer, amazing pheasant habitat, and more ducks and geese than you could possibly imagine. I hunted and fished at my leisure without knowing how good I had it. My father and I hunted waterfowl and upland game exclusively despite the overwhelming population of 220+ class white tail running around. He and I were pretty much inseparable, we did everything together and he is responsible for all that I have become. He taught me everything I know about hunting and conservation. On any given day during hunting season you could find my father and I in one of our many blind calling in mallards and Canada’s. I graduated high school in 2002 and went off to college in northern Idaho. I came back home with a good amount of regularity to hunt and spend time with my father until the summer of 2003 when I saw it fit to move to Texas. He hated me moving so far away. I bought a house at the tender age of 20 and decided to call Texas home. I didn't make it home often and our relationship was through the phone exclusively. I was hard at work trying to do right by what he had taught me, all while negating what I now realize what was most important, our relationship. My father passed away on April 5th of this year and I regret not making more of an effort to go home and see him. Not a day goes by that I don't replay my decisions in head.

I now have a wife and child on the way and wish he could have seen his grandchild and shared waterfowling with him. I have never been hunting without my father. I realize how much I learned about life sitting in a sunken blind with my dad and have rekindled my desire to hunt. I picked up my call lanyard for the first time since my father passed this week and thought about all the good times we had. My father was a great man and he would be disappointed if I neglected my passion for waterfowl.  I will be hunting with regularity starting this season and plan on making it as big a part of my life as it was for my father. I would be honored to accompany you guys on a hunt.

Weather I win the contest or not you guys truly are first class and my hat is off to for putting this together.

I learned early that hunting is not a right, it's a privilege. My grandfather always went deer hunting afterChristmas. I would sit on the floor and listen to his stories of all the deer he had taken. I always dreamed of going with him one day. I made no secret of this wish with my grandfather. Yes I called him Pa Pa. His name was Rufus. My dad did not hunt so I had no opportunity to learn. When I turned 7, Pa Pa's health was failing and he could no
longer work or hunt. When I turned 8 on November 13, it was him who gave me a single shot 20 gauge. I was ready for anything now!
 My brother is 7 years older than me. It was his friends that offered opportunities to him to hunt. I only had to wait another year and then he got his drivers license. This would change everything. A family friend let us use his property out in Katy. We had many choices of game in the early 70's; dove, quail, ducks, geese, and varmints. I was the official retriever, frozen water tester, and basic pain in the butt. It took a couple of years before I actually was given credit for my first "official" kill a mature snow that I could not have been more proud of.
 After my brother moved to Huntsville for college, I had limited chances to hunt. We did make a couple trips down the Trinity but with little success. With everything changing in Houston, we moved to Conroe in 1978. I got my hardship license and began discovering duck filled potholes on Lake Conroe. It was there I introduced my friend Greg to snipe hunting. It only took about 4 years before the lake began to develop. The feds did away with points system and bird
limits dropped to 3 or 4 birds. I turned to deer hunting in the national forest. This was a new xperience. I had never hunted an animal that could use a sense of smell like deer. It took a few years before I was able to get one.
 I joined the army in 82. Met my wife in 87, and had my daughter in 89. I went 10 years without making hunting or fishing a priority. My wife understood that I was going to change this. I did not want my 2 step kids and daughter to miss out on the time they could spend in the great outdoors. We both knew that this would keep them out of trouble in the future and cement a solid set of values in them. The time we spend with friends and family in the outdoors
is our most treasured memories. My children have all been hunting and fishing with me. Even the time my oldest daughter was surrounded by coyotes and thought they were going to eat her have become treasured memories. They are now grown and making a life of their own.
 I have 2 grand children and 1 more on the way. My oldest grandson sits with me and watches the hunting and fishing shows on the weekend when he comes over. It's usually followed by a short fishing trip on the lake. He wants a bow and arrow and asks when Grand pappy is going to take him hunting. He is only 4 but I have him shooting pretty darn good with an adult air rifle. I can't wait to give him my old 20 gauge and buy him a 223 to go deer hunting with me. Actually it's just
a plot to get my grandson to help me with my honey-do's when I'm older so we can go hunting. Do you think he will ever read this?
 My name is Tim Truitt, I live in Willis Texas. My wonderful wife is Carol who still lets me go hunting and fishing. She will only fish. My son works with the same company as me doing low voltage electrical work. My oldest daughter is a school teacher in Spring. My youngest is a freshman at Baylor. It is the hunter who will save the animals and their habitat.
I'm a member of CCA and Ducks Unlimited. I have sure missed a lack of sleep, being freezing cold, wet feet, mosquitoes, super strong coffee, the filthy stinky sticky mud, and the friendship of the duck blind.
 Bobby, you and wingdinger have a great relationship. I would like to use your experinces to help me with my future times with my grand kids. Find out what both of you liked and disliked and what did all that time in a blind mean to the 2 of you. Also what jokes and mischief has occured. In other words who got who best. I think this is a fantastic idea. Thanks guys! 281-635-0714
 

GO CLIMB A TREE, TIM

its not that i dont want to come hunt with you two, i just dont think i can make a better entrie than these. im still thinking about what to say

Well, you can't win if you don't enter. Also, we have no idea what is going to be the deciding factor on who hunts with us. We have made a pact not to decide or discuss it until the contest is over.

But I will say that if it is up to Wingdinger, the person with the prettiest daughter wins hands down! :-) 

Keep yer eyes peeled!

But I will say that if it is up to Wingdinger, the person with the prettiest daughter wins hands down! :-)

LOL

Now that would really make it hard to pick a winner! 

This was a great idea!  I love the responses you are getting.  We have some good writers here with wonderful stories to tell.

To all you guys........

That will work for me. I have 1 daughter who was 1st runner-up in Miss Houston Teen and competed in Miss Texas Teen and another daughter who was invited to Miss Texas Teen. The oldest is now married and the youngest is at Baylor.

GO CLIMB A TREE, TIM

Since the edit function does not work here is my youngest.

GO CLIMB A TREE, TIM

Let's hear from more folks out there that want to whack some ducks!!!

Keep yer eyes peeled!

For as long as i can remember i wanted to try hunting, the thrill of trying to find food the way our ancestors did. 

for this reason i got a job, picked up my first shotgun and i was off to the races. noone helped me on my hunts, my dad is more in to fishing than hunting so he didnt pass on the family shotgun nor did he show me the ropes, its forums like this and articles, websites, books and magazines that i picked upmy love for the great outdoors. Being from alaska hunting was kind of scarce, there was no dove or quail hunting. it was go shoot a bear and then your a man type stuff.

Like many of these great hunters they learned over the years the lingo, the shot tactics, right equipment, and know how from their father. i didnt have the luxary of that, so on my first dove hunt i shot my first dove there was noone to share it with.

after awhile i wanted something that took skill, that was going to be fun and i would enjoy. Along came the wonderful, smelly, cold, coffee induced hunts that got me goin. sleepless nights and wonderful dreams of the hunt to come is what i longed for. i found this forum a few days ago because i wanted to learn more about hunting and what it entailed. being only 19 i try to keep up with the guys who know more than i do.

i have no kids, and noone to share this experience with, and i hope that on day my son will learn to appreciate the outdoors, the wildlife and hopefully with his first kill ill be there to share in it.

 so all in all, i want to learn more about duckhunting from the guys who make it possible, the average joe, guys who love nothing but to be out in the cold frigid air, even if they dont shoot a darn thing at least being out there waiting for the hunt was exciting enough to come back and do it again. 

thanks for your time. 

Ernest 

Good deal. Thanks for submitting. Remember, the contest ends at the end of this month, so post those entries!!!!

Keep yer eyes peeled!

My name is Ricky Perry, no not the governor,I am 29 years old and have been married for nearly 11 years.I have 3 kids,10 yr old daughter, 8 yr old daughter, 3 yr old son.I have 4 labs that are as spoiled as my kids!!! I have hunted for deer, pheasants, quail since i was 12 with my dad and grandad, but didnt start waterfowl hunting until high school. I met a friend that taught me the ropes to waterfowl hunting and i jump on the oppurtunity to go everytime he asks me to go. We hunt mostly geese because there isnt a whole lot of water up here, but every now and then we will get a big rain in september and fill up the playa lake bottoms. I would enjoy to get to go on real duck hunt with you guys and experience what it is like to hunt from a duck blind, with the decoys spread out. It really sounds like you two always have a great time and I appreciate you considering having me come along with yall.

Another good entry. It will be a hard decision, but the hunt will be good.

Keep yer eyes peeled!

Two weeks left. Get those entries posted. I am going to build some new blinds this weekend.

Keep yer eyes peeled!

i am excited to see who wins!!

One more week!! Make sure duckwhacker and wingdinger hear why they should take you duck hunting with them. They are experienced and a great team, so why wouldn't you want to go on a free hunt with them?!

I think there should be a contest to go hunting with Mr. Truitt now. You know my folks met at Baylor?

This Space For Rent. (Sponsor my posts.)

My name is Dusty Burkhalter, I am 25 years old and am the Head Football Coach at Savoy.  We have just begun a program restart so my time to do anything other than focus on football has been very limited.  First of all, I am probably one of the least qualified people to go on this hunt.  I am a big deer hunter, but have never really had the opportunity to get involved in duck hunting but have always wanted to.  Being a football coach in Texas brings about an extremely busy schedule for me, therefore I have to pick one season and stick with it.  For me, it has always been deer hunting because I feel there is no greater thrill than trying to take a mature whitetail.  My duck hunting knowledge is extremely lacking, however, I would love to have this opportunity to learn a thing or two from a guy whom I greatly respect, though I have never met him in person.  I would love duck hunting to be something that I am able to pursue in the future, because sometimes, I just need that release to get away from the football field and the classroom, and if its not deer season, I am lost on that one.  I feel that if I had the opportunity to be introduced to duck hunting the way my father introduced me to the whitetail so many years ago, that I could find a hunting passion that could accompany that whitetail fever.  Thanks for the opportunity to enter this contest king.

sure is getting close!!

Good luck everyone, It's getting down to the wire now.

Guns don't kill people....Its those pesky little bullets making lots of holes that all the blood leaks out of.

I checked the lease this weekend and worked on blinds. I do not exaggerate when I tell you there were somewhere between one and two thousand ducks sitting on the water today.

Keep yer eyes peeled!

I don't think I've ever seen that many ducks in one place.  Except for on T.V.

Guns don't kill people....Its those pesky little bullets making lots of holes that all the blood leaks out of.

ONE DAY LEFT! ANY LAST MINUTE ENTRIES???

Keep yer eyes peeled!

The contest is over!

Let us know who you and Wingdinger decide will get to go hunting with y'all! :-)

I will announce the decision after this weekends opening hunt.

Keep yer eyes peeled!

Good luck to all you guys.  I don't envy duckwhacker and wingdinger their job.  There are mighty fine entries on here.

i am so excited to see who the lucky one is!!!

alright its tuesday whos the lucky guy

After much contemplation. Wingdinger and I have decided that we will take TWO winners duck hunting with us this season. We will give the 1st winner the hundred bucks award, and the 2nd winner will get to come along and hunt with us.

It very, very hard to make a decision, especially since we feel like we know so many of you that we have never met, but here is the lowdown.

FIRST PLACE - wheeless621. We decided that having done a tour in Iraq, and being a student, while trying to raise a family is tough. I too am a veteran, and know what it is like to try to work, go to school, and still try to balance a young family. I think the hunting trip would be a nice breath of fresh air for you. 

SECOND PLACE- Redbirds07. Wingdinger and I have a soft spot for coaches/teachers, and know how tough it is for them to get out during the season. We also like the idea of introducing someone to waterfowling. 

Let me say that this was really hard for us, and was much harder than we ever could have imagined. We wish we could get everyone that entered out with us, but maybe something else will come up to give other opportunities.

Thanks for the entries, and have a great season.

Sincerely,

Wingdinger and Duckwhacker.

Keep yer eyes peeled!

Thanks to duckwhacker and wingdinger, can't wait to go on this hunt.

Way to go wheeless621 and Redbirds07!

Brian M Thomas Yard of Dreams Landscape Co.

Good luck on the hunt. Shoot one for me!

GO CLIMB A TREE, TIM

Holy cow guys! You don't know what this means to me.  My wife is almost in tears.(mee too) She knows how much I was hoping for this.  So thanks for giving me this opportunity. 

Duckwhacker, if you could, would you email me a list of things I might need to take with me so I can see what I need to buy with the gift card.  I know I don't have the shells I need to go duck hunting, so some suggestions there would be helpful.  I Use a Remington 870 Express 12ga.  What choke do I need to get for it. I could ramble on and on right now so I'll leave it at that for now.  Thanks a million guys!

Guns don't kill people....Its those pesky little bullets making lots of holes that all the blood leaks out of.

Here are the things you will need to have a good hunt.

1. 12 ga. #3 Steel 3" shells.

2. Modified Choke in your shotgun.

3. A plug in your shotgun

4. A federal duck stamp.

5. You can get away with wellington style rubber boots or waterproof boots, but if you have waders, bring them.

6. Camoflage clothing head to toe

7. A camo facemask (or camo face paint)

8. A dove stool or hunting stool to use in the duck blind. 

Keep yer eyes peeled!

good job guys, have a good time and shoot lots of them!!!

CONGRATULATIONS GUYS!!!

Wheeless you will have a blast, I just know it!  It couldn't happen to more deserving guy.  Now get out there and do some practicing so you can knock'em down!

And a big cheer for duckwhacker and wingdinger!  You guys are the best.

You winners are going to have to e-mail me so that we can coordinate a date. I am thinking that sometime during the week around the Christmas break would be a good time. That way Redbirds and Wingdinger are free from school commitments, and I am assuming the same for Wheeless621 as he is also a student.

Keep yer eyes peeled!

We need to firm up some dates right now!!!!

Keep yer eyes peeled!

Ok, was just waiting to hear back from you.  Sent you an email.

Guns don't kill people....Its those pesky little bullets making lots of holes that all the blood leaks out of.

Plain and simple I just love to hunt!

My name is Richard McKissack. I am not married, but I am planning on getting engaged soon. I am 19 years old and I am attending nursing school and have a part time job. I got to go duck hunting when I was about 11 but I didnt even have a gun and I guesse I was to young to thing anything of it. Thank the Lord though my girlfriends brother asked me if I wanted to go duck hunting last season and I said sure. I was hooked from then on out, but I had a problem. My soon to be brother in law doesn't exactly like me enought to take me all the time, so I took matters in to my on hands. I found some way to get on the water everyday. I was dragging a 14 ft. jon boat everday by myself down to the water and back to the truck and paddling like a mile, but I didnt care because I can't get enough of the rush of duck hunting. I am watching duck hunting right now haha. For this upcoming season I am trying to be prepared by saving all my money so I can buy gear witch is kinda hard when your going to college. So I found a cheap boat and trailer and fixed it my self. We dont really have that many ducks down here so it would be a dream come true to limit out our come close haha. So what I am trying to tell you in a nutshell is I am a dihard duck hunter, but dont have much opportunity, equipment, or really andybody to hunt with. It would be a dream come true to come hunt with you to enjoy killing ducks and just the companionship of guys hanging out in the duck blind. My number is 318-268-1637

Hi my name is Bill Self, I am married with 3 kids and three dogs. We live at Charleston AFB for three years now. My wife is a Msgt in the Air Force and thank god she is about to retire (yeah us) I am a Respiratory Therapist supervisor at a near by hospital. I have never been on a duck hunt before but I love eatting duck meat. I would love the opportunity to learn how to hunt duck ( its kind of like give a man a fish and he eats for a day teach a man to fish and he eats for a life time?).