Monday, October 4, 2010

IF IT IS OCTOBER...IT IS HUNTING SEASON

This should delight all of our duck hunters - our newest duck hunting blind should be a real treat to hunt out of!

Welcome to the 2010 hunting season. This week was the opening of bowhunting and what a beautiful week it is! Cool temperatures and clear skiies - truly great fall hunting weather. A real departure from the last couple of years where the hunters sweated in 80 degree weather and fought off mosquitos in droves.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

First Turkey

Reid Frederking harvested this bearded hen with Donny's help as guide last weekend. Reid is from Steeleville and at age 11 this is his first turkey! Congratulations Reid.









Spring Turkey Hunting

Clyde Neely, from Houston, Texas is on a quest to shoot a turkey in 49 states! After his Illinois bird, he has 5 states to go. What a cool accomplishment that will be.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Deer at the lodge

If I had been quicker with my camera, I would have been able to show you close to 30 deer on the east lawn! I was alerted to their presence by Gemmie's howling through the glass on the deck doors - see, Ron, she is good for something!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Gone to the Dogs

Jerry McGee (trainer and handler) and his wife, Ruth are shown above at the International Brittany trial a short while ago. His dog, Rujems Touch of Bourbon, aka Chug A Lug" recently secured his place in history winning the Purina Dog of the Year Award!! Jerry brought Chug to The Hunt Club about 6 years ago, where he promptly earned the nickname "Mud Dog" because he loved to roll, and roll in the mud! Well, just look at Mud Dog now!

The Brittanies are holding a field trial this week at Pyramid and are enjoying evenings at The Hunt Club. Tonight is their Saturday night dinner at the lodge, so I thought a post was in order.
The menu: sauteed portabellos and other mushrooms and pancetta wrapped beef tenderloins. Also, a surprise Valentine's Day dessert. Perhaps the dessert will serve to jog the urge to run out and buy a Valentine??

The beef tenderloins are being served with a bleu cheese sauce instead of the ubiquitous, boring and so predictable horseradish sauce. Happy V Day to all!


Sunday, January 31, 2010

2009-2010 Season Comes to An End

A PICTURE WORTH A HUNDRED WORDS
Jim Metter, Ken Saum, Trevor Moore, Larry Schaab and Jeff Rector had a long day, but a productive one. Now we can all clean off our decoys, hang up those waders and start dreaming about next year. Jill has already changed the sign to "Duck Hunter - Gone".

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Snow Day

Check this out! I was trying to photograph the setting sun in the beautiful snowy landscape from the south deck when these ducks flew over close enough to catch them with my crummy camera! How great is that?
Only 1 more day until the end of the goose season, and the word is that the ducks are pouring in by the thousands all afternoon. Once again, photographed from the south deck.

These may look like snows to you, but cross my heart, they are ducks. I probably panned the camera a bit trying to keep them in the lens. If I had any kind of lens at all, we could have gotten a shot of their green heads!







What a pretty end to a perfectly great day. The morning goose hunters had limits of geese. It remains to be seen if all that artillery I heard this afternoon was actually productive. It is a good night for a big pot of -- bouillbase?



Sunday, January 24, 2010

Missing for a while


Welcome back Brittanies. Ron enjoys a beer with Brittany Hall of Famer Ray Trimble (by the way, happy 83rd birthday, Ray) The Brittanies support The Hunt Club during their trial in late January and we appreciate it! More later on The Hunt Club member, Jerry McGee and his wife, DOG OF THE YEAR.....

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Frozen Weekend Buck

Bill McCall of Full Draw Adventures hunted with us in October 2009 and was unsuccessful. He was in southern Illinois the last weekend of duck season 2010, which will go down in history as the coldest and the most frozen in many a year. Every lake, pond and pothole was completely frozen over. With duck hunting at a standstill, Ron said, "Come On, and give it another try!" This buck is the result of a 3 day hunt in single digit weather!. Brrrrrrr... A nice 10-pointer (missing a brow tine) Ron thinks it is a mature 4-1/2 year old. Congratulations, Bill.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Trapshooters ARE Tough

Dave Zofko, Rick Stortz, Ross Warren, Steve Stedman, Curt Dutton, Tom Brittain, Jerry Danuser and Pat McCarthy spent 3 days with us during what may be the longest cold spell Southern Illinois has seen in 25 years. This morning they braved -4 temps and bravely made their way to goose pits. Admitting defeat, they trooped back to the lodge for hot coffee about 9:00 a.m.

A couple of years ago, they shot at the Grand American in 107 degree heat. They have survived the extreme weather Southern Illinois can offer up! Tough they are!

Thursday, January 7, 2010

World Class Trapshooters Open With A BANG

Pat McCarthy, & Co, from Ohio, arrived early enough for a late afternoon hunt and they had a great one. The big question is? how long were those shots and how much did the fact that they are world class trapshooters contribute to their success? How great is that?

Brave Dog

Gemmie has got to be the bravest dog . . .You can't see him, but Ron is in the background! Dave, from Taggart, just finished a morning hunt.

Snowstorm Hunt


The Taggart group has had a couple days of good shooting -- lots of snows and some canada's. This morning, on the heels of some snow, they had great shooting!

Julian had to help carry all the snows from the vehicle to the tagging station. He says being back to work is a good thing and many thanks for all the kind messages.


Monday, January 4, 2010

In Memory

Santiago and his son, Julian, have been a fixture of The Hunt Club for nearly 7 years now. On Sunday, Santiago's daughter, Julian's sister, Blanca, died of complications from kidney disease. she was only 20 and leaves behind a 3 year old son and a husband, in addition to a very large extended family. Blanca lived in Ciudad Juarez, the border town with Texas that has had so much violence visited upon it by drug cartels in recent years. Probably, had she been in the US, her kidney problem would have been treatable. Julian is beside himself with grief and I spoke with Santiago today, and he is inconsolable.

These 2 guys have been our favorites over the years, and I believe most of you feel the same and understand the hard work from them that adds to the great experience here. Send them a message and I will pass it along to them. I know they will appreciate the sentiment.

Happier news tomorrow.