Patrick Durkin
Cole Failed Wisconsin as DNR Secretary the Past 4 Years
When Preston Cole took command of the Department of Natural Resources in December 2018, Wisconsin’s conservation community hoped the new...
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Patrick Durkin
Dec 23, 20224 min read
Wisconsin Studies Show Snowmobiling Safety Improving
As counties across Wisconsin rushed to open their snowmobile trails before Christmas weekend, they warned snowmobilers to watch out for...
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Patrick Durkin
Dec 16, 20224 min read
Wisconsin Hunter Hurt After Falling onto Buck’s Antlers
Kris Bjerke lay bleeding and immobile in a deep gully in southwestern Wisconsin on Nov. 23, a tourniquet throttling his left leg above...
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Patrick Durkin
Dec 10, 20225 min read
Wisconsin Gun Season Endlessly Repeats 2009 Results
One gets a bit nostalgic when reflecting on Wisconsin’s just-completed nine-day gun-deer season and recalling the November 2009 hunt....
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Patrick Durkin
Dec 4, 20225 min read
Father’s Prized Rifle Lives on in Duren Family’s Lore
If you’ve read Larry Koller’s classic book “Shots at Whitetails,” you probably envy hunters who own sporterized bolt-action rifles with...
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Patrick Durkin
Nov 26, 20225 min read
Great Books, Clothes and Other Gear Fulfill Holiday Wishes
Whether you know a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or good neighbor who wants to get kids outdoors, give them the book “Outdoor Kids In...
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Patrick Durkin
Nov 21, 20224 min read
Daughter’s First Post-Navy Deer Inspires Enduring Pride
Frozen deer blood looks raspberry-red and clings in clumps to boot laces and pants cuffs, letting you brush most of it away before it...
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Patrick Durkin
Nov 12, 20224 min read
Older Hunters, Not Newbies, Cause Most Shootings in Wisconsin
Hunting in Wisconsin is 95% safer than in 1966, but if you still feel skittish, consider this: You can further reduce your odds of...
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Patrick Durkin
Nov 6, 20225 min read
Old Friend’s Cabin a Fitting Place for a Hunters’ Reunion
My compound bow’s 20-yard sight-pin wavered low on the 8-point buck’s chest as I held at full draw, my index finger hesitating over the...
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Patrick Durkin
Oct 28, 20225 min read
DIY Science: Hunters Can Collect CWD Samples Themselves
Hunters who like DIY projects can expand their self-reliance by extracting the lymph nodes of deer they shoot and getting them tested for...
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Patrick Durkin
Oct 24, 20226 min read
Private Text Messages Dispel Prehn’s Claims for Staying on NRB
I thought of George Orwell in late September as three members of Wisconsin’s Natural Resources Board figuratively gang-tackled fellow...
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Patrick Durkin
Oct 14, 20225 min read
Venerable Mitchell 300 Reels Take Anglers Back in Time
While leading a tour through his fishing-tackle manufacturing building in the mid-1990s, a sales/advertising representative snorted...
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Patrick Durkin
Oct 10, 20223 min read
A Lost Brother’s Words Still Echo in Southern Wisconsin's Deer Woods
Note: I wrote this column in January 2009 soon after my first hunt, and face-to-face meet-up, with my good friend Doug Duren. I'm sharing...
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Patrick Durkin
Oct 9, 20224 min read
Young Buck’s Ravaged Skull Defies Easy Explanations
Folks who spend much time outdoors eventually stumble into something that makes them question Mother Nature’s indifference to her...
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Patrick Durkin
Oct 1, 20225 min read
Explaining a Great Wisconsin Moose Hunt that Never Was
When pondering whether to post vintage hunting photos on the internet, heed this advice: Don’t make claims about the time, place, hunters...
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Patrick Durkin
Sep 23, 20224 min read
Instagram Cancels Renowned Wildlife Researcher’s Account
By all relevant standards, Horicon native Jim Heffelfinger is a smart, honest, peace-loving man you can trust with your wife, wallet and...
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Patrick Durkin
Sep 16, 20225 min read
Perch in Idaho’s Lake Cascade are a Western Phenomenon
CASCADE, Idaho — Wisconsin has long sent legions of ice-fishing anglers north or west to chase yellow perch at famous destinations like...
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Patrick Durkin
Sep 11, 20224 min read
Wisconsin Bowhunters Focus Increasingly on Bucks
Wisconsin was the first state in the U.S. to create a stand-alone bowhunting season in 1934. As the Badger state heads into its 89th...
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Patrick Durkin
Sep 5, 20224 min read
Yellow Perch, Not Elk, Spur a September Return to Idaho
When late August arrives and folks talk of autumn’s fast-approaching hunting seasons, friends often ask if I’m returning to Idaho to...
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Patrick Durkin
Aug 28, 20224 min read
Cooper’s Hawk is Faring Well in Urban and Rural Wisconsin
Since moving to Eau Claire about two years ago and setting up our backyard birdfeeders, my wife and I have made regulars out of...
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