Patrick Durkin
Time to Require Reporting, Investigating of Treestand Falls
Most of us can’t put a face with the name of people who die in hunting accidents. Other than reporting that someone died from a gunshot...
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Patrick Durkin
Nov 13, 20214 min read
Bowhunter's Buck had 25 Feet of Rope in its Antlers
If you live in Dodge County, Wisconsin, and you’re wondering which no-good neighbor stole your backyard clothesline, don’t start pointing...
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Patrick Durkin
Nov 4, 20214 min read
Deer Hunting Today is 6 Times Safer than 60 Years Ago
When Wisconsin’s roughly 590,000 deer hunters head out Nov. 20 for the annual nine-day gun season, we’ll find the deer woods far safer...
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Patrick Durkin
Oct 31, 20214 min read
Study: Shooting More Rutting Bucks Reduces CWD
Here’s some news the Department of Natural Resources probably won’t share with its seven-citizen policy board, or the folks now reviewing...
834 views1 comment
Patrick Durkin
Oct 22, 20215 min read
Book Details Roy Case’s Legendary Bowhunting Impact
Wisconsin held its first bowhunting season in 1934. It lasted five days, attracted 40 archers, protected antlerless deer, covered only...
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Patrick Durkin
Oct 16, 20214 min read
Partisan Politics Won’t Fix Wisconsin’s CWD Problems
Even the laziest, most partisan, back-row-dwelling lawmakers in Madison and Washington typically find time each year to pass conservation...
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Patrick Durkin
Oct 10, 20214 min read
GOP Hunting, Fishing Bills Could Use Some Purging
Several hunting buddies text-messaged me Oct. 6, wondering why GOP lawmakers would buddy-up with some upstart Kansas bunch called Hunter...
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Patrick Durkin
Oct 2, 20214 min read
CWD Review Committee’s Work will Go for Naught
The second review/update of Wisconsin’s 2010-2025 CWD management plan is underway, even though the Department of Natural Resources’...
1,011 views2 comments
Patrick Durkin
Sep 24, 20214 min read
Chippewa River Offers Excellent Sturgeon Fishing
Zach Mohr takes pains not to offend muskie hunters when asked why he spends every minute possible in September chasing sturgeon up and...
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Patrick Durkin
Sep 19, 20215 min read
Final-Day Elk Bowhunt Defies 4% Odds of Success
SODA SPRINGS, Idaho — The shot had felt good, the distance only 25 yards, and the blood sign looked lethal when I found my arrow 20 yards...
321 views1 comment
Patrick Durkin
Sep 10, 20214 min read
Aging Hunters Can Cheat Neither Time Nor the Mountain
SODA SPRINGS, Idaho -- Funny how much you read into things when looking at the world through aging eyes. The first leaves dropping from...
476 views3 comments
Patrick Durkin
Aug 30, 20214 min read
Wisconsin Bowhunter Zeroes in on Specific Bucks
Just like most serious bowhunters, Gregg Johnson is counting down the days to Wisconsin’s Sept. 18 archery deer season opener. But unlike...
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Patrick Durkin
Aug 27, 20214 min read
Grandsons Land Bass After Lowering Their Guard
My 3-year-old grandson looked up with a pained urgency every parent recognizes, and then grabbed his shorts for emphasis. Before I could...
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Patrick Durkin
Aug 20, 20214 min read
Bluegills Abound in Family’s Farm Ponds
In between bluegills and an occasional largemouth bass, Travis Lambert recalled shirking his boyhood chores on the family’s cranberry...
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Patrick Durkin
Aug 14, 20215 min read
Wisconsin Board's Wolf Quota Puts Emotion Over Science
Looking and sounding like frazzled parents warning a daughter not to marry the town drunk, DNR Secretary Preston Cole and three Natural...
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Patrick Durkin
Aug 7, 20214 min read
Chickadees Make Summer Homes in 3D Targets
A flying dark blur caught my eye a few summers ago as I pulled the first arrow from my backyard deer target. Startled, I scanned the...
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Patrick Durkin
Jul 30, 20215 min read
Trappers, Veterinarians Set Best Practices for Traps & Trapping
Whether trappers make a set to catch furbearers for pelts, or to help biologists tag, release and follow wildlife for research, their...
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Patrick Durkin
Jul 25, 20214 min read
Ellis Clan Rules Uncle Bobby’s Namesake Muskie Tourney
Three of Bob Ellis’ nephews caught four of the five muskies registered in this year’s 17th annual Bob Ellis Classic memorial row-trolling...
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Patrick Durkin
Jul 18, 20215 min read
Valerius Geist was a Titan of North American Conservation
Professor Valerius Geist of Canada didn’t need his green-trimmed suitcoat to stand apart from crowds, no matter their size or stations in...
541 views1 comment
Patrick Durkin
Jul 9, 20214 min read
Should the DNR Extend Training Seasons for Hunting Dogs?
Wisconsin’s rich mix of houndsmen, bird-dog hunters and conservation organizations are quietly debating whether the Department of Natural...
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