Future Hunter
By Brian Sanders

I grew up outside of a big city where I was never really introduced to the hunting world until I was 18 and my parents moved the family back to Central Illinois where I was born. It was then that I first experienced waterfowl hunting on the Illinois River. I can remember it like it was yesterday. It was late November 1993, the night before we were about to embark on my first duck hunting trip.

One of my friends took me to Presley's so I could get a hunting license some camouflage clothing and a box of shotgun shells. After he dropped me off at home I tried to get to bed early knowing I had to be up and ready to go by 5am. I didn't sleep much that night tossing and turning anxiously waiting and pondering if I was going to get to shoot my first duck that day.

I dragged my butt out of bed at 4am got dressed and met the guys at the boat ramp at 5am. It was cold, about 38' degrees out and a little bit rainy. I got in the boat and we headed down river to the blind. After setting out a few dozen decoys we returned to the blind and loaded up the guns waiting for shooting time. It was only a few minutes after loading the guns we had wood ducks flying into the decoys, since I was the rookie in the blind I got the honor of taking the first shot. I remember clicking off the safety jumping up and taking aim at the duck on the right. I pulled the trigger and missed. I shot 2 more times and after 3 shots I still missed the duck. It was just a couple minutes after that a single mallard drake was gliding into the decoys. I once again was given the opportunity to shoot first. I jumped up, took aim and dropped him on the first shot. It was right then I was hooked on waterfowl hunting.

Six years later in 1999 I got married and on October 5th of 2000 we had a beautiful baby boy "Jackson Drake Sanders" It was the happiest day of my life knowing that I had a little future hunter on my hands. I remember when he was about 2 years old and the little guy was running around the house blowing a duck call and getting into daddy's camo pretending to be a duck hunter. I knew then that I needed to pass the tradition on to my son the wonderful experiences of waterfowl hunting.

In 2004 his mother and I divorced and his little life was split in two. After getting my life's affairs back in order it was back to business as usual with me and waterfowl hunting. I will never forget Jack's first time I took him duck hunting. I took Jack to Presley's Outdoors and got him his first set of camoflauge clothing as I did on my first hunting trip. He was so excited that night that he too couldn't sleep. So I tucked him in bed with me and finally after a few minutes the little guy was out.

My cousin and I had a permit card on Thanksgiving Day at banner marsh. Jack and I woke at 3:30am that morning. I will never forget that little guy jumped out of bed and was wide awake and ready to go. We got dressed and took off in the truck and headed to Bartonville to meet my cousin. We stopped and grabbed a quick breakfast and listened to Jacks continuous chatter about how he was getting to go duck hunting with his dad.

We got to the check station and went in for the daily draw. With Jacks little luck we came out first. Off to blind 22 we went. Jack was so pumped he couldn't sit still. We got the truck unloaded and headed to the blind with Jack not letting go of me because it was still dark out and we all know that 4 year olds are scared of the dark. He stood on shore while my cousin and I set the decoys and got things ready to go.

We finally got into the blind and loaded the guns, but by then Jack was tired and was ready to take a nap. So he curled up on my lap and in a few minutes was out like a light. The poor little guy only got about a 30 minute nap when I had to wake him up because the ducks were starting to work the decoys. He stood beside me the entire time while I called the ducks in. we jumped up and shot a pair of mallards. For the rest of the morning Jack held the duck that his dad shot with great pride. It was after that I knew that my little guy was too hooked on waterfowl hunting. After that day on the weekends I would pick up my son his first words out of his mouth was "Dad are we going duck hunting today?"

Since then Jack has been on several hunts with me and my friends becoming a familiar face to the guys at all the local check stations and all of them know him by name. He has also been working on his duck and goose calling skills, and anxiously waiting to take the hunters safety course and for me to hand down his first shotgun, so he too can have his first experiences duck hunting like his father did. Hopefully when Jack becomes older and has a family of his own he too will pass on this experience of hunting with his son as I did with him. I myself look forward to sitting in a blind and hunting waterfowl with my son and grandson.