 The attached pictures are of my son (Corey Petrie) during his first season of hunting.
It was the afternoon of November 18, 2005. We were hunting a private lake on Snicarte Island in Central Illinois on a windy afternoon. Corey is 10, but not that tall for his age. Due to the length of his arms, he can only shoot a .410 using very expensive Bitsmuth shot. We has several opportunities during our late afternoon hunt while standing in about 8 inches of water, weed and silt with Copper our dog sitting in a duck boat behind the make shift blind.
After several missed shots, 2 drake mallards came in and Corey dropped the first one while the other hunters sat in awe of his ability to kill a fat Mallard with a single shot .410. Later that day he also nailed a hen mallard. While we try to maintain the law of no hens, Corey couldn’t resist the opportunity to take anything in range. Later during the same hunt, he managed to become a true duck hunter and ended up belly down in water and silt. He continued to hunt even though he was wet and a little cold. I couldn’t be prouder of our newest addition to the world we know as duck hunting...He has the fever.
Dale Petrie
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I bagged my first duck last year and i do not currently have pics but i do have for my second duck on my computer. It was a cold morning in the newly found blind and i was whistling to bring bluebill over my spread until i saw a pintail circle once he circled down into my spread and i took him down with one shot he hit the water dead. I was very happy about bagging my first pintail but i saw the look on my dads face when he saw the duck. hopefully i can take my kids hunting one day and pass on the sport. Thank you for conserving wildlife and encouraging young hunters
Torey Williams
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| First Duck, My name is Brett Kelly and I shot my first duck in Marysville California, It was a wood duck and it was banded, the luck did not stop there because my very first malard was also banded, I was wandering if I could get a first duck pin to go along with my banded certificates???
Brett Kelly
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Jared J. Peifer-Somerset PA.
This is a picture of my dad and I in a duck blind. I am holding a Mallard and hen ( My First 2 Ducks ).
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| Hi, my name is Todd Williams and I am 12 years old. I went to my first duck hunt on February 5th, the last day of the season. A friend of the family took me to this great event.
His name is Randy Summerlin. I got to register with Delta Waterfowl to be a junior member.
We arrived out to the everglades at 5:00 am and I had gotten my limit by 6:30 am.
I am having a Green wing stuffed for display in my room. I had a great time and I would love to do it again. Also, I won the special raffle prize. A free hog hunt at Little Lake Lodge. I can't wait to do that. It sounds like a lot of fun.
I will keep going to the practice range to shoot clays until hunting season starts again.
Thank you so much for this great junior program.
Sincerely,
Todd Williams
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| My name is Kelby Wright, i am 14 years old, i killed my first duck a few years back. I was hunting a friends duck lodge when i killed a Mallard hen. since then i have had the chance to take many other ducks. I killed it with a remington 12 gauge express super mag. |
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My son Zach and I had the priviledge of taking this young man duck hunting this weekend. It was Alabama youth waterfowl weekend and he shot his first duck. He said he had to buy him a duck call and start practicing. His name is Caleb Johnston and he is 8 yrs.old.
Kenneth Clark
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Pictured on the left is Zachary Clark 9 years old and on the right is Mitch Gore 10 years old. Hunting with Zach’s dad they were able to get there first ducks on January 28 2006 in Plantersville,Alabama. We hunted a small pond that was that had been planted and then flood. We shot more than we killed. They said it was the most fun they ever had.
Kenneth Clark
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 Dear Mr. Worth Mathewson,
My name is Alec Helm, and I am writing to apply for my FIRST DUCK pin. I am ten years old and my first duck experience was jump-shooting Blue-winged Teal. I received three ducks, two hens and one drake. A couple of months later, I was awarded a pretty Green- winged drake. I was crawling along a dirt burm, when two hen Mallards flew over. I only had two shots in my shotgun, and I took a shot and missed when about one hundred duck and teal flew up from a marsh! Of course I only had one shot, hoping I would hit something, and I did!
I live in Greeley,CO. I use a Winchester model 1300 20 gauge. The picture below, shows a Wood duck drake, a Mallard drake, and 4 Blue winged teal. The second picture shows my drake. Thank you for considering my application.
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 Here are some pictures of my son Patrick (12) on his first duck hunt in Arizona. As for me I am 42 and this was my first duck hunt also. If there is a sport that can get a kid out of bed at 2:30 (we didn't need to get up until 3) this is it. He could hardly wait! He practiced with trap shooting in the past and it paid off. He dropped his first duck on his first shot (20 gauge breach) at about 45 yards. The following day he bagged a mallard. He really enjoyed being outdoors with Dad and his buddy ( a 40 year duck hunter) Mark. Once things got going you fail to notice anything else (like lack of sleep or the cold) you just get in the grove. This is an awesome sport and we both learned a lot from the Hunter Safety class we took in November. We also learned it is not easy! We each bagged 1 on Saturday. Patrick bagged 1 on Sunday, Mark had 4. as for me 0 ducks, but a lifetime lasting memory of our first Hunt!!! Thank for all you do to aid and inform people. Great Website!!
Sincerely,
Lyndell Spangle
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Will Norvell [w/me- Dad Frank] with his first duck, a green winged teal, shot at Block Island near Charleston, South Carolina
on “youth day” February 5th 2005 which also happened to be his 11th birthday. Talk about a birthday present!
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| Hey,
My name is Garrett Bolin and I live in Crossett, Arkansas. I hunted a few times last year with my Dad but did not kill anything. This year on my first hunt, I was able to kill a scaup. I was standing beside a tree and my Dad pointed out the duck. I raised my 20 gauge and shot killing the duck. Since that time, I have shot several other ducks including killing some wood ducks and shooting at many mallards. I love duck hunting. Thank you for the pin. I collect them and this will be great for my collection.
Thank you.
Garrett Bolin
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| This is the first year of hunting for my son Aaron Livesay. He completed his hunter safety course in July, and was ready for his first duck hunt. He missed the Illinois Youth Duck Hunt due to sickness, so he was ready and waiting for opening day in the south zone. On the morning of November 24th, I did not even have to wake him up to get ready. He woke me up at 3 am. We met his grandpa, uncle and cousin for a morning in a blind. We got set up and ready for the first flight. He could barely contain his enthusiam. Ducks were coming into our decoys before shooting hours, and he would constantly ask if it was shooting time. After shooting hours came in, we would give him the first opportunity at shooting. He had a mallard drake try to land in the decoys, and he missed it. A little later, a shoveler started to light in the decoys. I told him to get ready and as it came into the decoys, I told him to shoot. He killed that shoveler, and it made the whole morning worthwhile. To see the excitement in a kids face as he is on his first hunt is the most wonderful thing in the world
Charles Livesay
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| Dear Mr. Mathewson,
 My son, Brigtsen wrote to you to tell of his first duck experience jump shooting a Blackduck in the New Jersey marshes a few months back. He checked the mail every day and your package did not disappoint him. He wears his pin in his duck hunting hat along with a feather from his black duck, everywhere he goes.
You sent him his "First Duck" pin along with a letter recounting your own personal experience shooting your first duck (a black duck also) on the Smith River in Virginia in 1954, with a Fox double that was under your Christmas tree. What a great story, and what a thrill it was for him to feel that commonality with another, more experienced, hunter's first duck experience. He asked me all about Fox doubles, and where the Smith river was (we looked it up), and did I ever get a shotgun for Christmas.
I wanted to thank you for taking the time to respond in that manner to him, and to tell you how much that means to a boy to have someone care enough to take the time to write back to him. It would be easy to just send the pin back to him but the letter makes it that much more special for him. It is a great program your are administering for these kids and hopefully they will carry on where we leave off, helping to preserve and respect the resource, the habitat and our traditions for generations to come.
On another note, I saw your website has a "history of the breeding grounds survey" link by Art Hawkins, and I wanted you to know that my father, Mort Smith (Brigtsen's grandfather) was a Flyway Biologist and flew the surveys for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service. He grew up hunting in the Delta marshes of Louisiana with his father (near Point a la Hache). He knew Art Hawkins well and attended several "wing bees" with him. Mr. Hawkins was a guest at dinner at my house on several occasions when my Dad was stationed in the Washington, DC area. I don't remember this vividly, but I spoke to Art Hawkins when my Dad passed away in 2002, and he told me several stories about my father, and remembered always enjoying my mother's cooking when he would be invited to dinner by my Dad when he was in town. Art Hawkins is an icon in the field and when I saw his name on your website, I knew that yours must be a quality organization.
My son was actually the one who found out about Delta Waterfowl when he signed up to get his pin. I'm not sure how the membership works since we are in the Atlantic Flyway and your membership appears to be predominately the Mississippi and Central Flyways, but I am proud to see Brigtsen wearing his pin and proud to be associated with Delta Waterfowl.
Sincerely,
Robert Smith, Cedarbrook, New Jersey
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 It was October 23rd, 2005. We (John Affolter, his son Ernie, me, my dad and G.W.) took my niece Sydney (12yrs old) out for her first hunt. She had been coming out with us for 3 years now, but not shooting, she was just there for the fun atmosphere. She finally got tired of just watching and got motivated to study for and take her hunter safety class in September. She passed with flying colors. Then, October 23, 2005 - It was a wet warm day in the marsh on the northwestern coast of Oregon. We decided to leave the TDB back at the duck shack and just take the pods out to cruise around and hide in the tall grass and cat tails. She was having a blast already - then we got set up and G.W. (her soon to be uncle and 2001 Oregon duck calling champion) starting bringin them in - She couldn’t have imagined a better way to have her first hunt - they were coming straight at her, landing gear down about 10 yards out, it was almost overwhelming. We didn’t have to do much backing up, she was making them do back flips with her first shot. She’s hooked, we got a new duck hunter for life! She proved with her first day, she’s a strong hunter, we had a long day out in the marsh and she never complained once! I couldn’t be more proud of her and excited that I have such a great new hunting partner. Here’s a picture of her first ducks AND a goose. GREAT day hunting Syd, we love you much! Aunt Tiff and G.W.
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