This Man Is A Freakin' HERO!

Turner wins contest for best duck blind in U.S.

BY DANNY WADE, Associate Editor The old saying 'the difference between men and boys is the price of their toys' surely fits one local hunting enthusiast. Now he has been nationally recognized and rewarded for having the best 'toy' in the United States.

Three Way alderman and avid duck hunter, David Turner, was voted to have the best duck blind in the United States by Ducks Unlimited. But best of all, his prize is a free two-year lease of a brand new 2006 Dodge Ram 2500 Mega Cab. Turner recently picked up his truck locally from Humboldt Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep in Humboldt.
"This truck has all the bells and whistles," Turner proudly said. "It has the Cummins diesel engine, four wheel drive, DVD player, and six-disc CD changer." He added that the sticker price of the truck was $48,000.

Ducks Unlimited held a contest on their website for the best duck blind. Turner thought about entering. He wrote a short article describing his blind and included several pictures. These were posted on Ducks Unlimited's website. When all the votes were tallied, Turner's blind was the clear winner, according to the article in the July/August 2006 issue of Ducks Unlimited magazine.

The duck blind sits in a 75-acre field next to the middle fork of the Forked Deer River on the family farm about a mile outside of Three Way, Turner said. Right now the field is planted in corn and soybeans.
The project started in the spring and summer of 1997 when Turner, who is a contractor and developer, and his son Johnathan decided to build a blind. He enticed several of his duck hunting buddies to join in and build the duck blind of all duck blinds. Turner said they took three or four months designing the blind.They used an auger to dig footings and poured 1,500 pounds of concrete into 15 to 20 piers for the blind. Pressure treated 2x4s, 2x6s and 2x8s make up the blind's frame and marine grade plywood is used on the floor, walls and ceiling. The blind is insulated and has a rubber roof to keep it dry. Brush and oak limbs are used for camouflage.
"The kitchen area is 12 by 24 feet and has a seven-foot ceiling," Turner said. "There is a 500 gallon propane tank with a propane wall heater, full size oven, large eating/card table, 16 school type lockers, a sink, and lights that run off batteries or generator. It has a garage that holds four 4-wheelers and has a bathroom. There's a separate garage that holds two 4-wheelers. Two doors in the kitchen lead to the shooting platform."

Turner installed a $15,000 diesel pump to flood the field prior to duck season. The pump delivers 7,500 gallons per hour. Turner said it takes 76 hours to flood the field. Once flooded, 200 to 300 decoys are placed in the water.
The almost 1,000 square feet blind is used mostly by Turner and his nephews, Jim Moore, John Moore and Chris Turner who helped build it, along with his son Johnathan.
"We usually have five or six hunting at a time but if the ducks are really flying, my buddies come out of the woodwork. We once had as many as 13 in the blind at one time," Turner added.
When asked how often he hunts during duck season Turner quickly said, "Every day." Duck season runs 60 days from early December to late January. He added that some seasons he has literally hunted every day of the season.

Luckily Turner gets the support from his very understanding wife, Cindy. He laughed as he gave his explanation of hunting every day. "If the hunting is not good one day," he says, "you think that it can't get any worse so you go the next day. If the hunting is good, then you say I better go now while it is good because it could change." David said he is not sure if Cindy buys his reasoning.
The free two-year lease on a 2006 Dodge Ram Mega Cab is compliments of Dodge.