Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
Missed the application period for a spring turkey license? Opportunities for licenses are still available. New this year, spring turkey hunters may purchase a Hunt 234 license, a statewide hunting license valid for all open areas except public lands in Unit ZZ (southern Lower Peninsula and Beaver Island). Hunters can purchase a Hunt 234 license through May 31. Read more
BEAVERTON, Ore. – Redfield® wants to help tactical rifle shooters hit their mark by offering a $45 rebate on all Battlezone™ riflescopes purchased between April 15 and June 30, 2014. Read more
GW: Now, I’d call this giving back. Very cool.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is making it easier for Michigan seniors age 65 and older to get a price break on the hunt/fish combo license. The new senior hunt/fish combo license includes a fishing license (good for all legal species), a base hunting license and two deer licenses for $43.
When purchasing the 2014 licenses without a senior discount, seniors who purchased the regular hunt/fish combo license paid $76. The only way to get a senior discount on these items was to purchase them separately as senior licenses.
The newly packaged discounted license is available for purchase as of April 14. In addition, resident seniors who paid the higher $76 price for a 2014 license will be receiving a letter from the DNR offering a refund of $33 — the difference between the regular hunt/fish combo and the senior hunt/fish combo. Read more
The Department of Natural Resources today announced recipients of the 2014 Wildlife Habitat Grants. A total of $737,720 was awarded to various conservation and nonprofit organizations, units of government and landowners.
Examples of funded projects include planting native grasslands for pheasant habitat at Lake Hudson State Recreation Area, planting fruit trees for wild turkey and ruffed grouse food sources in several locations across the state, and improving accessibility for limited-mobility hunters and wildlife enthusiasts at Sharonville State Game Area.
Below is a list of successful applicants, the award amount and the county in which the habitat projects will take place. Read more
Representative Greg MacMaster’s has gone as far as to try and grant wild boar born in Michigan “citizenship”–HB 5432 would deem any swine born in Michigan or legally imported to Michigan as “native”, meaning that they could only be identified as livestock and could not be considered invasive species. This is like saying Asian carp are fine, as long as they were born here!
MINT SPRING, VA. Parker Bows, a manufacturer of high quality Compound bows, Crossbows and RED HOT brand Crossbow Accessories is giving away a Concorde Perfect Storm Package (includes the Concorde crossbow and all the crossbow accessories needed to start hunting) during the month of April (2014) through their Facebook page. The entire package is worth over $1,200. Read more
This from www.HumaneWatch.org…
The US has 100 times more deer today than it did 100 years ago. That’s a good thing, whether you like wildlife watching or enjoy venison, but it has brought challenges, such as deer-car collisions, which damage property and can even kill people. But another challenge is environmental.
All those deer eat vegetation—3,000 pounds a year per animal. This can have a detrimental effect on the flora, as Al Cambrone writes in The Wall Street Journal, and the fauna—more deer means fewer songbirds. Read more
Despite having already suffered multiple defeats in his quest to ban mountain lion hunting in Nebraska, Senator Ernie Chambers has again surfaced with another attempt to ban the season.
With little more than a week to go in the 2014 legislative session, Senator Chambers filed a motion yesterday to yet again vote to over-ride the governor’s veto on LB 671, the mountain lion ban, despite previous attempts failing twice last week. Because the previous attempts to overturn the veto both failed, it’s up to Senate Speaker Greg Adams whether to suspend the rules to grant Senator Chamber’s another attempt. Read more
Overland Park, Kan. – Bushnell, an industry leader in high performance sports optics for 65 years, has introduced the first red dot sight in its Elite Tactical line. The new Elite Tactical CQTS (Close Quarters Tactical Sight) is a fixed power illuminated red dot system designed for quick target acquisition and rapid deployment on any firearm equipped with a Picatinny rail or Weaver-style base. Read moreA unique modular centerfire rifle from Blaser is demonstrated by Gilbert Russell. Sure wish all guns were made like this but BlaserUSA has the market.
More information here: http://www.blaser-usa.com/index.php?id=190&L=1