By Glen Wunderlich
Outdoor Columnist
Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

When I stepped outside last week and heard the eerie calls of coyotes, little did they know they weren’t only signaling their brethren, but me, too. Those early-evening, high-pitched yelps and barks might have communicated a fresh kill to the nearby pack; to me, they were flaunting their very existence in my territory.

Which of us arrived in the neighborhood first is a moot point. Whether humans have encroached on varmint homeland or vice versa matters not. No doubt animal rightists have helped with the expansion of coyotes and foxes into areas of the country, as never before, through their use of campaigns against fur. So be it; that’s today’s reality. But, that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

Let nature take its course; it’ll all balance out, they claim. Fine. But, as a human animal, I am part of nature, too, and with God-given abilities, I have the capacity to be a factor in the natural selection process.

That power would manifest itself in a manner the varmints would least suspect it. My friend, Joe, was on his way from the big city for a little “balancing act.” First we purchased fur takers licenses to go along with our small game tags, just in case foxes fell for our clever ruse. Joe would be the rifleman and I would manage calling operations. As our boots noisily crunched the snow on the way to our blind, we discussed strategy. Joe would wait for any target to become motionless. There’d be no running shots, unless our prey had busted us and were running away.

To minimize noise, we split up, and I snuck to a position some 100 yards upwind of our deer-converted, varmint blind. While Joe was setting set up his Ruger .300 Winchester magnum in the shack, I set out a Flambeau Lone Howler coyote decoy with a battery-powered motion rabbit at its feet,. Flambeau’s coyote copy is a life-like, full-bodied replica complete with an imitation fur tail and collapsible legs. It can be positioned in 3 ways: lying, sitting, or standing. The wire tail can be adjusted for the desired effect, too.

It has worked for us in the past and we were confident our first set this season would trick the local killers this time out, too.
After the wireless Fox Pro game caller was hung from the branch of a nearby white pine some 90 yards from our ambush position, I joined Joe in the shack.

We sat. We chatted. We waited.

After things settled down for a while, I punched up a rabbit distress cry on the caller and ran it for about a minute and then stopped. At the far corner of the field two forms appeared – red foxes!

Joe dialed in one of the stationary predators and launched a rocket-like, 110- grain missile. At 146 yards, in less than .14 of a second after the muzzle blast, fox number one was down. Fox number two escaped into the woods, but out of nowhere, another one appeared in front of us. Surprised, Joe wasn’t able to gather himself until it was doing the fox trot at a 90-degree angle from us. Bullet number two traveling at 2454 miles-per-hour won the race at 111 yards and the pair of foxes had been officially outfoxed.

The more I hunt, the more I appreciate good decoying techniques. The Lone Howler decoy far downwind, permits undetected hunter movement, which is vital to the pretense. Additionally, when the predators approach, the realistic nature of the deception tends to cause them to ignore potential danger. They proceed on a beeline to the fast- food foolery.

Varmint season had begun with a bang – two, in fact. And, the local population of turkeys, pheasant, and rabbits will be better for it.

This week, the NRA and countless Americans offered prayers and condolences for those killed and wounded during the senseless assassination attempt on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.).

Yet while those of us who defend the Second Amendment were respecting the heartache of the people of Tucson and waiting to learn the full facts of the case, anti-gun activists were renewing their push for more gun control laws. (“In the wake of these kind of incidents, the trick is to move quickly,” the Violence Policy Center’s Kristen Rand told MSNBC.)

Rand and other gun ban advocates were quick to push several schemes.

The most widely publicized is the proposal by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) to re-impose the 1994 ban on new manufacture of ammunition magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition, and to criminalize the transfer of existing magazines between law-abiding gun owners. These magazines are standard equipment for self-defense handguns and other firearms owned by tens of millions of Americans. Law-abiding private citizens choose them for many reasons, including the same reason police officers do: to improve their odds in defensive situations.

Also, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) proposed to ban possession of firearms within 1,000 feet of the President, Vice President, Members of Congress or federal judges. Obviously, this proposal would be ignored by anyone who intends to harm a government official. But it would impose extraordinary burdens on honest gun owners, creating potentially hundreds of square miles of roving “gun free” areas throughout the United States.

There’s no question that the debate over gun control will continue after the Tucson attack. Please rest assured that the NRA will, as always, stand front and center in defense of the rights of gun owners. And, as always, watch your NRA-ILA alerts for the latest news and calls to action on these critical issues.

Nearly one-quarter of the northern elk herd at Yellowstone National Park is missing, according to the annual winter count, but biologists aren’t sure if there’s been a stunning decline in the herd or if other factors have skewed the tally.

During an aerial survey in late December biologists counted 4,635 elk, a 24 percent decline from the 6,070 animals counted a year earlier. While the one-year decline seems dramatic, Doug Smith, Yellowstone’s wolf project leader, said a number of factors lead him to question “how good this count is.”

Click on the title for the rest of the story…

New Berlin, Wis. -Sportsman Channel, the leader in outdoor TV for the American Sportsman, has announced fan-favorite and top-rated show, On Your Own Adventures, is moving to Sportsman Channel starting in July, 2011 with Season Three of the benchmark of “do it yourself” hunts. Led by host, Randy Newberg, avid sportsman and conservationist, On Your Own Adventures, takes the American hunting experience as it occurs for 90 percent of hunters and brings it to TV. Produced by Warm Springs Productions, On Your Own Adventures will air during Sportsman Channel’s “Monday Night Traditions” at 10:30 pm ET starting this summer.

“On Your Own Adventures is another example of the premiere programming that makes Sportsman Channel the ultimate television destination for the American Sportsman,” said Gavin Harvey, Sportsman Channel’s CEO. “Randy Newberg broke the mold in creating a show that is all shot on public lands, a reality for most of our viewers during their hunting seasons. We both believe hunting is who we are and how we live and On Your Own Adventures brings that same level of hard-core reality hunting to the viewers.”

Season Three shows all big-game hunting with six elk hunts, an Alaska bear hunt, antelope, whitetails, and mule deer. Of the 13 new episodes, four archery episodes result in four Pope and Young animals taken, all self-guided, on public land. In one episode, Newberg shows viewers how they can go to Alaska and hunt black bear for less than $2,000.

“It is hard to describe my level of excitement to have On Your Own Adventures be part of the Sportsman Channel,” said host and producer, Newberg. “Sportsman Channel sought out On Your Own Adventures for the programming we bring, the audience we deliver, and the quality of our production. We embraced Sportsman Channel for the quality of their organization and for the level of serious hunters that is the Sportsman Channel viewer.”

Newberg says this season viewers will learn how any hunter can get an elk tag and have a great hunt. “We head to Colorado and chase elk on an Over-The-Counter elk tag that any person can buy and have a public land hunt on the 23 million acres of public land found in Colorado.”

“We use new tools, old tricks, and hard work to take many great animals with rifle, bow, muzzloader – all on public land, and all On Your Own,” stated Newberg.

Newberg posts his hunts as they happen, live, on his website. The Hunt Talk forums at www.OnYourOwnAdventures.com, are filled with some of the greatest stories and pictures of America’s most hard-core western hunters. These are hunters who are living the On Your Own life, and sharing information and ideas to help others wanting to learn more about On Your Own hunting

Randy Newberg lives in Bozeman, Montana, where he and his family have spent the last twenty years chasing western game on the public lands of the Northern Rockies. Originally from northern Minnesota,

Randy comes from a family and culture of serious hunters – On Your Own Hunters who understand that the importance of hunting is the hunt itself. Time in the field with family and friends, living the hunting lifestyle, and dedicating himself to conservation efforts is what Randy’s life is all about – a lifestyle he brings to On Your Own Adventures.

Scientists from The Nature Conservancy and the University of Notre Dame say their DNA tests have been peer reviewed and confirm that Asian carp fish have broken through Illinois’ electric barriers and may already have moved into Lake Michigan. The testing procedure had been questioned in legal proceedings. Meanwhile, studies and court cases have been initiated to determine whether locks connecting Chicago waterways with Lake Michigan should be closed permanently to protect native species.

GW: The predictable backlash from gun grabbers has begun. Too bad they are outnumbered in the U.S. House where laws originate. There’s no stomach for it; elections have consequences…

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is rejecting gun-banning legislation offered by the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee in response to last weekend’s shootings of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and 19 others in Arizona.

Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) announced plans Tuesday to introduce legislation prohibiting people from carrying guns within 1,000 feet of members of Congress.

GW: Why not just make the 1000 feet a 1000 miles? That’d be a lot safer, huh?

Wildlife scientists at the National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory in Ashland, Oregon, have concluded through preliminary testing the cranes found dead near Albany, Georgia, on Dec. 30, 2010, sustained injuries consistent with gunshot wounds.

The cranes were shot sometime before Dec. 30, 2010. They were discovered and reported by hunters. This was the crane’s first migration. They were banded and equipped with transmitters and were not part of the ultralight aircraft-led migration effort. Their identities were confirmed by the recovery of their bands. The three cranes, 20-10, 24-10, and 28-10, were part of a group of five 2010 Direct Autumn Release (DAR) cranes. According to Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership trackers, they had last been tracked in Hamilton County, Tennessee, where they roosted on December 10, 2010, with cranes 6-05, 6-09, and 38-09.

The cranes are part of the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership effort to reintroduce whooping cranes into the eastern United States. There are about 570 whooping cranes left in the world, 400 in the wild. About 100 cranes are in the eastern migratory population.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agents are leading a joint investigation with Georgia Department of Natural Resources conservation rangers.

Numerous organizations are contributing funds for the reward. They include: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Humane Society of the United States along with the Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust, the Georgia Ornithological Society, the International Crane Foundation, Operation Migration, the St. Marks Refuge Association, along with the St. Marks Photo Club, and the Georgia Conservancy. The reward of up to $12,500 will be provided to the person or people who provide information leading to an arrest and successful prosecution of the perpetrator(s).

In addition to the Endangered Species Act, whooping cranes are protected by state laws and the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Any information concerning the deaths of these cranes should be provided to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent Terry Hasting at 404-763-7959 and/or Georgia Department of Natural Resources 24hr. TIP Hotline at 1-800-241-4113.

For more information about the reintroduction effort, visit http://www.bringbackthecranes.org.

Background:
Of the 10 whooping cranes led south by ultralights, five have already arrived at their wintering location at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, Florida, and five are still on the migration in north Florida, two stopovers away from their final destination, Chassahowitzka National Wildlife Refuge.

Biologists from the International Crane Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reared 11 other whooping cranes at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge released in the company of older cranes from whom the young birds learn the migration route. They were released on Oct. 25. One was killed on Oct. 30, by a predator at Necedah National Wildlife Refuge. This is the sixth year the partnership has used this Direct Autumn Release method. These cranes generally follow other older whooping cranes, and sometime sandhill cranes, during the fall migration to find suitable wintering habitat.

The ultralight-led and Direct Autumn Release chicks are this year joining two wild-hatched chicks in the 2010 cohort.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect and enhance fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. For more information on our work and the people who make it happen, visit http://www.fws.gov and here in the Southeast, visit http://www.fws.gov/southeast .
Contact:
USFWS: Tom MacKenzie, tom_mackenzie@fws.gov Mobile:(678) 296-6400
Georgia DNR: Rick Lavender, rick.lavender@dnr.state.ga.us (770) 918-6787

Chantilly, VA, – Aimpoint, the originator and worldwide leader in electronic red dot sighting technology, has announced the launch of a brand new website. The new Aimpoint.com offers users more overall features, more functionality and more information than ever before including a custom website for the U.S. market. This IP address function will allow website visitors to go directly to the U.S. home page where they will have access to information specifically for the Aimpoint U.S. market.

The new website provides users with the necessary tools to make their selection when purchasing an Aimpoint red dot sight. Product information broken out by market segment (hunting, sport shooting, law enforcement and military) and the product comparison guide will allow Aimpoint buyers to narrow their options by application and features. While making their purchasing decision, users will also be able to find their dealer of choice through the dealer locator and where to buy functions.

In addition to the many educational components of the website, visitors will also have access to Aimpoint downloads such as movies, screen savers and wallpaper. Aimpoint.com invites users to join their affinity and loyalty program, Aimpoint e-Club, where they will receive special benefits, newsletters and updates. Aimpoint owners may also register their sight, which provides them with confirmation of ownership and new product updates.

Contact:
Kristi Elrod
(703)263-9795 ext 226

ADELPHIA, NJ – Lightfield Ammunition Corporation – an industry leader in innovative, high-performance saboted slugs for hunters, as well as specialized, less-lethal rounds for law enforcement — has announced the hiring of Brian E. Smith as the company’s new, National Director of Marketing.

Smith, co-founder and CEO of Indiana-based Raghorn, Inc. – parent company to Indiana Outdoor News Magazine and Adventure Media Productions — brings over 17 years of communications, sales and marketing experience in the outdoors and hunting industries to his new position with Lightfield. He will focus on expanding Lightfield’s brand-awareness and market share.

A lifelong hunter, Smith has worked with senior Lightfield personnel for the past few years on a variety of special projects – including the groundbreaking and highly successful Lightfield Wild Adventures television series – and knows there are no substitutes for quality, design and performance in the world of saboted shotgun ammunition. “I come from a slug-gun state”, says Smith, who has hunted around the world with the Lightfield Hybred and I.P.S. Commander slugs. “I can’t think of another line of products – from any industry – that would give me any more confidence or pride to use personally or, ultimately, to represent to the public”, he continues.

“We are extremely pleased to welcome Brian to this critical position at our company”, says Lightfield CEO, Peter Saker, who expects Smith to be a significant asset in keeping Lightfield slugs both on the minds and in the firearms of consumers. “We believe his unique combination of experience, expertise and media connections will mesh favorably with the Lightfield brand”, Saker continues. “And, of course, the fact that Brian is an avid slug gun hunter with a national following through his own media outlets is a significant bonus”.

Lightfield Ammunition Corporation was founded in 1982 and specializes in manufacturing the hardest hitting, most accurate saboted slugs available today. The extensive Lightfield product line utilizes two distinctly innovative and proprietary designs to produce superior accuracy at extended ranges for today’s hunters. For more information, visit www.lightfieldslugs.com, or visit them at Booth 2103 at the SHOT show in Las Vegas, NV, January 18-21.
Contact:
Josh Lantz (219) 728-8996 or josh@sandcreek-media.com

Longmeadow, MA – Honored American Veterans Afield (HAVA) announces a unique website offer for two (2) documentaries about the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. The award winning This Is War-Memories of Iraq and new release Shepherds of Helmand both feature soldiers who fought there with actual front-line photography and video documenting their experiences. Celebrated film director Gary Mortensen tells the stories of these conflicts in the soldier’s own words, with Donald Trump Jr. narrating the Shepherds of Helmand film. Shepherds also features the Zac Brown Band who recently won a Grammy Award for best new artist and CMT Country Music Artist of the Year Award (with an original score by Stuart Currie). Powerful and hard hitting, both of these 90 minute films put these wars in a context that the evening news simply cannot capture. The films are exclusively offered on the HAVA web site: www.honoredveterans.org.

The new release, Shepherds of Helmand tells the very personal story of 17 noble American soldiers who volunteered to train the Afghan army to resist the Taliban, but wound up fighting off incessant attacks by a determined enemy committed to killing Americans and further enslaving the Afghan people. The film takes the viewer to the front lines through the soldier’s emotional words and via actual combat footage shot by American soldiers and captured from Taliban forces.

The award winning This Is War-Memories of Iraq is the story of the Iraq conflict through the words of nine Oregon National Guard soldiers who survived some of the war’s heaviest fighting in Fallujah, Najaf and the desolate IED-infested roads outside Baghdad. Joking to keep their spirits high, and griping about their commander’s decisions, the story is distinctly American as they patrol dangerous streets and await the enemy attacks that are inevitable.

“These combat films show the courage of the American soldier and the human toll of the conflicts that we fight to preserve freedom,” said Tom Taylor, HAVA Chairman. “The HAVA mission is to create awareness of these human costs and to help returning veterans rebuild the lives that have been interrupted by their volunteer service. Offering these films to the public is a good way to pursue our mission and to help the public understand the enormous price that these American Heroes pay to protect our way of life. Each has suffered tremendous physical and emotional damage, and each deserves our full support.”

Each film is offered at $24.95 including shipping and handling, with a package of both DVD’s available at $39.95 on the HAVA site www.honoredveterans.org. All proceeds go directly to HAVA to facilitate their mission to get disabled veterans in the field to aid in their healing process.

About HAVA:
HAVA is a 501(c)3 organization formed by companies in the shooting and outdoor industry with the purpose of raising awareness and further assisting disabled veterans with their healing process through guided hunts, shooting sports, and other active outdoor sports activities. The sustaining sponsor companies are Smith & Wesson, Yamaha, Crimson Trace, Leupold, Surefire, Mossberg, Hornady, FMG Publications and NRA. There are many other contributing companies. Those who would like to learn more and contribute to the HAVA mission can do so at www.honoredveterans.org.