Category: Hunting

Summit Stands Releases “Tim Crawford’s Story” – A Cautionary Tale About Treestand Safety

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Summit Stands today released a short film about Tim Crawford, an Alabama hunter who, in 2008, fell 25 feet from a treestand as a result of not using proper safety equipment. Crawford’s story serves as a cautionary tale as America’s hunters head back to the woods this month. September also happens to be Treestand Safety Awareness Month.

“At Summit, safety has always been our number-one priority,” said Martin Hill, director of marketing at PRADCO Outdoor Brands, Summit’s parent company. “With hunting seasons opening across the country, we wanted to take this opportunity to tell Tim’s powerful story with the hope that it might resonate with hunters as they climb back into their stands this month.”

After his fall, Crawford lay paralyzed at the base of his tree for eight hours before help arrived. He was told he’d never walk again. He defied the odds, however, and has regained full mobility, but it’s not lost on him just how fortunate he is. He wants as many people as possible to hear his story so that it might save even more lives. Read more

Hunting

Whackos Against Hunters/Conservationists

The following Op-Ed come from Safari Club International.

Hunters conserve and save wildlife when no one else will or can.

Want to save wildlife in wild places? Convince misguided would-be “saviors” that they need to throttle back, cease making death threats and doing other terrorist things.

In just the past few days there has been a spate of Internet and social media attacks on hunters for their choices to participate in legal hunting at various places around the globe.

The attacks come in two basic forms: Ridicule and death threats. Differences of opinion are healthy. Death threats are both sick and illegal.

Late last week, SCI Member Brittany Longoria was attacked over a photo of her holding a leopard she hunted legally in Africa. Those who attacked her made no note that through her hunting and conservation-related activities, she has been personally responsible for saving more wildlife than any of the anti-hunters we know. Antis never let the truth get in the way of the lies they like to spew out to an unassuming public.

“This is not about me hunting an individual leopard,” Brittany said. “This is about hunting and the methods of international wildlife conservation. If they come for me as a hunter, they’re going to come for you as a hunter, so we all need to stand together and united and speak from our place of truth and heart on why we hunt.”

Then over the weekend, Fox News reported that former professional hockey player Tim Brent was ridiculed and received death threats after he posted pictures of himself posing with a bear he hunted in the Yukon, Canada. Read more

Animal Rights, Hunting

Michigan: public meetings on proposed deer antler point restrictions for Thumb-area counties

The Thumb Hunters for APRs organization will host two public meetings to explain and answer questions about its proposal for new deer antler point restrictions (APRs) for Huron, Lapeer, Sanilac, St. Clair and Tuscola counties.

The meetings will take place:

The proposal seeks to require that all antlered deer harvested in those five counties have at least four antler points on one side. The restriction will be considered for implementation starting with the 2019 deer season. Antlerless deer regulations within the proposed area would continue to be determined by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

Under guidelines adopted by the Natural Resources Commission, mandatory regulations proposed by sponsoring organizations will be implemented only when a clear majority of 66 percent support among hunters in the proposed area is documented. Support will be determined by a DNR survey mailed to a random sample of hunters who indicated on the 2017 DNR deer harvest survey that they hunted deer in one of the five counties. Read more

Hunting

Tree Stand Safety Tips for Hunters

MONTPELIER, Vt. – Tree stands get hunters out of sight and smell of wary deer, but they can also get hunters into trouble. Here are some tips from the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department to help stay safe and get the most out of your tree stand hunting experience:

  • Choose a live, straight tree.
  • Buy smart. Only use stands certified by the Treestand Manufacturers Association (TMA).
  • Inspect them each time you use them.
  • Know the rules. On state lands, it is illegal to place nails or other hardware into trees or to build permanent structures. On private lands, you must have landowner permission to erect a tree stand, cut or remove trees or other plants, or to cut limbs. All stands, including ground blinds, must be marked with the owner’s name and address.
  • Always wear a full-body safety harness, even for climbing. Most falls occur going up and down the tree and getting in and out of the stand.
  • Don’t go too high. The higher you go, the vital zone on a deer decreases, while the likelihood of a serious injury increases.
  • Never carry firearms or bows up and down trees. Always use a haul line to raise and lower all gear. Make sure your firearm is unloaded.
  • Familiarize yourself with your gear before you go. The morning of opening day is a poor time to put your safety belt on for the first time.
  • Be careful with long-term placement. Exposure can damage straps, ropes and attachment cords. Also, the stand’s stability can be compromised over time, as the tree grows.

Read more

Hunting

Small Game Opener in the Squirrel Woods

By Glen Wunderlich

The wait is over.  Hunting season has arrived and brings with it renewed anticipation of wild game encounters to come.  For some, it means loading up a dog or two and heading to the north woods for upland game.  Busting the brush for woodcock, before they depart along their migration routes, or bumping a few thunder chickens are time-honored traditions that signal the unofficial start of the season.  Some even work a bit of stream trout fishing into the mix before September’s final day halts the action.  For me, it’s bushytails in the tall mast trees.

Unlike other game that can only be found in the upper stretches of Michigan, squirrels are everywhere.  This under-utilized renewable resource can be a challenge to bag and offers some fine table fare, as long as the cook understands that preparing them cannot be rushed – much like the pursuit of them in the big woods.  Oh, I realize they can be startled to flee by strolling along a trail and blasted from their perches with shotguns, but I gave up on that method decades ago.  Since then, I’ve learned a few tricks and have completely avoided the nuisance of biting down on hardened scattergun pellets, which is about as nutritional and pleasant as fish bones. 

One experiment involved an untrained beagle-dachshund mix, a squirrel whistle, and a long length of string.  The plan was to coax a bushytail into the open by responding to the alarm whistle of my mouth-blown call and some impromptu commotion.  The little dog, which was relatively well-mannered, stayed at my side, while I tied the string to a bush.  We’d then sneak off to hide some 30 yards away and just sit quietly.  After a good while, my plan was to yank furiously on the string, blow the whistle, and drop the first inquisitive squirrel that would show itself. 

I wasn’t sure how the little dog was to fit in, but I was about to find out; it was time for the ruse.  I sounded the alarm, repeatedly pulled on the cord and the bush came to life.  But, so did my four-legged accomplice, as he scurried to that bush in full attack mode!  Lesson learned.  Although squirrels love nuts, acting like one can give them the last laugh.

Since then, the pursuit of squirrels has been a more solitary activity and is more of an opportunity to be one with nature and to enjoy the solitude of the forest.  While a shotgun can utterly disturb the peace, the diminutive .22 rimfire makes no more sound than a breaking twig – that is, if sub-sonic ammo is used.

I’ve become obsessed with accuracy over the years and I don’t mind the extra expense of quality rimfire ammo.  Lapua Center X works flawlessly and its quality is more than adequate to satisfy my passion for perfection – a catch phrase of the Lapua brand.  The sub-sonic nature of the cartridge allows a shooter to remain hidden after a shot and to minimize disturbance to the immediate area.  In fact, I’ve taken numerous squirrels from a single sitting position and even added a fawn-killing coyote to a morning’s take after doing so.  Of course, a good rifle with clear optics doesn’t hurt, either.

Red squirrels taken with a Ruger 10/22 topped with a Nikon scope

Maybe the excitement’s about just getting out there for another season of surprises; I really don’t know.  But, what I do know is that feeling has returned to me again.

Hunting , ,

U.S. House Passes Pittman-Robertson Fund Modernization Bill

September 12, 2018 (Washington, DC) –  In a win for the sportsmen’s conservation community, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2591, the Modernizing the Pittman-Robertson Fund for Tomorrow’s Needs Act of 2017, on a voice vote.

Introduced by Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) Vice-Chair Congressman Austin Scott (GA), along with fellow CSC leadership, Congressmen Jeff Duncan (SC), Gene Green (TX), and Marc Veasey (TX), advancing this important legislation has been a priority for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) and CSC leadership during this Congress.
This bill would increase flexibility for state wildlife agencies by allowing the use of Pittman-Robertson (P-R) funds for the recruitment of hunters and recreational shooters. This added flexibility is critical to ensuring the long-term viability of revenue sources that fund state-based fish and wildlife conservation across the country.
Without establishing new taxes or fees, H.R. 2591 would expand the Multistate Conservation Grant Program by providing an additional $5 million annually from archery-related excise taxes. This legislation would also place a cap on the amount of funds that can be spent on hunter and recreational shooter recruitment to ensure wildlife conservation remains the primary focus of P-R funds.
“Recruitment and retention of new hunters means more dollars in the Pittman-Robertson Fund, which directly benefits state-based conservation efforts across the United States,” said CSF President Jeff Crane. “CSF will continue to work closely with CSC leadership in order to bring this important legislation to the President’s desk.”

Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

Protect Your Investment Dependable protection for wherever your next hunt takes you

Plano offers a number of excellent crossbow storage and transport solutions, including the versatile BowMax® Crossbow Case, the innovative Manta® Crossbow Case, and the impressive-looking SPIRE™ Crossbow Case.

Crossbows are accurate, powerful and a lot of fun. However, they can be awkward when it comes time to store or transport them. Plano offers a number of excellent crossbow storage and transport solutions, including the versatile BowMax® Crossbow Case, the innovative Manta® Crossbow Case, and the impressive-looking SPIRE™ Crossbow Case. Read more

Hunting

Michigan: free junior deer hunting licenses available at Meijer Friday/Saturday

Young hunters once again will have the opportunity to get a free deer hunting license at all Meijer stores in Michigan Friday and Saturday, Sept. 14-15.

Youths must be accompanied by an adult, and can receive the free junior deer hunting license coupon in stores. Locate a Michigan Meijer store.

The deal is valid for a single junior deer hunting license, a $20 value, or mentored youth hunting license. Those who hunt in Michigan also must purchase a base license, which costs $6 for youth, ages 10-16. The base license allows hunters to hunt small game and purchase additional hunting licenses. The mentored youth hunting license, valid only for hunters under the age of 10, includes a base license and does not require separate purchase of the base license. Read more

Hunting

Ethical Values Matter

By Glen Wunderlich

The notion of hunting ethics may conjure up different meanings among hunters and non-hunters alike, and with hunting season beginning in earnest this month, sharing some thoughts without getting too deep in the weeds seems worthwhile.  In a nutshell maybe it’s as simple as hunting in a manner in which hunters can be proud beyond following regulations, although that’s a good place to start.

Hunters make up a very small percentage of adults in the United States – only about 5 percent.  Although support for hunting remains high among the population, it behooves all of us to reflect upon the successful American model that has returned so many wild animals to today’s sustainable use.

Hunters pay for the privilege to manage game animals, and without them, we’d all have to find the means to control wildlife in decreasing available land.  Paying sharpshooters has its price.  And, any hands-off approach, which would allow Mother Nature to take its course, would mean needless suffering and starvation among wildlife species.  As with any management strategy, there’s always room for improvement, so here goes.

Take the time to become thoroughly familiar with archery equipment or firearms.  The consequences for not doing so will translate into more hunting accidents and wounded game – neither of which puts hunting in a good light.  Familiarity brings with it the single-shot mentality and the confidence to not only take good shots, but the patience to wait for them.  It may be legal to take marginal shots at game, but ethical hunters know their limitations and hunt within them.  Image matters.

Sharing your successes with fellow hunters can be a good thing; doing so may educate and entertain.  On the other hand, rubbing it in the noses of the general public may be viewed as offensive.  Heck, even spiking a football after a touchdown is no longer acceptable behavior and will draw more than a penalty; it draws the ire of those not on your side or even those somewhat ambivalent.  Learn to take tasteful photos that are to be shared.  Plus, while transporting game, it’s not necessary to display your prize to the world.  Discretion has its rewards.

Slobs are everywhere and probably always will be.  We can be better representatives of the hunting community by cleaning up after ourselves.  A careful inspection of camp ground sites with an eye for litter can go a long way toward a cleaner image.  A good scout is taught to leave the land cleaner than it was when found and wise hunters would do well to follow this advice.  Respecting the land is ethical.

The ethics of hunting carries with it personal preference relative to equipment used, but it’s more of in respect for the game animals being pursued, the environment, land owners, and yes, non-hunters.  What we leave behind – be it physical or intangible – becomes our legacy.

“A peculiar virtue in wildlife ethics is that the hunter ordinarily has no gallery to applaud or disapprove of his conduct.  Whatever his acts, they are dictated by his own conscience, rather than a mob of onlookers.  It is difficult to exaggerate this fact”…Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

Hunting

Undetectable Silent CRUSH™ 24 Lightsout™

Grand Prairie, TX – To capture a great image, a digital scouting camera needs to combine the best lens, sensor, shutter, flash and other components for the conditions. Unfortunately, those conditions can range from full sunlight to pitch-black darkness, so making all that technology come together in a single camera is extremely challenging.

Released last year, Wildgame Innovations’ Silent CRUSH™ 20 Lightsout™ digital scouting camera proved to the world that a single camera can deliver extreme-quality still images and videos in any lighting conditions, while remaining totally undetected by game. They did it by combining separate onboard cameras – one optimized for daytime conditions and another for nighttime use – with Silent Lens System Technology™ and an invisible Lightsout™ flash. Best of all, Wildgame Innovations accomplished this industry-first while remaining true to their mission of providing innovative technology at affordable prices; the Silent CRUSH™ 20 Lightsout™ was offered to hunters at an MSRP of just $159.99. Read more

Hunting
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