Category: Hunting

Natural Resources Commission Okays Year-Round Coyote Hunting

The Natural Resources Commission unanimously approved an amendment to the Wildlife Conservation Order to allow year-round coyote hunting and allowing the use of #3 and #4 buckshot at night. Both were MUCC resolutions sponsored by the Michigan Trappers and Predator Callers Association. Special recognition is due to MTPCA president Dale Hendershot and past president John Caretti, who have testified at the NRC on behalf of their organization urging consideration and adoption of these provisions for years. MUCC also testified in support of the provisions.

The new coyote regulations expand daytime coyote hunting year round, nighttime coyote hunting with an artificial light year round, and includes the use of #3 and #4 buckshot. However, it’s important to note that the quiet period restricting the use of hounds to hunt coyotes between April 16 and July 7 is maintained, and the order did not affect coyote trapping regulations.

In recent results from the Michigan Predator-Prey Study in the Upper Peninsula, coyotes had more impact on deer than other predator species in the study area, accounting for 22% of the identifiable deer kills in the study area. However, that is one factor of many factors, including habitat, that affect deer populations. The expanded regulations aren’t expected, nor designed, to be a solution to the coyote problem or deer numbers on their own. It’s simply another tool in the toolbox that hunters can use to more effectively manage coyotes in their local areas.

Still, this is a significant expansion of hunting opportunity. The Humane Society of the United States fought against these changes, testifying at multiple NRC meetings against them and using many of the same misleading and outright untrue arguments that they use in every attack on expanded hunting opportunities, from wolves to urban and suburban deer. But sound science won the day; even they couldn’t argue that this change will negatively impact the hunted species.

And it’s always a good thing when sound science beats HSUS.

Hunting

Michigan’s Turkey Seasons Start Monday

Spring turkey season in Michigan opens Monday, April 18!  If you haven’t purchased a license yet, you still have a chance to hunt one of the many seasons in both April and May – check out the list of available licenses. Spring turkey hunting licenses are $15 and available anywhere DNR licenses are sold or online at E-License.

Don’t forget, anyone can hunt turkeys in Michigan. You can buy a Hunt 234 license over the counter at any time from now through the end of the season, which gives you 30 days of chasing turkeys in May.

Every resident and non-resident must purchase an annual base license before purchasing additional hunting licenses.

The Spring Turkey Digest has hunt units and seasons dates. For frequently asked questions, watch our 2016 spring turkey hunting regulations video. If you need further assistance, call 517-284-WILD (9453).

Hunting

Maine Supreme Court Sides with Sportsmen

After nearly a year and a half of fighting in court, and more than $100,000 spent, sportsmen in Maine were victorious today against a lawsuit brought by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Today’s victory was the latest in a long line of victories by the Maine Wildlife Conservation Council and the Sportsmen’s Alliance in this case.

In early 2015, Maine Superior Court Justice Joyce Wheeler sided with sportsmen and dismissed a lawsuit aimed at silencing Maine’s wildlife professionals on grounds that it was moot. Today’s Supreme Judicial Court ruling upheld that decision, effectively ending the issue. Read more

Animal Rights, Hunting, Wildlife

New Nightstick Headlamps


3 new AAA headlamps add perfect balance to existing models by combining performance with affordable pricingBayco Products has announced the introduction of 3 new Nightstick all-LED multi-function headlamps with Nightstick models NSP-4603B, NSP-4605B, and NSP-4606B. Each engineered polymer headlamp features a multiple-position tilt head design and single top-mounted switch for ease of operation. All three headlamps are IP-X7 rated waterproof, are drop-rated at 2 meters and are now available starting under $20 USD globally starting this month through Bayco Products expansive network of distributors. Read more
Fishing, General, Hunting

DSC Commends IUCN Report on Benefits of Trophy Hunting


DALLAS – DSC applauds the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on a report that educates European decision makers and the public on the benefits of trophy hunting.An IUCN briefing published this month discusses in great detail how legal, well-regulated trophy hunting can and does generate critically needed incentives and revenue in order for government, private and community landowners to maintain and restore wildlife as a land use and to carry out conservation actions, including much-needed anti-poaching interventions.

Recently, a few cases of poorly regulated and poorly conducted hunts have brought about increased concern for trophy hunting. Confusion and misinformation have led to knee-jerk reactions and, in some cases, blanket bans on hunting and transportation of hunting trophies. Read more

Hunting

Online Video: Tips for Hunting and Habitat Management


Tips and strategies for better deer and turkey hunting were shared at the recent GrowingDeer Spring Field Day. Their latest video captures highlights from the event and is loaded with information! They cover strategies for food plots, tree plots, bow hunting setups, habitat management practices and more. Plus, see the latest insider information on ammunition, broadheads, filming accessories and game calls. Click here to watch this online video today! Read more
Hunting

Turkey History and Becoming Invisible on the Hunt

By Glen Wunderlich

As American settlers cleared forests along their westward routes, they found wild turkeys in abundant numbers. However, removing the ground-dwelling birds’ natural habitat for shelter and warmth, and taking turkeys for food year-round, colonists left only birds that were inaccessible, and just about wiped them out.

In an effort to relocate turkeys, early archaic trapping methods were less than effective. However, in the early 1950s large cannon nets were employed successfully until even more modern rocket-propelled nets were developed in the 1960s. As good as this method was, some people thought it would be even better to pen-raise turkeys and turn them loose in the wild. This expensive failed experiment set back the restoration project some 20 years, because pen-raised birds couldn’t fend for themselves in the wild.

The transplant process carried on, and with the support of private interests and governmental agencies, the turkey has become a real success story across the United States. Michigan’s wild turkey hunters took only 50 birds in the year 1969. My, how times have changed. For the past 16 years, Michigan turkey hunters have bagged close to 40,000 turkeys annually with the totals peaking in year 2008.

Today, all states but Alaska have huntable numbers with millions of birds reestablished and they now inhabit more territory than any other game bird in North America.

Hunting them today has never been easier. Not only are there plenty of birds to go around, but hunting tactics are no longer such a mystery with the advent of hunting shows and online how-to videos and DVDs. In addition, dedicated turkey guns and high-tech ammunition have evolved, as well.

But, the single-most productive advancement has to be the proliferation of portable blinds.

Browning Powerhouse Blind

Browning Powerhouse Blind

To introduce a new hunter – especially a youngster – to hunting, incorporating the use of a pop-up shelter cannot be beat. For whatever reason, turkeys pay no attention to a portable shelter – even one that’s been set up minutes before a bird approaches.

By purchasing a blind large enough for two people and tall enough to stand up, fidgety youngsters can fidget about and a hunter can position himself for an opportunity with minimal chance for being detected by a wily gobbler. And, if the weather turns nasty, those inside the shelter can laugh at Mother Nature’s attempt to spoil an adventure.

Yet another advantage of a portable blind is that hunters can record hunts with a video camera that can be kept safe from the elements.

Hunting turkeys doesn’t take a lot of expensive, single-purpose gear, either. Decoys can be elaborate – and costly – but fancy is not necessary. I’ve used the same inexpensive rubber hen decoy for years; if, and when, a gobbler figures it out, he’s already enroute to my dinner table.

Hunting

Sportsmen’s Community Opposes Proposal to Restrict Scientific Fish and Wildlife Management in Alaska

GW:  Centralized government’s big nose and the push for more control over its subjects.  Let the individual states manage their own affairs and stick to more important matters such as sidling up to Cuba or getting Hillary off the hook.

In recent weeks, a wide array of key entities, including the state and national sportsmen’s community and members of Alaska’s Congressional Delegation, have highlighted concerns with proposed rules from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) that would severely restrict the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s (ADFG) ability to carry out traditional, effective wildlife management techniques on National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) lands in Alaska. The FWS rule docket, titled “Non-Subsistence Take of Wildlife, and Public Participation and Closure Procedures, on National Wildlife Refuges in Alaska (proposed rule),” would severely inhibit ADFG’s ability to engage in predator management practices that have historically been used to sustain populations of key big game species critical to subsistence users in Alaska.

Among the chief concerns expressed by the aforementioned parties are that the proposed FWS rules:

  • Run counter to Congressional direction on fish and wildlife management authority given to FWS in both the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) and the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 (NWRSIA);
  • Abridge wildlife management primacy given to the state of Alaska in both the Alaska Constitution and the federal Alaska Statehood Act;
  • Constitute an arbitrary assertion that managing for “natural” diversity takes precedence over all other management considerations, despite the fact that no scientific justification for the rules was ever provided or demonstrated by FWS, and that humans are considered by ANILCA to be a natural part of the environment;
  • Did not take into any real consideration feedback and concerns expressed by ADFG on the negative consequences that the proposed rules would have for scientific fish and wildlife management efforts in the state;
  • Would almost certainly have a negative impact on populations of key big game species in Alaska, which constitute a critical component of the diet of the many subsistence-based users that reside in the state;
  • If passed, would represent a dangerous precedent for federal overreach into the fish and wildlife management duties that have traditionally been carried out by state fish and wildlife agencies, the primary managers of fish and wildlife resources in the United States; and
  • Run directly counter to the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation, the unique and hugely successful ethic that has guided fish and wildlife management in the United States for over a century by relying on science-based management efforts carried out by trained professionals. Read more
Fishing, Hunting, Wildlife

Silent, Invisible and Scentless in a Gamekeeper Deluxe Blind


Enclosed hunting blinds have always done a great job of masking you, your movement and your sound from deer. But, the knock on them has been that it is difficult to keep deer from smelling you, especially when the blind is installed on the ground.Advantage Hunting’s Gamekeeper Deluxe line of rigid hunting blinds solves the problem. The Deluxe Blind uses a patented scent-proof design, which allows you the flexibility to hunt in comfort on the ground or from an elevated position without the worry of being smelled, seen or heard.

Advantage’s solution to scent control in the Deluxe Blind works like this – intake ports near the floor of the blind pull air in, as air warms in the airtight Deluxe Blind, that air – and your scent – is drafted out through the top of the blind through an exhaust pipe that ends over 30 feet above the blind. Even when the Deluxe Blind is on the ground, you leave no more scent at “deer level” than if you were in a tree stand. Read more

Hunting

Sportsmen’s Alliance Launches Spring Sweepstakes

Sportsmen’s Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to the protection and promotion of hunting, fishing and trapping, recently launched a “Spring Sweepstakes” that includes a slew of remarkable prizes from iconic outdoor manufactures, such as YETI, Legendary Arms Works, Havalon Knives and ScentLok. One lucky grand-prize winner will hunt Idaho black bear over dogs or bait at world-class Table Mountain Outfitters, where hunters mostly harvest color-phase bears.

Sportsmen’s Alliance is requesting a small donation of $10 for each entry into the sweepstakes. For $50, donors will receive a one-year individual membership. To enter, visit http://www.sportsmensalliance.org/spring-sweeps/ Read more

Hunting
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