HELENA, Mont. – A rare Shiras moose hunting license brought in a record $60,000 at a Ducks Unlimited auction last weekend by the Helena DU chapter during its annual dinner. Past moose licenses sold at auction for $15,000 to $20,000. Proceeds from the license sale will go to the moose conservation initiatives of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks.

“We are blown away by the success of this auction for Montana habitat work. It was basically over in three minutes,” said Steve Christian, an organizer of the event and member of Montana DU state councils. “Our thanks go out to the people who participated in this auction and to our buyer, who is making a major contribution to Montana wildlife.”

DU won the right to auction off the license from MFWP. The license is good for the 2015 season anywhere in the state where people can legally hunt moose. Read more

Harvests decreased statewide in 2014-15, report shows.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission yesterday reported that, in the state’s 2014-15 seasons, hunters harvested an estimated 303,973 deer – a decrease of about 14 percent compared to the 2013-14 harvest of 352,920.

Hunters took 119,260 antlered deer in the 2014-15 seasons – a decrease of about 11 percent compared to the previous license year, when an estimated 134,280 bucks were taken. Also, hunters harvested an estimated 184,713 antlerless deer in 2014-15, which represents an about 16 percent decrease compared to the 218,640 antlerless deer taken in 2013-14.

“We put these numbers out each year and, whether there’s an increase or decrease in the harvest, people want to know why,” said Game Commission Executive Director R. Matthew Hough. “While it’s impossible to provide explanations with certainty, there were a couple of factors over the 2014-15 deer seasons that seem to have contributed to a decreased harvest.” Read more

GW:  Here’s why I’m putting this piece on my blog:  Mossy Oak is committed to the furtherance of traditional values, such as hunting, and they put their money where their mouth is.  To the entire hunting community, they are contributors through their devotion to the outdoors through generous giving.  America personified!

WEST POINT, MS – Mossy Oak congratulates ProStaffers Billy Yargus, Scott Ellis, Matt Van Cise and Shane Hendershot for their top finishes in the 2015 NWTF Grand National Turkey Calling Contest.

Winning the Senior Division Championship was Yargus, followed by Ellis, Van Cise and Hendershot rounding out the top four spots. All four contest-caliber callers are members of the Mossy Oak National ProStaff. The NWTF Calling Contest was part of the 39th annual NWTF Convention and Sports Show, sponsored by RAM, which was held February 12-15 in Nashville, Tennessee at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. Read more