Category: Hunting

Michigan’s Elk Management Plan

By Glen Wunderlich

A new Elk Management Plan was approved by Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Director Rodney Stokes at the April 5 meeting of the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) in Lansing.  The plan incorporates an adaptive approach to management, whereby necessary changes to the plan can be implemented based on results.

Michigan’s current elk herd in an area north of Atlanta is the result of a release of seven animals from “various city parks and public institutions” in 1918 about three miles southeast of Wolverine. The herd grew steadily with estimates of 300-400 in 1939 and 900 to 1,000 in 1958.  The Department of Natural Resources (department) is officially charged with the management of resident wildlife in Michigan by virtue of a 1996 referendum requiring the department to use principles of sound scientific management in decisions relative to the taking of game.  With this in mind, the department has unveiled a new elk management plan with the following goals: Read more

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75 Years of Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Program Success

FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. — This year marks the 75th anniversary of the passage of the landmark Pittman-Robertson (also known as Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration) Act, which directs excise taxes collected on the sale of firearms and ammunition to be used exclusively by state wildlife agencies for improving wildlife populations, hunter education and public access to the outdoors. The benefits of this program to state agencies, sportsmen, sporting goods retailers and manufacturers and anyone who enjoys and appreciates wildlife and the outdoors have been abundant since its creation. Read more

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Quotas for Michigan Elk and Bear Seasons

Michigan hunters will have more elk licenses available but fewer bear licenses, as the Natural Resources Commission set regulations for the upcoming seasons at its April 5 meeting in Lansing.  The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will make 200 elk licenses available, an increase of 45 from 2011.  “We have more elk than we did last year, so we can offer more hunting opportunity while working toward our population goal,” said DNR deer and elk program leader Brent Rudolph. Read more

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EPA Denies Latest Anti-Hunting Group Petition to Ban Traditional Ammunition

NEWTOWN, Conn. — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday denied yet another frivolous petition by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) — an established anti-hunting group — calling for a ban on the traditional ammunition (containing lead-core components) for hunting and shooting. Read more

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Michigan’s New Elk Management Plan Approved

Michigan’s current elk herd is the result of a release of seven animals from “various city parks and public institutions” (Stephenson 1942) in 1918 about three miles southeast of Wolverine. The herd grew steadily with estimates of 300-400 in 1939 (Shapton 1940) and 900 to 1,000 in 1958 (Moran 1973).

…while no formal objective has been defined for bull-to-cow ratio in the Michigan herd, it is believed that about 60 bulls to 100 cows is most desirable. This is about twice as many bulls to 100 cows as are in many western herds.

A new Elk Management Plan was approved by Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Director Rodney Stokes at the April 5 meeting of the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) in Lansing. The plan was developed to provide guidance for managing elk by focusing on three goals:

1)      Manage for an elk population that can be sustained by available habitat;

2)      Use hunting as the primary method to control the number of elk; their distribution so that difficulties involving elk interactions with people are abated; and the proportion of males to females in the population; and

3)      Enhance the public’s understanding of elk management in Michigan.

The planning process began Read more

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Making the Varmint Rifle Sing

By Glen Wunderlich

April 15th – that mournful day when we must reckon our financial gains in the form of “contributions” to the government so that it can” invest” in the future for us.  The date is also well known in Michigan predator hunting circles as the last day to save a turkey poult or new-born fawn from the mouths of coyotes.  After that, coyotes are free to raise another crop of killers for three months.  And, effective killing machines they are!

In the third year of an ongoing study in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula by folks at Mississippi State University, coyotes topped the charts above wolves and bobcats as the number one predator of fawns.  The study found that predators killed 73 percent of 80 radio-collared fawns that died of the total of 142 being tracked.  Rabbits and hares have vanished, as well.

So, when I spotted a coyote den in an area where I hunt deer, I knew it was time to get a varmint rifle dialed in.  This particular site was in a wide-open alfalfa field, with the best possible ambush site exactly 220 yards away.

I grabbed a true varmint rifle – a Remington 700 in .22-250 caliber – and headed to the sight-in bench.  Because of a concern for wind drift, I selected the heaviest bullet – a 55-grain missile traveling at 3610 feet-per-second.  The computer had me sighting in .22 inches high at 50 yards so that the tiny projectile would be perfectly elevated, zeroed if you will, at exactly 200 yards.  After that, the long-range proposition would be up to faith in a computer-generated ballistic report. Read more

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