To promote the importance of hunter ethics and improved hunter behavior, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks is partnering for a second year with several hunting and agriculture organizations to “protect the hunt.” While the campaign encourages hunters to always practice conscientious behavior, it focuses particularly on showing respect for private land and the access landowners provide.
The slogan is: It’s up to us. Respect access. Protect the hunt.
Landowners play an important role in sustaining healthy wildlife populations, contributing to our economy and communities by creating jobs, and providing valuable habitat and treasured open spaces. But the relationship between hunters and landowners can start to fray when just a few hunters abuse the privilege of hunting on private land. Read more
Range’s Double System offers a unique space-saving option for displaying two trophy mounts.
The Double System allows you to rotate a pair of shoulder mounts 180 degrees to achieve the perfect angle while saving valuable wall space in your trophy room. It features durable steel plates with two 8-inch arms that each pivot in two places as well as all the hardware necessary to securely install the system to a wall stud. The Double System, which can accommodate two mounts up to 35 pounds each, is perfect for displaying whitetails, mule deer, antelope, sheep and more.
To learn more about the Double System and browse the full lineup, visit fullrangesystems.com.
Charter Member Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA)
Small game season begins September 15th and that means getting gear in order for a trip to Michigan’s North country. With a camping reservation at the Rifle River Recreation Area, it was time to sight in one of my favorite .22 caliber rimfire rifles: a scoped, 73 year-old, O.F. Mossberg model 152.
Mossberg Model 152 with Folding Forearm and Bushnell 4X Rimfire Scope
First on the agenda was cleaning of the vintage semi-auto carbine – an important step in readiness and often overlooked until feeding or extraction troubles force the issue.
Next, 5 cartridges were removed from a box of Lapua Center X .22 rimfire ammo and loaded into the magazine to begin the process of sighting in.
With a sandbag-rest I fired a total of 3 shots at a target 25 yards downrange and quit. The reason: The 3 shots were in a tight cloverleaf group slightly above center – perfect for the desired 50-yard zero with the super accurate, sub-sonic fodder.
A real tack driver
There was no good reason to burn up more expensive ammo, as one critical matter was crossed off the camping list.
Here are some tips to get the most out of your favorite rimfire.
Experiment with sub-sonic ammo, which may be referred to as standard velocity or target ammo. Most of this type of ammo may cost more than bulk ammo in a milk carton, because of supply and demand, but it is more than adequately effective on small game. It’s also relatively quiet compared to high-velocity options and that can be helpful in the woods.
Get the proper rimfire scope. Good glass can be expensive, but most folks will do well with more entry-level optics specifically designed for rimfires’ related distances. A big mistake is to mount a typical scope designed for high-power calibers. Although they make look good, they won’t produce the accuracy because of parallax, which isa difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight. It can fool a shooter into questioning causes of inaccuracy.
Too see parallax, put the scoped firearm on a bench with a solid rest. Then, without touching anything, peer through the lens and move your head in different positions, while viewing the target. If the crosshairs appear to move as you move, you have experienced parallax – an accuracy killer!
Several options exist and include not only rimfire scopes, but red dot optics and those with adjustable objective lenses, referred to as AO. Red dot scopes essentially eliminate parallax but typically have no magnification, although magnifiers can be added to high-end models.
Adjustable objective scopes eliminate parallax when the proper distance is dialed in; however, they are typically larger optics and somewhat cumbersome to operate during changing field conditions.
An inexpensive alternative is a fixed 4-power rimfire scope for a solid, all-around solution. Also, air gun scopes are well suited, because their parallax is set at the factory for the shorter ranges of rimfire rounds.
Understand that a reticle for hunting may utilize thicker crosshairs that are visible in low-light; conversely, a target scope will have very fine crosshairs conducive to controlled lighting in target shooting or clear daylight.
Finally, a good trigger is one that breaks cleanly without any stickiness and excess travel. If yours doesn’t, a qualified gunsmith may be able to help, although results are sometimes limited with old trigger mechanisms.
On the other hand, an example of modern technology is apparent in the highly successful and relatively affordable Ruger model 10/22 semi-auto. It is a reliable work of engineering that can be modified in any way imaginable to produce the utmost in accuracy.
Ruger 10/22 with silver Nikon Scope
So, there you have it – a few options to achieve more enjoyment from the little .22 – the most popular caliber in the world.
Ducks Unlimited has launched its new Waterfowl 360 web page that gives the hunter and outdoor enthusiast all their needs in one place. Waterfowl 360 is easy to navigate and offers helpful information to not only the new waterfowler but to the experienced one as well.
Look no further for the ultimate resource for waterfowl hunters. This is the one-stop shop for all your hunting and conservation needs, featuring:
Just like last year, all harvested deer are required to be reported. The easiest way to report a harvest is by downloading the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app.
Once the app is downloaded and you’ve signed in or created an account, you can enter the harvest report information.
You can also report a harvest online. Visit Michigan.gov/DNRHarvestReport on a computer or mobile device to go directly to the reporting page. Enter your kill tag license number and date of birth to begin the report.
If you don’t have your hunting license/kill tag number, you can log in to eLicense (using your driver’s license and birthdate, or user ID and password), then click on the Harvest Report tab to see the tags available to report. If you don’t already have an account, you will have the chance to create one to enter your report.
Find more information on harvest reporting on the harvest reporting webpage. If you need assistance, you can call your local DNR customer service center or the main Wildlife Division line at 517-284-WILD (9453) during normal business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Blocker Outdoors has been helping hunters get closer to game, stay comfortable, and experience more success for over 40 years. New for 2023, the Field Brush Pant is built for multi-species hunters who require the toughest apparel for the toughest conditions.
The field is full of hazards of the botanical variety. In the fall, what were earlier fruits and sometimes flowers morph into seeds, many of which feature hooks and barbs referred to as “burrs”. Nature built them as such to snag passerby’s and consequently spread seeds and expand the species. Commonly encountered in the field are sandburs, cocklebur, and burdock. And let’s not forget our thorny and scratchy friends like blackberry, raspberry, and buckthorn. It’s a painful jungle out there…
Fortunately, Blocker Outdoors new Field Brush Pant provides a remedy. The highly comfortable and versatile pants feature reinforced nylon overlay panels to defend against burrs and thorns, while increasing overall durability. The base fabric is a smooth, lightweight polyester double-weave fabric that’s also noted for its longevity. The water repellant 4-way stretch fabric provides comfort and easy, unrestricted movement in-the-field and protection from moisture.
In short, these pants were designed for multiple hunting applications, to include western big game, pheasants, grouse, doves, quail, as well as preseason whitetail situations like scouting, stand prep, and food plot maintenance. Read more
Limited to the first 20 women to register. Hunters will be split in two groups – the first at 8 a.m. and the second at 12:30 p.m. Register for the time slot that works best for you. You can register individually or as a group.
Cost is $25 per ticket, which includes three birds, refreshments and lunch.
Must be 18 or older. Participants should bring their own gun (shotguns only, with nothing larger than 6-shot and no shotguns with hammers).
This event is presented as part of a partnership agreement between the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Pheasants Forever, with DNR funding support.
Come help the Detroit Tigers track down and reel in a win during Hunting and Fishing Night at Comerica Park Sept. 27. We’re proud to partner with the Tigers and two nonprofit organizations that help connect Michiganders with hunting and fishing – Michigan Sportsmen Against Hunger and We Fixin to Fish.
Ticket sales will benefit both organizations, and you’ll get a collectible hunting and fishing-themed beanie.
Charter Member Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA)
For the first two decades of my life, I was oblivious to the nature of opening day of deer season for so many aspiring hunters. In fact, growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, I didn’t know of a single individual who participated in the excitement that came each year on November 15th. My, how that has changed.
I had married into a family that had lived with the tradition of deer hunting back to 1935 in Gladwin County and I was about to enter their world. At the head of my new family was a Finlander and former Yooper from Houghton Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. Is it any wonder he routinely slept with the window open all year round?
He spoke of past hunts in which getting to camp was more of a battle than dragging a big buck out of the low-lying swampland. The roads were poor and the vehicles of the period were not equipped with the “essentials” of 4-wheel drive and climate control, making for adventurous trips to the North country in freezing conditions.
I couldn’t understand everyone’s excitement, as a light snow began to fall on the road to my first tent deer camp with my new family. Heck, snow meant it was cold and I didn’t particularly share in their glee.
There in that military tent was a kerosene heater – totally useless other than for the light it produced. But, despite the crude, cold camp, everyone would venture out to some secret spot on state land in the darkness with high hopes.
It would be years before I would encounter my first buck afield. But, that Winchester lever-action .30-30 brought down one of the largest bucks ever taken at the historic camp. Once the animal was down, another hunter materialized on scene and claimed he had shot the deer first and had tracked it well into the swamp, where I had perched myself atop a blowdown. (Actually, it was discovered that the other hunter had wounded the lower leg of the buck – certainly not a fatal shot!) We settled the issue with a flip of a coin. As the disgruntled stranger walked away, I field dressed an animal for the first time.
Like others, opening day conjures up a lifetime of events, many of which are not directly related to firing a shot. All the planning and preparation that go into the next opening-day adventure evolve into another chapter of a movie that I am privileged to replay in my head anytime.
The hunts are a connection to my past, even though I’ve never known the individuals from a legion of predecessors. It’s in our blood. Yours and mine, whether it’s acknowledged or simply shrugged off.
Connecting to the past requires one to disconnect from the daily grind. It requires one of the most challenging aspects of a successful hunt to be fully implemented: slowing down. The need to race anywhere is replaced with a desire to become a silent partner in nature’s wonderment.
Passing the merits of sportsmanship of hunting to another generation is an honor we hunters face proudly. It is the common thread connecting us to days gone by.
Season dates for Bergland, Baraga, Amasa, Carney, Gwinn, Newberry and Drummond Island bear management units:
Hunt period 1: Sept. 6 – Oct. 21.
Hunt period 2: Sept. 11 – Oct. 26.
Hunt period 3: Sept. 25 – Oct. 26.
Lower Peninsula
Season dates for Red Oak, Baldwin and Gladwin units are Sept. 9-19 and Oct. 6-12.
Bear registration
Within 72 hours of harvesting a bear, the hunter must take the unfrozen bear head and pelt, or the entire animal, to a bear registration station to be registered and sealed.
