New for Fall 2023 and just in time for the upcoming seasons in the blind or in the field is a superb new product from Hunt Monkey, the world’s fastest-growing brand of gloves specifically designed for various hunting applications. The Heater is a flip-top mitten that’s constructed using 100 grams of Thinsulate insulation and sherpa fleece lining plus a Mossy Oak Bottomland camouflage 220-gram Polarfleece exterior which not only wraps your hands in extreme warmth, but it also blocks the wind. The flip-top design with magnetic stays allows quick access to your fingers while also keeping your hands covered and warm when not needed. The fleece is also naturally very quiet, perfect for those circumstances where stealth and silence are keys to success. There’s a synthetic leather palm with silicone non-slip grip and even a handwarmer pocket in the mitten for those bitterly cold days. As with all Hunt Monkey products, there’s a 100-percent satisfaction guarantee. Stay ready, stay warm and stay silent with Hunt Monkey. Read more
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A few days ago came an email from Chad Stewart, deer, elk and moose management specialist of Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources. In the ominous preface to a detailed analysis of the over-population of the state’s deer herd, he arrives at a conclusion that might not sit well with some hunters: More antlerless deer must be taken for the betterment of our deer herd.
T/C Contender in .45/70 Custom JDJ Barrel and EOTech Optic and Michigan Doe
If this bit of information comes at a surprise, you haven’t been paying attention.
After a bit of research into my personal archives, the DNR had strongly encouraged hunters to kill more antlerless deer with this language 14 years ago: High numbers of antlerless permits are available again this year… Hunters are encouraged to harvest antlerless deer, especially on private land in the Southern Lower Peninsula to bring populations closer to goals and to help address concerns of excessive crop damage and deer-vehicle collisions.
I wrote in 2009: “What’s so funny about the statement is that hunters are encouraged to harvest antlerless deer after the fee to do so has been increased by 50 percent. …it’s not likely that any noteworthy reduction in the problematic herd will be achieved through its counter-productive revenue enhancement strategy.”
Nonetheless, Mr. Stewart lays out his case with statistics that paint a bleak picture, if hunters don’t change their strategy. He states that the typical Michigan hunting philosophy to date is to hold off on taking antlerless deer until later in the season. Heck, that’s sure been my thinking.
Every other year since 2009, we’ve taken more antlered deer than antlerless deer. A comparison with the states around us, such as Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin, they all typically harvest between 8 percent to 25 percent more antlerless deer than they do antlered deer in a given year. Although Mr. Stewart does not connect today’s over-population to the 2009 cost-doubling of antlerless tags, I believe it was another straw on the camel’s back.
Because of our lower hunter numbers and our continued unwillingness to shoot antlerless deer, we are shooting far fewer antlerless deer than we have historically. This past year was probably a record year in terms of the number of damage complaints our department received from farmers, and associated crop damage. The [the DNR] mitigates this damage by providing out-of-season permits so those landowners experiencing damage can help protect their crops and livelihood. Since very few hunters like the idea of deer being shot out of season, we hunters need to do better at controlling deer numbers in the hunting seasons.
In 2022 there were nearly 59,000 reported deer-vehicle collisions, the highest number since 2009. Nearly 20 percent of the recorded collisions in Michigan involved white-tailed deer. So again, there’s the reference to the year 2009 when the cost to help our own cause doubled.
For decades, Michigan intentionally grew its deer herd and bragged that herd would grow to one million deer! They were so excited back then as the freight train gained momentum. The old-timers wouldn’t shoot a doe no matter what, and although the philosophy has changed somewhat today, that train is still destined to run off the tracks.
In summary, we have the supply but not the demand and no amount of pleading has helped.
My solution now, as it was back then, is to drastically lower the cost of antlerless permits to increase sales. Increased volume could put us on a path to better herd management, and it wouldn’t take long to discover the truth now that hunters are required by law to submit kill data. For cost-reduction to be enough is anyone’s guess, but one thing is certain: What we are doing – and, have been doing – doesn’t work.
CSF Leads Effort with Senate CSC Leadership to Pass Duck Stamp Modernization Act
Washington, D.C.– The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Duck Stamp Modernization Act (H.R. 2872) on a voice vote, a sign of the unanimous support for the bill thanks to Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) leadership Vice-Chair Rep. Garret Graves (LA) and CSC Member Rep. Mike Thompson (CA). Prior to the House floor vote, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) worked with the bill sponsors and key offices in the House to see that this bill was added to the House floor calendar.
The Duck Stamp Modernization Act will bring the Federal Duck Stamp process into the 21st century by providing that the electronic Federal Duck Stamp is valid for the entirety of the hunting season. Under current law, when a hunter purchases an electronic Federal Duck Stamp (e-stamp), the e-stamp is only valid for a period of 45 days to allow for the actual stamp to be mailed to the purchaser. Once the actual stamp is received by the e-stamp purchaser, the actual stamp must be signed by the respective hunter across the face of the stamp and be in the hunter’s possession while afield.
Specifically, this legislation will allow hunters who purchase a Federal Duck Stamp electronically to have the duck stamp on their smartphone while hunting without requiring the signed physical stamp to be on their person. To maintain the integrity of the Federal Duck Stamp, the bill requires that physical stamps will be mailed to those who purchased the e-stamp after the latest waterfowl season in the country has closed. Hunters will still be able to purchase the physical stamp from the U.S. Postal Service or from other locations that sell the physical stamp. Read more
Just in time for fall hunting and fishing – hunters, anglers and boaters have a new option to earn the required recreational safety certificate before hitting the woods or water.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources now offers hunter education and boater safety as interactive online courses, giving students an enhanced experience that exposes them to real-life hunting and boating scenarios.
“We’re excited to offer students this new learning opportunity,” said Lt. Tom Wanless, DNR recreational safety, education and enforcement supervisor. “Both the interactive hunting and boating programs are offered in other states and have received ‘five star’ reviews.”
The interactive learning options are offered in addition to the existing traditional classroom and online learning options for both hunter and boater safety; hunter safety continues to be available as a take-home study course, too. Read more
The September 12 launch of Unguided—a new short film presented by Franchi in association with Fiocchi and Banded—drives right to the heart of the waterfowl hunting. Delivered through the experience of friends and fellow Wyoming big game outfitters, Unguided perfectly underscores the true reasons dedicated waterfowlers return to the stubble fields, marshes, and flooded timber year after year.
For Dustin Decroo, owner/outfitter of Bighorn Outfitters and Tony Larsen, owner/outfitter of American Outfitters, a waterfowl adventure is a much-needed respite after four grueling months of guiding clients on their dream hunts.
“Being an outfitter, there’s a lot of stress involved,” says Decroo. “You care about that client who’s saved up a bunch of money over the years to go on this hunt. Sometimes the money is not as important as it is the preference points because it takes so many points to draw these tags that you don’t want to feel like he wasted the last six, seven, eight, ten years on this hunt. So, there’s a lot of pressure involved. And that’s why I love bird hunting…nobody asks me, ‘What does that duck score? What’s that goose score?’ The whole burden of all that’s lifted and it’s 100-percent about having a good time with your buddies.” Read more
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Sept. 13, 2023) — Moultrie Mobile, a leading pioneer in cellular trail cameras that also offers an all-in-one remote monitoring app for hunters and property owners, has launched an exciting lineup of accessory products, including two Universal Solar Battery Packs and several items for its Edge Series cameras.
“We want to round out our product offering and user experience by providing a collection of purpose-built accessories,” said Daniel Wilson, General Manager for Moultrie Mobile. “Each item was created as a solution to end-user feedback and requests, whether it’s power options, security, or proper mounting. We plan to offer a convenient, easy-to-use product to meet those needs.”
Moultrie Mobile has recently introduced a range of power accessories that can help customers avoid expensive AA batteries. These power accessories include two Universal Solar Power Packs: a 3.4-watt option priced at $99.99, and a 10-watt option priced at $129.99. These solar power packs are designed to provide a durable and reliable power option for trail cameras and game feeders. They deliver up to three times more power than other solar solutions currently available on the market. Read more
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.
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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.
