Charleston, SC – Nomad’s Harvester Jacket and Pant are the perfect combination between silence and warmth, giving hunters the ultimate edge in the deer woods.

The Nomad Harvester Jacket is the ideal mid-season jacket, combining a durable medium-weight, 100-percent polyester design with a high pile interior for an incredibly comfortable and warm fit. Available in four camo patterns, including Mossy Oak Bottomland, Realtree Edge, Mossy Oak Breakup Country and Realtree Timber, the Jacket features a wind-resistant construction with a DWR finish, ensuring that wind and light moisture won’t end your hunt. Sound kill technology allows you to move freely and quietly in the stand without alerting deer to your presence, while a secure zip chest pocket allows for easy access to range finders, calls, and cell phones. A silver+zeolites treatment locks in natural odors, giving you the ultimate confidence in the field. Read more

Project ChildSafe® offers safety resources, educational materials for first-time and returning hunters

NEWTOWN, Conn. – NSSF®, the trade association for the firearms industry, welcomes the millions of Americans who intend to go afield this hunting season – many of them for the first time – and reminds hunters to use, transport and store their firearms safely and help prevent accidents in the field, on the range and in the home.

“Americans have rediscovered the outdoors as COVID-19 has closed off other types of recreation,” said Joe Bartozzi, NSSF President and CEO. “Millions have also bought their first firearm and are curious to experience all that hunting has to offer. We want to make sure they have the tools they need to enjoy hunting and the shooting sports safely this season and for years to come.”

The effort comes as NSSF launches its 2020 “Hunt S.A.F.E.” campaign. Hunt S.A.F.E. is a component of NSSF’s Project ChildSafe initiative, which focuses on promoting secure firearm storage and preventing unauthorized access. S.A.F.E. is an acronym for Store your firearms responsibly when not in use; Always practice firearm safety; Focus on your responsibilities as a firearm owner; and Education is key to preventing accidents.

NSSF and Project ChildSafe are working with prominent industry influencers and partner organizations, including GAT Marketing for a sponsored giveaway contest to guide hunters toward a suite of hunting safety resources. These include:

• An infographic for first-time gun buyers
• Tips and guidelines on safe firearm handling
• A hunting checklist for families and a Hunt S.A.F.E. quiz
• The Ethical Hunter brochure
• A brochure on firearm safety in vehicles
• A Gun Storage Options for Your Lifestyle infographic
• Information on where to get a free firearm safety kit that includes a cable-style gun lock

First-time hunters will also appreciate the library of hunting tips, tactics and techniques available at NSSF’s LetsGoHunting.org website.

“Hunting is a time-honored tradition for many Americans, one that benefits conservation efforts across the country, and safety remains at the core of enjoying hunting,” Bartozzi said. “With so many Americans discovering and returning to this tradition, it’s a good time to remind all gun owners that storing firearms securely when they’re not in use is the No. 1 way to help prevent accidents and keep guns out of the wrong hands.”

By Glen Wunderlich

Charter Member Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA)

The weather prognosticators were spot on with the opening-day weather forecasts:  high winds with enough sideways rain to make some hunters question their sanity.  Of course such conditions were not about to prevent a few hundred thousand Michigan hopefuls from chasing their perennial dream bucks and I was one of those.

I sat within 50 yards of a favorite waterway crossing of the wily whitetails with my Ruger American .450 Bushmaster rifle.  The low-power variable Zeiss Diavari scope was made for the job with its heavy crosshair reticle.  A buck fawn (button buck) made its way along the predictable path and seemed intent on a peaceful nap in the heavy cover of the low ground vegetation, as it disappeared.

The early morning session continued when movement appeared across the Looking Glass River tributary about 100 yards out.  The Burris binocular helped me identify an adult doe with twin fawns following close behind.  Like most Michigan deer hunters, I wasn’t interested in any bald deer at this juncture considering the generous seasons ahead, but it didn’t matter.  The wise mother deer caught me looking and involuntarily began a staring contest; her two followers became statues wondering what was up and the close-knit family soon vanished together.

Mother Nature huffed and puffed and the big wind dominated the wooded areas to the point that falling limbs and entire trees posed a threat to anyone’s life and I called off any more hunting for the day.  A couple more ventures afield during the first week were fruitless, as the educated deer became scarce, or so it seemed.

By the end of the first week I was hoping for the local herd to have settled down from the hunting activity and for them to return to more normal routines.  My afternoon position overlooked a legume plot of some six acres and I was encouraged to watch an adult doe and her buck fawn forage in the lush green vegetation.  As the sun sunk the activity grew and deer seemed to pop up from the ground in front of me about 150 yards away.

A yearling spike buck did his best to liven up the party but the objects of his affection were interested in one thing only:  filling their bellies.  As the deer mingled, I had to check for headgear on each one of them and noticed one deer alone with its nose in the clover.  The young buck sported a basket-rack of 8 points but nothing trigger-worthy.  By now there was about a dozen whitetails browsing and I spotted another buck with similar features including another basket-rack (not as wide as its ears) and was enjoying the show, when the two bucks got together in the literal sense.

The two antlered deer got into a brief, non-threatening pushing match but it was obvious their hearts were not into any real macho death match.

As darkness descended upon us all, I waited to no avail for something better.  And, I’m still waiting.

After experiencing technical issues Saturday, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources licensing system is performing as expected.

At around 9 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, the licensing system began experiencing slowness and timed-out transactions as some customers tried to purchase licenses. The DNR continues to work with the system vendor, Sovereign Sportsman Solutions (S3), to determine the cause of the issues, which affected S3-supplied licensing systems in other states, too.

As of Saturday afternoon, Michigan’s licensing system was successfully processing transactions as expected, and more than 45,000 hunters have purchased licenses since then. The DNR wanted to ensure the vendor’s system was selling licenses without issue for 48 hours before making this announcement.

Hunters who were unable to purchase licenses or deer tags due to Saturday’s system slowdown should do so online at Michigan.gov/DNRLicenses or at a local retailer as soon as possible to comply with state law. The DNR does not have the authority to waive a license as a requirement for hunting.

Successful hunters who used a homemade deer kill tag as instructed must consider their purchased, official tag to be validated and not use it to take another deer. Read more

By Glen Wunderlich
Charter Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

Firearms deer season is here, and accordingly, we’ll be able to hear the sunrise this morning.  If you have been one of the fortunate hunters and have already bagged a whitetail, congratulations.  If not, here are some last minute tips to get the job done.

With the advent of blinds – either permanent or portable – many of us can stay comfortable all day long and that’s an important ingredient to success.  Another necessity is accuracy afield:  the act of translating what has been learned at the target range to field use.

Good shooters know that a steady rest is a good place to start to minimize human error.  Benchrest sand bags under the forearm and butt stock can minimize movement and are a must for determining the accuracy potential of any round.  But, repeating this accuracy afield can be problematic, if you are not carrying a bench afield.

Obviously, pin-point accuracy is not as important at closer ranges, but when stretching the limits of a firearm across a field or through the woods, every bit of precision is required to minimize the risk of bad shots.

Here’s a tip for those that shoot from any type of box blind, where typically only some form of front rest is used.  First, place a sandbag-type rest on the window sill opening. If your blind has only window cut-outs and no window sills, consider purchasing a commercial rest designed for this specific purpose or add window sills large enough to support a rest.

Second, get a quality bipod that will adjust from 24 inches and up. (Get one that will extend to 60 inches or more so that it can be used for in-field use, as well.) Place the bipod under the shoulder stock of your firearm directly in front of the rear swivel stud and angle the legs forward slightly.

It’s easy to knock a firearm loose in the heat of the moment and doing so can mean a blown opportunity.  To minimize such a consequence, attach a rubber strap to the bipod and over the shoulder stock to secure it in place.  (Mine are made of inner-tube rubber.)

Once you get the firearm at the proper height by adjusting the bipod legs, you’ll be able to fine tune elevation quickly by moving the firearm back and forth across the front rest.  This system is so stable it will rival groups shot at the bench!

If your budget doesn’t allow for the expense of store-bought shooting sticks, make your own.  Cut any suitable sticks at the proper height for your blind and wrap the upper ends with electrical tape to keep them from damaging the gun’s stock.  Next, tape the sticks together using lots of tape approximately two inches from the top to form a joint.  Drive nails into the bottom of the legs and cut them off leaving about a half inch protruding.  This will keep them from slipping while in use.

If you’ve done your work at the range, now you’ll be able to repeat the results afield.

In light of unforeseen technical issues with the licensing system provided by Sovereign Sportsman Solutions, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources reports that some hunters may not have been able to purchase a base license and deer kill tags today. The DNR is working with the vendor to resolve these issues, which are occurring across several states, as quickly as possible.

Hunters are encouraged to continue checking online or with local retailers for updates. As always, DNR conservation officers will be patrolling throughout the season. Over the next several days, officers will take these circumstances into consideration while making contacts with hunters.

Hunters who were not able to obtain a legally issued kill tag for their deer due to system outages should affix a temporary kill tag using materials they have on hand. The temporary tag should include the same information normally found on a kill tag:

• Identification of the hunter.
• The date the deer was killed.
• The sex of animal.
• Number of antler points on each side.

Customers who have purchased a license on the DNR website today are asked to use this temporary kill tag until their legal tag arrives in the mail.

Hunters always should carry proper identification when in the field. The DNR does not have the authority to waive a license as a requirement for hunting. Hunters who go afield this deer season are still required to buy a license from a retailer or online as soon as possible to meet their statutory obligations.

Contact: Ed Golder, GolderE@Michigan.gov