Outdoor commentary and legislative issues.
Goldfinch
Charles Kokesh was indicted by a federal grand jury in Pensacola, Florida, for violating the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act by selling two African elephant tusks and for making false accounts of wildlife related to that sale, the Justice Department announced today. Read more
By Glen Wunderlich
“Energy and persistence conquer all things.” …Benjamin Franklin.
When it comes to hunting, I call it paying dues and this turkey hunting season was going to require a heavy dose of stick-to-itiveness. For me, it’s nothing new.
My highly anticipated opening day was cancelled at 9am, when a high-wheeled sprayer rig roared through the winter wheat field I had chosen to hunt. I could have left my blind and called it a day, but even against the questionable odds of success, I persisted in a chair blind for 10 hours before admitting temporary defeat.
The following day in the same blind location, three toms were not buying what I was selling and safely slipped away. The excitement of the close call enticed me into a return visit the following day.
But, when a logger and a pair of draft horses interrupted the session at 7am, it was time to relocate. With the Looking Glass River running through the property, I’d move my hideout to the opposite side of the waterway, thus providing the perfect, natural division between commotion and solitude.
However, by the time I had gathered my senses and gear and returned to establish a new stand, the log-dragging operation beat me to the opposite side of the river. It was time for a talk.
The young loggers more than had their hands full, as I watched two inexperienced one-ton animals fighting their handlers. Over and over, the animals backed up to a log, while a horseman/logger attempted to set the huge tongs into a log, only to hang on helplessly, as the animals bolted away log-less dragging them along.
To complicate matters, mosquitos were fighting the men, too. I gave them some mosquito repellant and learned of their plan to finish that day.
Heartened by the news, I set up my surveillance PlotWatcher camera to learn if there were any birds on this side of the river. Reviewing the recorded action days later on the computer screen, a lone gobbler could be seen strutting his stuff in the early morning hours.
Inexplicably, many of the massive logs remained in the field, contrary to what I had been told. Obviously, the loggers were not able to get their horses to cooperate and had given up long before completing their work.
My friend, Joe, and I set up a larger blind so that we could hunt as a team on the weekend. Before our morning together had come to an end, I worked a vocal gobbler for some time, but I couldn’t coax him from the security of the forest.
Days later, the loggers then demonstrated their own persistence and returned to finish the job. Well, almost. The camera showed one huge maple log remaining at the end of the day – the day before my next planned hunt.
Would the loggers be back in prime time the following day? Heck, would the woods ever settle down? There’d be only one way to find out.
I could only hope I’d get another chance. At 6:25 am, a bold tom gobbled from the forest floor, as I dished out some soft talk via my favorite call: A Ring Zone slate call given to me by the inventor, Jim Moss.
Signed Jim Moss Ring Zone call
He was close enough to hear my muted purrs and gobbled his way closer to fate. At last, the call was set down in exchange for my Browning Silver in 3 ½” 12 gauge. My lone hen decoy was placed purposely in front of the massive log left 30 yards in front of me in an effort to direct a tom to the shooting side.
The bearded turkey entered the field and appeared to be on a mission away from my decoy and before it could stroll out of range, at 36 yards a load of 2 ¼ oz. of number 6 shot made persistence pay off.
Gobbler on the large maple log left in the field by the loggers
The two year-old turkey sported small spurs and a 10 7/16” beard.
Long after I’ve enjoyed the last of a wild turkey dinner, however, this bird will be a reminder of Ben Franklin’s wisdom.
MISSOULA, Mont.–Trophy-class specimens of whitetail deer, Stone’s sheep, Dall’s sheep, desert sheep and grizzly bears are becoming more common afield, based on newly compiled records by the Boone and Crockett Club.
Conversely, trophy records reveal an opposite trend for caribou.
The Club compiled records for the period 2010-12 in preparation for its triennial tribute to big-game conservation and management–the 28th Big Game Awards, July 17-20, in Reno, Nev. The event, set for the Silver Legacy Hotel, features a public exhibition of the largest trophies from this three-year period, including a new World’s Record Rocky Mountain goat and records-book specimens taken by youths. Go to www.biggameawards.com for event details. Read more
Jake’s perplexed over frigid hen
A couple of jakes just don’t seem to understand why our decoy is unresponsive. Fortunately for them, we were not interested in them either.
The Department of Natural Resources reminds everyone the annual Summer Free Fishing Weekend is scheduled for Saturday, June 8 and Sunday, June 9. On that weekend, everyone – residents and non-residents alike – can fish without a license, though all other fishing regulations still apply. Read more
After many months of scouting, planning (and irritating all around you with your calling practice) and many early mornings, your dedication has paid off with you bagging your first…or possibly second…wild turkey of the season. But now that you have that trophy gobbler (all are of course), many of you are thinking and asking…what do I now? How do I make sure that tasty meat makes it to the dinner table? Read more
by Doug Reeves, assistant chief, DNR Wildlife Division
Most everyone is familiar with the northern cardinal – beautiful birds with definitive crests, frequent visitors to bird feeders, songsters whose melody is unmistakable and, next to the robin, perhaps the ultimate backyard bird. Cardinals are year-round residents of Michigan, found throughout most of the state, although they are uncommon in the Upper Peninsula. Who doesn’t love a cardinal? Yet there is another “red bird,” an even more vibrantly colored one, that also nests in Michigan. It is similar in size to a cardinal, perhaps just a bit smaller, and it nests throughout the state. Few people know it, fewer still recognize its song, and only a very small fraction of Michigan residents have ever observed its nest. The bird is Read more |
By Glen Wunderlich
Opening morning of the late turkey season began at 5am with a walk in the dark. Heavy dew, a crescent moon amid a starry sky accompanied me on the way to my chair blind a quarter mile from my truck. With calls, binoculars and assorted paraphernalia at the ready, and a hen decoy positioned some 27 yards from my hideout, a rousing chorus of gobbles from nearby roosting toms began at 5:40 am.
My Day 6 PlotWatcher Pro surveillance camera had provided 10,000 photos daily of the activity in the winter wheat field, and as scheduled, my first glimpse of a hen turkey came within the hour. Atop a camouflaged tripod sat a Cannon Vixia HD movie camera just outside the blind to capture the anticipated action.
For the next several hours, only hens were spotted along with a few crows out for morning breakfast.
Sneaking a peek
But, I was in it for the long haul in secluded comfort waiting for a good tom knowing that a majestic gobbler could appear at any moment. Then, a distant hen was in high gear as it raced back toward the security of the woods.
Obviously, something spooked it and at precisely 9am I learned the cause. It was a Deere, as in John Deere. The massive field sprayer rig barged right in the field a thoroughly covered every inch with fertilizer. Before it could run over my decoy, I ran from the shelter and watched my highly anticipated opening morning get destroyed. Read more
This from Humane Watch…
Donors want their dollars used effectively. There’s only so much money that each person has budgeted for charity. So is the Humane Society of the United States deserving of animal lovers’ donations? We certainly don’t think so.
For starters, the American Institute of Philanthropy gives HSUS a “D” grade for high spending on fundraising and overhead and low spending on programs. This is similar to a finding from the animal rights newspaper Animal People.
But in terms of actual animal care, we looked a little closer. Read more