Walther Introduces the Creed

(FORT SMITH, Ark.) – Walther Arms, Inc. is proud to announce the new Creed pistol. A Creed is a set of fundamental beliefs. For Walther, those beliefs are superior ergonomics, excellence in trigger design, and unparalleled accuracy, quality, and reliability. The new Walther Creed makes a statement in modern polymer-frame handguns that all of these features can be achieved with?an economic price-tag. The Creed offers a reinforced polymer frame with signature ergonomics that shooters have come to expect from Walther. The non-slip grip texturing, standard on most Walther pistols, ensures the gun remains firmly in the shooter’s hand during use. The Creed features a pre-cocked double-action trigger system and a bobbed hammer that ensure a no-snag draw from a concealment. This system provides the shooter with a light and smooth trigger pull, consistent from the first shot to the last. All metal components are treated with a corrosion and abrasion resistant TENIFER® coating, providing a matte black hardened surface. With an ambidextrous magazine release, low profile steel 3-dot sights, and front and rear cocking serrations on the slide, Walther refused to compromise on the quality or features of the Creed. Offered in 9mm with a 4-inch barrel and 1/10 twist. The Creed comes with two sixteen round 9mm magazines. The overall length is 7.3 inches and an empty magazine weight of 26.6 ounces. Read more

Firearms

Hunters: Always Consider Surroundings Before Pulling Trigger

As deer season continues across the state, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s Home From The Hunt™ safety campaign reminds hunters to always take their time and positively identify their target before pulling the trigger.

“It’s easy to get excited when you’ve got something in your sights,” said Chet Clark, the Commission’s eastern outreach manager. “It’s important to collect yourself and ensure there are no houses, vehicles or people in front of or behind your target.”

The four basic rules of firearms safety:

Always point a firearm in a safe direction.
Treat every firearm as if it were loaded and never assume a firearm is unloaded.
Keep your finger out of the trigger guard and off the trigger until ready to shoot.
Be sure of your target and what is beyond your target.

Clark advises all hunters to always point their guns in a safe direction. One good practice is to use binoculars to first identify a target and then sight through a scope only when ready to fire.

Hunting

Conservation Groups File Notice of Intent to Sue Over Camp Perry Wind Turbine Project

Project Could Set Precedent for Wind Development on Great Lakes Shoreline
Washington – American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and Black Swamp Bird Observatory (BSBO) have filed a 60-day notice of intent to sue the Ohio Air National Guard (ANG) for violations of the Endangered Species Act and other federal laws in the course of planning to build a large wind turbine at its Camp Perry facility in Ottawa County, Ohio. Close to the shores of Lake Erie, the site lies within a major bird migration corridor and would be the first wind energy development on public land in this ecologically sensitive area.

In a letter sent yesterday by the Washington, D.C.-based public-interest law firm of Meyer Glitzenstein & Eubanks to the ANG and other federal officials, the two groups assert that ANG has unlawfully compromised and short-circuited the environmental review process for the Camp Perry wind facility. The letter states that the development of the project is taking place in violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA), the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA), and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Read more

Wildlife

Sightmark Wolfhound 3×24 Prism Sight


(MANSFIELD, TEXAS) – Sightmark is proud to announce the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) has completed testing of the Sightmark Wolfhound 3×24 Prism Sight (SM13025), resulting in the esteemed organization’s recommendation of the Wolfhound to its professional law enforcement members. “Thank you for participating in our Member Tested and Recommended Program. The Wolfhound 3×24 HS-223 Prismatic Weapon Sight has been tested and recommended by the members of the National Tactical Officers Association.” Read more
Optics

Be an ethical hunter; buy a license before you go out, and don’t loan kill tags


mature buck standing in a fieldConservation officers with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources urge deer hunters to engage in an ethical hunt: Buy a license before going out and don’t loan kill tags.

Every deer hunting season, DNR conservation officers encounter individuals engaged in unethical hunting practices. These officers tackle many cases of individuals buying hunting licenses after harvesting deer or loaning kill tags to friends or relatives.

“Each year, we see cases of individuals waiting to buy licenses until after they have shot a deer,” said Dean Molnar, assistant chief of the DNR’s Law Enforcement Division. “We remind all hunters that you must buy your license before you go out to hunt and have it in your possession when afield. Buying a license is not only the ethical and responsible thing to do, it is the law. Harvesting a deer without a license is poaching.”

Deer poaching in Michigan carries a restitution payment of $1,000 per deer, a $200 to $1,000 fine and jail time up to 90 days. In addition, a violator’s hunting privileges are suspended for three years. Under the new law that took effect in 2014, antlered deer are assessed an additional $1,000 in restitution plus the standard $1,000 for illegally killing any deer. In addition, deer with eight points but not more than 10 are $500 a point, while deer with 11 points or more are assessed a penalty of $750 per point. Read more

Poachers

Trophy Care Afield

By Glen Wunderlich

It was a snowy scene in the Upper Peninsula’s Iron County 30 years ago, when I pulled the trigger on a wall-hanger buck.  I had never taken anything worthy of a mount before then, and if I knew then what I know today, I would have gone about the process of field dressing quite differently. 

 

My mistake centered on ignorance of how to prepare an animal for taxidermy – mostly because I never even considered anything other than getting the beast cooled off and into the truck.  After slicing the animal through the ribs, as always, I later learned that the hide was ruined for a shoulder mount and I had to pay for another cape. 

 

Here are some tips from professional taxidermist, Nick Saade of Lansing, who shares his wisdom so you may have the best results with your prize.

 

Head and neck shots are to be avoided.  If you have time to make a good shot and already know you have a trophy in your sights and may choose to mount it, a shot at the heart and/or lungs is best.  A good taxidermist can hide many mistakes, but is not a magician.

Taxidermist, Nick Saade, with a Michigan buck

Taxidermist, Nick Saade, with a Michigan buck

 

If you can avoid dragging the animal, do so.  A rope around the neck is a bad idea and so is dragging by the rear legs.  Be prepared with a sled or alternate method of moving the animal.  If you must drag the deer, attempt to keep the head and neck areas off the ground during the process.  And, never hang an animal by the neck.  Stuff toilet paper or paper towels in the nostrils and mouth to prevent blood stains.

 

Skin the animal right away and keep it cool.  Do not cut into the ribs and cut about 4 inches behind the shoulders and roll the hide up toward the head.  If you are not experienced, it’s best to keep the head intact and let your taxidermist do the intricate skinning around the face.  Get it to the taxidermist as soon as possible.

 

If you cannot bring the animal to your taxidermist immediately, freeze the hide without using salt.  Obviously, this is not always possible, but it is the preferred method.

 

If you are in a remote area, salting the hide will lock in the hair so it doesn’t “slip” and ruin the cape, but not just any salt is good; only non-iodized salt or Kosher salt is to be used.  Fleshing will be more difficult as a result later, but is doable.

 

Keep it dry.  Wipe out any excess blood and do not use any plastic bags for storage.

 

Taxidermist Nick Saade keeps a few extra capes in stock, in the event damage is beyond repair and will cost $100 on average.  However, if your trophy is much larger than average, a replacement cape can add as much as $300 to $400 to the job.

Good time critters

Good time critters

 

Nick recreates a dramatic Michigan State football win over Michigan in 2015 with ground squirrels

Nick recreates a dramatic Michigan State football win over Michigan in 2015 with ground squirrels

Animal magnetism

Animal magnetism

Pipe dream or nightmare

Pipe dream or nightmare

Unlike taxidermists that only dabble in the business, Nick’s full-time business is taxidermy.  He strives to get all jobs done within four months, which allows for a fair amount of drying time at a most reasonable cost of $400 for shoulder mounts.  I have found Nick to be quite imaginative with his displays of all mammals, fish, and birds and he can be reached at his shop at 517-485-3669.

Hunting, Wildlife

When Animal Rights Activists Attack

This from humanewatch.org…

Civil discourse begins to crumble when people who do not see eye-to-eye cease to civilly communicate with each other and resort to acts of aggression (see current Presidential election!). This notion was on full display last week, when several animal rights activists harassed families seeking one of the quintessential experiences in New York City: riding a horse-drawn carriage through Central Park.horse12n-1-web-300x227

Leading this animal rights goon squad was Eddie Sullivan, a bulky activist who, like The Hulk, you apparently wouldn’t like when he’s angry. Sullivan, along with several other activists, have reportedly badgered and insulted tourists as they try to board the carriages, shouting insults like “typical f***ing ***hole tourists” in front of families with young children, as well as threatening to “make sure people won’t get into the carriage.”

But things went further than just the typical verbal intimidation, as Mr. Sullivan is seen on video approaching one of the carriage drivers, yelling at him and then proceeding to shove him hard into the carriage knocking the 55-year-old man off balance and causing one woman to yell “I have a baby, do you mind.” Sullivan was later charged with misdemeanor assault.

But families in New York City have not been the only victims of this verbal intimidation from animal rights groups.

Another example of this verbal intimidation is the case of a young Spanish boy with cancer Read more

Animal Rights

USFWS Decision on Importation of Lion Trophies from South Africa

On October 20, Director of US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) Dan Ashe announced the decision regulating the import of sport-hunted lion trophies under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) from South Africa. The United States will not allow the import of lion trophies taken from captive lion populations in South Africa. However, wild and wild-managed lions from South Africa will receive import permits.
Safari Club International and the hunting community has been waiting for a decision on which range nations would be approved to import lion hunting trophies to the United States since USFWS listed the African lion under the ESA in December 2015.

As for other lion-range countries, Ashe says USFWS is still reviewing permit applications for those areas. The four African nations, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, will only receive permits to import sport hunted lion trophies if USFWS receives sufficient evidence of the long term benefits to their wild lion populations.   USFWS along with CITES has recognized the importance hunting plays in conservation. Ashe stated USFWS determined, “that sport hunting of wild and wild-managed lions does contribute to the long-term conservation of the species in South Africa,” and continued to explain that, “lions are not in trouble because of responsible sport hunting.”

This conclusion is a blow to the anti-hunting rhetoric put forward by organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States and International Fund for Animal Welfare. The USFWS’s conclusion contradicts the assertions made by these anti-hunting organizations. The on the ground facts and the science simply did not support their position.

Not only does hunting enhance the survival of many species but also enhances the communities that support hunting on their land. Communities benefit from trophy hunting through hunting concession payments or other hunter investments, which typically support improved community services like water infrastructure, schools and health clinics; gaining jobs as guides, game guards, wildlife managers and other hunting-related employment; and gaining access to meat.
SCI will continue to work with wildlife authority agencies, in conjunction with professional hunting associations, to provide a clear link between the hunting of lions and the enhancement of the species. Scientific principles, not the emotionalism of anti-hunters, should provide the foundation for the management of wildlife and habitat.   Read Dan Ashe’s announcement on the Huffington Post here.

Animal Rights, Hunting, Wildlife

Court Orders Feds To Release Mexican Wolf Recovery Plan

By — Etta Pettijohn

A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to do what it should have been doing all along: establishing an updated recovery plan for the Mexican Gray Wolves.

Last Monday U.S. Judge Jennifer Zipps, in the District of Arizona, approved an agreement reached last April between environmental groups, the states of Utah and Arizona, and the FWS, to complete a recovery plan by the end of November 2017. The agreement sets parameters for management of the reintroduction program, including where they should be allowed to roam, and to establish population targets.

The New Mexico Game and Fish Department (NMGF) declined to join the settlement, although it did intervene in the lawsuit, after the FWS released pups into the wild, despite the NMGF declining the issuance of a permit to do so. Read more

Wildlife
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