Clinton-Appointed Judge Upholds Maryland’s “Assault Weapon” and “Large” Magazine Bans in Ultra-Biased Opinion

This week’s ruling by the judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland reminds us why it is important to elect U.S. senators who will reject an anti-gun president’s anti-gun nominees to the federal courts, and to elect presidents who will not nominate anti-gunners in the first place.

On Tuesday, August 12, Judge Catherine C. Blake, appointed to the court by President Bill Clinton, upheld Maryland’s “assault weapon” and “large” magazine ban in the case of Kolbe v. O’Malley. Read more

Ammunition, Firearms, Self Defense

GAMO® Outdoor USA Offers a Chance to Win Gear in Annual Summer Giveaway

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -Gamo Outdoor USA (www.gamooutdoorusa.com), the leading manufacturer of high quality air guns, optics and laser designators, is pleased to announce the start of the 2014 annual summer giveaway. The annual giveaway is an online/social media event where the different brands under the Gamo® Outdoor USA umbrella offers its social media participants the chance to win a product from their catalog. Read more

Firearms

MI Deer Private Land Assistance Network grant application period opens

The Department of Natural Resources yesterday announced that the application period for the Deer Private Land Assistance Network (Deer PLAN) – a cooperative grant program designed to support private-land deer habitat improvement projects in the northern Lower Peninsula – is now open.

“There are three main goals applicants should strive to meet,” said DNR wildlife biologist Brian Piccolo. “The projects should improve deer habitat for hunters, help reduce crop damage and the risk of TB on farms, and build partnerships between the DNR and sportsmen.” Read more

Hunting, Wildlife

TacStar’s SideSaddle and Picatinny Rail Mount Upgrades Remington Shotguns

TacStar – a Lyman brand and leader in tactical accessories – has introduced their combination SideSaddle and Rail Mount for Remington 12 gauge shotguns. This simple and effective tactical accessory can upgrade Remington 870, 1100 and 11-87 shotguns – no gunsmith needed. Ultra-rigid, this lightweight aluminum unit straddles both sides of the receiver and is crafted with a non-glare anodized finish. The top Picatinny rail can mount a variety of accessories, yet is designed to sit just high enough to allow continued use of the shotgun’s bead sight. Keeping six shells in readiness, the low profile design SideSaddle incorporates TacStar’s proprietary material for durability and secure shell retention.

Firearms, Hunting

DRT Introduces 50 Cal 170gr. TSMZ

DRT Ammunition is proud to introduce the new 50 Cal 170gr. TSMZ. This Terminal Shock Muzzle Loader bullet is .451dia and comes with Harvester Sabots in a 12 round package. The new TSMZ line was made to extend the range of the common inline muzzleloader, offering a non-lead projectile that is more consistent, and provides the terminal ballistics on which DRT builds its reputation. Our powdered core has given the bullet an unprecedented stability and will shoot less than a minute of angle at 100 and 200 yards out of a quality rifle.

We used a 115gr of Blackhorn 209 with CCI 209 shotshell primers and a Thompson Center Triumph to test this bullet for accuracy. We also used 150 Gr (3 pellets) of White Hots in a TC Encore Pro Hunter. The TSMZ is a powdered core, just like our other projectiles, and is incredibly devastating. The bullet will pass through bone and parts of the bullet core remain intact continuing to move through the animal, which makes it perfect for hunting – causing massive internal damage. This truly is an accurate and deadly bullet, unlike any other available. Read more

Ammunition, Firearms, Hunting

Osprey chicks outfitted with satellite backpacks

Nearly absent from much of the state due to the effects of DDT and other pesticides and habitat loss, ospreys continue to rebound in Michigan. In southern Michigan, monitoring efforts are tracking the revitalization of this species.

 

osprey backpackThis year, six osprey chicks from area nests were outfitted with “backpack” satellite and GSM telemetry units. These units – funded by grants from DTE Energy, Huron Valley Audubon, photographer Lou Waldock, U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services and American Tower Corporation – will help scientists track the young birds’ daily movements and seasonal migration patterns.

 

In 2013, three osprey chicks were given GPS backpacks in southeast Michigan. One chick banded near Estral Beach migrated to Cuba. A chick from Kensington Metropark ventured to Colombia, and one from Pinckney found good fishing sites on a golf course in Miami.

 

Unfortunately, all three chicks with backpacks perished in 2013. Approximately 60 percent of the osprey chicks hatched each year do not make it to their second birthday. Factors that commonly cause mortality in young chicks include predation by great horned owls, collisions with buildings and other structures, weather, and illegal shooting of birds in Central and South America.

 

“We are very excited to have this opportunity to place GPS units on several ospreys this year,” said Julie Oakes, Michigan Department of Natural Resources wildlife biologist. “This will provide the DNR with not only information on what migration routes the birds take, but also insight into what perils they must endure on their migration.” Read more

Wildlife

Whitetail Mineral Site Establishment

By Austin Delano – This is one of my favorite times of the year. The anticipation of what might show up this year as the antlers begin to develop is always super high. I have even found myself in the past few years putting out Bio Rock in urban landscapes and backyard woodlots just to see what deer frequent the area even though I have no intention of hunting there.  Creating new mineral sites can be especially exciting when you have a new piece of ground to investigate and see what deer are living there and what the potential of the area is. Refreshing old mineral sites or creating new ones is also a good family and kid friendly management activity. It doesn’t require any heavy equipment or long hours, and can be a great way to help teach kids some woodsmanship along the way and why whitetails use mineral licks.

So how do you establish a productive mineral site? It may seem as simple as pouring it in a depression you dig up with your boot or throwing a Bio Rock out on the edge of a food plot. These scenarios will work to a degree, but I like to put a little more thought and effort into my mineral sites and try to get the most out of them in terms of attraction, utilization, and trail camera use for getting an inventory on the deer that are using the area as well as identifying bucks through unique characteristics. Read more

Hunting

Tristars Cobra Marine Tactical

 
For years, TriStar Arms has offered an extensive tactical and home defense line of shotguns. In 2014, TriStar has added the Cobra Marine Tactical Pump shotgun with an 18.5-inch barrel. The Cobra Marine will feature a brushed nickel finish with a synthetic stock and forearm.The entire Cobra Tactical shotgun line will now feature an 18.5” barrel and a mounted picatinny rail under the forearm. TriStar has kept its return spring feature in the Cobra Tactical firearms. Simply pull back on the forearm and release, the spring will return the forearm forward, which will close the chamber. This method makes for rapid firing in a pump shotgun. Read more
Firearms, Self Defense

Michigan Senate Passes Citizen Initiative for Scientific Wildlife Conservation

 

 

Over 297,000 Michigan voters signed petitions to base wildlife decisions on sound science.

 

LANSING—Today the Michigan Senate passed the Scientific Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, a citizen initiative brought to the Legislature by the signatures of almost 300,000 registered Michigan voters led by the Citizens for Professional Wildlife Management, a coalition of conservation, hunting, fishing and trapping organizations.

“This is a significant step that recognizes the efforts of thousands of volunteers and hundreds of thousands of Michigan voters to ensure that sound science is the deciding factor in fish and wildlife conservation decisions,” said Matt Evans, legislative affairs manager for Michigan United Conservation Clubs. “Today, the Senate listened to the will of almost 300,000 of their constituents who exercised their constitutional right to propose legislation to their democratically-elected representatives.”

 

On July 24, The Michigan Board of State Canvassers certified over 297,000 signatures of registered Michigan voters to place the Scientific Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act before the Legislature. The act would share the authority for naming game species between the Legislature and the Natural Resources Commission (NRC), which is require to use sound science in its game decisions. The act also grants the NRC the authority to issue fisheries order, under the same sound science mandate, protects those fisheries with a $1 million rapid response fund for aquatic invasive species, and preserves free hunting and fishing licenses for active military members.

 

The act also defeats two referendums sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States, which is seeking to prevent a regulated hunting season on wolves in certain areas of the Upper Peninsula with high rates of livestock and pet depredation. In the past few weeks, five dogs have been killed by wolves in the Upper Peninsula. The Humane Society of the United States, which recently had its charity rating stripped by Charity Navigator, is also sponsoring anti-hunting initiatives in Maine and at the federal level.

 

The Scientific Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act now heads to the Michigan House of Representatives, which passed a similar measure last summer on a bipartisan basis.

 

Citizens for Professional Wildlife Management is a coalition of conservation, hunting, fishing and trapping groups and individuals including the Michigan chapters of Safari Club International, the Michigan Bear Hunters Association, Michigan United Conservation Clubs, the Michigan Trappers and Predator Callers Association, the Michigan Hunting Dog Federation, the Upper Peninsula Sportsmen’s Alliance, U.P. Whitetails, Inc., the U.P. Bear Houndsmen, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. The act has also received the endorsement of the National Wildlife Federation, the Michigan Salmon and Steelheader Fishermen’s Association, the Lake St. Clair Walleye Association, the Lake St. Clair chapter of Muskies, Inc., and numerous local conservation groups throughout Michigan.

Animal Rights, Hunting, Wildlife
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