ThinkingAfield.org

By Glen Wunderlich
Outdoor Columnist
Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

When crossbows shot onto the hunting scene last year, retailers enjoyed a robust boost in revenue. Additionally, the State of Michigan benefited from license sales. Yippee! Michigan House Representative, James Bolger of District 63 (Marshall) so declares the experiment a resounding success and now proposes to expand the use of crossbows to make more money for everybody. Hey, times are tough. Why not run with it?

Here’s why. Mr. Bolger’s resume indicates that he has run a small business employing 20 people in a communications business. Good for him! What it doesn’t show, however, is any background in the science of wildlife biology.

Nonetheless, he has proposed the following (HB 5922) redefining the term bow: “bow” would now mean “a device for propelling an arrow from a string drawn, held, and released by hand where the force used to hold the string in the drawn position is provided by the archer’s muscles or a weapon consisting of a bow, with a draw weight of 100 pounds or more, mounted transversely on a stock or frame and designed to fire an arrow, bolt, or quarrel by the release of a bow string that is controlled by a mechanical or electric trigger with a working safety.”

At first glance, the proposal seems innocuous enough but the language change would mean a much broader application in the use of crossbows. Crossbows would become legal in any season or region available to more traditional bow hunting. The problem is that Mr. Bolger is no different than some of the politicians in Washington: He’s not listening to the people.

Proposal G (1996) has given exclusive authority to the Natural Resources Commission (NRC) to regulate the taking of game using sound scientific management. The NRC and the DNRE will continue their work by holding open meetings and gathering scientific data on the potential impact of expanded crossbow use on our wildlife populations. This is what we, the people, are paying the NRC to do for us. And, when we gave the NRC this power in 1996, we did so by an overwhelming majority.

On March 4, Mr. Bolger’s legislation was sent to the House Tourism, Outdoor Recreation and Natural Resources Committee, where lawmakers heard criticisms that the plan nullifies regulations developed from much public input and review of options through the NRC last year.

Amy Spray, of Michigan United Conservation Clubs, opposes the bill and questions if it conflicts with Proposal G language that gives the NRC authority over “methods of take” based on sound scientific evidence. And, since we are reviewing crossbow statistics from only the first year of a three-year probationary period, it’s simply too early to determine what overall effect the current rules will have on the herd, recruitment of new hunters, hunter retention, and so on.

Where was Mr. Bolger last year when the crossbow rules were consummated and why didn’t he put his cards on the table then?

Obviously, not everyone will be happy with change, but it’s time we start listening to the experts – in this case wildlife biologists that we pay for this very purpose – instead of some greedy, short-sighted schemer. It’s entirely possible that Mr. Bolger’s crossbow definition change makes sense, but flexing muscle at this juncture could have a negative impact on deer herd management – not to mention morale of our employees. Let wisdom prevail by permitting our professionals to do what we pay them to do.

GW: The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has slithered into a campaign in Michigan to prevent a moose hunting season. Once again, there’s always someone or some group that opposes science-based wildlife management in order to further an agenda. In this case, as always with HSUS, it’s about preventing hunting.

Within a short period of time, HSUS will invoke emotion into the mix and plenty of people will buy it regardless of facts – and regardless of the fact that we pay the NRC to manage wildlife issues.

There’s simply no way that licensed, lawful sportsmen will do anything to jeopardize the future of moose hunting any more than has been done with the elk program in Michigan. It’s managed quite well based on the sustainable numbers we have year to year in partnership with the hunting aspect of game management.

Moose would be no different.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Greg R. Lawson (614) 888-4868 x 214
March 23, 2010
Sharon Hayden (614) 888-4868 x 226
USSA Unveils Exciting New Program
to Defend Sportsmen’s Rights

(Columbus) – Today, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) officially unveiled a dynamic new initiative aimed at building an army of sportsmen from coast to coast to protect America’s outdoor heritage for future generations.

The USSA’s Sentry Program is free to join and represents the most intense effort ever focused on attracting sportsmen to become active players in the fight to preserve hunting, fishing and trapping rights whenever they are threatened.

By becoming a Sentry, sportsmen gain access to instant email communications about local and national threats to their outdoor rights as they happen. They will also be given specific instructions on which public officials to contact and when as these threats emerge. This communication network will enable sportsmen to mobilize quicker and more effectively than ever before.

In addition to getting sportsmen engaged in advocacy, the Sentry Program offers additional benefits, giving sportsmen a “one stop” web site for key information including state hunting regulations, information on where one can find a shooting range and other hunting and fishing tips from recognized leaders in the outdoor community.

“There are many anti-hunting organizations seeking to do away with what we love,” said Bud Pidgeon, USSA president and CEO. “By coming together under the Sentry Program, sportsmen will enhance our ranks and collectively stand tall against those groups.”

There is no cost to join the Sentry Program and requires only a minimal amount of information from those interested. For more information, please contact 614-888-4868, visit the USSA’s website at www.ussportsmen.org/BeASentry, or e-mail info@ussportsmen.org.

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance is a national association of sportsmen and sportsmen’s organizations that protects the rights of hunters, anglers and trappers in the courts, legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs. For more information about the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and its work, call (614) 888-4868 or visit its website, www.ussportsmen.org.

By Glen Wunderlich
Outdoor Columnist
Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

There aren’t many things in life that we attempt for the first time which hold no room for improvement. Whether it’s bowling, golf, painting, driving – you name it – we fall short of perfection no matter how simple the task may have appeared. Shooting a firearm is no different.

Years ago, a neighbor and I were shooting bowling pins at 10 yards with our 9mm pistols, as a form of target practice. After he missed a few, we set them up and I shot each one of them in the head at the same distance. I then demonstrated the technique to my neighbor and, when we set the pins up again, he went 10 for 10 the very next time – all head shots, too. It was a matter of technique.

While I understand the compulsion to risk a dollar for millions on the lottery, for example, the consequences for failing seem small in comparison to the potential. There’s not a lot of harm for failing; heck, what’s a dollar today? But when it comes to pulling the trigger on a running deer at long range, the odds at success may be little better than winning the lottery’s jackpot, although failure may have consequences the trigger-happy hunter may not realize.

Clean misses are always better than shots that are almost good, when wounding and maiming result. However, the trouble with missing clean is that the unethical hunter usually has no clue as to why he missed. The shot may have been high, low, or behind the fleeing game. All he knows, if he bothers to actually check the scene carefully, is that he missed.

Worse yet, the game animal may be hit in a non-vital area that makes recovery impossible. If you are thinking, oh well, it’s only a deer, count yourself on the side of anti-hunters. It’s not that all gimpy game results from poor marksmanship, but who is going to convince the growing contingent of anti-hunters otherwise?

When we begin to accept that hunter numbers are declining and that anti-hunters are well-funded and are not going away, we may begin to understand the importance of hunting ethics.

I am not suggesting that some hunters have not attained the skill level to consistently kill animals on the run; I have just never met one. And, I don’t know anyone who practices shooting moving targets at long ranges and is good enough to follow the 9/10 rule: If you are good enough to place 9 out of 10 shots into a 6-inch circle at a given range with your chosen firearm, bow, or spear, then you are good enough. It’s a simple barometer that always works.

Practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect. A working knowledge of the ballistic properties of your given load and firearm goes a long way toward understanding what happens downrange. But when a 20-mph wind blows at 90 degrees, your fingers are cold, it’s getting dark and you are not sure of the distance, it makes no sense to let one fly.

Shot discipline means that sometimes we go home empty-handed. It also means we didn’t cripple a healthy animal and that we didn’t give anti-hunters examples of foolishness afield.

Certainly, we were not able to bag that trophy buck by holding back, either. But, on another day, we might be able to get a better opportunity by outsmarting him and staying within our known limitations.

A female wolverine, first spotted in the Thumb in Feb. 24, 2004, was
found dead by hikers at the Minden Bog in the Minden City State Game
Area Saturday.

Todd Rann of Marysville and Morgan Graham of New Baltimore spotted what
they thought was a dead beaver, partially submerged in the water near a
beaver dam. Rann pulled it from the water and realized it was a
wolverine. The pair called the Report All Poaching hot line. Department
of Natural Resources and Environment Conservation Officers Seth Rhodea
and Bob Hobkirk responded immediately and retrieved the animal.

The officers reported no visible signs of trauma.

DNRE wildlife biologist Arnie Karr, who originally verified the animal
was a wolverine after it was treed by coyote hunters in 2004, said the
carcass will be sent to the DNRE veterinary lab for necropsy. The
department plans to have the specimen mounted and displayed, probably at
the visitor center at nearby Bay City State Recreation Area., Karr
said.

The animal was the first wolverine ever actually verified in Michigan.
Biologists say that if wolverines were ever native to Michigan, they
were extirpated about 200 years ago.

At the time of the wolverine’s sighting, DNRE Director Rebecca
Humphries signed an emergency order protecting the animal from
harassment or harm. The animal, which has been seen, photographed and
videoed by numerous people since it was discovered, was thought to be
alive and well until it was discovered dead Saturday.

Contacts: Steve Schmitt 517-336-5030 or Mary Dettloff 517-335-3014

A total of 31 white-tailed deer tested positive for bovine tuberculosis
in 2009, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment announced
today.

No elk tested positive for the disease.

In Deer Management Unit 452, the core area of concern, 1.9 percent of
deer tested for TB were infected, the same percentage as in 2008.
Elsewhere in the five-county tuberculosis zone, .4 percent of deer
tested a positive a slight, but statistically insignificant, increase
from .3 in 2008.

No TB-positive deer were found in Iosco or Shiawassee counties, where
infected deer have been found in the past.

Although the trend continues to show a statistically decreased
prevalence of infection since TB was discovered in the deer herd 1995,
prevalence is flat over the last five years, said DNRE wildlife
veterinarian Dr. Steve Schmitt.

“We’re kind of in a holding pattern,” Schmitt said. “We
haven’t been able to gain any ground in the last five years. Unless
we change our strategy, we may maintain the current level of
transmission for the foreseeable future.”

In 2009, one captive cervid herd tested positive for TB.

By Glen Wunderlich
Outdoor Columnist
Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

Three years ago outdoor legend, Jim Zumbo, bit the hand that had been feeding him. In a moment of carelessness, he wrote on the Outdoor Life web site that he saw no place for “black guns” in the hunting fraternity. And, as quickly as you can say assault weapon, he lost his lofty position at Outdoor Life magazine (which he held for 30 years), he lost his TV show, and thus his means of income. Now, as Jim has rebuilt his iconic status among outdoor enthusiasts, as I predicted in 2007, comes one Paul Barrett opening up old wounds.

In a recent Business Week piece titled Rambo Rifles for Weekend Hunters (the title alone suggests a disconnect with reality), Barrett seeks to sensationalize similarities between U.S. military issue firearms and today’s modern sporting rifles (MSRs) by claiming Zumbo yet maintains a certain disdain for these popular firearms in terms of hunting; nothing can be further from fact. While Barrett may get an “attaboy” from gun grabbers with his attempted cheap shot, his magazine comes up empty.

When Zumbo removed his foot from his mouth three years ago, comrades in arms quickly educated him in the ways of MSRs. First it was friend, Ted Nugent, who had Jim smiling after a workout in Texas with an AR-15 on Nugent’s own TV show.
Then, at a live auction to raise funds for the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) that same year, Jim made a profound statement, when bidding on a MSR seemed to stall at wholesale value around $900. He stood up and everyone paid attention when he added a simple caveat: “I will throw in a personally guided prairie dog hunt to the winning bidder.” That’s all it took to inflate the bids to $3500! Jim was back!

And, if that wasn’t enough to convince everyone that he learned his lesson, he topped his commitment to the shooting sports industry the following year at POMA’s annual conference. A printed agenda highlighting auction items was being followed in order by the auctioneer. Jim moved to the front of the room and explained how had met a young man at the conference – a college student and aspiring writer, who already had numerous heart operations at his young age. After getting to know this young man, who was struggling against the odds to make it as a writer – and, more importantly against life itself – Jim altered the course of the night’s events again. He briefly explained the youngster’s struggle then stated, “I am offering to take this young man and a high-bidding hunter on a wild turkey hunt.” Out of nowhere, POMA pocketed thousands on the spot for Jim’s benevolence.

Zumbo not only supports the outdoor media and firearms industry, but his new TV show, Jim Zumbo Outdoors, focuses on his dedication to supporting our troops, while others pretend to do it with mere lip service. He spearheads an effort to provide hunting opportunities to our returning wounded military warriors by providing them with accessible means to hunt the great outdoors week after week.

So, when Paul Barrett writes about Zumbo, as though he continues to be some type of wedge between factions of new and old-school hunters, he misses the target. While Barrett’s words may draw attention to the popularity of MSRs, he also displays his ignorance on the cohesiveness that has developed between sporting shooters and hunters like Jim Zumbo.

The Department of Natural Resources and Environment is inviting the public
to participate in the deer management planning process. Four public meetings
have been held, and another four are occurring in the next couple weeks. The
DNRE will present and discuss the draft statewide deer management plan.
These meetings will be held 7 to 9 p.m. EST, with the exception of the
Crystal Falls meeting, which will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. CST.

“These open houses are to present the first draft of the Deer Management
Plan to the public and to receive comments on the plan,” said John
Niewoonder, DNRE wildlife habitat biologist.” The citizen-based Deer
Advisory Team, DNRE staff and others involved with the recommendations for
this plan have worked diligently to create this document.”

Local staff will be available after the meeting for other deer questions;
the open house portion will focus solely on the draft plan. The plan is
available for review on the DNRE Web site under www.michigan.gov/dnrhunting.

Public open house locations and dates are as follows:

Tuesday March 9, Comfort Inn, 13954 State Highway M-28, Newberry

Wednesday March 10, Forest Park Elementary School, Multi Purpose Rm., 810
Forest Parkway, Crystal Falls (6 to 8 p.m. CST).

Tuesday March 16, Quality Inn, 3121 East Grand River Ave., Lansing

Thursday March 18, Northwood University, Sloan Building, Rm. 210, 4000
Whiting Dr., Midland

Individuals can also submit written comments via e-mail or U.S. mail. Send
comments to: John Niewoonder, DNRE Wildlife Division, P.O. Box 30444,
Lansing, MI 48909, or via e-mail, at dnr-wld-wild@michigan.gov.

Persons with disabilities needing accommodations for effective participation
in the meeting should contact Alice Stimpson at 517-373-1263, or at
stimpsona@michigan.gov, at least seven days prior to the meeting date to
request mobility, visual, hearing, or other assistance.

GW: This is scary business; ask any Michigan hunter. Conspicuously absent is any mention of what the contingency plan actually involves. Could it be that officials don’t want to be the despicable messengers?

Date: February 25, 2010
Source: Missouri Department of Agriculture

Contacts:
Misti Preston, (573) 751-8596

The Missouri Departments of Agriculture, Conservation and Health and Senior Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced today that a captive white-tailed deer in Linn County, Missouri has tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). CWD is a neurological disease found in deer, elk and moose.

“There is no evidence that CWD poses a risk to domestic animals or humans,” said State Veterinarian Dr. Taylor Woods. “We have protocols in place to quickly and effectively handle these situations.”

The animal that tested positive for CWD was a white-tailed deer inspected as part of the State’s CWD surveillance and testing program. Preliminary tests were conducted by the USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa.

Upon receiving the confirmed CWD positive, Missouri’s departments of Agriculture, Conservation and Health and Senior Services initiated their CWD Contingency Plan. The plan was developed in 2002 by the Cervid Health Committee, a task force comprised of veterinarians, animal health officers and conservation officers from USDA, MDA, MDC and DHSS working together to mitigate challenges associated with CWD.

CWD is transmitted by live animal to animal contact or soil to animal contact. The disease was first recognized in 1967 in captive mule deer in the Colorado Division of Wildlife captive wildlife research facility in Fort Collins, Colorado. CWD has been documented in deer and/or elk in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the Canadian Provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. There has been no evidence that the disease can be transmitted to humans.

“Missouri’s proactive steps to put a testing protocol in place and create a contingency plan years ago is proving beneficial. We are in a solid position to follow pre-established steps to ensure Missouri’s valuable whitetail deer resource remains healthy and strong,” said Jason Sumners Missouri’s Deer Biologist.

For more information regarding CWD, please contact Dr. Taylor Woods at (573) 751-3377.

By Glen Wunderlich
Outdoor Columnist
Member Professional Outdoor Media Association

At the recent Deer and Turkey Spectacular in Lansing, I stopped by Ed Spinazzola’s booth to purchase some brassica seed for this year’s food plot. While there, a tall, slender man introduced himself as Leon Hank. I knew the name from information I have received from the Quality Deer Management Association of Michigan and I explained to Leon how much I appreciate the timely, inside news. (Leon is a director of the first Michigan chapter, Mid-Michigan branch.) Leon moved away from me for a minute and returned with a book in his hands that he had written and just signed for me, Proud Hunters, Proud Yoopers. I already liked this proud hunter.

The book is a compilation of 50 of Leon’s hunting stories from the Eastern Upper Peninsula, where he grew up and returns to hunt many times each year from his home in Holt. He explains in great detail how he went from BB gun, to making his first bow in school, to rifle hunting some of the wildest land in our nation for various game. In chapter 37 he recounts how two hunters got lost in the vast Gogemain swamp; one came out alive after four days, and in a separate incident, the other did not.

Although I didn’t grow up there, as Leon did, I spent eight seasons in Iron County hunting whitetails and one session in 1989 was indicative of just how brutal conditions can be in the northern wilderness.

Fast Frank and I had already hunted near the Net River for three seasons and we always prepared for the worst weather, or so we thought. My 1971 Ford pickup with its 10-foot camper in the bed had transported us to the land of the Yooper several times and it was always exciting to finally arrive to our camping area in the commercial forest. After the long 475-mile excursion, it would seem as though we had already been rewarded just by getting there.

The 18-year old truck was new in comparison to the gaudy camper sitting above it. It didn’t have a heater, so we used an infrared unit mounted atop a propane tank inside our home away from home. For safety, we would keep a window open slightly for ventilation.

We awoke on November 15 to one of the most spectacular sights two hunters could imagine: six inches of fresh snow. When I ventured out the first morning of firearms deer season, I marveled at the beauty of the heavy snow. However, the wet, white stuff hung to the branches of the trees and pulled them down to where vision was restricted severely. There would be no long shots with my .30-06 on this day.

I was fortunate to kill a young buck that day and dragged him back to camp in relative ease across the snow-slicked timber floor and hung my prize alongside the camper.

When Fast Frank and I retired to the confining camp for the evening, we fired up the heater and noticed that it wasn’t burning properly. The heating element wasn’t burning completely and to prevent asphyxiation, reluctantly we were forced to shut it down.

I had extra sleeping bags and offered Frank one of them, but for some unknown reason, he declined. It was a terrible mistake. The temperature plummeted under the clear nighttime sky to near zero degrees and the winds howled like a lone wolf. Everything in the camper froze by morning – the water jugs, canned food, everything – including Frank’s feet. As miserable as he was, he was there to hunt, but his frostbitten feet made for one grumpy hunting companion for the next three days.

Even though temperatures moderated to approximately 15 degrees during the daytime hours, Frank was would never get warm on this trip. As a result, we headed back to Shiawassee County a bit earlier than planned, because of his discomfort. Before the next deer season, I installed a forced-air furnace in the camper, but it was too late for Frank. He never went there again with me.

If this story gives you an idea about the unique nature of hunting in the U.P., Leon’s book is more of the same but from a perspective that only a Yooper can have. It’s an unapologetic description of one man’s life as a hunter and the special bond created with his mentor and father – another proud Yooper – and five generations of the Hank family.

You can get a copy of Proud Hunters Proud Yoopers by sending a check or money order for $16.73 (includes taxes and shipping) to the following:

Big Buck Ranch, Inc.
P.O. Box 285
Holt, MI 48842

Or, you can order online at www.proudyooper.com.