The Daily Item, Sunbury, PA – Back to the field
October 22, 2008
Sportsmen prepare for the fall seasons
By Connie Mertz
For The Daily Item
The fall hunting seasons are fast approaching. While there is a great deal of interest in small game hunting, there is even more hype when it comes to pursuing wild turkey, bear, deer and elk.
The seemingly oddball of the four appears to be the wild turkey. It certainly is the smallest of the four, but it ranks up there in popularity.
“Turkey hunting is among the most challenging and rewarding type of outdoor recreation available to the hunting public,” claims Calvin DuBrock, Wildlife Management Director of the Pennsylvania Game Commission. “Populations are increasing due to careful science-based management.”
The spring estimated wild turkey population was about 335,000. Last fall, there were 162,300 turkey hunters but only 25,300 of them harvested a turkey. Even though hunters can harvest either a bearded turkey or a hen, the number of fall turkey hunters afield have been decreasing since the mid 1990s, according to DuBrock.
“The trend of lower harvests is due to a combination of shorter seasons in almost half of the WMUs (Wildlife Management Units) since 2004, average to below average spring reproduction, fewer fall turkey hunters and abundant fall mast crops, which tend to disperse turkey flocks making them more difficult for Full Story
The Daily Item, Sunbury, PA – Back to the field.
Virginia’s hunting-dog law finds itself in the cross hairs | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com
October 22, 2008
By Lee Tolliver
The Virginian-Pilot
© October 21, 2008
John Morse eased his pickup down a lumpy fire road that squeezed deep into a thicket of rural Chesapeake woods.
In a holding box in the truck bed, five of his hounds were going nuts as he stopped briefly to talk to a couple of camo-clad friends.
On this unseasonably warm fall morning, Morse and several members of Jim’s Hunt Club were about to take part in a Southern tradition that has been passed on to them by generations of hunters – using dogs to flush out and chase deer and other game.
It’s a heritage that faces growing criticism from property owners who say a Virginia law – the only one of its type in the country – is allowing unwanted hunters and dogs to intrude onto their lands. Hunters worry that people are trying to do away with their sport.
At a highly anticipated meeting on Thursday in Richmond, the results of a yearlong study on the conflict will be presented to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ Board of Commissioners.
But Morse and his buddies didn’t have time to worry about any of that as they prepared for a morning hunt. Morse backed into a narrow cut in the tree line, got out of the cab and called on the radio. Full Story
Virginia’s hunting-dog law finds itself in the cross hairs | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com.
Bait or switch? Using feeders to attract deer isn’t sporting, but some have little choice | Dallas Morning News
October 21, 2008
By Ray Sasser
When the traditional deer season begins Nov. 1, most Texas hunters will go hunting. But they won’t actually hunt the deer.
Instead, they will train deer to come near their blind or vehicle by baiting them, usually with shelled corn.
As sportsmen compete with ethanol production, corn prices have risen. That’s not necessarily bad news. It may persuade a few more deer hunters to become purists, eschewing the use of bait in attracting deer. Some states have made it illegal to bait for deer or other game.
I’m always amused at Texas hunters who claim to have “patterned” a trophy buck’s movements so they could shoot the animal. In the old days of deer hunting, B.C. before corn, patterning meant scouting for trails, rubs, scrapes, tracks and glimpses of a target buck.
Nowadays, patterning means setting the timer on an automatic feeder to dispense bait at a certain time, then placing motion-sensitive cameras to record any animal that passes close enough to trigger the shutter or the video.
Some game cameras can be checked via the Internet so the modern hunter can “pattern” his buck from the comfort of his living room or office. That’s a sad commentary on modern hunting. I don’t care how big he is, I don’t want to kill a trained deer with a name. Full Story
Hunter-safety courses right on target | News-Leader.com | Springfield News-Leader
October 21, 2008
Missouri Department of Conservation
Hunter-education instructors have tough jobs. The more they succeed, the harder their job becomes.
“We have come such a long way in the past 20 years, it hardly leaves us anywhere to go,” said Tony Legg, hunter education coordinator for the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Legg notes that in the bad old days of hunting safety, Missouri routinely recorded more firearms deer-hunting accidents in one day than occur now over the entire season.
“The worst year was 1986,” said Legg. “We had 26 accidents that year, including one fatality. There were 10 accidents just on the opening weekend.”
A big part of the reason for the large number of deer-hunting accidents that year was sheer numbers of both deer and hunters. Missouri’s firearms deer harvest topped 100,000 for the first time in 1986, and approximately 400,000 hunters took advantage of the growing deer herd.
Responding to the challenge of making hunting safer, the Conservation Commission made hunter education mandatory in 1988, requiring anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1967, to complete an approved safety and ethics course before buying a hunting permit.
The results have been spectacular. From 1980 through 1989, Missouri averaged 16.8 firearm-related deer hunting accidents per season. Over the past 10 years, the average has been 8.6. Last year, Missouri recorded just four firearms-related deer hunting accidents, none fatal. Full Story
Hunter-safety courses right on target | News-Leader.com | Springfield News-Leader.
Either-sex hunting is good deer herd management | Batesville Daily Guard
October 21, 2008
If you’re a 50-or-older deer hunter, the chances are good you didn’t have many deer around your neighborhood when you were a kid.
Back then, the Arkansas and Missouri deer herd was spotty at best, and throughout vast portions of both states deer were rare or non-existent.
Good wildlife management and conservative hunting seasons turned that around, and today deer are well-established and are legal game in every county in both states.
In almost all cases, bucks-only hunting was the rule during those rebuilding years. Obviously, it worked.
Maybe it worked too well. Bucks-only hunting brought the whitetail herd back, and now many older hunters who remember the lean years are finding it hard to start thinking in terms of either-sex deer hunting. It’s hard to abandon a winner.
But different conditions call for different management strategies, and it’s understating the case to say that deer herd densities are different today than a half-century ago.
The fact is, bucks-only hunting was what got us here, but if we want to stay here, we need to shoot antlerless deer. A well-regulated either-sex deer harvest is one of the most important components of a deer management plan.
Most hunters and clubs realize the importance of managing bucks on their property, but many fail to realize the importance of managing antlerless deer as well. Many things can be accomplished with an adequate antlerless harvest, all of which ultimately affect the buck population.
A balanced sex ratio, shorter and earlier breeding season, increased reproduction and recruitment, and improved herd health are some of the desirable objectives that can be met with proper antlerless harvest.
The most common reason for hunter resistance to shooting antlerless deer is that they’re afraid they don’t have enough deer, and that shooting does will reduce the herd’s reproductive ability.
It’s just not so.
Bucks-only harvest, over time, produces an out-of-whack sex ratio in the herd, and this means many does don’t breed during their first, second or even third estrous cycle. Some does go through the year without breeding at all.
The does that breed late, of course, also give birth later in the year than does that conceived during their first estrous cycle, and these late summer, early fall born fawns typically encounter vegetation that is generally poorer in quality and quantity as it “hardens off” for winter Full Story
Either-sex hunting is good deer herd management | Batesville Daily Guard.
PROJECT HEALING WATERS
October 17, 2008
BY JOHN BERRY
Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing Inc. is a not for profit organization dedicated to the rehabilitation (both emotionally and physically) of veterans and disabled active duty military through the healing effects of fly fishing and fly tying. The organization was first started about four years ago by Ed Nicholson, a retired Navy captain who was visiting patients at Walter Reed. He was looking for something that they were interested in. It has since grown to twenty programs in fifteen states. Project Healing Waters is run in conjunction with two other not for profit organizations, the Federation of Fly Fishers and Trout Unlimited. The concept is to teach fly casting and fly tying to wounded personnel at VA and military hospitals through twenty affiliated programs in fifteen states with volunteers from local fishing clubs.
My brother Dan, a Federation of Fly Fishers Certified Casting Instructor, has been working with some of the wounded active duty personnel on their fly casting in Memphis. I sat in on a session and was very impressed with the determination and positive attitude of the warriors. Other Mid South Fly Fishers Club members have been teaching them fly tying.
A major part of the program is to take wounded warriors fishing. In a couple of weeks, they are going to hold an outing here which will be coordinated locally by Rim Shoals. The idea is to take eight wounded warriors fishing for three days. These guys are all wounded veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan and most are amputees. They will fish both the White and Norfork rivers. There are a host of local groups that are providing meals or services including: the American Legion, Angler’s Coffee Café/Blue ribbon Fly Shop, Cotter Area Chamber of Commerce, Knights of Columbus, Mountain Home Veterans of Foreign Wars, North Arkansas Fly Fishers, the North Central Veteran Council, Trout Unlimited White River Chapter, Trout Unlimited Memphis Chapter and Wapsi.
The festivities begin on Monday the twenty seventh of October with a meet and greet at Rim Shoals. This is where the participants get to meet their guides and discuss the next days fishing. On Tuesday, they gather at Cotter Big Spring Park for breakfast sponsored by the Cotter Area Chamber of Commerce. At 7:30 AM, they begin their float and fished their way down to Rim Shoals. Lunch is at Rim Shoals and then they spend the afternoon fishing in the area. Dinner is at Rim Shoals. On Wednesday, they gather at Anglers coffee Café for breakfast and the shuttle to the Norfork River for another day of fishing. Lunch is at the confluence with the White River sponsored by the Mountain Home Veterans of Foreign Wars. They then shuttle back to Rim Shoals for a dinner sponsored by the North Arkansas Fly Fishers. On Thursday they begin the day at Rim Shoals with a breakfast provided by the local Trout Unlimited Chapter then it is a float trip down to Buffalo City. Lunch is provided by the Knights of Columbus and eaten during the float. As you can see this is a lot of fishing and a lot of coordination to make it happen.
The guides for this group are Duane Hada, Denis Dunderdale, Davy Wotten and Me. We are all working at reduced rates. I am especially pleased to be a part of this group. As a Viet Nam veteran, I feel a natural kinship with these guys and I look forward to spending some quality time with them on the water. If you see us out there, give us a wave. Stop and think about the service and sacrifice the guys have made for us.
(870) 435-2169
berrybrothers@infodash.com
www.berrybrothersguides.com
Take children on hunt for pheasants, quail | News-Leader.com | Springfield News-Leader
October 17, 2008
Francis Skalicky
It’s hoped that two upcoming youth-only hunting events will provide young hunters with an opportunity to get interested in the outdoors. At the same time, it’s hoped these two-day hunting events will give veteran hunters a chance to pass on their love of the outdoors to the next generation.
The two events I’m referring to are Missouri’s youth-only quail season, which will be Oct. 25-26, and the state’s youth-only pheasant season, which will be the same weekend.
Missouri’s youth-only quail season is open to hunters ages 6-15. Youths who are not hunter-education certified must hunt in the immediate presence of a properly licensed adult. In those instances, the adult may not hunt quail — only the child may do so. The daily bag limit is eight and the possession limit is 16. Full Story
Take children on hunt for pheasants, quail | News-Leader.com | Springfield News-Leader.
MyFox Colorado | Can Sarah Palin Help Colorado’s Hunting Industry?
October 17, 2008
By JON BOWMAN
DENVER – With gun-toting Governor Sarah Palin as its new model, the outdoor sportsman industry has a new role model, and the hope is she can re-energize the industry.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the overall number of hunters has declined to 12.5 million from 14.1 million in the past 15 years. Higher gas prices, increased license fees, and climbing equipment costs have all helped keep hunters out of the high country.
All of these factors have led the industry to step up marketing efforts to get more women into camouflage and put guns into their hands Full Story
MyFox Colorado | Can Sarah Palin Help Colorado’s Hunting Industry?
Good year for elk in state – Glasgow Daily Times, Glasgow, KY
October 17, 2008
Published October 16, 2008 07:17 am – Elk hunters bag some possible record takes in non-typical class.
Good year for elk in state
By JOEL WILSON
Glasgow Daily Times
GLASGOW —
Last week on Kentucky Afield we saw 10-year old John Taylor Shirley, of Warren County, have great success on his elk hunt in eastern Kentucky. John Taylor also has some local connections.
On this week’s show, another 10-year old is featured as he participates in Kentucky’s youth hunt weekend. Bourbon County’s Houston McFarland is joined in the deer woods by host Tim Farmer. We’ll also get part two of the deer dressing tutorial and there will be a segment on rifle marksmanship.
Kentucky Afield airs on KET at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and repeats at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
Back on the subject of elk season, KDFW outdoor writer Hayley Lynch tells us that it was a good year.
Kentucky’s 2008 bull elk firearms quota hunt ended Oct. 11, with hunters taking 115 bulls in the southeastern part of the state.
“Hunters had an 88 percent success rate, and most of those bulls were taken within the first four days of the season. This level of success is outstanding,” said Tina Brunjes, big game program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “It would not be possible without the hard work of our biologists and officers in the elk zone. Most of our hunters at some point speak to a Fish and Wildlife employee, who gives them information on where to hunt, both public and private land.” Full Story
Glasgow Daily Times, Glasgow, KY – Good year for elk in state.
Man is fighting state for senior’s; deer hunt rights | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press
October 15, 2008
BY ZLATI MEYER • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Raymond Andres has spent almost every autumn for the last 6 1/2 decades in the woods. But this fall, he says, his years are working against him.
No longer strong enough to draw his bow, the 81-year-old Riverview resident wanted a special permit to allow him to use a crossbow. The state Department of Natural Resources reserves such permits for people with permanent disabilities. Andres doesn’t qualify, so last month, he filed an age discrimination complaint against the DNR.
The retired electrician is to testify today at a Natural Resources Commission meeting in Lansing. Although he said DNR officials say they will issue him a permit, he’s concerned how the crossbow rules affect other aging hunters in a state where — according to U.S. census data — about 20% of residents are 65 or older. Full Story
Man is fighting state for seniors’ deer hunt rights | Freep.com | Detroit Free Press
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