Hunting Deer With My Flintlock – NYTimes.com
December 27, 2011
Seamus McGraw
Bushkill, Pa.
SHE took me by surprise. Though I had been stalking her through the dense undergrowth for about 40 minutes, I had lost sight of her as the afternoon light began to fade. It was getting late and I was about ready to call it a day when, just as I hit the crest of a shadowy depression in the mountainside, I caught a glimpse of her, a beautiful doe, the matriarch of a small clan that foraged behind her.
She saw me, too.
She stepped out from behind a shagbark. Even in the spreading dusk I could see her eyes as she glared at me. She stomped out a warning on the rocky ground.
I had to admire her guts. I dropped to one knee, fumbled in my pocket for my old brass powder charger, freshened the powder in my frizzen, and pulled back the hammer on my .50-caliber flintlock. I took a deep breath and then I drew a bead on her.
An instant that felt like an hour passed before I squeezed the trigger. The hammer fell, the powder in the frizzen flashed, startling me even though I was prepared for it, and a heartbeat later, the whole world exploded with the thunder of 90 grains of black powder erupting in fire and blinding acrid smoke from the barrel of my gun, sending a lead minié ball rocketing toward the doe at a lethal 1,400 feet per second.
In the smoke and the confusion I couldn’t tell if I had hit her. And then I saw that I had. The impact of the bullet had knocked her to the ground, and as the rest of the herd high-tailed it over the ridge, she struggled to stand, staggered a few yards and then collapsed again. I had hoped for a clean kill. But I had failed. I knew what had happened — I had flinched when the powder in the pan went off. Instead of hitting her in the heart or lungs, which would have killed her instantly, I had mortally wounded her. Now I would have to finish the job. Click Link Below For Full Story!
via Hunting Deer With My Flintlock – NYTimes.com.
Kentucky Afield Outdoors – Early Muzzleloader Deer Season
October 11, 2011
FRANKFORT, Ky. – The first of two seasons created especially for hunters who want to take deer with muzzleloading firearms is coming up.
Kentucky’s early muzzleloader deer season, which debuted in 1990, will be held this year on the weekend of Oct. 15-16.
In the past decade, the muzzleloader deer harvest has averaged 16,272 deer a year. A high of 19,918 was taken during the 2004-05 season, and a low of 13,179 bagged last season.
“Because it’s in mid-October, our early muzzleloader season often gets impacted by hot weather,” said Tina Brunjes, deer and elk program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.
The amount of mast (acorns) available to deer is also a factor in how many deer are taken.
“A bad mast year pushes deer out into the open, to forage fields and food plots, and that tends to increase the harvest,” said Brunjes.
Wildlife biologists checking trees on 45 routes across the state as part of the department’s annual mast survey found that 30 percent of the white oaks and 76 percent of the red oaks produced acorns this year.
The department’s mast survey has been conducted annually for over 50 years. “In 2007, we adopted a standardized protocol of checking marked trees, so we could share data with other states in the region,” said Robinson.
“Based on what we observed, this year’s mast crop is rated poor for white oaks (20 to 39 percent of trees produced mast), and good for red oaks (60 to 79 percent of trees produced mast),” said Ben Robinson, small game biologist for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife.
Oaks, especially white oaks, are the most important tree species to wildlife in Kentucky forests. They produce acorns that are a critical food source for squirrels, white-tailed deer, wild turkey, black bear and other forest species.
Wildlife prefer white oak acorns because they are more palatable. The acorns produced by red oaks are much higher in tannin, which makes them bitter.
White oaks can produce acorns every year but entire crops are often lost due to late freezes, summer droughts or untimely rains when oak flowers are pollinating. Red oaks are more reliable year to year because it takes two years for red oak acorns to mature and not all trees produce mature acorns in the same year.
White oak stands make excellent places to set up a ground blind or tree stand.
“Find a white oak that has acorns, and you’ve got a good place to hunt,” said Brunjes. “Deer will travel a considerable distance to feed on white oak acorns.”
She has another suggestion for hunters. “If you’re trying to reduce deer numbers or improve the buck-to-doe ratio in your herd, go ahead and take a doe during the early season. It’s not going to mess up your hunting for bucks during the rut,” said Brunjes. “You need to think of the big picture when managing deer on your hunting property.”
Muzzleloaders have always been part of Kentucky’s hunting history and culture. During Kentucky’s muzzleloader deer seasons, hunters may use traditional muzzleloaders, such as flintlock longrifles and percussion half stock rifles, or modern in-line muzzleloaders of any caliber. Legal equipment also includes optical sights, round balls, conical bullets and saboted bullets.
Kentucky’s late muzzleloader deer season is actually the older of the two seasons. It was first held in November of 1985 as a two-day hunt in 52 counties. Hunters could take only antlered deer. At that time not all 120 counties were open to deer hunting, and the state was divided into seven deer management zones.
Through the years the late season was lengthened and the bag limit liberalized. The season was eventually moved to mid-December.
By 2004, the late season had expanded from seven to nine days and opened statewide. By then, hunters could take deer of either sex in all four of the state’s deer management zones.
This year’s late muzzleloader dates are Dec. 10-18, 2011.
6 Keys to Early-Season Deer Hunting – Game & Fish/Sportsman
September 14, 2011
by Travis Faulkner
A heavily worn deer path skirted along the edge of the green field, which was surrounded by a combination of dense cover and isolated patches of open hardwoods. The entire area was completely covered in muddy deer tracks and every other sapling tree had been rubbed raw. In addition, my trail cameras had already captured several pictures of a really nice buck with extra-tall tines and a single crab-claw point that gave him character. Needless to say, these photos and fresh sign helped me forget all about the humid temperatures and bloodthirsty insects that go hand-in-hand with early-season deer hunting.
On opening day, I slipped into my treestand that overlooked a staging area just above two converging creek channels and one of the nastiest thickets on the entire property. About 30 minutes before dark, the sound of crackling dry leaves broke the evening silence to the extreme right of my stand. It was the crab-claw buck and he was headed directly toward an open shooing lane. Without hesitation, I quickly came to full draw and let an arrow fly that definitely jumpstarted my entire fall season. If you also would like to consistently bust pre-rut bruisers like these, then you need to pay close attention to the following early-season strategies and big buck essentials. Click Link Below for Full Story!
via 6 Keys to Early-Season Deer Hunting – Game & Fish/Sportsman.
Deer of the Day — Missouri Monster, John David Berry – North American Whitetail
July 1, 2011
by Aaron Decker
Firearms are often times heritage pieces that are passed down from generation to generation. Each time a gun takes a big deer or is along for an adventure, it’s like a new chapter is being scribed into the firearm’s history, with each shot offering a new story.
13-year-old John David Berry’s rifle belonged to his Uncle, David Shaw, who tragically lost his life in a fire in 1996. The Remington Model 700 chambered in .243 Winchester was a favorite of Shaw’s and he had taken several trophy bucks with the gun while hunting in the deer woods with his father Bill.
After losing his son, Bill poured his attention towards his grandchildren, including John, who he’d pick up from school and take hunting, teaching him everything he could about outdoorsmanship and appreciating every moment in life as “you never know when your last breath will be.” Click Link Below for Full Story!
John's buck featured 31 points and scored 228-inches.
via Deer of the Day.
NY hunting groups back protection of young bucks – WSJ.com
June 28, 2011
Associated PressALBANY, N.Y. — Some sporting groups are endorsing the Department of Environmental Conservation’s proposed restriction on hunting yearling bucks in parts of southern New York, saying the new approach to deer management has led to dramatic improvement in the deer herd in pilot areas.The proposed restriction, affecting parts of Sullivan, Ulster, Delaware, Greene and Schoharie counties, is part of DEC’s draft five-year deer management plan. Under the proposal, bucks must have at least three one-inch points on one side. The antler restriction is expected to protect 70 percent of the so-called spikehorns from being shot.Bill Willis, spokesman for the Five County Coalition of Sportsmen, said hunting groups in the affected counties have asked for antler restrictions for the last three years. And David Hartman, president of the New York State Whitetail Management Coalition that supports the restriction, said hunters in Ulster and Sullivan counties have harvested the biggest bucks since the late 1920s in antler restriction areas. Click Link Below For Full Story!
via NY hunting groups back protection of young bucks – WSJ.com.
Special deer hunts in some state parks OK’d | The Courier-Journal
December 9, 2010
By Gary Garth • Special to The Courier-Journal
The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission has approved a request by the Department of Parks to allow selected parks to hold deer hunts outside the regular statewide firearm and muzzleloader seasons.
Any such hunts would have to be during archery season, which generally runs from the first Saturday in September through mid-January, but they would not necessarily be restricted to archers.
Tourism Secretary Marcheta Sparrow said such a move could generate cash during a time of year when traditional tourists tend to stay home.
“We think it’s a good opportunity to build a new constituency,” she said. “We’re working as hard as we can to develop any market we can.”
The regulation change would take effect next year but almost certainly not before the close of the 2010-11 archery season Jan. 17.
Deer hunts already are allowed at a few state parks. Click Link Below For Full Story!
via Special deer hunts in some state parks OK’d | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal.
Hunter’s arrow finds its mark – JSOnline
October 27, 2010
By Paul Smith
Deer may be largest ever taken in Milwaukee County
Kim Acker of Waterford was in her deer stand, feeling a bit fortunate to be fastened to the big old oak tree.
Pushed by strong south winds, the mercury had topped 80 degrees on this late September day.
Now, as the sun started to drop toward the horizon on the Franklin farm, the breeze was still strong enough to waggle some of the sturdy oak limbs and buffet nearby rows of corn.
The experienced bowhunter knew the wind direction, though, was perfect for her quest.
A trail camera had detected a big buck using an adjacent trail; Acker would be downwind of the animal if it took the same route this evening.
Acker, 36, assumed her customary position in the stand: She hung her bow within arm’s reach and waited for the wildlife cinema to unfold.
“I don’t do a lot of thinking,” Acker said. “I just like being out in nature, watching everything that goes on.”
The first two hours on stand had yielded little of note. The wind made it nearly impossible to hear footfalls on the trail; the whipping vegetation made it harder to see wildlife.
But nothing could have obscured the image that appeared minutes before 7 p.m.
As Acker shifted her vision to the left, she was met by the living form she had seen on the trail cam.
“I remember thinking it’s the biggest deer I’ve ever seen,” Acker said. “Then I tried to tell myself to not look at the antlers, just focus on the target.”
A West Allis native, Acker didn’t hunt until she met her husband, Kurt, who introduced her to gun deer hunting 15 years ago.
She has taken to hunting like color to the October woods. She especially likes bowhunting for deer.
“I really like being in nature, watching everything from the stand,” Acker said. “The deer are in their natural movements. And you see so many other things.”
Acker has seen a badger, a fisher and a wolf while bowhunting in Wisconsin.
“How often do people in Wisconsin see a badger?” Kim said. “I would have never seen it if I hadn’t started hunting.”
Over the years Kim had taken three bucks, including a 140-class 8-pointer that hangs in the couple’s basement. She can often be found practicing archery in the family’s Waterford yard. Click Link Below for Full Story!
via Hunter’s arrow finds its mark – JSOnline.
Geauga hunter bags trophy deer on opening weekend | cleveland.com
October 27, 2010
By D’Arcy Egan, The Plain Dealer
Chris Paradise of Chagrin Falls has spent much of his life in the deer woods, and thought he’d seen the biggest bucks of northern Ohio until last weekend.
“The first time I laid my eyes on this big guy, I knew he was the trophy deer of a lifetime,” said Paradise, vice-president of sales and licensing for Mossy Oak, a camouflage company.
“After my first trail cam photos of him in July, he became almost an obsession.”
Paradise didn’t want to alert the deer that a hunter was on his tail, hanging three of his eight trail cameras in the small area where the buck was hanging out. About 500 trail cam photos later, Paradise could hardly contain himself as Saturday’s opener of Ohio’s archery season arrived. Click Link Below for Full Story!
via Geauga hunter bags trophy deer on opening weekend | cleveland.com.
Show me the big bucks – Daily Blog – ESPN
October 27, 2010
Are hunting shows setting up an expectations of 150-inch deer in every wood lot?
By Steve Bowman
ESPNOutdoors.com
Is it just me or does anyone else share in the thought that many of the deer hunting shows on television set up an unrealistic expectation of 150-inch deer in every wood lot?There’s a poll around this site somewhere that will ask you: Does television set up unreal expectations for deer hunting or is it just good entertainment?Don’t get me wrong, I like seeing big deer like anyone else. The bigger the rack, the more interest I have. I want to see how they move through the woods, how their body works. A good well-shot scene of a big buck in the woods is a learning experience, on television or in a deer stand.But I’ve been in the deer woods for a lot of years. And the opportunities to even see a 150-inch deer are few and far between, let alone the opportunity to take one. Yet, for many deer shows, that is the standard. Again, I have no real problem with that except in one way: There is a growing expectation that 150-inch deer are the standard, rather than the exception. Everything else is just a “cull” buck. Click Link Below for Full Story!
via 2010 Weatherby Deer Camp – Daily Blog – ESPN.
Pennsylvania Pulls Welcome Mat Back From Poachers – Digital Journal
September 7, 2010
PR Newswire
HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 7
HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe said, starting today, the Commonwealth has begun to reverse its reputation of being a state with minimal risks for chronic poachers as new penalties – including higher fines and possible jail time – go into effect.
“Some chronic or commercial poachers considered Pennsylvania’s previous fines as merely a ‘cost of doing business,’” Roe said. “However, the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Gov. Rendell – with the support of the Game Commission and law-abiding hunters and trappers – pulled the welcome mat back from those who would consider poaching Pennsylvania wildlife when they enacted a law establishing a new slate of fines and penalties for those convicted of various poaching-related offenses.”
Act 54 of 2010 was introduced as House Bill 1859, and sponsored by House Game and Fisheries Committee Chairman Edward G. Staback. The bill was approved by the House on July 21, 2009, by a vote of 196-3. The Senate, after making minor adjustments to the bill, approved the measure unanimously on July 3, 2010, followed by a 189-6 concurrence vote in the House also on July 3, which sent the bill onto Gov. Rendell, who signed it on July 9.
“We want to thank Rep. Staback for his hard work and diligence in getting House Bill 1859 through the system,” Roe said. “It was not an easy task, but a needed one.
“Increasing penalties for serious violations is one of the operational objectives within the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Strategic Plan. This marks the first comprehensive piece of legislation to increase Game and Wildlife Code penalties since 1987, and we believe it will significantly enhance wildlife protection in the Commonwealth, especially since this marks the first time that some poachers could actually face prison time for their actions.”
Rep. Staback noted that, from Day One, when he first sat down with Carl Roe to talk about putting an anti-poaching bill together, he wanted the penalties to be so tough that they would become a deterrent, keeping people from committing the crime in the first place.
“I wanted that shooter to know that he faces high fines and jail time for breaking wildlife laws, not just a slap on the wrist like before,” Rep. Staback said. “After three years of effort, working side by side with the Game Commission, the new laws on the book treat poachers and black marketers just as they are – criminals who deserve the stiff penalties that they now will face in the court of law.”
Roe noted that, before the passage of this bill, a poacher could kill every big game animal – which includes deer, elk, bear and turkey – in Pennsylvania and the penalty was the legal equivalent of a traffic ticket with no possibility of jail time.
“Under this legislation, those convicted of killing five or more big game animals, or three big game poaching offenses within seven years, will face possible felony-level penalties ranging from $1,000 to up to $15,000, loss of license privileges for 15 years, and up to three years in prison,” Roe said. “In fact, even the poaching of a single deer now carries a minimum of a $1,000 fine and up to 90 days in jail, with five years license revocation.
“This is an enormous step forward in creating deterrence to poaching. It treats the theft of wildlife, which is what poaching is, similar to the theft of anything else in regards to punishment, and ultimately enhancing the protection of the Commonwealth’s wildlife resource.”
As examples of how the new law would be applied, Rich Palmer, Game Commission Bureau of Wildlife Protection director, noted that a case from last December in which two individuals who went on a two-day poaching spree that resulted in at least eight dead deer were liable for up to $6,400 in fines and three years of hunting license revocations. Under the new law, for committing the same offense a violator would be looking at up to $15,000 in fines, up to three years in jail, and up to 15 years of license revocation.
In another example, two individuals were found guilty of killing a black bear out of season last year. They were each charged with committing a summary offense, with fines up to $1,500 and three years license revocation. Anyone caught committing the same crime now is facing a misdemeanor offense with fines up to $3,000, up to six months imprisonment, and five years of hunting license revocation.
The new law also includes heightened penalties for the buying and selling of game; increased fines for summary offenses, such as using unlawful methods or devices; increased penalties for the killing of threatened or endangered species; and increased jail time for non-payment of fines from 120 days to six months.
“For the person who jacklights a couple of deer, kills a bear to sell its gall bladder or claws, or goes on a killing spree for some twisted reason, Pennsylvania’s wildlife protection laws now for the first time include felonies and misdemeanors that fit the crime,” Rep. Staback said. “Sportsmen are the most vocal group demanding tough treatment of poachers because they know that not only does poaching deplete a resource, it gives a black eye to the sport that we all enjoy and respect.”
Roe noted that a second bill, Senate Bill 1200, would complete the state’s effort to discourage would-be poachers from committing their crimes in Pennsylvania. SB 1200 is Senate Game and Fisheries Committee Chairman Richard Alloway’s measure to enroll Pennsylvania in the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact. This bill passed the Senate unanimously on March 23, 2010, and presently is awaiting a final vote in the House of Representatives.
“By having Pennsylvania part of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, anyone convicted of poaching-related offenses in Pennsylvania also would lose their hunting privileges in other IWVC-member states,” Roe said. “Similarly, those convicted of poaching-related offenses in other IWVC-member states would not be able to lawfully hunt in Pennsylvania.”
Given the variations of hunting laws from state to state, SB 1200 spells out the specific hunting violations that would place someone who loses their hunting privileges in another state on the Pennsylvania list of ineligible license buyers. This list also represents the only violations committed in Pennsylvania that will be added to the IWVC database. Those specific offenses listed in Senate Bill 1200 include: unlawfully using lights to take wildlife; buying and selling game; hunting or furtaking under the influence of drugs or alcohol; shooting at or causing injury to a human; counterfeiting, altering or forging a license or tag; committing violations related to threatened or endangered species; assaulting/interfering or causing bodily injury to a Wildlife Conservation Officer; hunting or furtaking while on revocation; and illegally taking or possessing big game in closed season. The list also would include those convicted of other wildlife crimes classified as fourth-degree summaries or greater, such as road hunting, if there are two convictions within a 24-month period.
“Enactment of these two bills will go a long way toward closing Pennsylvania’s borders to those who have proven themselves to be unrepentant poachers,” Roe said. “House Bill 1859 already has been enacted. The second bill, Senate Bill 1200, is nearing the finish line, and I urge our state legislators to enact this bill to improve the Game Commission’s ability to protect wildlife.
“Also, I thank the many sportsmen’s organizations for once again standing up for wildlife and for law-abiding and ethical hunters and trappers for supporting these two measures.”
With the increased penalties and the possibility of Pennsylvania soon joining the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, Roe noted that there is yet a third reason that poachers need to be wary of perpetuating their illegal practices in Pennsylvania: the general public.
“The Game Commission is noticing a renewed ‘we’re-not-going-to-take-it-anymore’ attitude from concerned residents and law-abiding hunters who are taking the initiative to report what they are seeing and hearing, and we applaud them for their efforts,” Roe said. “Calls and e-mails to our Turn-In-a-Poacher (TIP) Hotline have increased and resulted in several solid convictions. In fact, some of the information is so overwhelming that defendants simply pled guilty rather than having the embarrassment of going to court to try and defend their indefensible actions.
“The bottom line is that Pennsylvania will no longer be walked on – like a welcome mat – by those who abuse their hunting and trapping privileges in our state or other states.”
Note to Editors: If you would like to receive Game Commission news releases via e-mail, please send a note with your name, address, telephone number and the name of the organization you represent to: PGCNews@state.pa.us
SOURCE Pennsylvania Game Commission
via Pennsylvania Pulls Welcome Mat Back From Poachers – Press Release – Digital Journal.
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