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.
MN DNR Offers Special Youth Deer Hunting Season | Northland’s NewsCenter
July 15, 2010
Posted by Melissa Burlaga
Youth ages 10-15 also are eligible to participate in a special deer season that runs from Thursday, Oct. 21, to Sunday, Oct. 24, in 12 permit areas of southeastern and 15 deer permit areas of northwestern Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources DNR.“This youth-only season provides an opportunity for parents, guardians and mentors to schedule and plan a special deer hunt with youth,” said Mike Kurre, DNR mentoring program coordinator.Deer permit areas open to the hunt are 101, 105, 111, 114, 201, 203, 208, 209, 256, 257, 260, 263, 264, 267, 268, 338, 339, 341, 342, 343, 344, 345, 346, 347, 348, 349 and 601.Youth must meet all firearms safety requirement, purchase a license and use the appropriate firearm for the permit area in which they are hunting.Youth may take a deer of either sex. An adult mentor must accompany the youth but may not hunt or carry a firearm.The special season should occur when students are on school break.Public land is open as is private land, provided the youth hunter has landowner permission.Participating in the youth deer season does not preclude the youth from participating in the regular firearms deer season but any deer harvested do count against the youth’s season bag limit.Apply by Aug. 20 for October special youth deer hunts Click Link Below for Full Story!
Officials hunt for way to keep herd healthy | Mansfield News Journal
March 8, 2010
By KRISTINA SMITH HORN
The spread of a deadly brain disease could threaten Ohio’s deer population and the revenue the state receives from hunters.
Chronic Wasting Disease, an illness among deer and elk that causes the brain to deteriorate, has been found in Midwestern states including Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois. So far, Ohio has been successful in keeping the disease out of its deer herd.
“People come from all over the country to hunt our prized deer,” said Larry Mitchell, president of the League of Ohio Sportsmen. “Our big concern is CWD coming into the state.”
That’s why state Sen. Bob Gibbs, R-Lakeville, and Rep. Mark Okey, D-Carrollton, have proposed bills to have businesses that keep commercial deer apply for a permit and be subject to fencing requirements and other control measures.
The concern is that deer in breeding facilities and preserves — where operators buy trophy-sized deer from around the country and people pay to hunt them — could become infected, get loose and infect the native deer population. Chronic Wasting Disease can spread through feces, urine and saliva and by animal-to-animal contact.
The bills also would give the Ohio Department of Agriculture sole authority to regulate commercial deer. That’s where the controversy comes in.
Who controls the deer?
In a memo last month, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources opposed the bills because the agency wants to retain oversight of the deer population.
ODNR has regulated hunting preserves — most of which are in central and southern Ohio — since 1953 and deer breeders since 1994, according to the memo. The Department of Agriculture has authority over health issues and already regulates sale of captive deer across state lines, said Jim Lehman, Division of Wildlife law enforcement administrator.
“We want to make sure that we maintain authority over those animals,” Lehman said. “(CWD) is not easy to fix once you’re dealing with it. It’s much easier to prevent it.”
The League of Ohio Sportsmen encourages hunters to call legislators to speak out against the bills.
“Without the Division of Wildlife’s authority, it could get out of hand,” Mitchell said. “If there was a problem with a herd inside a place, the Division of Wildlife would have no control over anything. The department of agriculture does not have the manpower to do this.”
ODNR and the agriculture department are working together to reach a balance on the issue, Lehman said. Gibbs said he and Okey want that balance. Gibbs feels the sportsmen’s opposition is misguided and premature.
“We’re both hunters, and we’re both sportsmen, and we want to protect the deer herd,” he said. “Unfortunately, the ODNR has the sportsmen all riled up. We can sit down and work this out.
“We’re not going to pass a bill that sportsmen aren’t going to be comfortable with.”
Gibbs said he proposed the bill because operators of hunting preserves in his district — including Holmes County, which has four preserves — asked for regulations. Okey did not return a message seeking comment.
“There’s no framework about what the regulations are now,” Gibbs said. “They want a structure in place. I’ve toured the farms, and they’re pretty impressive.
“If something happens, they want to make sure they work with the Ohio Department of Agriculture.”
Sen. Mark Wagoner, R-Ottawa Hills, who represents Ottawa County and is co-sponsoring the Senate bill, said his understanding is the bill would help the state better regulate deer sold as livestock. ODNR would retain oversight of the native deer herd, he said.
“It’s a bill that makes sense and should be at least considered,” he said.
The agriculture department monitors domestic deer that are sold across state lines, said Robert Boggs, Ohio Department of Agriculture director.
The department oversees shipping, making sure shipments match the manifest, Boggs said.
“We just keep them honest,” he said. “You don’t get three strikes and you’re out. You’re out on the first strike.”
A captive deer must go through five years of inspections before being considered disease-free, he said. If farms don’t have that certification, they can’t market their animals.
His agency and ODNR work together, he said. The agriculture department tests for diseases among the animals, and ODNR uses its 137 wildlife officers to monitor deer across the state.
“They’re very important in enforcement in keeping us informed in other parts of the state,” Boggs said. “We have no problem with them, and they have no problem with us.”
Since July 2007, ODNR’s wildlife officers have conducted 395 inspections of deer-holding facilities. They documented 41 issues or problems and filed 16 charges, including conspiracy and interstate transportation of non-certified deer.
“The Division of Wildlife, with its significant numbers of well-trained law enforcement officers, is uniquely suited to dealing with laws and rules dealing with captive (deer),” according to the ODNR memo.
Gibbs, however, said wildlife officers’ visits to the preserves have been sporadic. He thinks more stringent oversight would be beneficial.
His and Okey’s bills propose to have breeders and operators of hunting preserves apply for a permit to keep commercial deer — which would come with a $300 fee. If approved, they would be subject to state regulations.
“If you don’t want to be involved with it, you stay the same,” he said. “This is voluntary.”
Regulations including criteria for fencing, records of all deer kept, sold and killed on the property and tissue samples of 10 percent of the operation’s deer, according to the bill.
The Ohio Department of Agriculture works with deer farmers more than ODNR does, Gibbs said.
“We do have interest in the bill, but only the disease portion,” Boggs said.
Boggs commended Okey for moving to take more precautions against Chronic Wasting Disease.
“It’s something we think will move us much further on in terms of the disease,” he said.
mkhorn@gannett.com
via Officials hunt for way to keep herd healthy | mansfieldnewsjournal.com | Mansfield News Journal.
Indiana needs to fix seasons for hunters and deer alike | PHIL POTTER COLUMN» Evansville Courier & Press
January 3, 2010
Last year, the political buzzword was “change.” Perhaps “change” in deer regulations and permit fees should be advocated in Indiana this year. Consider tweaking the firearms segments which many hunters consider over-the-top.Hoosier hunters have firearms seasons set for the peak of the rut. The argument is that it brings most bucks out of hiding, allowing anyone wearing an orange hat a crack at them. But is encouraging hunters to target bucks of all sizes the best way to “manage” deer? The correct answer is not in the slightest.Buck hunting success dramatically drops off after the first weekend and continues to slide the rest of the season. Due to hunter numbers and shrinking habitat, someone somewhere will bag a trophy buck the last second of the last hour of the season, but for most, the next 14 days are futile.Resting deer for seven days then opening a 16-day muzzleloader season makes no sense, either. Most hunters still want to kill a big buck and wall hangers didn't grow whopper racks by being stupid. By then, a vast majority of bucks and does have learned to be nocturnal.Not long ago, Indiana had a shorter muzzleloader season from mid-December until the end of the month. This gave the southern end of the state a chance to hunt when there was snow cover and deer had re-grouped. Compare that to now when most guys are swatting mosquitoes while peering through green leaves hoping to spot a deer.Once, Indiana was rated as one of the top states to bag a trophy buck or trophy doe. Now, Indiana ranks below Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Ohio in terms of trophy bucks and total harvest.State deer managers defend long seasons, saying more of the does need to be taken, but not all agree how. They need to examine Illinois management strategy especially, regulating the amount of deer licenses per county in terms of buck and doe permits and start-stop season segments.Illinois has a three-day firearms season in November that doesn't open on a weekend and permits taking a buck and a doe on a single license. They follow up with a four-day firearms season in early December, opening on a week day and allowing license holders to tag a buck and a doe provided they didn't get a buck in November.There is a three-day December muzzleloader season with the same bag limits. Illinois also has two late December-January hunts for does only if the hunter has unfilled tags. Each county sells bonus doe tags prior to the seasons for $5 for residents and $15 for non-residents.Kentucky has tried various changes and for the 2009 modern firearms season extended it to 16 days and immediately took flack from many resident hunters who asked for split seasons and late December doe only seasons. Some Kentucky deer hunters also requested that non-resident hunters pay higher fees.Obviously deer hunters have mixed ideas on what makes a better hunt even if it means restricting the number of licenses being sold. If you think Indiana needs to change deer tactics, contact the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
Kentucky Deer Rifle Season 2009
January 3, 2010
By KentuckyHunter
I was really looking forward to the upcoming rifle season this year. I had so little time to hunt throughout the fall and only made it out a handful of days during bow season. Luckily for me I had vacation time scheduled for the first week of Kentucky’s deer rifle season, and I hoped to spend most of that time filling tags. The way the season fell on the calendar this year, I was able to get out on Veteran’s Day before the opener to set up my stand locations. My uncle has a 200 plus acre farm in Robertson County, Kentucky and that was where I was headed to on Wednesday morning.
I spent the first few hours of early morning hunting with my bow. Turkey season was also in, so I made a few calls while sitting in my ground blind. I heard a few birds a long way off, but there was no action in my area. Eager to clear out a few tree stand locations for Saturday, I left the woods around 11. The first order of business was to set up a target and see if my rifle scope was still zeroed. I have an old Remington Model 700 in .270 Win that I have used for the past eight or so seasons. With multiple rust pock marks in the outer barrel surface and scratches in the stock, it is not a looker. I am not sure of its exact provenance, but it definitely shows some abuse of previous owners. What it lacks in beauty it makes up for in accuracy. I have taken many deer past 200 yards with the rifle and I am confident that it will do its job if I can remain steady. It is finicky on what loads it likes though. For the first few years I had it I used inexpensive Federal Classic loads that have since been discontinued. The Classic line featured excellent bullet choices though and my gun really liked the Sierra Pro Hunter bullets. Sadly, I used the last box I could scrounge off the internet four years ago. I then tried some Remington Core-Lokt bullets, but they were all over the paper. Another guy at the range saw my predicament and gave me half a box of Federal Premiums with the Sierra GameKing bullets. My rifle also shoots these very well, but they are twice the price of the old Classic rounds. Being confident in my shot is important to me, so it is worth the extra price.
I tacked a target to a cardboard box and set it up on the edge of a wood line. The day was very windy and I was hoping that the woods would help buffet the worst of the wind. I set up about 100 yards away. On top of my cooler I set up my shooting rest and lined the rifle up with the target, which promptly blew over. After setting the target in a small depression, I lined everything back up and made a few shots. The zero was still true so I packed everything back up and started looking for my tree stand gear. I looked everywhere for my folding saw, but couldn’t find it and had to make a quick trip to Mt. Olivet. The town doesn’t have many businesses, but luckily an old hardware store was open. He had a cheap Chinese made bow saw for $5 and I left with hopes of getting a few shooting lanes ready.
One of my favorite locations on the farm is a gas line easement that is cut through two patches of woods. Robertson County is old cattle country. The land has large rolling hills which are typically clear at the crests for hay and the hill sides are grown up in hardwood and cedar thickets. The easement cuts a 70 yard swath down a hill side and back up the other that normally would be uninterrupted woods. Looking to the north from one hill side to the other along the open easement the distance is about 175 yards. To the left and down hill there is a large patch of woods where most of the deer come from. To the right and slightly uphill is a smaller 3-5 acre patch of woods that is a sanctuary for deer. It is littered with buck rubs and scrapes. Around the top is a hay field that winds its way around the small patch of woods and back around to the opposite hillside. The deer travel between the woods along the bottom of the hill where they feel hidden from view from the open hay fields. I normally sit on one hill side and use my pop blind. This year though the gas company hadn’t bush hogged the easement and the sumac trees were too tall to see over. I decided to set up my climbing tree stand in a tree along the easement so that I could look down into the cover. There weren’t many candidates to choose from, but I finally found a small pin oak that would do the job. I spent the next hour cutting back vines and scrub red bud trees in order to open up some shooting lanes. My stand was located on the edge of the smaller patch of woods. I didn’t have much of a shot along the easement on my side because of several large trees with limbs stretching out into the open, but across to the larger woods I would have many opportunities. Using my safety belt, I eased up the tree in my Ol’man climber and surveyed my situation. I made it up about 12 feet in the tree before I had to cut a limb out of my way. Moving up the tree a little more, the diameter of the tree began to lessen to where I didn’t feel safe going any higher. I would only be 15 feet off of the ground, but my vantage gave my views all the way to the bottom of the drainage and also the hayfield surrounding the woods. I was very confident in my setup.
Since I finished up at a reasonable hour, I decided to head to the Ohio River and Meldahl dam in Bracken County, Kentucky to see if the sauger were biting. There were a few guys up on the dam wall that seemed to be hauling them in every other cast. I had some small white Gulp minnows and made a few casts from the bank. Hang-ups are really horrible at this dam and you have to be in constant contact with your bait. After a few casts, I switched to a chartreuse minnow and got a hit. The sauger was the biggest I have ever caught and I estimate it weighed about 2-3 lbs. The rest of the afternoon was pretty slow, but I caught a 12 inch cigar shaped sauger around 4:30 pm. As I was packing up to leave two of the guys on the dam were also leaving. Looking at my sorry stringer, I asked if they would sell me a couple from their bulging fish basket of sauger so that I could have enough for dinner. Those guys were really cool though and just gave me a couple of fish so that I would have a mess.
Saturday couldn’t come soon enough for me. I don’t think I slept more than a couple of hours Friday night, and those with one eye on the alarm clock. Loaded up with coffee, I hit the road early. Parking my truck in a hayfield near the road, I got out my gear. I slipped on my blaze orange hat and vest. In one pocket I slipped a length of small diameter rope to hoist up my rifle with. In the other pocket I slipped my can type bleat call and small grunt call. In my pants pocket I stashed my deer drag. I call it my poor man’s Glenn’s Deer Handle. Using a 6ft piece of heavy nylon rope, I strung it through a hand width length of bamboo and tied a knot in it. I slipped a few bullets into my pocket and headed to my stand. The walk was only a couple hundred yards and only a little way to my stand, I heard a deer blow and crash into the woods! The deer must have been bedded down in the high grass and brambles of the easement. I slowly made my way down the hill and into my tree. As quietly as possible I climbed the tree with my stand and hoisted up my rifle. Before I did anything else, I pulled out my bleat call and turned it over. In the woods across from me I could hear deer walking around in the leaves reacting to my call. I quietly worked the bolt of my rifle, chambering a round and waited for daylight.
Just as the limbs of the trees were becoming visibly distinct, I pulled out my can call again and gave it two short bleats. Again, deer were moving in the leaves in the woods opposite me. Then, in an opening I could see a deer step out into the edge of the easement. I could tell it didn’t have antlers, which was perfect since I wasn’t really looking for a buck necessarily. If a big deer walked out, I would be happy to take it but my real goal was a young doe. I raised my rifle scope to my eye and could see the deer much better with the lack gathering ability of my scope. Bringing the cross hairs on its chest I squeezed the trigger and the deer headed back into the woods. Adrenaline had me shaking a little bit, but instead of getting down from the tree, I decided to wait a little bit and see what else would come out. About 20 minutes later, I heard some whimpering and baying from up the hill and it was getting louder. Soon I heard footsteps running in the small patch of woods behind me and a big doe emerged from the woods and ran up the opposite hillside of the easement. The barking continued and the deer looked at its back trail. The limbs of the trees were blocking my shot as the deer was on my side of the easement. I picked a small opening in the limbs and waited for the doe to give me a shot. Picking her way up the hill she entered my scope and my shot put her right down. At the base of my tree I soon had a mixed breed bird dog and an old beagle looking up at me. They looked up seemingly disappointed that I had ruined their fun. Within half an hour I had two deer down. What a great opening morning!
I climbed down the tree and tried to catch the dogs. They didn’t have any tags on their collars from what I could tell and they dodged my makeshift lasso. I walked down the hill and back up the other side toward my doe. As I looked around for the dogs, I could see that they had found my other deer on the edge of the woods. I headed over to my first deer and spooked the dogs away with a stick. The deer ended up being a button buck, which ideally I would not have shot, but in the early morning light I had mistaken it for a doe. I made short work of the field dressing and then placed his hooves above his head to make the drag easier. He was reasonably light and I headed up hill through the briars to my doe. After field dressing her, I finished dragging the smaller button buck to the top of the hill and the hayfield where I could load him up into my truck. I walked back to the truck and drove it around the hayfield to the deer. I heard a couple of shots not too far away and hoped my cousin or dad had some luck too. I then headed back down to the doe and started to drag her up. She was a big doe and I broke the bamboo handle on my deer drag half way up the hill. After I had the deer loaded in the bed of my truck, I heard a couple more shots and couldn’t help but think that we might have a really successful morning on tap. I drove back to my cousin’s house and saw him headed in from the field. He said he had just seen a huge buck tending to a doe a couple of hundred yards off and headed his way, when two dogs had run in and split the deer up. He had taken a running shot at the buck as it closed within 100 yards of his spot but had missed. We both looked across the road and my dad was heading out of his blind. He had also tagged a large doe and a button buck. We hung the deer up in the old tobacco barn and quartered them out for the ride home where the real work would begin of cutting, grinding, and wrapping.
I decided to take the next few days off and do some fishing instead. I had one deer already from the early muzzleloader season, so I now had three deer in the freezer. I went several mornings to Meldahl Dam and met an older fishermen there every morning who said he fished there almost every day starting at 4 a.m. When I got there he was always set up right on top of the dam wall. The dam runs out from the shore and then makes a right angle out into the river for 40 or 50 yards. The water rushes over the dam on the other side of this concrete wall and makes an eddy of water that runs back along the face of the wall and then circles back along the beach. The older fisherman was always right up again the wall and fished that area where the eddy started. We both caught a bunch of sauger and also some crappie and white bass. It usually only took a couple of hours to get a limit because he was nice enough to give me a few fish for my basket.
As my week was ending, I decided to try deer hunting one more morning. I went to the same stand I had on the opener and waited. The morning was pretty slow at first, but about 9 am I could see three deer walking through the woods to the easement. They started munching on some shoots of green grass at the bottom of the hill and I brought my rifle up ready for one to turn broadside. A large doe started up the hill and I put the cross hairs on her chest and snapped off a shot. She ran back into the woods, but one of the other deer ran a few feet and just looked around. I guess I was too shaky because I shot at that deer three times. I waited about 20 minutes before getting out of my stand and was really feeling unsure. My last shot seemed to hit the deer but it had not fallen in sight. I walked to the spot where I had shot the first deer and didn’t see any blood at all. I made a note of the spot and headed to where I had shot the second deer. At first I didn’t see any sign, but then I saw some hair. I headed off into the woods along the path it had taken, but I didn’t see any blood for the first 20 yards. I was beginning to get desperate when I saw a small pool of blood. Not a lot of blood and it was a dark color. I was not encouraged.
Instead of pushing the deer, I went back to the spot of my first shot and started to look for that deer. I couldn’t find any sign at all. I just started blindly walking where I thought the deer might go, and then I saw the white belly about 80 yards from where I had shot her. The shot had been perfectly placed, but she just hadn’t bled until she stopped. The spot where she had fallen had a huge pool of blood, but there had not been any sign leading up to her. I field dressed the deer, and she was absolutely huge. I hooked up my rope to her and started to drag her through the woods. I was drenched in sweat within a few steps. I got to a good shady spot and decided to let her cool in the morning air and I headed back to look for the second deer. I started searching again at where I had seen the hair. There was a good amount of hair, but no blood. I walked in circles for the next hour looking for more sign, but I never found that deer. I think I must of just grazed the deer and didn’t mortally wound it. The lesson for me is that I need to get myself calmed down before I attempt to make a shot. I was way too juiced after making the first kill and was not in any shape to take a clean shot. I think the deer was probably fine, but I should have made a better decision.
Dejected, I headed back to my deer and started to drag her out. I don’t know if I could have found a steeper, more briar choked hollow to drag a deer out of if I had tried. Just as I made it to the hayfield and was headed toward the road, the neighbor drove by and asked me if I needed help. He drove me back to my truck and I was able to get her loaded up. It took all I had to pick her up and swing her over the tailgate. Now with four deer in my freezer and my buck tag still unfilled, I might just call this season over. I don’t have any antlers for my wall, but I have many great meals of venison and sauger waiting in my future.
Clayton man’s 18-point buck might shatter records – Dayton Daily News
December 23, 2009
Big buck likely to be an Ohio record for nontypical deer killed by a muzzleloader.
By Jim Morris, Staff Writer Rick Busse sees a lot of deer. As a popular taxidermist located on the Miami-Shelby county line, Busse has handled some extremely large deer, including the famous Beatty Buck about this time of year in 2000.When Brian Stephens brought in the buck that he shot on opening day of the deer gun season last week Nov. 30, Busse figured it would be just another nice buck to mount. And then he saw it.“It’s the biggest thing to come through my door since the Beatty Buck, and that was nine years ago,” Busse said.The buck that is likely to have the name Stephens Buck is a huge 18-pointer with one main beam of its rack possibly the largest for any whitetail ever recorded – 35 inches. And once the antlers are officially scored, it is likely to be an Ohio record for a nontypical deer killed by a muzzleloader.The rack will be green scored by Boone & Crocket scorer Mike Wendel of Botkins today, Dec. 9. Once it has dried, 60 days from now, it will be officially scored. There’s a good chance it will measure out with a net score of about 235 inches.“The main beams — as far as my research has been able to come up with — are the longest main beams ever recorded on any deer in history,” Busse said. “Seeing a deer with main beams over 30 inches is rare. And I think the record is 33½. These are both over 34½.”Stephens, 39, lives in Clayton and works in software development for CS Stars. Having hunted every year since he was 12, he has become an experienced hunter and has seen plenty of deer. But he’s never seen another deer like this one and, in fact, it took some time to sink in once he downed the buck with his 50-cal. muzzleloader.Hunting in a group of six family and friends on his family’s farm in Highland County, Stephens climbed into his tree stand just before dawn. Not long after first light, he saw a doe followed by a buck with huge antlers walking toward him.“But I could never get a clear shot,” Stephens recalled. “They were walking slowly around in an area covered with trees. They were only about 50 yards away from my stand, but I never had a clear shot.”Stephens watched the doe and buck for most of the morning, hoping to get an opportunity that never came. Finally, they wandered off and Stephens decided to take a lunch break at their farm house. He ate quickly and then returned to his stand, hoping to get another glimpse at the monster buck. After seeing several deer, that chance came again.Just after 4 p.m. he saw the buck again, this time about 250 yards away and headed straight for him. When it reached a fence row about 80 yards away, it turned broadside to Stephens and his Thompson/Center muzzleloader. Stephens took his shot.“When the smoke cleared, I couldn’t see him, so I thought I had missed him,” Stephens said. “Then I saw it running and fall. I took a drink of water and collected myself. It was probably a half an hour before I got to the deer. When I saw the rack, I couldn’t believe it. I knew it was big, but I never imagined it would be like this.”The deer, estimated by Busse to be 5 ½ to 6 ½ years old, weighed 215 pounds after field dressing. It drew a big crowd when Stephens checked it in at the Rocky Fork Truck Stop.“It’s amazing how quickly word gets around. We were only there a few minutes. I even parked toward the back, out of the way, and people still crowded around it,” Stephens said.If the Stephens Buck turns out anything like the Beatty Buck, people will be crowding around for a look at those antlers for many years to come.Contact this reporter at 937 225-2409 or jmorris@DaytonDailyNews.com.
via Clayton man’s 18-point buck might shatter records.
Tis The Season
December 16, 2009
By
Mary Ann McCoy
Munfordville, KY
As another deer season closed I found myself comparing deer seasons to the “ghosts” in Charles Dickens’ famous novel, A Christmas Carol. The ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, succeeded in showing Scrooge the error of his ways. Similarly, certain seasons of deer hunting have educated me.
During the past seasons I have observed many deer visiting the food plots, the corn piles, and the salt licks. I consider these to be the “deer of seasons past”. The ones that I scouted, photographed, and documented. The ones with which I experienced buck fever. The ones I knew everything about. The ones I now base all of my great cabin tales on. You know the ones I am talking about. The ones that got away…the “deer of seasons past”.
As I put fingers to the keyboard it is presently both muzzle loader and bow season in my state. Hence, I think about the “deer of seasons present”. I plan to squeeze in some afternoon hunts or the weekend hunt. However, the season present is plagued by windy days and rainy afternoons. The unpredictability of the conditions places challenges upon the seasons present. Thus anticipation and motivation decline…The “deer of seasons present” are left for yet another day…
Unfortunately, I suffer the non-harvest results of the “deer of seasons past” and the “deer of seasons present”. Now, I wonder if my luck will change for the upcoming ones. Have I learned anything? What can I change? How long will this take? Are my tactics too fake? I hope the “deer of seasons future” will appear so I do not live with the ghosts yet another year.
Until then, I will research, target practice, and scout. I will be ready when those deer come out. I will not be haunted by these deer of seasons past, present or future again. I will be a prepared “Scrooge” when the new seasons begin!
Valerie’s First Deer
December 9, 2009
By Troy Thompson
My daughter Valerie Thompson is 10 years old and took her hunter’s Safety Course last year when she was 9 years old and got a 99%.
Valerie goes with me to all of these events she can. She really loves the outdoors and hunting and fishing. I truly believe this was with some of my influence but was careful not to overdo it and let her absorb it at her own pace.
We joined the local 4-H shooter’s Club and she received excellent additional training in gun safety and how to handle and shoot a shotgun properly.
She started hunting waterfowl and small game and carrying her own gun last year.
She harvested 5 ducks by herself. She is quite an accomplished caller and travels with me around the State doing seminars and working the Delta Waterfowl Booths at shows.
We started out with Valerie going with me on hunting trips at a young age. When she was six years old I took her waterfowl hunting as long as the weather was comfortable and the hunting trip was easy access. I always wanted to make sure she had a good experience and enjoyed herself. (If the kids are not comfortable at a young age they can lose interest in being afield.) We have spent hundreds of hours in the woods together.
Valerie had a lot of “First” this year! Her first mallard drake, first squirrel and first pheasant.
This year’s “Youth Shotgun Season” was her first deer hunt. It could not have turned out any better in a scripted book!
We had set up a pop up ground blind next to a tree I bow hunted in all week during the rut.
I had seen deer every single time I went up that tree! Lots of does and button bucks. A few larger bucks but nothing close enough to take a good shot. I thought this would be an excellent place for Valerie to see and harvest her first deer. We were after any deer she would encounter.
We put up the blind one week prior to Youth Gun Season and brushed it up really well.
I taught her to mark the turns in the logging path by visual markers like the big stone, the downed tree, and the overhanging cedar tree.
On Opening Morning we got up really early and had breakfast. We drove to our hunting spot and proceeded down the series of beautiful logging roads winding through the woods. There are food plots, thick cover bedding areas and fields and woods. As we walked in the dark together, I was excited for her more than I had ever been for a hunt of my own!
Valerie had remembered the visual markers as we worked our way to our hunting destination with our hat lights on “Red” leading us to the blind.
We arrived about 30 minutes before shooting time and got settled in. I had built a wooden gun rest and painted it camo for her to use in front of the ground blind. We practiced her bringing up an empty gun a few times and taking aim out in the biologic field we were hunting over.
All of our preparation and years of teaching and learning were about to become a reality!
We said a prayer for our safety and thanked God for the wonderful world of nature he created for us to enjoy.
Just like in a movie, at 7:15 a.m. I hear Valerie whisper, “Dad” and I looked up and there, in all of God’s Glory walked out a fantastic 10 point buck nibbling at the food plot as he made his way across in front of us at a mere 32 yards! Valerie brought up her gun, took aim, put off the safety and let him have it! The buck hunched up and turned and ran back the direction he came from. Valerie chambered another shell and clicked on the safety.
I looked at her and knew she hit him good. I asked her how the shot felt and she said “Really good, Right on, I thought.” I told her I thought she hit him good. She said. “Yea I got a buck!” I told her, “Dad’s been doing this for 34 years and we don’t know for sure just yet.” You did everything right, but sometimes they get away. (Most of the times for Dad.) She said “Lets go see if I hit Him!” I explained to her we needed to wait and let him go lay down and not push him. We waited 20 minutes and walked out to the spot he was standing. There before us was both entry and exit hair and blood! She put a good lick on him! Again, Valerie was excited and wanted to go right away and look for him. I explained again we want to make sure and not lose him so we need to go back to the blind and wait some more. She understood and the next half hour was something I will never forget with us watching the sun rise, animals moving around and high fives to each other about every two minutes.
When we trailed the buck, there was a great blood trail after about 15 yards from the spot she hit him and easy to follow. We trailed him about 100 yards. I cannot explain the lump in my throat and the chills up my spine when we spotted him slumped over a fallen tree 40 yards ahead of us! This was a hunt of a lifetime! I will never forget the time we shared. We went up to the buck, thanked God and just sat there admiring him. The sun was out it was just beautiful!
I hope this story gets printed so other fathers can be encouraged to get their children involved in the great heritage we have in hunting and the outdoors. Properly introduce their kids to what this great State has to offer and take advantage of some pretty fantastic father / daughter or father / son time…
I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the land owner for allowing us to hunt and create these cherished memories! We should all be grateful to those that give us permission to hunt and not take that privilege for granted.
My name is Troy Thompson. I am an O.D.N.R Officer / Investigator and I also have my own business “Bird Down Retrievers” and do Hunting Retriever Seminars for “Hart Productions” and “Bass Pro Shops” and other outdoor retail stores and hunting and fishing shows. I own a Champion titled Yellow Lab named “Tanker” and we go to Hunt Test all over the Midwest. tankerlab@yahoo.com
Don’t forget the late season
December 5, 2009
By Steve Miller Outdoor columnist
Let’s be honest. Now that the rut and modern firearm season is over, the majority of hunters have forgotten about deer hunting and are now focusing on waterfowl, small game or the spring fishing season waiting patiently around the corner.
I used to follow this same schedule until the past two seasons forced my hand to hunt into late December and January. It is becoming my favorite time to hunt.
The woods I mostly hunt deer in are a long way from Murray, and I could never find the time to escape during the favored pre-rut and peak-rut phases for long periods of time.
So when I return home for holiday break, that unfilled tag becomes very heavy in my pocket, and I feel the urge to go to the woods no matter the conditions.
After a few years in this routine I have become fairly competent in late-season deer tactics.
Following the rut, deer revert to their normal patterns of feeding and bedding each day.
However, this does not necessarily mean they are moving at the same time of day and in the same locations as in the early season.
Deer, especially the older trophy class bucks, feel safe moving in low-light conditions, but cold nights may keep deer from leaving the warm environment of their sheltered bedding areas.
Deer know if they sleep late, it will warm up, and they can move around without losing body heat.
As long as the light conditions resemble those of dusk or dawn (because cloud cover, fog, light snow or rain reduces the sunlight penetration,) deer will feel comfortable moving at any time of day.
Under low-light conditions, you can be certain herds of deer will be looking for food. After the rigors of the rut, bucks need to eat a lot to restore the fat they lost earlier in the season in order to survive the winter.
They are most interested in high quality food sources, or areas with abundant forage. If acorns, corn, soybeans, berries, legumes or other high quality food sources are still around, hunters should stake out in those areas.
But late in the season, these food sources grow scarce due to crop harvesting and depleting grazing plants. The deer will even concentrate on a single area that yields food.
Last season, I hunted over a patch of corn still standing in December and saw over 70 deer parade out of the woods and into the field in one afternoon.
Some of the deer were bucks I had never seen around the property, and I soon realized a deer will travel any distance to find quality food in the late fall and winter months.
With these deer habits in mind, I like to set up on a trail going from bedding areas to food sources. Rather than hunting closer to the food source, I opt to set up as near to the bedding area as I can without alarming the deer.
Even though the deer may arrive at food sources well before dark, they are often more alert when feeding. Hunters can easily be detected by deer because of our scent or movements.
The straightforward and predictable habits of concentrations of deer in the late season is one reason I like to hunt after the rut.
Another reason is the potential for a true trophy. Those bucks that survived the season so far did so because they are old and wise.
I love the challenge of going after these smart bucks. It is a chess match, and it won’t be finished until one of us makes a mistake.
If you still have plenty of room in your freezer and unfilled tags, give the late season a chance.
You can sleep in, have the woods to yourself, and if you’re in the right place at the right time, you will see not just one deer but lots of them.
Then it is just a matter of sitting back and waiting for the right one to walk by.
Contact Miller at steven.miller@murraystate.edu.
via The Murray State News – The Great Outdoors 12-4-09.
The Morehead News – Respect landowners this modern gun deer season
November 18, 2009
One of the deer hunter’s common laments is not being able to find a place to hunt. Kentucky is roughly 95 percent privately owned, so finding an accommodating landowner can be the toughest part of the deer hunting equation.The challenge is even more daunting if you follow a rude, disrespectful hunter.“Respect the landowner and conduct yourself with class and you’ll be allowed to hunt again,” said Tina Brunjes, big game program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “If you treat their land disrespectfully, not only will you not be allowed back, but you’ve effectively barred others from hunting there in the future.”One of the easiest things to do is pack out what you brought with you. No landowner likes to walk across their property and see soda cans, wrappers from trail mix bars or spent brass laying near where you set up a tree stand.Always close any gate behind you. Cross fences at the post, not in the middle between posts. A landowner that spent several thousand dollars in new fencing will be hot if they happen upon a section broken down by a hunter crossing it. The best plan is to go through a gate if one is available, even if you have to walk a ways to use it.“Don’t drive across crop fields or through mudholes,” Brunjes said. “This is one of the things that can make a landowner really mad, especially driving across crop fields. Think about how you would want a visitor to treat your land and act accordingly.”Retrieving a deer from neighboring property can cause tremendous friction between the landowner and his or her neighbor. “Don’t set up your tree stand or hunt near the property line,” said David Yancy, deer biologist for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife. “You must have permission from the property owner to go onto their land to retrieve a deer or you are trespassing.”Disposing of the internal organs left over from field dressing a deer can be problematic. “Be discreet about where you dispose of it,” Yancy said. “Place it behind a tree or a log and away from any trails or roads. They disappear quickly. Raccoons and other wildlife eat them up.”Few landowners would enjoy having high-powered rifles fired near their home or other outbuildings, especially if they have children. Don’t hunt near these structures.Use a climbing or ladder stand for your hunting. Refrain from using devices that require drilling into a tree. Don’t nail steps to a tree to get up in a stand. Drilling or gouging trees causes stress and gives an entry port for parasites and diseases to attack the tree.Also, pay close attention to the location of cattle, horses or other livestock on the land. Always identify the target and look for what is behind it before you pull the trigger.Keep these things in mind this modern gun deer season and you will help keep private land open for all deer hunters. The modern gun deer season opens statewide this weekend, Nov. 14 statewide. Gun season closes Nov. 23 in Zones 3 and 4, while Zones 1 and 2 remain open to modern gun hunting through Nov. 29.For more information on deer hunting, consult the 2009-2010 Kentucky Hunting and Trapping Guide, available free wherever hunting licenses are sold. The guide is also on the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife web site at fw.ky.gov.
via The Morehead News – Respect landowners this modern gun deer season.
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