Laurie Ritger

For Wisconsinoutdoorfun.com

Hopes for a state record whitetail buck were dashed when scoring for antlers from a Johnsburg man’s buck fell short.

Jeff Weber registered a 15-point typical buck Oct. 6, 2011, at Dutch’s Trading Post in Fond du Lac after spending hours tracking the deer the previous night. Weber was new to bow hunting and the shot at his massive “Weber buck” was the first he had ever taken with a bow.

“It wound up short of the state record,” Weber said of the impressive set of antlers.

Share your trophy buck shots | Browse 2011 trophy shots

Weber had to wait for a 60-day drying period for final measurements on the antlers to be taken. The buck was scored at 173 1/8 inches after deductions were taken. The current Pope & Young bowhunting record is 187 inches, Weber said.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Fond du Lac area man’s buck falls short of record | Fond du Lac Reporter | fdlreporter.com.

(CBS News)

The scimitar horned oryx . . . the addax . . . the dama gazelle – three elegant desert antelope that you’d hope to see on a journey through Africa, except that their numbers are dwindling there. Which is why Lara Logan went to Texas — yes, Texas. There, on large grassland ranches, some exotic species that are endangered in the wild have been brought back in large numbers. But there’s a catch: a percentage of the herd is hunted every year by hunters who pay big money for a big catch. The ranchers say this limited “culling” gives them the money they need to care for the animals and conserve the species. But animal rights activists don’t buy that argument, claiming the hunts are “canned” and that hunting is wholly inconsistent with conservancy.  Check out video below.

Glen Schmitt

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources offered its first glimpse of what the state’s inaugural gray wolf hunting and trapping season would like this week.

On Wednesday, the DNR rolled out its proposal for the potential season that if approved during this year’s legislative session, would begin as early as this fall.

The state is taking a measured approach to its initial wolf season, allowing a harvest quota of 400 animals via hunting and trapping. The proposal also allocates 6,000 licenses, which will be available through a lottery process.

Dan Stark is a large carnivore specialist with the DNR. He says research indicates that Minnesota’s wolf population could sustain a higher harvest quota.

But DNR officials want to take a conservative approach during the state’s first season.

“This is a big shift in wolf management and we have a responsibility to see that the wolf population continues to maintain itself,” Stark said. “We’re being conservative because we want a couple of seasons to gather information, monitor the harvest, and the amount of interest there’s going to be.”

Proposed details

The state’s proposal includes a $4 fee to apply for a license. A resident hunting or trapping tag would be $50. Non-residents would pay $230 for a hunting license, but they are not allowed to trap wolves in Minnesota, which is consistent with current trapping regulations, according to Stark.

Hunting would be allowed with firearms, including muzzleloaders and archery equipment. The state will issue only one license per hunter or trapper, and party hunting would not be allowed.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Sights set on gray wolves | St. Cloud TIMES | sctimes.com.

By Richard Price

Well, here we are in the “two-minute warning” of deer season. I will personally be glad to see the sun set Sunday. Last Saturday, Margaret Ann and I got up and made our usual morning hunt. As usual, we didn’t see anything. As a matter of fact, I had quit even loading my rifle.

Anyhow, back at the camp, we fried fish for dinner. Mike, Terry, Margaret Ann and I ate about five pounds of river catfish. Then my sugar went up. Remember last Saturday evening, about 80 degrees and the wind blowing right outta somewhere? Boy, I sure was glad when Margaret Ann remembered she had to make church bulletins for Sunday. I brought the big ol’ “jinxed” Four-Fifty-Eight home.

I have got to hunt a good bit this year, I reckon, but have seen fewer deer, bears and turkeys than any other year that I can recall. Looks like we might have to start huntin’ with deer dogs again. Maybe a Monday-Wednesday-Friday schedule. I just really believe that our deer, under so much hunting pressure, are literally becoming seasonally nocturnal. And most everyone I’ve spoke with has come to grips that deer season in Louisiana is too long. Most concur that deer season in Area I should open the Friday after Thanksgiving and close 60 days later. Open and closed case. Archery season should open Nov. 1 and close the Sunday after the 60th day.

We have too many tags per person. This has no bearing on those hunters who take 15-20 deer a year anyhow, but a limit of two bucks and a doe would suffice. There ain’t no way me and Margaret Ann can eat six deer, much less process them and store that many. So who else can either? Of course, the powers that be will see this as a reduction in sales of licenses that will therefore dwindle the bank account. Go figger. Remember when we started hunting outa “tree stands?” A deer would not hardly look up.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Louisiana deer season in need of adjustment | The News Star | thenewsstar.com.

By  Dave Golowenski For The Columbus Dispatch

That on occasion hunters and nonhunters die at the hands of hunters is not reported in timely news releases by the Ohio Division of Wildlife. The explanation for that is not entirely clear, though it’s likely decision-makers have never thought of a compelling reason to do so and found a number of reasons, including sensitivity to victims’ families.

Vicki Ervin, the division’s communications manager, said she can’t remember hunting incidents ever being routinely reported. The division issues an annual report, though the 2010 report is not yet complete.

Stories about busted poaching rings still make the wildlife reports, no doubt as cautionary tales aimed at would-be scofflaws, as well as demonstrations that the public’s license and permit money gets results.

Not reported by the division was the untimely death of Nikolas J. Neric, 26, of suburban Cleveland. Neric, who lived in the suburb of Brooklyn, died from a gunshot wound at the Grand River Wildlife Area in Trumbull County on the afternoon of Jan. 10, the final day of the four-day deer muzzleloader season.

Here is what a friend posted last week about Neric on a Web page provided by the funeral home:  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Outdoors: With one careless shot, a life is lost | The Columbus Dispatch.

By Lee Tolliver

The Virginian-Pilot

The movement to open Virginia to Sunday hunting gained momentum Thursday when the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee voted 11-4 to turn a bill over to the full Senate.

Similar bills in years past have failed to make it out of committee.

“This has been a long journey,” said Matt O’Brien, a Suffolk hunter who two years ago started a Facebook page – “Legalize Virginia Sunday Hunting for All.”

“It’s game on now,” he said. “The Virginia Sunday Hunting Coalition gave a marvelous presentation.

I was not expecting this, and didn’t want to get my hopes up. But this is a huge day for Sunday hunting.”

The movement has had the support of other sportsmen’s groups, outdoors retailers, environmentalists and some lawmakers.

Several bills were rolled into one for Thursday’s session. The Senate now will review and vote on SB464, which allows private property owners to give permission to hunt on Sundays. Public lands would still be closed.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

The original bill was introduced by Sen. Ralph Northam, D-Norfolk.

via Bill for Sunday hunting in Va. makes it out of committee | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com.

FRANKFORT, Ky. – Larry Dreamis Hill failed in his quest to take a bird during Kentucky’s inaugural sandhill crane hunting season – but says it wasn’t for lack of effort.

“These birds were extremely challenging and seemed to change their patterns a little every day. I really enjoyed the challenge and look forward to future seasons of pursuing this bird. I remember when the first sandhill cranes showed up in Cecilia (in Hardin County) years ago – now I have the opportunity to hunt them. It’s very exciting,” said Hill, Cecilia’s retired fire chief.

Kentucky’s first modern hunting season for sandhill cranes came to a close Sunday, Jan. 15. The month-long season marked the first time in nearly 100 years that Kentucky sportsmen and sportswomen had the opportunity to hunt sandhill cranes in the Commonwealth. By closing day, hunters had harvested 50 birds. Kentucky had allowed for a maximum harvest of 400 sandhill cranes.

“The harvest number was not surprising to us because Kentucky does not have a tradition of sandhill crane hunting,” said Rocky Pritchert, Migratory Bird Program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “These are extremely wary birds and are a challenge to hunt. Sandhill cranes are hunted in a fashion similar to geese, using decoys in fields. Sandhill cranes are hunted for their meat. They are generally regarded as the finest table fare among migratory birds.”

Kentucky was the first state to allow sandhill crane hunting on the Eastern Population of sandhill cranes. The Mid-Continent Population of sandhill cranes has been hunted for more than 50 years in the United States.

Last fall, a survey coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service counted a minimum of 72,000 sandhill cranes in the Eastern Population. “This population has experienced significant growth over the last decade and has reached a point where we can allow a limited harvest without impacting the population,” said Pritchert. “As a biologist it is my responsibility to ensure harvest does not negatively impact the population and this season will not harm the Eastern Population of sandhill cranes.”

This season, most of the cranes were harvested in Hardin and Barren counties. These are traditional wintering areas for sandhill cranes in Kentucky.

Hunters had to pass an online identification course before being issued a permit. Hunters will have to complete a post-season survey as well.

“The information obtained from these surveys helps us better understand how the season went,” said Pritchert. “The information obtained from this hunt will help us manage future hunts of sandhill hunts in Kentucky and other states that might potentially hunt sandhill cranes.”

By Amy Sancetta, AP

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) – White-tailed deer populations in parts of eastern Montana and elsewhere in the Northern Plains could take years to recover from a devastating disease that killed thousands of the animals in recent months, wildlife officials and hunting outfitters said.

In northeast Montana, officials said 90 percent or more of whitetail have been killed along a 100-mile stretch of the Milk River from Malta to east of Glasgow. Whitetail deaths also have been reported along the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers in western North Dakota and eastern Montana and scattered sites in Wyoming, South Dakota and eastern Kansas.

The deaths are being attributed to an outbreak of epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD. Transmitted by biting midges, EHD causes internal bleeding that can kill infected animals within just a few days.

“I’ve been here 21 years and it was worse than any of us here have seen,” said Pat Gunderson, the Glasgow-based regional supervisor for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. “Right now it’s going to take a few years to get things back to even a moderate population.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Northern Plains hit by deer-killing disease – USATODAY.com.

Georgia Pellegrini hunting at Joshua Creek Ranch in the Texas Hill Country.

By Laura T. Coffey, TODAY.com contributing editor

Georgia Pellegrini has viewed herself as an adventurous meat eater for years. The classically trained chef would never shy away from the strange cuts and unusual parts she’d find at outdoor markets and Asian butchers.

And then one day, while Pellegrini was working at the farm-to-table restaurant Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York, the head chef gave her an unexpected assignment: slaughter five turkeys for that night’s dinner.

Her first reaction was paralysis, followed by a serious contemplation of life as a vegetarian. Ultimately, though, she and some other cooks held the turkeys down, cut their windpipes, dunked them in boiling water, plucked their feathers, gutted them and prepared every edible part of each bird.

“This switch in me sort of flipped,” Pellegrini, 30, told TODAY.com. “It really clicked for me that this is what has to happen for the turkey to get to my plate. … It was intense, emotional and a little bit scary. But I realized that if I’m going to be a chef and a meat eater … I needed to experience it from beginning to end.”

Mark Zuckerberg isn’t the only Harvard-educated foodie out there who’s developed a taste for killing what he eats. Pellegrini — who, incidentally, attended Harvard, Wellesley and the French Culinary Institute in New York — chronicles her personal transformation from being a lover of meat to becoming a passionate hunter in her new book, “Girl Hunter: Revolutionizing the Way We Eat, One Hunt at a Time.”  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Bites – ‘Girl Hunter’ shoots, eats squirrels — and makes it gourmet.

By Travis Faulkner

When you’re a father and hardcore deer hunter, it can be extremely difficult to juggle a demanding work schedule and family commitments with fall hunting. This is exactly the dilemma that Josh Hunt found himself facing during the magical month of November. In addition, Hunt had promised his 7-year-old son that he would get the first shot during Kentucky’s annual modern rifle season.

Needless to say, this guy was really feeling the pressure to tag-out with his bow. As a result, he decided to take the second week of November off from work and hunt from daylight until dark. Hunt’s perseverance and dedication was finally rewarded during the last day of his vacation. Here is how his amazing hunt unfolded.

During the first part of Hunt’s vacation, he was seeing a lot of deer activity near his treestand. He was setup directly between two bedding areas with thick cover, which allowed him to catch bucks cruising back and forth for receptive does. In fact, Hunt almost shot a 150-class bruiser the weekend before his vacation started, but the buck busted him when he was drawing his bow. At the time, Hunt felt like he had been gut-punched and that another opportunity would probably not present itself before the opening of gun season.  Click Link Below For Full Story!

via Patience Pays Off For Kentucky Hunter Who Took 180-Inch Buck | Outdoor Life.