The Morehead News – Free youth hunting and trapping seasons perfect for Christmas vacation

By Hayley LynchAfter the presents, the huge meal, the Christmas movies, football games and leftovers, there’s another way to enjoy vacation time with your family this holiday season. Kentucky’s free youth seasons offer families a chance to enjoy the outdoors without requiring their kids to buy a license or permit. It’s a welcome break after buying all those Christmas presents.Children and teens ages 15 and under may hunt deer with a firearm Dec. 26-27, and may hunt and trap small game and furbearers Dec. 26 – Jan. 1, all without a license or permit.“We want to promote youth participation in hunting. We want kids to hunt at the youngest age their parents feel they are ready,” said Bill Balda, recruitment and retention branch manager for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “We know if we can get youth interested in hunting by the age of 12 or 13 they will most likely be lifelong hunters – and hunters are an integral part of our wildlife management.”Kids aren’t just license and permit exempt during these seasons; they are also exempt from hunter education requirements. However, adult supervision laws are in place to make sure they stay safe in the woods.Youth 15 and under who hunt deer with a firearm must always hunt beside an adult. The adult must be in a position to take immediate control of the youth’s firearm at all times. Small game and furbearer hunters under 12 who do not have a hunter education card must hunt with an adult regardless of the hunting method they use.Adults should always ensure kids follow hunter safety rules. “Our most common incidents that cause injuries during hunting are falling out of tree stands, accidental discharge of firearms and failing to identify the target or make sure there’s a good backstop,” Balda said. “As far as tree stands, if the child or adult is leaving the ground, they need to be tied off to the tree. They need to use a body harness tied to a safety strap around the tree.”Hunters can prevent accidents with firearms by treating every gun as if it were loaded. That means always pointing the gun in a safe direction, keeping it unloaded and the action open until the hunt begins, and keeping your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.“Be sure of your target, what’s in front of it, and what’s behind it,” Balda said. “If you’re small game hunting, never follow across the line. That means if a bird flushes, never follow the bird with the muzzle of your gun across the line of hunters beside you.”Finally, be sure to take kids out ahead of time to a range or another safe place to shoot. Help the youth hunter get comfortable with his or her firearm and teach them to safely carry and shoot it before ever hitting the woods.“Don’t just get out of bed and go hunting,” said Balda. “Getting kids familiar with their guns makes them more confident and less nervous.”Statewide bag limits and equipment restrictions apply during these hunting opportunities just like other seasons. Kentucky’s hunter orange clothing law is also in effect for all hunters during the free youth deer weekend. For detailed regulations, check the 2009-10 Kentucky Hunting & Trapping Guide, available online at fw.ky.gov and wherever licenses are sold.With a little preparation and an eye on safety, the upcoming free youth seasons are perfect opportunities for families to enjoy the outdoors together during Christmas vacation.Author Hayley Lynch is an award-winning writer and associate editor for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. She loves deer hunting, shotgun sports and introducing women to the outdoors.

via The Morehead News – Free youth hunting and trapping seasons perfect for Christmas vacation.

Kentucky’s modern-gun deer-hunting season opens Saturday | The Courier-Journal

Modern-gun season for deer set to open By Gary Garth • Special to The Courier-Journal •
Deer season has been open since September, and archers, crossbow hunters, muzzleloader hunters and youngsters who participated in the October youth hunt have already bagged about 20,000 whitetails.That’s a good start and one that’s put a smile on Tina Brunjes’ face.“It’s been an average harvest so far, but I’ll take that,” she said.Brunjes is the large-game program coordinator for the state game agency. Part of her job is to guide the policies that keep deer numbers under control while offering hunters optimum hunting opportunities.Deer action will ramp up across the state around sunrise Saturday, which is when the modern-gun season opens. Gun season will run through Nov.29 in zones 1 and 2 but closes Nov.23 in zones 3 and 4.State game officials expect about 252,000 or so hunters to swarm the woods this month. Brunjes said that number is based on license sales and the knowledge that about 90 percent of Kentucky’s deer hunters gun hunt the rest are assumed to be archery purists.How many deer the hunters will sack is unknown, but Brunjes expects about 82,000.“That would be about average, but I’d take more. Especially more does.”Most of the action will happen opening weekend. Hunter success or lack thereof will largely hinge on a couple of factors: Weather and the availability of hard oak mast acorns. Click link below for full story!

via Kentucky’s modern-gun deer-hunting season opens Saturday | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal.

Kentucky’s ‘Muy Grande’ Of The Year – North American Whitetail Magazine

After he and his hunting companions got a trail camera photo of a giant non-typical, Robert Taylor thought that he would never see the buck again. But strange things often happen in the deer woods, and Robert ended up shooting a true BlueGrass megabuck.By Bill CooperEvery year, hundreds of whitetail hunters across the country make decisions to join or organize a hunt club, to acquire a new hunting lease, or to request permission to hunt a particular farm site or tract of timber. They may even book a guided or semi-guided hunt, or apply for a license drawing in a special hunt unit. Reasons vary, but there is always the underlying hope that the new location or experience might provide the opportunity to take a true trophy-class buck.It was a windy, rainy afternoon in Butler County, Kentucky, last Nov. 14 when Tennessean Robert Taylor encountered the huge buck that his group had nicknamed “Muy.” The 29-point whitetail scored 249 6/8 non-typical B&C points, ranking fourth on the state’s all-time non-typical list and making him the third-largest buck ever taken by a hunter.To some degree, nearly everyone is affected by the old adage “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence,” and there is no denying that part of the whitetail mystique is tied to the intrigue of hunting new and different locations. So last year, when Tennessee resident Robert Taylor was invited to join several friends on a Kentucky hunting lease, he readily accepted for a variety of reasons.NEW HORIZONS”I knew the group had hunted the lease for two years,” Robert said. “Although there wasn’t a single deer killed the first year, they reported seeing a number of impressive-looking young bucks, and during the 2007 season one of the guys shot a deer that grossed over 150. It seemed like a good situation and I really enjoy hunting different areas. And knowing all of the other hunters in the group made the decision pretty easy.”continue article In August, several weeks after placing trail cameras at various sites on the property, the group received its first inkling that the upcoming deer season might be something special.One of the cameras had recorded a photo of a buck with antlers the size of which defied description. In fact, from that time on, the buck was referred to as “Muy,” a shortened term for Muy Grande.”It would be an understatement to say that Muy was the subject of a lot of campfire discussions,” Robert said. “However, that single instance provided the only photo we had of the buck prior to the opening of bow season, so we naturally assumed the big deer just happened to be passing through the property. I honestly don’t think any of us really believed there was much chance of actually getting a shot at a buck that big.” Click link Below for full story!

via Kentucky Trophy Buck.

Kentucky archers preparing for upcoming deer bow season – The Herald Dispatch

2009/The Herald-Dispatch

Herald-Dispatch.com

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Around this time of year, I glance up at my calendar and suddenly realize archery deer season is almost here. Rifling through a closet full of camo, boots and hunting equipment, I pull out my compound bow and feel guilty that I haven’t shot it since last year.

I’m not the only one. Lots of hunters pick up their bows just before deer season. Thankfully, I work with some dedicated bowhunters who remind me not to just dust it off and climb into a tree stand. Hunters like Jennie Richardson. The world champion archer’s competition bow is honed like a well-tuned sports car year-round, but in late summer she tunes up her family’s hunting bows before they all take to the woods.

The first thing she checks is the string and cables. “The more heat in the area where you store your bow, the more the string and cables can stretch,” Richardson said.

“One of the things I check is the nocking point, to make sure it hasn’t changed since last year,” she said, referring to the point where a shooter places the arrow on the bow string. “If it has changed, that means the string or cable has stretched.”

Bill Mitchell, the foreman for Taylorsville Lake Wildlife Management Area and a frequent bowhunter, advises hunters to check for frays, separated strands, and excessive wear on the serving – the nylon string wrapped around the bow string for protection. Ideally, he said, hunters should have let off the draw weight at the end of last season before putting their bows away. This takes some of the stress off the limbs during storage. He recommends hunters change their bow strings every three years for safety. Year-round shooters, he said, might want to change their strings every year.

“Before you change the string, take some measurements: where on the string the nocking point is – how far above or below center – and the same with the peep sight,” Mitchell said. “You want to be able to emulate those measurements on the new string.”

For hunters who don’t have a bow press or don’t feel comfortable changing their own string, archery shops will usually do this as a free service or for a small fee. While the string is off the bow, ask the technician to pull the axles out of your bow and re-grease them.

After checking the string and cables, Richardson looks for splinters on the bow’s limbs, and loose screws where the sights, stabilizer and arrow rest attach to the bow.

“I’m going to do a visual observation to make sure the limbs are intact, the rest is secure, the bolts are tight,” she said. “Due to the warming and cooling of the weather, if you don’t store your bow in a constant temperature, things can move.”

Next, wax the string and cables to protect them from moisture and wear. Go ahead and crank down your bow’s draw weight if everything else appears in good working order. You may need to start with a lower draw weight than you ended with last year – it often takes a few weeks of practice to re-build muscle. Start out slowly to prevent soreness and poor shooting form.

“For the person like me who pulls the bow out of the closet each year, you don’t want to over-indulge in practice,” Mitchell said. “The old saying is ‘practice makes you good; good practice makes you perfect.’”

Shoot just a few arrows at a time, and stop before you get tired. Ending on a good note is not only good for your confidence, but also for your accuracy.

“You don’t want to end when you’ve missed the target and your arrow has gone out into the field,” said Mitchell. “You want to end with a group of arrows inside the space of a tennis ball, and say ‘Now, it’s time to go in for supper.’”

Kentucky’s statewide archery deer season opens Sept. 5. For complete hunting regulations, pick up a copy of the 2009-10 Kentucky Hunting & Trapping Guide, available at fw.ky.gov and wherever hunting licenses are sold. Hunters should also be sure to visit fw.ky.gov to print an updated page 3 of the guide. The updated page clarifies equipment regulations for holders of valid concealed carry deadly weapon permits.

Author Hayley Lynch is an award-winning writer for Kentucky Afield magazine, the official publication of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. She is an avid hunter and shotgun shooter.

via Kentucky archers preparing for upcoming deer bow season – The Herald Dispatch.

The Morehead News – Marrowbone State Forest opens to public

Hikers, hunters and wildlife watchers have an additional 1,608 acres to wander in Metcalfe and Cumberland counties. Marrowbone State Forest and Wildlife Management Area (WMA) is now open to the public.

The Kentucky Division of Forestry and the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources jointly manage this new area. Marrowbone is open under statewide regulations for all hunting and trapping seasons.

“The most cited reason people give us for choosing not to hunt is the lack of a place to go,” said Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commissioner Jon Gassett. “We are aggressively seeking more public land for hunting, fishing and wildlife-related recreation. We will never have enough money to be able to purchase enough land outright, so we must be innovative in the ways we purchase, lease and acquire lands.”

Marrowbone State Forest and WMA is located west of Burkesville, off KY 90. The area has been an active stewardship forest for 30 years, and was named Kentucky Tree Farm of the Year in 2003. Marrowbone, which is Kentucky’s seventh state forest, has a primary mission of education and demonstration of sound forest and wildlife management practices.

“The Division of Forestry is pleased to once again partner with the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. This property will show the ability to have working forests while promoting wildlife and outdoor recreation, “said Leah W. MacSwords, director of the Division of Forestry.

The land was purchased for more than $1.3 million in late 2007 with funds from the Kentucky Heritage Land Conservation Fund and the Forest Legacy Program administered by the U.S. Forest Service in cooperation with its state partners.

Marrowbone State Forest and WMA is strategically located near outstanding state facilities such as the Barren River, Dale Hollow and

Lake Cumberland state resort parks. Marrowbone State Forest and Wildlife Management Area is open to the public for day use only unless hunting regulations specify extended hours. Allowable activities include regulated hunting, hiking and wildlife viewing. ATVs and horseback riding are prohibited. For additional information and maps, please visit http://fw.ky.gov/kfwis/viewable/ViewableWMA.asp

The Morehead News – Marrowbone State Forest opens to public.