I found this article most interesting.  This writer has some very good points.

“One of the most useful acts that you, as a deer hunter, can perform this autumn is to get out during the upcoming bow seasons and bag a doe.

Article here.

I was filtering through some news stories on the web and came across this story. For those in Wisconsin, this will be no surprise, but in Michigan, I had never heard of such a thing. Apparently in Wisconsin (in certain DMUs), you have to show proof to the DNR that you have harvested a Doe before you are able to purchase a Buck tag.

“This year, 57 of the state’s 130 deer management units are in the earn-a-buck category, a situation that requires a hunter to shoot an antlerless deer before a permit to harvest a buck can be obtained.”

I like this idea. I do not swear by QDM, but I do think that it has its merits. If all the weekend warrior hunters who go out only on opening weekend were to shoot does instead of small bucks, our buck herd would certainly benefit.

For anyone who loves to fish in the Great Lakes, this is a truly scary story.  From everything I have read, this disease is devastating to a fish population.

“For the first time, a Lake Michigan fish appears to have tested positive for a deadly fish virus, confirming suspicions of Wisconsin fish managers that the disease was in the lake.

The dead brown trout washed up on shore near the Kewaunee and Algoma area.

Preliminary test results showed it had viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS), a disease that had already been found in fish in Lake Huron, which is connected with Lake Michigan, the state Department of Natural Resources said Thursday.

The disease, which makes fish bleed to death but is not a threat to people, pets or wildlife, was found earlier this month in fish from the Lake Winnebago system in east central Wisconsin.”

This article in the Detroit Free Press does very little to tell me why I should pay more money to an agency that has done very little for me and for most other Michigan Sportsmen, but at least it gives us hope that we will have a little more time before they double our hunting and fishing license fees.
After a tidal wave of opposition greeted its plans to double and triple hunting and fishing license fees, the Department of Natural Resources now hopes the state Legislature will pass new bills that gradually increase fees by about 25% annually for four years.

DNR spokeswoman Ann Wilson said fishing license increases would begin in 2008 and continue until 2011, when they peak at $20 for a restricted license and $40 for an all-species license, which includes salmon and trout (the present fees are $15 and $28). Hunting licenses would see similar increases, with a deer license gradually climbing from the present $15 to $30 and small game from $15 to $20.

I am really getting pumped up for the impending turkey season that started for some folks today in Michigan.  My season doesn’t start until May 7th and
due to work restrictions, I will not have the ability to get into the woods until the 10th.  Seems pretty late since it was almost 80 degrees yesterday.

In my ramblings around the internet I found this article in the Souix City Journal.  I’ll probably never hunt in Iowa, but he has some good ideas to share.

One of the most common curve balls an old tom turkey can throw your way is the silent treatment. If you’ve hunted turkeys, you know the drill. The toms will gobble and gobble while still in the tree at dawn, but as soon as they fly down, lock jaw sets in. Oh, they may still walk into your setup, but silent turkeys are incredibly hard to hunt. It’s that gobble that tells you when they are close, and that it is time to get your gun up and not move. Their hearing and eyesight are so good that if a tom comes in quietly, he’ll probably pick up on some movement you make and just walk away. You’ll never know he was there.

The silent treatment is the most frustrating thing that can happen to a turkey hunter, and nothing will erode your confidence faster than not hearing gobbles when you know turkeys are around.

~snip~

When searching for a tom that will gobble, I do things a little differently than what is normally recommended. I don’t walk a ways and begin calling real softly in case a tom is nearby. Instead, I bring out a loud box call and rip off three to four loud yelps. Wait five seconds and do the same thing again.

When turkeys go quiet, it seems they will gobble if they are shocked. That’s why the loud yelps. Often a nearby bird will give his presence away. He may never gobble again, but a few soft calls will likely bring him in.

I have long believed that a weapon registry of some sorts would come along eventually.  Thats just the way that our society is heading.  People are getting sick of others not being responsible for themselves and their weapons.

To a point, I agree with a “Weapon Registry”, but only if it does not go too far and does not infringe on the weapon holder’s rights.  The second amendment guarantees the right to bear arms, it doesn’t say you don’t have to be accountable for those weapons.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a “Gun toting member of the NRA” and I believe that we have the right and responsibility to own and use weapons for legal purposes.  I can just see the writing on the wall and believe we should be prepared for it.

Where did this all come from?  This article.

I have no problem telling them the make, model, and serial number for each of my weapons.  The author of the story compares this information to that of “fingerprints, photograph, Social Security number and a host of other personal information”.  “Shock Journalism” anyone?

I have no problem telling them within 48 hours if one of my weapons is stolen, in fact, I’ll be so pissed off that I’ll likely call them about that before I do a TV or anything of the sorts.

I have no problem letting them know that I am going to sell one of my weapons.  I was responsible for them when I had them, let the next guy be responsible also.

Another snip from the article “gun owners would be required to keep all firearms unloaded and disassembled (or bound by a trigger lock or gun safe) unless the firearm is in the owner’s immediate control and possession at the owner’s residence or business or while being used for legal recreation.”

Keep in mind that this is not verbatim from the proposed law.  I have no problem with the part about keeping weapons unloaded and locked up.  Thats part of being a responsible gun owner.  And really, duh?

The part that is sticky is the part about the weapon being in the immediate possession of the owner.  So I cant let my son use my shotgun to hunt with me?

In Pennsylvania, they want to charge $10 per gun per year.  No, it’s your fancy new law, it was your idea, you pay for it.  Dont make up more things for me to pay for.  If you cant pay for it, don’t propose it.  You want me to be responsible for my guns, you be responsible with my tax money.
‘’…the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.'’  The law proposed in Pennsylvania infringes, very much so. This is the part that burns me, and will likely burn anyone who owns a gun.

“The rules I mentioned so far are only for those whose registration applications are approved. If your registration application is rejected for any reason, and your appeal is denied, you have three days to turn over all your guns to the state police.

So, if the government screws up and denies your application because of its mistake, you lose your guns. There’s nothing in the bill addressing what happens to seized guns or when, if ever, you can get them back.”

Now I realize that this law is only “proposed” and will likely be shot down in the general assembly, but I doubt that will deter those responsible for very long.  They will try again, next time with a watered down version without so many loopholes.  Eventually it will pass, and when it does, other states will follow. Quickly.

House Bill 1249, sponsored by Rep. Brian Blake, D-Aberdeen, would allow people to be licensed for hunting for one year without a hunter education certificate provided they practice the sport under the direct supervision of a Washington hunter who has been licensed for three or more years.

Hunting-license sales have been flat at just more than 1.6 million in fiscal 2006 and 2005, down from 1.8 million in 2004, according to state Fish and Wildlife records.

Full article here.

I know the representative means well and only wants to help, but seriously, putting an untrained person into the woods with a weapon just doesn’t seem like the right thing to do.

If there’s one tip I could give you that could make your spring turkey hunt a success, it would be this: pattern your gun.

It just doesn’t make sense to go into the turkey woods with any reasonable expectation of success without finding out where your gun shoots.

Most shotguns, for instance, will place their patterns above your point of aim. Believe it or not, a change of choke tube, brand of shell, shot size, powder charge or shell length could very well change the impact point of your load.

It’s a good article and at least a good reminder for all of us before we head out into the woods.

From this article about approval of the Fish & Wildlife Department, I found some interesting information.

That year, the Fish & Wildlife Board made a historic decision when it approved a ban on shooting spiked bucks during the annual 16-day firearms season in November.

The spikehorn moratorium is already showing some very encouraging results.

During a typical buck season, about 33 percent of the total buck kill is spiked bucks — males with two single antlers emerging from their skulls.

Although the buck kill that year was the lowest in nearly 50 years (3,944), the kill did not come as a surprise to deer hunters since spikehorns had been taken out of the hunt.

Last year, the buck kill went up substantially, with 5,959 deer taken. But the biggest news was the increase in 2-1/2–year-old bucks — heavier, bigger-antlered bucks — and that brought smiles to the faces of hunters around the state.

~snip~

The number of 2-1/2-year-old bucks has grown substantially since the introduction of the spikehorn ban. In 2003, 20 percent of the bucks taken were from that age group. Three years later, with the spikehorn moratorium in effect, 42 percent of the bucks shot were 2-1/2 years old.

Hammond said that the department is eagerly looking forward to the 2007 firearms season to see what affects the spikehorn ban has on even older deer.

“Next year, we’ll see if the 3-1/2 -year class comes up as well,” he said.

The state conservation commissioner plans to seek a 50 percent increase in the cost of a hunting license, saying it has been 18 years since the last increase.

Commissioner Barnett Lawley said he plans to ask the Legislature to raise the cost of a yearlong resident hunting license from $16 to $24.

Read the whole story