Outdoor Adventures (OUTDR)

[ONEBGG]

Wow, people have got to start using basic intelligence and common sense. BTW, I really liked your classification and identifying term of Disneyification.



****************
Progressiveness Must Die Today,
In Order That We May Be Free Tomorrow

OMG/OBAMA MUST GO - NOBAMA IN 2012!!!

[trkyhntr]

Another victim of Disneyification of Nature where all bears are cute and cuddly.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/08/26/california-man-dies-in-first-fatal-bear-attack-at-alaska-denali-national-park/

California man dies in first fatal bear attack at Alaska's Denali National Park

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A hiker in Alaska's Denali National Park photographed a grizzly bear for at least eight minutes before the bear mauled and killed him in the first fatal attack in the park's history, officials said Saturday.

Investigators have recovered the camera and looked at the photographs, which show the bear grazing and not acting aggressively before the attack, Denali Park Superintendent Paul Anderson said.

The hiker was identified late Saturday as Richard White, 49, of San Diego. He was backpacking alone along the Toklat River on Friday afternoon when he came within 50 yards of the bear, far closer than the quarter-mile of separation required by park rules, officials said.

"They show the bear grazing in the willows, not acting aggressive in any form or manner during that period of time," Anderson said of the photos.

Officials learned of the attack after hikers stumbled upon an abandoned backpack along the river about three miles from a rest area on Friday afternoon. The hikers also spotted torn clothing and blood. They immediately hiked back and alerted staff park.

Rangers in a helicopter spotted a large male grizzly bear sitting on the hiker's remains, which they called a "food cache" in the underbrush about 100 to 150 yards from the site of the attack on Friday.

A state trooper shot and killed the male bear on Saturday. Investigators examined the bear's stomach contents, looked at White's photos and used other tests Saturday evening to confirm that it was the animal that killed White, park officials said in a statement Saturday night.

White's remains were recovered Saturday evening and were being sent to the medical examiner in Anchorage.

There's no indication that the man's death was the result of anything other than a bear attack, investigators said, adding that it's the first known fatal mauling in the park's nearly century-long history.

"Over the years, and especially since the 1970s, the park has worked very diligently to minimize the conflict between humans and wildlife in the park," Anderson said.

"We have some of the most stringent human-wildlife conflict regulations in the National Park system, and I think those are largely responsible for the fact that there hasn't been a fatal attack."

White had been in the Denali backcountry for three nights and may have recently hiked in other areas of Alaska, park officials said. It was unknown if he had previous backcountry experience in Denali.

Park officials said they don't believe other registered backpackers are in the immediate area. That portion of the park is closed but other wilderness areas remain open, officials said.

Prior to receiving a permit to hike in the area, all backpackers in the park receive mandatory bear awareness training that teaches them to stay at least a quarter-mile away from bears, and to slowly back away if they find themselves any closer. Investigators confirmed that the hiker had received that training.

Denali is located 240 miles north of Anchorage. It spans more than 6 million acres and is home to numerous wild animals, including bears, wolves, caribou and moose.

[ONEBGG]

CA: Banning Of Open Rifle Carry

Assembly bill would ban the open carry of rifles

By HANNAH DREIER
Associated Press
May 3, 2012

A year after the Legislature approved a ban on the public display of handguns, the Assembly on Thursday passed a similar prohibition for rifles.

AB1527, which makes it a misdemeanor for a person to carry an unloaded long gun in a public, passed the Assembly 42-28, with Republicans opposed. It includes a long list of exemptions for hunters, military personnel and others.

Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-La Canada Flintridge, modeled the bill on one he wrote last year banning open carry of handguns. That bill was a response to demonstrations by "open-carry" activists who were gathering at coffee shops wearing their handguns on their hips.

Democrats said those demonstrations could lead to tragedy because the only person who knows whether a gun is loaded is the person holding it.

The same activists are now bringing rifles to public places to protest what they see as an attack on their rights.

Many Republican lawmakers spoke in opposition to the long gun ban Thursday, saying it would undermine the constitutional right to bear arms.

"Hunters are not going to know when they're walking across the road with their firearm if they're one of the three pages of exemptions to this unnecessary bill," said Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, R-Twin Peaks. "I think California has enough problems."

The National Rifle Association has also called the bill restrictive and said the many exemptions it includes reflect the fact that firearms are an integral part of American culture.

It's already illegal to carry a loaded weapon openly in California.

Portantino said did not include long guns in last year's bill because he had hoped the handgun ban would be enough to stop the open-carry gatherings.

"I'd always hoped that people would be reasonable," he said in a telephone interview after the bill was approved. "That's why we didn't tackle long guns last year, because handguns were the problem. I've always thought you don't do a bill without a problem to be solved."

The bill has support from gun control groups and law enforcement. The Peace Officers Research Association of California said in a letter of support that open-carry demonstrations place police in potentially dangerous situations.

Portantino said it was only a matter of time before a confrontation between law enforcement and Second Amendment advocates escalates into violence

"I wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing that I had an opportunity to avoid a tragedy with something so simple," he said.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/05/03/state/n143345D88.DTL


****************
Progressiveness Must Die Today,
In Order That We May Be Free Tomorrow

OMG/OBAMA MUST GO - NOBAMA IN 2012!!!

[trkyhntr]

deleted message

[trkyhntr]

Just in case anyone is interested, both of my books are now available as e-books on either Amazon or Borders. Just do a search for THE LUCKIEST HUNTER ALIVE.

[trkyhntr]

How about this one for a really strange buck?

[ONEBGG]

Hunting Expanded In 8 Wildlife Refuges

Hunting Opportunities to be Expanded on National Wildlife Refuges in Eight States

July 11, 2011

(GunReports.com) -- According to the NRA-ILA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) is proposing to open Crane Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota to deer and turkey hunting for the first time, while expanding hunting activities at nine other refuges in eight states.

These states include: Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Minnesota, Iowa, Utah and Texas. If approved, the proposal would provide additional public hunting opportunities in fulfillment of the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997.

In addition to the new deer and turkey hunting programs at Crane Meadows, other proposed hunting opportunities include:

> Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge (Colorado) would increase big game hunting by offering elk hunting for the first time. The refuge also allows migratory bird hunting, upland game hunting and fishing.
> Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge (Louisiana) would open for the first time to migratory bird hunting of waterfowl and coot. The refuge also allows fishing.
> Coldwater River National Wildlife Refuge (Mississippi) would open for the first time to migratory bird hunting of duck and geese; upland game hunting of squirrel, rabbit and raccoon; and big game hunting of deer and hogs. The refuge also permits fishing.
> Currituck National Wildlife Refuge (North Carolina) would open for the first time to big game hunting of deer and hogs.
> Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge (Minnesota) would increase acreage for migratory bird hunting, upland game hunting and big game hunting.
> Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge (Minnesota/Iowa) would increase acreage for migratory bird hunting, upland game hunting and big game hunting. The refuge would expand the species for migratory bird and upland game hunting.
> Ouray National Wildlife Refuge (Utah) would allow for the first time upland game hunting of turkey and big game hunting of elk. The refuge also allows migratory bird hunting and fishing.
> Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge (Minnesota) would open new areas to migratory bird hunting. It would allow big game hunting of turkey and deer for the first time. The refuge is also open for fishing.
> Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge (Texas) would open three new units to upland game hunting of squirrels and rabbits and big game hunting of feral hogs and whitetail deer. The refuge is also open for migratory bird hunting and fishing.

While definitions of hunting categories vary by refuge and state, migratory bird hunting generally includes ducks and geese. Upland game hunting may cover such animals as game birds, rabbit, squirrel, opossum and coyote. Big game hunting may include such animals as wild turkey, deer and feral hogs.

Under the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, the Service can permit hunting and fishing where they are compatible with refuge purpose and mission.

NRA played a key role in getting language included in this act making hunting a “priority public use” on National Wildlife Refuges.

The NRA encourages all its hunter members to submit comments in support of the Service’s efforts to open new refuges to hunting and to expand existing refuge hunt programs. Despite federal law that encourages the Service to promote hunting opportunities on refuges, the anti-hunting groups always submit comments in opposition.

http://www.gunreports.com/news/news/Hunting-Opportunities-Expanded-on-National-Wildlife-Refuges-in-eight-states_3164-1.html?ET=gunreports:e1026:109733a:&st=email


Target Hunter... Gary

[ONEBGG]

Fish & Hunt Tax Great Return

Federal Hunting and Fishing Excise Taxes Create Enormous 1,000-2,000% Annual Return on Investment to Outdoor Industry

Submitted by admin
Mon, 05/16/2011 - 13:52[/]

For Immediate Release:
May 16, 2011
Contact: Rob Southwick,
[e-mail]
904-277-9765

FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. — An analysis conducted by Southwick Associates and Andrew Loftus Consulting for the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies found that federal excise taxes collected on the sale of hunting and shooting equipment represented an approximate 1,100 percent annual return on investment (ROI) to manufacturers between 1970 to 2006 and taxes collected on sport fishing equipment generated a striking annual ROI of 2,157 percent between 1955 and 2006.

The ROIs in the new report “The Benefits to Business from Hunting and Fishing Excise Taxes” were determined by comparing the amount of excise taxes collected annually to the amount of purchases made annually by sportsmen during the respective timeframes. By law, the excise taxes only can be used to maintain fish and wildlife populations, provide public access and support programs that directly benefit hunters, shooting sports enthusiasts and anglers.

On average, the hunting- and shooting sports-related industry paid $251 million in excise taxes, but made $3.1 billion in revenue through sportsmen purchases each year from 1970 to 2006. From 1955 to 2006, the sport fishing industry on average contributed $110 million in annual tax payments/import duties, but generated $2.3 billion in annual taxable equipment sales.

“How many tax models in our country today can show an $11 to $21 return to the company on every dollar spent,” said Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair U.S. Congressman Jeff Miller, R-Fla. “This is one of the most impressive examples of how an American industry can profit and bolster the economy while restoring and improving our nation’s cherished natural resources.”

The excise taxes are collected quarterly from outdoor industry manufacturers and importers for sales on items such as fishing lures, rods and reels, firearms, ammunition and other products. Hunting-, shooting- and fishing-related taxes are collected under the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act and Sport Fish Restoration Act respectively.

Funding is then apportioned to state and territorial fish and wildlife agencies based on land area and state fishing and hunting license sales. Agencies combine these funds with the license revenues to conserve fish and wildlife and their habitats and create recreational and educational opportunities. In 2009 alone, more than $740 million was made available to states and territories in addition to the nearly $1.4 billion total paid by hunters and anglers in license fees.

“Outdoor activities like hunting and fishing have shaped who we are as Americans and they are important traditions that must be preserved. In order to do so, conservation and wildlife management must be among our top priorities as sportsmen and women,” said Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus Co-Chair U.S. Congressman Mike Ross, D-Ark. “The revenue from these excise taxes helps fund conservation and wildlife management efforts in a fiscally responsible way. Ultimately, the value and opportunities created by improved habitat and more robust fish and wildlife populations bring more sportsmen and women into the fold, which in turn spurs more revenue and keeps the cycle of investment strong.”

“The conservation community has known for a long time that the excise taxes provide a vital funding source for state agencies and have enhanced fish and wildlife populations,” said Rob Southwick, president of Southwick Associates. “This ROI study, for the first time, demonstrates the substantial bottom line financial benefit of these taxes back to those companies that write the checks.”

According to the ROI study, outdoor industry excise taxes have helped to:

• Increase Atlantic striped bass populations by nearly 500 percent since 1982; leading to a 1,000 percent increase in the number of angler trips and generating more than $68 million on average per year in related fishing equipment sales.
• Improve fishing in the Great Lakes from nearly nonexistent in the 1950s to world class for salmon, trout, walleye and yellow perch; generating more than $2 billion in retail sales and supporting more than 58,000 jobs.
• Turn Wyoming into one of the top destinations for elk hunting with 23,000 harvested annually when in 1937 only a few hunts were permitted.

“Everyone who has a stake in hunting or fishing—from hunters and anglers who enjoy the resource to manufacturers who make the products—benefits,” said Ron Regan, executive director of the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. “State fish and wildlife agencies particularly benefit as these funds represent the single largest, dedicated funding source for science-based conservation programs.”

The report concludes that a decrease or elimination of outdoor industry excise tax funding would reduce long-term investment into the foundation of the sport-fishing and hunting—fish and game populations, public access and recruitment of future customers. Such a circumstance would, in turn, cause a downward spiral in participation, which would further diminish consumer spending on the equipment produced by manufacturers.

“The Benefits to Business from Hunting and Fishing Excise Taxes” report along with full reports that include technical details, are available for free at www.SouthwickAssociates.com/excisetaxROI.

# # #

About Southwick Associates (www.SouthwickAssociates.com): Southwick Associates specializes in economic and business statistics related to fish and wildlife including measuring retail expenditures by anglers, hunters, wildlife viewers and other outdoor recreationists; quantifying the jobs, tax revenues and other economic impacts of outdoor recreation; tracking trends within outdoor industries; and analyzing the value of fish and wildlife resources and their uses. Participate in Southwick’s surveys at AnglerSurvey.com , HunterSurvey.com and ShooterSurvey.com.

http://www.southwickassociates.com/node/10979

[ONEBGG]

Great Pics!!!!!

[trkyhntr]

It was February, and time for the annual extravaganza we call the Harrisburg Sports and Outdoor Show. I usually spend a lot of time working J. P. Brand’s booth helping him sell safaris. Our friends Tom and Pam Keefer were there to book a buffalo hunt. It took them most of two days, during which Tom interviewed most of the outfitters there. Finally, he settled on a hunt with Motsomi Safaris, and outfit run by Pieter Potgeiter. Tom asked Doris and I if we wanted to come along, so I asked Pieter how much it would cost for us to accompany them as observers. He quoted me a price, and, after discussing it with Doris for a moment, we were in. Our friends Ed and Beth Carter provided a solid reference for this outfit. Tom’s first African adventure was scheduled for June 6 through June 16. We began preparations, including booking airline flights, and settled in to pass the time until we left.
The alarm awoke Doris and me at 3:00 AM on Monday, June 6. Of course we had not slept well, our few paltry dreams being about the adventure ahead. We had packed and unpacked and repacked our luggage several times during the preceding days, so that chore was done. A quicky breakfast of sorts and a cup of coffee was all that was necessary. Pam and Tom arrived shortly before 4:00, and we loaded our stuff into the back of the van. Now it was time for us to leave Saint Thomas for the Dark Continent.
Our first flight left Dulles International shortly before 8:30, so with Homeland Insecurity things in mind, we wanted to be in the airport at least two hours before our flight boarded. Things seem to have streamlined a bit since our last trip out of there and we had over three hours to kill before our flight. Some of it was taken up by the folks examining Tom’s gun case. For this trip, Tom took along the .416 Remington Magnum I used on my own buffalo hunt back in 2003. It is a Winchester safari grade rifle with a 2-7X Leupold scope. Tom took handloads along, using the Barnes-X triple shock bullets. He intended to use the rifle for everything from small antelope through Cape buffalo. As the reader will see, it worked very well, but I digress. The first leg of our trip took us from Dulles to JFK in New York, and after a short trip from one terminal to another, we boarded a South African Airways flight at 11:18 AM and settled in for the 17 hour journey; one of the longest air flights you can find.
It is nearly impossible for me to sleep on an airplane, but with 17 plus hours to try, I managed to get a few hours of shuteye. The other three did a bit better than I did, but when we arrived in Johannesburg’s Oliver Tambo International airport at 8: 30 AM local time, we were all tired and already suffering from jet lag. Getting a rifle through the South African police is a lot better than the last time I went in 2005. Back then it took nearly four hours, but this morning, the task of getting everything through customs took less than half an hour and now we were forced to wait for our driver to pick us up. We waited nearly 90 minutes due to him having “broke a tyre,” but he eventually showed up and loaded our stuff in his van for the 6 hour drive east toward our camp in the northeastern Limpopo Province. Pieter, our driver, proved to be a wealth of information about his country, and while most of us slept for a bit during the drive, those who were awake got a running commentary including both geography and history.
We arrived at the town of Hoedspruit mid Tuesday afternoon and were met by our professional hunter, Roche DuPreez, who loaded our stuff into his Toyota safari truck for the short hop to the Inkasi Lodge and game preserve, a huge property that would be our home away from home for the next eight days. Upon arrival, we were greeted by Roche’s wife Ansu who would be our chief cook and hostess for the hunt, and our two trackers, Daniel and George (no relation to me). Ansu ensured that we would find it impossible to lose weight while in her charge with her excellent cooking. On three prior trips to Africa, I found the skills of trackers there to be far superior to my own. I have sometimes joked that they could track a butterfly over a plate glass window, and that is not far from the truth. We settled in to our humble thatched-roof hut (a three room lodge with two bedrooms and two baths) and unpacked our gear. Tom and Roche went to their designated range to check the zero on the rifle and we went for a short game drive before the evening meal. We settled in for the evening after a session at the campfire swapping stories and slept well for the first time in a few days.
Revile sounded at 5:00 AM Wednesday morning. The chore for the day would be to find the resident buffalo herds on the property, and after a breakfast of fresh fruit and muffins we set out at daybreak in temperatures close to 40 degrees Fahrenheit. This was after all South Africa’s winter season. The tactic used was to drive the dirt roads with hopes of either cutting a fresh buffalo spoor (track) or sighting the animals, and we drove for an hour or so before finding a promising track. We got off the truck and hunted on foot for a few miles, but other than dust and an occasional black flash, we did not get close enough to really see our quarry. After getting back on the truck, we drove a few more miles and finally sighted a smallish sort of herd with about ten animals, two of which appeared to be decent bulls. We looked them over carefully with binoculars at a considerable distance, but decided that neither would be good enough to try for the first morning, so we returned to the lodge for brunch. Along the way, we sighted herds of wildebeest, impala, and waterbuck, and also individual bushbuck and duiker, but the mission for this first part of the hunt was to be buffalo so we did not make any stalks for them.
That afternoon, we spent most of the time looking for the herds of buffalo, but did not make any close encounters of the Nyati kind, so we retired that evening holding hopes that the next day would be better. Hunters always do that, don’t they? The evening meal included several gourmet quality concoctions of wild game and we sat around the campfire to our adult beverages and conversation to let it settle in, and then repaired to our lodge for sleep to be punctuated by dreams of African animals.
After a breakfast of coffee and rusks (some sort of biscuit you dunk in coffee) we left camp on Thursday morning around 6:30. Shortly we came upon a small group of impala rams, and dismounted for a stalk that culminated in Tom’s rifle barking one time. Perhaps some might see the .416 as overkill for an animal the size of a whitetail doe, but little damage was done to the skin or meat and Tom was in possession of a fine impala trophy. We loaded the impala on to the safari truck and set out for the skinning shed, intending to drop it off for the skinners to work on, but on the way back, Daniel’s sharp eyes spotted a buffalo at some distance into the bush. One buffalo all by itself is probably a dugga boy, which is what an old, loner buffalo bull is called. While Doris and Pam stayed in the truck, Tom, George, Roche and I dismounted and put on a short stalk until the bull presented us with a decent broadside shot. The tension was so thick you would have needed a chainsaw to cut it, but Tom steadied his nerves and made a great one-shot kill. The buffalo part of his hunt was now over. We now had two fine animals to deliver to the skinning shed.
Tom’s wish list for this trip included a kudu bull, a bushbuck ram, and a warthog, but from our two days of hunting on this property it seemed that pickings were going to be slim for the bushbuck ram, and while we were sighting a few warthogs, most were not trophy quality. Over brunch we discussed the possibilities. Tom decided that we should give the bushbuck and warthog a few more days, and if that didn’t pan out, we might substitute a blue wildebeest for the bushbuck. We hunted hard the rest of that day and the next two with limited success, that being on Saturday morning.
On his way to camp that morning, George spotted a small herd of kudu with one exceptional bull in it. He managed to get past them without spooking them and told us of it, so we boarded the truck to go closer. We got off the truck on the other side of a rise from where George had seen the kudu and carefully made our way toward them. Tom was the first to spot the bull and Roche put the shooting sticks on the ground for him. At the shot, the bull took off, but I observed that he slowed down with every step, and we heard a crash as he dropped on the other side of a thornbush. Three down for Tom and three one-shot kills for the .416.
On Sunday we decided to take a day to tour a small section of Kruger National Park. This huge tract of over 2 million hectares (or about 5 million acres) is kept mostly natural, with the exception of several rest camps with accommodations for overnighting. Pam’s goal was to see elephants, so we started out looking primarily for them and met with success within the first hour. Of course we were also treated to the sighting of many other species, including warthogs, impala, waterbuck, buffalo, wildebeest, giraffe, and zebra, just to name a few. At one stop we caught sight of a boomslang (a tree hunting poisonous snake) sticking its head out of a hole in a tree. Boomslang are highly poisonous rear-fanged snakes that feed mostly on birds and small lizards. Toward the end of our tour of Kruger, we came upon a pair of lions out for a stroll. One was a huge male. We watched as they chased a kudu bull across the road. One of the rules for Kruger is that nobody is allowed to leave their vehicle. Obviously, this is a good rule because for lions, man is prey.
As we left the park we spotted a puff adder along the side of the road sunning itself. This and the boomslang are the first two poisonous snakes I have seen in four trips to Africa. Those who avoid Africa on the chance they might encounter some of the deadly snakes found there are missing out on a whole lot. Like our rattlesnakes and copperheads, they are there, but seldom seen.
On Monday morning when George and Daniel came to camp they reported a small herd of wildebeest bulls were feeding in an open area. George, Tom, and Roche left camp on foot, since the open area was fairly close. Nearly an hour later, we heard a single shot. Pam, Doris and I got into the truck with Daniel driving as usual, and went to the area where the wildebeest had been sighted but found nothing. We sat and waited. Nearly another hour passed until we heart two more shots. It took us some time to get to them, but when we found the other three, they had a really nice wildebeest bull down. Tom’s first shot took out one lung, but African animals are tough and this bull covered nearly a mile before they could get an open shot to finish him.
We spent the rest of the day and Tuesday looking for a warthog or possibly a duiker or steenbuck to fill out Tom’s safari, but were unsuccessful in finding shooters of any of those species. We put on several stalks of warthogs, but never found one that was good enough. On one particular stalk we had a few anxious moments as a rhino was less than thirty yards from us giving us the evil eye.
Wednesday morning we packed up for the trip to Johannesburg, saying goodbye to Roche, Ansu, Daniel, and George. On the way, Pieter took us through the Waterburg Mountains, an impressive geological formation that is similar to our Rockies. We also stopped at several curio shops for the ladies to load up on stuff to bring home. Stuff is good. You can’t have too much stuff. By Thursday morning when the plane landed at 11:00, we were tired of travelling, but it was a good kind of tired. For Tom’s first African hunting trip and Pam’s first airplane flights, this was an exceptionally good experience. Would we recommend Motsomi Safaris? Most definitely. In fact we are thinking in terms of returning to hunt with them again.

[trkyhntr]

Just a message to let you all know that Doris and I are back from Africa. Here are a few photos to tide you all over until I get around to putting a story together for you.
George

[toddao]

MapEasy

began in 1990 when we published our first three Guidemaps. Since then we have grown to become one of the leading travel-related companies, providing content and products on over 150 cities worldwide! For all of us at MapEasy, travel is something we do everyday...and something we want to share with you. The world is a fascinating and varied place...let's explore it!

http://scripts.affiliatefuture.com/AFClick.asp?affiliateID=254487&merchantID=2777&programmeID=7261&mediaID=0&tracking=&url=

[trkyhntr]

Just a heads up for those who occasionally check into this board. Doris and I will be leaving Monday morning (6/6) for our fourth trip to southern Africa and will be returning June 16. My friend Tom is going to hunt Cape buffalo and I will be taking photos and writing a story for him. I will post some photos when I return, that is unless a buffalo manages to trample me into pieces the size of quarters.
George

[trkyhntr]

Alaska Rep. Don Young refuses HSUS award! Way to go, Sir.

http://dailycaller.com/2011/03/31/rep-don-young-stays-true-to-hunting/


Alaskan Republican Rep. Don Young rejected an award Wednesday night from The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), instead calling them hypocrites and money grubbers.

The award was meant to honor Young for his work introducing the “Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Amendments.” Young did not, however, mince words in objecting to the entire organization, citing its high $100 million budget and sparse good works.

“HSUS are hypocrites, plain and simple, and I will not join them by accepting this award,” said Young. “Local animal shelters and humane societies do excellent work by caring for neglected and homeless animals, and through their spaying and neutering programs. This organization, however, has absolutely nothing to do with animal welfare. Instead they prey on the emotions of big-hearted Americans. They flash images of abused animals on our television screens to raise money that will eventually go to pay their salaries and pensions, not to helping better the lives of these animals.”

One of Young’s biggest objections to the group is their anti-hunting and trapping campaigns. Young added that he does not want to be tricked into supporting their agenda.

“They run anti-hunting and anti-trapping campaigns and are of the same cloth as PETA and other extremist organizations,” he said. “I can only guess that I was to receive this award due to my support of the Wildlife Without Borders program, which develops wildlife management and conservation efforts to maintain global species diversity. That program is true conservation; what this group wants is preservation. To accept this award would be supporting their manipulative ways and misguided agenda, and I want no part of that.”

Michael Markarian, Chief Operating Officer of The Humane Society of the United States and president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund, explained the groups reasoning behind awarding Young with their prize, but did not go into his rejection of it.

“HSUS and HSLF give awards each year to members of Congress who are lead sponsors of animal protection bills, and we recognized Rep. Young for introducing the Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Amendments (H.R. 844) in the 111th Congress,” Markarian told TheDC. “We disagree with his views on most animal welfare policies, but we also believe in giving credit where credit is due and recognizing positive actions.”



Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2011/03/31/rep-don-young-stays-true-to-hunting/#ixzz1ICv0DDEg

[ONEBGG]

Sunstein - Anti Gun & Anti Hunting

Cass Sunstein Quotes, 12-Pages - PDF:
http://www.stopsunstein.com/media/pdf/Sunstein%20quote%20file.pdf

[ONEBGG]

May The Truth Keep Us Free, & Armed!

[trkyhntr]

Yep, big guy. Hunting sure is dangerous, isn't it.

[ONEBGG]

The World’s Largest Army?

Why the Terrorists Can Never Win

The state of Wisconsin has gone an entire deer hunting season without someone getting killed. That’s great. There were over 600,000 hunters.

Allow me to restate that number. Over the last two months, the eighth largest army in the world – more men under arms than Iran; more than France and Germany combined – deployed to the woods of a single American state to help keep the deer menace at bay.

But that pales in comparison to the 750,000 who are in the woods of Pennsylvania this week. Michigan’s 700,000 hunters have now returned home. Toss in a quarter million hunters in West Virginia, and it is literally the case that the hunters of those four states alone would comprise the largest army in the world.

These numbers are part of why those of us who grew up in rural parts of the country simply don’t comprehend the gun-grabbing impulses of some. Every single year, millions of Americans carry high power rifles into the woods and more or less do as they please – some shoot at deer, some just drink a lot – and it is a complete non-story. The number of people injured and killed by these guns will pale in comparison to those injured and killed in driving accidents during the same time period.

But however well or badly we handle our guns, woe will befall he who thinks he can conquer America. 500 years ago, Machiavelli compared ancient Persia with then-modern France. Persia was highly centralized, so the emperor was firmly in control of all parts of his realm, and could muster enormous numbers of men to any part of the country. But if you could defeat that army and the central authority that raised it, then you would almost immediately control the whole nation, as Alexander showed. Medieval France, on the other hand, was very decentralized, with petty dukes controlling small centers of power throughout the country. Because of this, the king of France had only marginal control over vast swaths of his country , but no invader could stand a chance at conquering France because of all the small bands of local opposition.

I wish N.M. was around today, if only to hear the praise he would have for a nation that every year assembles and then disbands the world’s largest army purely for the purpose of managing its deer population. For millenia, philosophers have pondered how one can maintain a well-armed population that can fend off all attackers, while simultaneously maintaining ordered governance. In America, we’ve fulfilled this dream, and we’ve done it so well and so effortlessly that no one seems to have noticed.

Posted by Apollo in Amer-I-Can!, Politics


http://federalistpaupers.com/index.php/2010/12/02/why-the-terrorists-can-never-win/

[ONEBGG]

Wow... Thanks for the post!!! I was hoping you had posted this here.

[chunga1]

Record-busting, 879-pound bear bagged in Poconos


By MIKE KUHNS
Record Sports Editor
November 19, 2010 The heaviest black bear ever recorded in Pennsylvania was shot and killed by a bow hunter just north of Fernwood Resort in Pike County on Monday.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission confirmed that David Price of Barrett Township killed the 17-year-old bruin, which had an estimated live weight of 879 pounds. The bear had a field-dressed weight of 744 pounds.

Related Stories
Commission says record-breaking bear kill was OKPrice's bear was 15 pounds heavier than the state's previous record holder, a 864-pound bear killed by Doug Kristiansen of Dingman Township in 2003. That bear was also shot in Pike County.

"This bear could be No. 1 in the world," game commission spokesman Tim Conway said of Price's bear.

The world record is determined by skull size. After 60 days, the bear's skull will be measured to determine where it will stand in the record books. The world record skull is more than 23 inches wide, Conway said.

Attempts to reach Price on Thursday were unsuccessful.

Every year bears killed in Pennsylvania are entered into the Boone and Crocket rifle record books. Bears that have a skull measurement of 20 inches or greater are eligible.

This bear is unique and will be remembered because it was killed during Pennsylvania's first statewide archery hunt and could be ranked as high as No. 1 in the Pope and Young archery records.

Since 1992, six bears weighing at least 800 pounds have been killed in Pennsylvania.

Price's bear was known to game officers in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. It was captured and tagged in New Jersey, but never in Pennsylvania, Conway said.


http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20101119/NEWS/11190341

[ONEBGG]

Nice work TH!

[trkyhntr]

November 10 Pennsylvania eight point. I took this one with a crossbow.

[ONEBGG]

[trkyhntr]

Why waste ammo? I'm saving it for the revolution (LOL).

[ONEBGG]

Fantastic!!!

[trkyhntr]

Thanks, big guy. All five kills were one-shot.

[ONEBGG]

Nice work, I see a some great shot placement on that top pic.

[trkyhntr]

It has been awhile since I posted anything here on this board. Here are two bucks I took on a recent trip to South Carolina. A group of us went down there last week and came home with a lot of good eating.

[ONEBGG]

Please post as much as want on both board, after getting most of the supplies to start hand loading I got out of reloading even before getting started as my garage is just too damn moist.

Also, I only hunt targets, so every post here would be appreciated as well. I do read whatever is posted here. Like reloading, I may not practice it, but I read a lot of articles on concerning it as I read six gun mags a month.

[logman]

Hi ONEBGG thanks for the link to this board, I found your reloading board too. I have lots of catching up to do... LOL

[ONEBGG]

Just for your info.

Posted By Logman on the GUNS Board: #msg-56005820.

"My son shot a cow elk last Sunday with a 300 ultra mag using a
Berger 175 Grain Match Hunting VLD bullet. I have never seen anything more devastating done to an animal in my life. It is totally unreal. The Berger bullet is amazing!! The elk was hit at 100 or so yards and was dead then it hit the ground. Turned the vitals to mush! WOW!!"

[ONEBGG]

Sheep Walking Wall Of Dam

The Buffalo Bill Dam on the Shoshoni River at Cody, Wyoming….

The internet (and that includes the email) is full of mixed truths. Some of the images/stories are circulated via emails, spreading the word via the email database. Others circulate via Facebook and others again around the dinner table. Fortunately, there are ways to investigate and keep an editorial line… if one wishes!

These photos below are magnificent and deserve the viewing, so enjoy the trail. Then discover the truth below!

Photo 1

Dam it, what is that?

Photo 2

Count them in the night...?

Photo 3

According to Snopes, the photos are real, but the facts are basically all wrong. The animals are Alpine Ibex mountain goats, not Bighorn Sheep. The dam is Diga del Cingino, not the Buffalo Bill dam on the Shoshoni River in Wyoming. The internet is full of trickery (as reported here at the MEDEF conference in Paris this summer).

http://minterdial.com/2010/09/the-buffalo-bill-dam-on-the-shoshoni-river-at-cody-wyoming/

- - - - -

Rumor control: Are sheep scaling the Buffalo Bill Dam?



The photo is real, but it's not the Buffalo Bill Dam.

E-mails and Facebook wall posts claim that the photo on the left pictures sheep climbing the dam near Cody, Wyo.

The Buffalo Bill Dam has a smooth concrete face with no stones, whereas the dam in that photo has large stones visible in the face. Also, the canyon walls surrounding Cody's dam are much different that the grassy hills shown in that photo. A side-by-side comparison (to the left) proves they're not the same dam.

A couple of bloggers have ID'd the dam as one in Italy, and there is even video posted of the sheep (actually ibex) making their precarious stroll.

http://billingsgazette.com/lifestyles/recreation/gazoutdoors/article_0f28faec-c5a8-11df-868f-001cc4c03286.html

Either way, those sheep are freaking awesome!

[ONEBGG]

The Buddy System:



... Gary

[ONEBGG]

Hunting/Fishing bloopers

http://www.wimp.com/classicbloopers

[ONEBGG]

Lead bullets under fire

Lead Bullets Under Fire

CHRIS MERRILL
Star-Tribune
Environment Reporter
November 7, 2008 12:00 AM


LANDER - People in Wyoming and North Dakota received mixed messages this week about eating animals killed with lead bullets.

North Dakota health officials recommended on Thursday that pregnant women and young children avoid eating meat from wild game that was shot with lead ammunition.

But an official with the Wyoming Department of Health said the Cowboy State will not be issuing the same warning to its residents, because state epidemiologists believe the effects are "very unlikely to be clinically significant."

The same afternoon, an advocacy group for the firearms industry called the North Dakota alert "scientifically unfounded rhetoric."

The North Dakota recommendation is based on a federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, released Wednesday, that examined the blood lead levels in more than 700 state residents.

Those who ate wild game killed with lead bullets seemed statistically to have higher lead levels than those who ate little or no wild game.

The elevated levels were not considered dangerous, but North Dakota says pregnant women and children younger than 6 should avoid eating venison harvested with lead bullets.

Lead poisoning can cause learning problems and convulsions, and in severe cases can lead to brain damage and death.

The CDC study is the first to connect lead traces in game with higher lead levels in the blood of game eaters, said Dr. Stephen Pickard, a CDC epidemiologist who works with the state health department.

A separate study by Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources previously found that fragments from lead bullets spread as far as 18 inches from the wound.

"Nobody was in trouble from the lead levels," Pickard said. However, "the effect was small but large enough to be a concern," he said.

Pickard said the study found "the more recent the consumption of wild game harvested with lead bullets, the higher the level of lead in the blood."

The vast majority hunters in the United States use lead ammo.

But Dr. Tracy Murphy, the state epidemiologist with the Wyoming Department of Health, said he's reviewed the study, and Wyoming will not be issuing a similar warning about lead ammo to Cowboy State residents.

"From looking at the study, the increase that they showed is very small and very unlikely to be clinically significant," Murphy said. "Now that doesn't mean that somebody's eating habits couldn't make it clinically significant, but in this study it doesn't appear to be."

Pregnant women and parents with small children should be aware of the possibility that eating hunter-killed meat could cause a small increase in blood lead levels, he said. So, if other factors in their lives are elevating lead levels as well, it might then be "cause for concern," Murphy said.

For people seeking guidance on this issue, Murphy said: "I don't see anything in this study that would lead us to make any concrete recommendations against eating it."

The Wyoming Department of Health had several epidemiologists examine the CDC report, and so far they all concur on this, he said.

"It's possible more information may come out that will show a more significant problem; that certainly is a possibility, and we'll keep monitoring it," Murphy said.

A scare tactic?

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, which advocates for the firearms and ammunition industries, issued a statement Thursday in response to the North Dakota announcement.

The statement argued that the CDC study shows "no evidence that lead or 'traditional' ammunition pose any health risk to those who consume game-harvested meat."

The statement continued: "The CDC report on human lead levels of hunters in North Dakota has confirmed what hunters throughout the world have known for hundreds of years, that traditional ammunition poses no health risk to people, and that the call to ban lead ammunition was nothing more than a scare tactic being pushed by anti-hunting groups."

The Foundation noted the average lead level of the hunters tested in the study was lower than that of the average American.

When asked if that claim is true, Dr. Murphy said it was the case.

The lead levels of children under 6 in the study were an average of just 0.88, the Foundation added, which is less than half the national average: "Children over 6 had even lower lead levels. The CDC's level of concern for lead in children is 10."

Murphy said these claims are also true, for the most part.

"There was good evidence that the pediatric levels were not particularly alarming," Murphy said. "As for that last part, there's kind of a gray area about lead levels in children. The so-called action level is officially 10, but there is plenty of evidence that children can have some impaired neurological development at levels less than 10, so you kind of have to look at the individual. You don't want to say that everything is fine unless it's 10."

The Peregrine Fund, a conservation organization that advocates for birds of prey, touted the results of this CDC study as further proof hunters should switch to copper bullets.

The Peregrine Fund has worked to convince hunters to stop using lead bullets since it was discovered that endangered California Condors have died from lead poisoning after ingesting carcasses and "gut piles" from hunter-killed game animals.

Rick Watson, vice president of the Peregrine Fund, said in a media release on Wednesday: "When the extent of the lead problem for condors became clear, we began to wonder if people who eat venison shot with lead bullets might also be exposed to the toxic heavy metal. We are not anti-hunting. Our agenda is solely to restore California Condors to the wild where they may be enjoyed by future generations."

In North Dakota, the health department ordered food pantries to throw out donated venison this week. Some groups that organize venison donations have called such actions premature and unsupported by science.

For his part, Murphy said the Wyoming Department of Health would like people to be aware that handling lead and being exposed to lead can cause elevated levels. Hunters and shooters should be careful when reloading lead bullets, he said, and they should try to avoid ingesting any lead.

"Probably the biggest risk would be from reloading," he said. "You can get lead residue on your hands, so don't eat or smoke until you wash the residue off."

And when handling lead ammo, people should try not to create dust that they inhale, he said.

Contact environment reporter Chris Merrill at [phone] or [e-mail]

http://trib.com/homepage_lead/article_1b438b3a-886b-5f07-9194-ca1f304b13ab.html

[ONEBGG]

Lead in Venison FAQ

Q: When did health concerns over lead in venison surface?

A: Health concerns over lead in venison were virtually nonexistent until March 2008 when Dr. William Cornatzer, a Bismarck dermatologist and board member of the Peregrine Fund, informed the North Dakota Department of Health that he’d tested 95 one-pound samples of ground venison donated through state food pantries and found lead fragments in 53 of them.

At Cornatzer’s announcement, North Dakota and Minnesota actually disposed of thousands of pounds of venison destined for needy families. Iowa delayed distribution until it could do its own testing, then resumed distribution.

Cornatzer was on the board of directors for the Peregrine Fund, a group that had supported the ban on lead ammunition in California’s condor range. Cornatzer’s announcement was timed just weeks before the Peregrine Fund was set to hold a conference in May, entitled, “Ingestion of Spent Lead Ammunition: Implications for Wildlife and Humans.” Many felt the timing of his announcement was a deliberate attempt to draw attention to the conference.

Q: Do people become ill from eating venison taken with lead ammunition?

A: Hunters have eaten venison taken with lead bullets for hundreds of years. Yet there is not one documented case of lead poisoning from eating deer meat. Doctors are required to report all cases of lead poisoning to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), yet according to CDC public health advisor Kimball Credle, no cases have ever been traced to wild game meat.

Q: What studies have been conducted on lead levels in humans caused by eating venison?

A: At the request of the North Dakota Department of Health, the CDC tested blood lead levels in 738 residents of that state. Results were released in November 2008, and not one individual tested had levels considered elevated. According to the CDC, blood levels are considered “elevated” in children when they are above 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood; and in adults 25 micrograms per deciliter. The highest level in the whole CDC test was 9.8 micrograms per deciliter.

The geometric mean of the CDC study of 1.17 micrograms per deciliter was lower than the geometric mean of lead in the overall U.S. population (1.60 micrograms per deciliter). More than 86 percent of the people in the CDC test reported eating more than one type of wild game.

The lead levels of children under 6, those who the Minnesota Department of Health deems "the most at risk," had a mean of just 0.88 micrograms per deciliter of blood. That’s just one part per billion and less than half the national average.

Q: Has anyone other than the CDC conducted tests on blood lead levels in humans?

A: The Iowa State Department of Health has tested blood-lead levels since 1992, in 500,000 youths and 25,000 adults. They have not found one single case of lead poisoning from wild game.


Q: Why did Minnesota X-ray all the meat donated for its venison distribution program?

A: In 2008, Minnesota hunters donated about 25,000 pounds of deer meat for the state’s food sharing programs. Random testing of that meat conducted by the state’s Department of Agriculture found that 5.3 percent of the meat contained “lead fragments.” So even though 95 percent of the meat tested contained no lead, the state made a decision to round up all 25,000 pounds of the meat, ship it to the Twin Cities, and X-ray every bit of it before they distributed it to any food banks or get it to people who are hungry.

There are several problems with this decision:
• It cost the taxpayer about $6,000 to have the meat tested by an outside contractor. Not a huge amount, but certainly an unnecessary expense.
• It caused an unnecessary delay getting the meat to the families who needed it.
• It contributes to increased calls for restrictions or bans on lead ammunition. The Humane Society of the United States has called for a total ban on lead ammunition, and they are the most radical anti-hunting group in the country. A ban on lead ammunition would force hunters to buy alternatives (such as copper) which tend to be much harder to find, and ultimately cause some people to actually drop out of hunting.
• Non-lead ammunition is more expensive than lead. In one online example, we found Winchester .270 130-gr. lead bullets selling for $18.99 for 20; a similar copper load—Federal’s all-copper Triple Shock Barnes 130-gr. bullet—sells for $44.99.
• Finally, this inconsequential random testing led Minnesota state officials to consider eliminating their venison donation program. That has two consequences: fewer hungry families will receive the lean, high-protein meals they’ve been getting, and fewer deer will be taken throughout the state. One of the things a venison donation program does is allow hunters to legally harvest more deer than they might be able to fit in their own freezer. Ultimately, this can have a bad affect on a state’s deer management.
• The testing decision also raises the question: Since CDC is the leading authority on public health issues, why is a state government agency ignoring it?
• While no nationwide figures are available, state Hunters for the Hungry programs generate tons of lean, nutritious deer to hungry American families. Wisconsin alone in 2007 collected 414,000 pounds, and Iowa collected 326,650 pounds the same year.

Q: Are other states eliminating Hunters for the Hungry programs because of lead issues?

A: No. Despite knee-jerk reactions over lead in venison by a few states, virtually all state DNRs publicly called on hunters to continue donating venison to Hunters for the Hungry programs.

Q: Has anyone actually called for a ban on lead ammunition, based on human health or other concerns?

A: Yes. Unfounded fears over lead bullet fragmentation, or ingestion by certain birds, have caused some to call for a ban on the use of lead ammunition. For example:

In 2007, California totally banned the use of lead ammunition for big game hunting throughout condor habitat in the state, and that prohibition took effect on July 1, 2008. In February 2009, the state Fish and Game Commission began considering a statewide ban on the use of lead ammunition. The commission also considered a ban on lead ammunition for small game and upland bird hunting in the state's condor zone but opted against that proposal by a 4-1 vote on Aug. 6, 2009.

California has pushed for these additional lead bans even though data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) shows that the state's existing lead ban has not reduced blood-lead levels in condors. Despite reports of nearly 100 percent compliance from hunters in the first year of the lead ban, a California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) report utilizing the USFWS data showed that improvement in condor blood-lead levels was almost negligible between the first six months of 2008 (pre-lead ban) and the second half of 2008 (post-ban). During the January through June 2008 time frame, 59 percent of the condors tested had blood-lead levels above what is considered a normal or acceptable background level. In the second half of the year from July through December, 45 percent of condors had blood-lead levels above normal. (Source: "Lead Ban Not Really Helping Condors," Jim Matthews, San Bernardino Sun, July 30, 2009)

In Washington State, SB 5095 would authorize the Fish and Game Commission to ban the use of lead for hunting anywhere in the state the Commission deems necessary. (Read an NRA-ILA alert on this issue by clicking here. The Washington State Dept. of Ecology has also issued a Lead Chemical Action Plan that paves the way to a lead ammunition ban. (NRA has submitted comments on that plan calling for the entire section on lead ammunition to be deleted.)

The Humane Society of the United States has called for a complete ban on all lead ammunition.

Minnesota State Representative Sandy Masin has announced her intent to introduce a ban or significant restrictions on lead ammunition.

In a Draft Position Statement, The Wildlife Society advocates the replacement of lead-based ammunition and fishing tackle use and production with non-lead products.

North Dakota’s Sportsmen Against Hunger Program began accepting only deer killed with arrows in 2008, but in July 2009 the program announced that it would resume accepting deer taken by hunters with traditional lead ammunition for the 2009-2010 hunting season. (Source: Grand Forks Herald, July 30, 2009)

In the spring of 2008 the Peregrine Fund hosted a symposium entitled, "Ingestion of Spent Lead Ammunition: Implications for Wildlife and Humans." Most of the speakers present advocated a ban on lead ammunition.

In January 2009, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit, alleging that the Bureau of Land Management and the US Fish and Wildlife Service had violated the Endangered Species Act by allowing hunters to use lead ammunition in areas of Arizona where condors feed. In January 2010, NRA won the right to intervene in the lawsuit.

In March 2009, the National Park Service (NPS) announced its intention to ban lead on properties it manages: "Our goal is to eliminate the use of lead ammunition and fishing tackle in parks by 2010," said Acting Park Service Director Dan Wenk. (NPS made this decision without seeking public comment.) After heavy criticism from NRA and other hunting groups, the Park Service later said the ban would only apply to its employees and authorized agents, while leaving open the possibility of banning lead ammunition and fishing tackle by the general public on a park-by-park basis.

On Aug. 6, 2009, officials of Grand Teton National Park and National Elk Refuge issued an announcement asking hunters to voluntarily switch to non-lead ammunition for the 2009 elk and bison seasons.

In August 2009, the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife announced that it is requiring hunters to use non-lead shot when dove hunting on state wildlife areas for the 2009-2010 mourning dove season during the month of September, although the ban does not apply to dove hunters on private land.

On Oct. 14, 2009, as part of NRA’s continuing efforts to protect hunters from special interest groups seeking to eliminate the use of ammunition containing lead projectiles, attorneys for NRA filed paperwork in the United States District Court in Arizona, asking the Court to allow NRA to intervene and join in the lawsuit Center for Biological Diversity v. United States Bureau of Land Management et al (3:09-cv-08011-PCT-PGR).

The lawsuit, filed January 27, 2009 by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), alleges that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (BLM, FWS) are illegally mismanaging federal lands in Arizona because those agencies failed to consider the potential impact on local wildlife resulting from authorizing activities like off-road vehicle use and allowing livestock grazing. CBD’s lawsuit also claims that California condors in Arizona are becoming ill or dying as a result of eating lead in scavenged game shot by hunters using lead shot or bullets, and that BLM and FWS are violating the Endangered Species Act by allowing hunters to use of lead shot and bullets while hunting.

In January 2010 the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks tentatively proposed banning lead shot for upland bird hunting on the state's 72 wildlife management areas. The department offered no justification for the ban, and indeed, FWP spokesman Ron Aasheim told the Billings Gazette, "There are no biological reasons to ban lead shot on the areas, but people simply may not like it." The ban was voted down in February, by a margn of just one vote.

Utah’s 2010 Big Game regulations (page 35) call for a voluntary, lead-free ammunition program. Citing alleged concerns about condors consuming lead fragments from gut piles left by hunters, the Utah Division of Wildlife and Utah Wildlife in Need joined together to offer coupons for one free box of lead-free ammunition for deer and elk hunters in certain parts of southwestern Utah.

In August 2010 the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) announced a campaign to ban the use of lead in hunting ammunition and fishing tackle. CBD and other groups filed a petition with EPA calling for such a ban under the Toxic Substances Control Act--and did not limit it to "hunting ammunition." The petition asks to "ban the manufacture, processing, and distribution in commerce of lead shot, bullets, and fishing sinkers." Responding in an NRA-ILA press release, ILA Executive Director Chris Cox said, "These extremist groups are trying to ban bullets under a Federal law that specifically doesn't apply to ammunition." Read the full press release on the issue here. NRA also sent a letter to EPA, urging rejection of the ban.

Q: What are the consequences of a ban on lead ammunition?

A: Restrictions or bans on the use of lead ammunition may ultimately drive people out of hunting. Non-lead ammunition can cost double what lead ammunition costs, and availability is much more limited. Reducing the number of hunters reduces the income generated by the sale of hunting licenses (the major source of funding for game and fish departments), has a negative impact on wildlife management, and imposes economic losses on hunting-related businesses. In Minnesota alone in 2006, hunting-related retail sales totaled $637,270,173. Minnesota hunters also generated $75,882,194 in state taxes, plus $86,158,974 in federal tax revenues.

In 2008, the first hunting season after California imposed a ban on lead ammunition in the state’s condor range, hunting license sales fell significantly after three years of steady gains. In the affected regions, the number of deer hunters dropped nearly 5 percent and hog hunters dropped 15 percent—costing the California Department of Fish and Game more than $200,000 in lost tag fees alone. (Source: "Ammo Rule Has Massive Impact," Jim Matthews, San Bernardino Sun, March 13, 2009 (http://www.sbsun.com/sports/ci_11903720)

Contributions to food banks will also suffer. For example, donations to Minnesota’s food bank program fell off dramatically. Hunters donated 2,000 deer in 2007, compared to 675 in 2008. Although no decision has been reached yet, Minnesota state officials are considering terminating the venison donation program, which would deprive thousands of needy families of lean, protein-rich meals, not to mention make it more difficult for the state to reach its deer management objectives.

Q: What guidelines should I follow when handling or processing deer?

A: There are common sense guidelines anyone can follow:
• Cut away all shot-damaged meat.
• Cut away a generous portion of meat around the wound channel.
• Don’t attempt to wash away lead fragments—it may just spread them more.
• Studies show that ground venison may contain more lead fragments than whole cuts of meat.
• Wash hands, face and clothing after shooting or reloading ammunition.
• Pregnant women and children under six have been cautioned not to ingest any lead at all for years. Avoid cooking venison in acidic sauces (wine, vinegar, lemon).

http://www.nrahuntersrights.org/LeadIssues.aspx

[ONEBGG]

Thanks, It had me laughing for days.

[auroradude]

Was just trolling around ihub, stopped by OA, being an outdoorsman I looked at the board, saw what looked like some stupid f^cks post, looked at your post and STARTED LAUGHING MY A$$ OFF!!!!!

Thanks for the laugh!!
I love the pics!!!!

Still LMAO!!!

[ONEBGG]

Camping:



HARR!!!!!

[ONEBGG]

One On One With Nugent

One on One With Ted Nugent

By Chris W. Cox
NRA-ILA Executive Director
Posted: 4/14/2010 12:00:00 AM

Let’s face it – when you work in politics, sometimes you have to spend time with dull people. That’s why it was such a refreshing experience for me to recently visit with NRA champion Ted Nugent. He’s fiery, zealous, unrestrained and bursting with opinions that are anything but cautious.

Most readers will know that Ted is a long-serving member of the NRA Board of Directors, and of course a rock ‘n’ roll legend. But I’d bet fewer know that Ted founded the non-profit Ted Nugent Kamp for Kids, and also works as Ambassador for Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the Pass It On Outdoor Mentors program.

The Nugents also established the Freedom’s Angels Foundation, which provides assistance to our brave troops. Ted is also working with the Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes, Wounded Warriors, and the Fallen Heroes Foundation, and he has toured the Middle East with the USO. Ted regularly takes terminally ill children and wounded troops on hunts. In his spare time, he has put on more than 6,000 concerts, and made thousands of media appearances, advocating for the Second Amendment and freedom in general everywhere he goes.

Cox: Let’s fill in some of the gaps on how you got here. Tell us about your upbringing in Detroit.

Ted: Born in Detroit in 1948, I was immediately touched by Les Paul`s new electric guitar invention and the incredible power of Fred Bear`s new bowhunting celebration. I grew up along the banks of the Rouge River where I cut my teeth on bowhunting and slingshotting river rats, squirrels, quail, ducks, coons and possums. The intensely powerful loving discipline of my parents taught me to always be the best that I can be, with my guitar, bows and guns.

Cox: How were you introduced to hunting and shooting? At what age? What was your first hunt?

Ted: Fortunately, my dad, Warren Henry Nugent, was already a Fred Bear bowhunting protégé when I was born, but the typical youthful fascination with wildlife, archery and guns only increased with every year of my life. My fondest memories are the weekends shooting rifles, handguns and bows with dad, brothers Jeff and Johnny, and our uncle John Nugent. I`m sure I was shooting by the time I was 2 or 3. I believe the first official hunt was for groundhogs with a single shot bolt action Winchester .22 rifle in Fryburg, Pennsylvania, at Uncle Morris` farm at the age of 4 or 5. Wonderful memories!

Cox: You became a bowhunter early on and Fred Bear was your mentor. You hunted with him for almost twenty years. Tell us about him, and what he taught you.

Ted: Surely this great man had a huge impact on my life. I first met Fred at his little shop in Grayling around 1955 or so, where we would stop to visit on our annual family bowhunting trips up north. He was a kind, friendly, funny man who exuded a moving love for the great outdoors and the mystical flight of the arrow that imprinted me with a passion for bowhunting. When I graduated from high school in 1967, I hooked back up with Fred, he took me under his wing so to speak, and we hunted often right up to our last hunt together in 1987. Overall, Fred taught us all that the higher level of awareness necessary for successful bowhunting would enhance an overall quality of life. Very true.

Cox: Tell me about this concept of the “mystical flight of the arrow.” Is that something you experience every time you go afield?

Ted: Yes! Big time! I crave projectiles. I feel them as an extension of my soul, that by properly utilizing God`s amazing gifts, I can put that arrow, that bullet, that marble in the exact spot I am one with. It is magic and challenging every time.

Cox: You talk about the healing powers of bring outdoors. But much of society is now insulated from the outdoor lifestyle. How can we make them climb to the proverbial mountaintop with us?

Ted: Quality of life is all about thoughtful, intelligent prioritization. I pass on millions of dollars of income each and every year for more than 40 years because I must hunt. I must spend quality time with my family and my hunting dogs. I must escape the incredible intensity of my rock ‘n’ roll outrage to cleanse my soul each and every October, November, December and January. There is no Plan B for me. I am a hunter. I must hunt. Surely, the maddening orgy to accumulate material goods is not healthy for human beings. Stuff doesn`t make one happy. Quality time with family and friends pursuing happiness does.

Cox: You were also very young when you started your musical career. Tell us about your band, the Lourds.

Ted: My killer garage band, the Lourds, won the state battle of the bands in `63 and our prize was opening up for the Beau Brummels and the amazing Motown Supremes at the then brand new Cobo Hall in Detroit. My teenage brain barely grasped the dynamic at hand but we rocked the house with high energy throttling versions of "Shake a Tailfeather" and "High Heel Sneakers." Unfortunately at the time, my father`s job took us to the Chicago area and I was forced to leave the baddest band in the land. I did however, make up for it post haste with the formation of the Amboy Dukes shortly thereafter.

Cox: Your career exploded over the next twenty years, but the rock ‘n’ roll industry eventually pushed away from you. Is that because you were seen as too conservative, too outspoken, or what?

Ted: The overt bias against me by the media and powers that be in the music/entertainment industry for being a Second Amendment activist and gung-ho hunter is legendary. All that did was drive me to turn up the heat and crush the anti-gunners and anti-hunters nonstop, which I have thoroughly enjoyed all these years. It is good fun.

Cox: Many of our readers will remember the bogus CBS documentary “The Guns of Autumn.” How did that negative portrayal of hunting affect you? Was it a turning point in your decision to become an advocate?

Ted: It surely was. I could not believe that a major TV network could get away with such a flagrantly dishonest attack on the hunting lifestyle that I knew damn well was the absolute perfect thing a family could enjoy together. That`s when I went on the offensive taking the truth and facts of conservation everywhere.

Cox: What drives you to be so outspoken in defense of hunting and Second Amendment issues?

Ted: I have made a difference every day of my life by standing up for what I believe in, in a no-holds-barred, passionate way.

The curse of apathy is the number one enemy of America, and I refuse to allow the sacrifices of U.S. military heroes go for naught. Activism is the duty of all Americans. An experiment in self government demands participation by all who benefit from it. These heroes, these military warriors, who volunteered to crush evil wherever they could find it—if they are so willing to sacrifice so much, how dare any of us not participate? So to each of those gun owners that don’t participate in the freedom provided by the sacrifices of warriors, I would beg thee, to do some research, visit a vet’s home, salute some flag-draped coffins, hold a crying mother and reconsider whether you might owe somebody something.

Cox: That’s a powerful statement. What message do you have for those 20 to 25 million gun owners who aren’t registered to vote, who have chosen not to participate and are truly not able to make a difference?

Ted: Everywhere I go, every interview I do, I basically say if you’re not a member of the NRA you’re helping the enemy which makes you the enemy. Now a lot of gentle souls across the land have their feelings hurt when I say that, but it’s time to hurt some feelings because that statement is accurate. The tip of the culture war spear is our Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Cox: Is that why some people call you an extremist?

Ted: Extremism is the American way. A student at a school where I recently spoke asked me if I dabble with instruments other than guitar. I simply stated that I do not dabble in anything. I go for it in everything I do. I cherish life extremely. I extremely love my country and family. I feel extremely committed to participate in the freedoms provided by hero warriors of the U.S. military who sacrifice it all so that I can. I am extremely alive. That’s why when Glenn Beck wants a Second Amendment statement, he gets Wayne, he gets you, but he also gets me. I’m a trench warfare guy. And without question that’s the most important perspective on all the issues right now, but specifically the Second Amendment.

Cox: And that attitude of being in the trenches carries over into your activism in support of the Second Amendment.

Ted: The key—and I hammer this relentlessly—is simply “do something.” Buy a soldier a membership. Buy a kid a membership. Write a letter to the editor. Initiate the dialogue. Don’t ever wait to argue the point. Don’t respond. Initiate. It’s a very simple argument about the Right to Keep and Bear Arms: “Keep” can only mean one thing—“it’s mine and you can’t have it.” “Bear” can only mean one thing and one thing only—“I’ve got some on me right now.” That’s my daily mantra. It’s my driving force. It’s my quality of life. When I go to bed at night, if you were in the cabin, you could hear little chuckles coming out of my bedroom. Because I guarantee you that somewhere that day, everyday, 365 days a year—I have caused an anti-gunner much anguish.

Look at what’s happened every year since I became a speaker at the NRA Annual Meeting. My seminars are packed, because people are so relieved to hear publicly what they live privately. And again I appreciate that support, but the battle cry of my life, and the battle cry of certainly my NRA presentations is, “Don’t wait to hear it from me! You do it at school and at church and at the workplace. You do it at the town hall meetings, you write the letter to the editor.” Instead of just accepting and being angry at the mantra in the media, counter the mantra. But it can’t be once or twice a year, it’s got to be once or twice a week.

Cox: Tell me, a lot of gun owners thought that the Heller case decided it all. Obviously, that decision was limited to D.C. and federal enclaves. Now we have the Chicago case pending before the Supreme Court. What do you think about the notion that Chicago argued—that actually Heller was okay because it was just D.C., but it doesn’t affect the rest of the country. [ BTW, We Have Since We Won That - Chicago Gun Ban Reversal ~ Onebgg ]

Ted: I could get into specific details about that question and the answer that it beckons, but I will simplify it by this: there is planet Earth and then there is Chicago politics. There is common sense and logic that is ubiquitous across the United States of America. Then there are the words of Mayor Daley as he belittles the concept that an individual American has a God-given right. Or, in Mayor Daley’s perspective, does not have a God-given right to self-defense. Mayor Daley gets up under the umbrella every day of his life with an armed security detail paid for by tax dollars. I didn’t need the Heller case and I don’t need the Chicago case. I have a deal with God. My right to keep and bear arms preexisted. I had it when I was conceived. But it was important to write down those inalienable rights coming out of the grasp of tyranny and the European slavery. So it’s good that our Founding Fathers did write it down for reference—just in case. And now here we are.

Cox: One of the bigger problems we face is not fighting our enemies—it’s recruiting new friends of freedom. Many hunters get frustrated because their kids would rather play video games than come along on a deer hunt. How do you break through that?

Ted: By reeking of exuberance, passion and extreme joy when sharing the hunting experience with everyone. We are very proud that our Spirit of the Wild and Tooth Fang and Claw TV shows have more young viewers than any other shows because they know that Uncle Ted is the real deal. My pure excitement on each and every outing is contagious. For many years, my gung-ho promotion of hunting and guns on all sorts of unfriendly media has always been a home run. Believe me when I say that when promoted honestly and unapologetically, the truth about guns and hunting is received positively by the youth audience.

Fred Bear used to hear criticisms of my gung-ho attitude. Then he would go to a bunch of sporting shows and he told me that every young person that approached him asked about this rock ‘n’ roll Ted Nugent guy. And Fred was a little surprised because he wasn’t really tuned into the rock ‘n’ roll world. But he became tuned in, and real quick, because all these young people were pursuing an outdoor lifestyle because of my attitude, which obviously put my enthusiasm in the asset column. It wasn’t a liability—it was an asset. Fred with his oxygen bottle plugged into his nose one day …he put his arm on my shoulder and he told me to ignore my critics. That he’s never seen anything in his life that has impacted so many young people as this rock ‘n’ roll wild man with a bow and arrow on stage. So he told me to ignore my critics and keep doing it the way that I’m doing it because I’m connecting with the young people.

Now, I didn’t need that authorization and I didn’t need that vote of support, but boy was it powerful. Coming from a man who I just worshipped the ground he walked on. And so then just a few months later he died. And I took his instructions from that October day to not just keep doing it like I’m doing it, but to spearhead and focus my natural and instinctive celebration of my hunting lifestyle as the ultimate promotional tool for getting kids off the streets and away from the gangs and away from the drugs and all the deadly highs and get them into the spiritual highs of connecting with the good Mother Earth and the healthiest diet known to man. Duh!

So I started a camp for kids, so I really give Fred Bear the credit for inspiring me to not just mention my love for hunting and write about my love for hunting and bring it up in the interviews, but to actually focus it in a activity, in a charity. The Ted Nugent Kamp for Kids was born in 1989 and we still hold it every year in Omaha, Nebraska. And it looks like now we’re about to marry it with the National Field Archery Association so we’ll go from thousands of kids each year to possibly tens of thousands of kids each year.

And we teach them the joys and the gratification of discipline. Discipline of aim small, miss small. The discipline of eating well, taking care of your sacred temple, avoiding poisons at all costs, fighting the live peer pressure, and demanding that of your friends—becoming a positive peer influence.

And that charity … I mean, you should see now some of the letters I get from some of the original kids that attended our camp. We teach them hunting safety, we teach them archery marksmanship, we teach them rifle marksmanship and handgun marksmanship, we teach them the basics of sustained yield habitat carrying capacity, the perfection of venison as a life source. And I get letters now from the original participants that are now parents who are now bringing their children to the Ted Nugent Kamp for Kids. And it’s not my baby. It really is about the volunteers because it takes an army of volunteers.

Cox: Glenn Beck invited you to deliver your message to the tea party movement. Where do you think that’s headed?

Ted: This wonderful "we the people" reawakening is headed for where I was way back in the 1960`s. We are driven to take control back from bureaucrats out of control. We are demanding accountability and representation driven by the U.S. Constitution. I was a tea partier back in the ‘60s. I was a tea party that was criticized for being a freedom lover and a freedom fighter. I was screaming from the mountaintops in the ‘60s that the Second Amendment means I get to carry a gun. Right-to-Carry has taken a long time, and it always takes an army. So it’s long overdue but better late than never.

Cox: You’re right about the army – our grassroots army is our single most effective asset. And you meet the nicest people when you work directly with the grassroots.

Ted: I’m not exaggerating, Chris. I can’t walk 10 steps in America without someone saying, “Hey, Uncle Ted. God Bless the NRA.” They’ll come up, and I can see them fumbling. I know what they’re doing because it happens all the time. They’re fumbling to show me their NRA card. I am so blessed by that connection. Everybody picks up my tab and I hate when they do that because it’s not necessary. I’ll be eating somewhere and I’ll go to pay the bill and they’ll go, “That guy paid it.” And the guy flashes his NRA card. How cool is that? So maybe in this article, I’ll ask the members, “Would you people quit doing that please?” I appreciate the support, but it’s really unnecessary. If you’re going to buy anybody a meal, wait till you see a GI. Maybe a cop. Or maybe a special needs kid. Buy them one. But that’s an amazing human dynamo. And that connection -- it buoys my spirit everyday.

Cox: Same here. From the questions I get on the road, I know our members always want to talk guns. Let’s hear about your collection. Do you have a favorite hunting rifle?

Ted: Absolutely. Well, I have so many of them. In fact, my buddies are here and we’re going to try to take all of my guns out of my safe and take a picture. We figured it’s a 5-day deal. I have so many rifles. Currently I have a GA Precision .270 Winchester that George Gardner built for me. That “GA” stands for gnat assassin. You can assassinate gnats with his rifle.

Cox: And what’s your carry rig?

Ted: I own way too many guns, but rotate my dozens of wonderful 10mm pistols for daily carry. There simply is no better daily carry caliber for self defense and hunting backup as far as I`m concerned. I love ‘em all. I mean they’re all perfect. I would say my favorite gun is whatever is next to me with the most ammo

Cox: We’ve got the Annual Meeting coming up in Charlotte. Any special events or appearances planned?

Ted: The NRA Annual Meeting is a priority for the Nugent family. I am moved by the buoyant spirit and positive energy at every event. We have a grand old time at my annual charity fund raising book signings and speaking presentations on Sunday. I so look forward to it every year.

I’m glad we’re doing this interview and I certainly want you to convey how deeply moved I am, how humbled I am, how driven and inspired I am every day of my life by the honor of being voted on the Board of Directors of the NRA. I hear from these people why they vote for me. Because of my absolutism. Because of my celebrating, not defending, our God-given rights. So here in the pages of the NRA publications, thank you all, God bless you all, because your inspiration is causing me to turn up the heat on a daily basis. I bring in a whole new intensity to absolutism every day of my life, inspired by those who honored me with their vote, indicating to me that they trust me to represent them on the board -- and certainly inspired by all those NRA members in military fatigues who thank me for implementing their freedoms that they have sacrificed to provide.

Cox: You have developed a lot of interesting nicknames over the years—Tedator, The Nuge, Uncle Ted. If a member sees you in Charlotte, or at some airport sometime else, what do you want them to call you?

Ted: American Blood Brother. Or just plain “Uncle Ted.”

http://www.nraila.org/Issues/Articles/Read.aspx?id=404&issue=


... Gary

[ONEBGG]

Way Cool - Trophy Room

This is a PDF, but well worth a look.

Ken Barr Trophy Room: http://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/attachment.php?s=8a3f8f6678f1e01a3d648fbaddbae063&attachmentid=170846&d=1277900931

[ONEBGG]

Mythical Unicorn Found in Deer

http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/mythical-unicorn-found-in-deer/py32t8y?from=en-us_msnhp>1=42007

[ONEBGG]

Culled Out

Note, this was first posted on the GUNS board by Chunga1.

By Robert Montgomery
ESPNOutdoors.com



The Obama administration will accept no more public input for a federal strategy that could prohibit U.S. citizens from fishing the nation's oceans, coastal areas, Great Lakes, and even inland waters.
One sign at the United We Fish rally at the Capital summed up the feelings of recreational and commercial fishermen.
This announcement comes at the time when the situation supposedly still is "fluid" and the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force still hasn't issued its final report on zoning uses of these waters.

That's a disappointment, but not really a surprise for fishing industry insiders who have negotiated for months with officials at the Council on Environmental Quality and bureaucrats on the task force. These angling advocates have come to suspect that public input into the process was a charade from the beginning.

"When the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) completed their successful campaign to convince the Ontario government to end one of the best scientifically managed big game hunts in North America (spring bear), the results of their agenda had severe economic impacts on small family businesses and the tourism economy of communities across northern and central Ontario," said Phil Morlock, director of environmental affairs for Shimano.

"Now we see NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the administration planning the future of recreational fishing access in America based on a similar agenda of these same groups and other Big Green anti-use organizations, through an Executive Order by the President. The current U.S. direction with fishing is a direct parallel to what happened in Canada with hunting: The negative economic impacts on hard working American families and small businesses are being ignored.

"In spite of what we hear daily in the press about the President's concern for jobs and the economy and contrary to what he stated in the June order creating this process, we have seen no evidence from NOAA or the task force that recreational fishing and related jobs are receiving any priority."

Fisheries In Danger

Consequently, unless anglers speak up and convince their Congressional representatives to stop this bureaucratic freight train, it appears that the task force will issue a final report for "marine spatial planning" by late March, with President Barack Obama then issuing an Executive Order to implement its recommendations — whatever they may be.

Led by NOAA's Jane Lubchenco, the task force has shown no overt dislike of recreational angling, but its indifference to the economic, social and biological value of the sport has been deafening.

Additionally, Lubchenco and others in the administration have close ties to environmental groups who would like nothing better than to ban recreational angling. And evidence suggests that these organizations have been the engine behind the task force since before Obama issued a memo creating it last June.

As ESPN previously reported, WWF, Greenpeace, Defenders of Wildlife, Pew Environment Group and others produced a document entitled "Transition Green" shortly after Obama was elected in 2008. What has happened since suggests that the task force has been in lockstep with that position paper.

Then in late summer, just after he created the task force, these groups produced "Recommendations for the Adoption and Implementation of an Oceans, Coasts, and Great Lakes National Policy." This document makes repeated references to "overfishing," but doesn't once reference recreational angling, its importance, and its benefits, both to participants and the resource.

Additionally, some of these same organizations have revealed their anti-fishing bias by playing fast and loose with "facts," in attempts to ban tackle containing lead in the United States and Canada.

That same tunnel vision, in which recreational angling and commercial fishing are indiscriminately lumped together as harmful to the resource, has persisted with the task force, despite protests by the angling industry.

As more evidence of collusion, the green groups began clamoring for an Executive Order to implement the task force's recommendations even before the public comment period ended in February. Fishing advocates had no idea that this was coming.

Perhaps not so coincidentally, the New York Times reported on Feb. 12 that "President Obama and his team are preparing an array of actions using his executive power to advance energy, environmental, fiscal and other domestic policy priorities."
Click here for archive
Morlock fears that "what we're seeing coming at us is an attempted dismantling of the science-based fish and wildlife model that has served us so well. There's no basis in science for the agendas of these groups who are trying to push the public out of being able to fish and recreate.

"Conflicts (user) are overstated and problems are manufactured. It's all just an excuse to put us off the water."

In the wake of the task force's framework document, the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation (CSF) and its partners in the U.S. Recreational Fishing & Boating Coalition against voiced their concerns to the administration.

"Some of the potential policy implications of this interim framework have the potential to be a real threat to recreational anglers who not only contribute billions of dollars to the economy and millions of dollars in tax revenues to support fisheries conservation, but who are also the backbone of the American fish and wildlife conservation ethic," said CSF President Jeff Crane.

Morlock, a member of the CSF board, added, "There are over one million jobs in America supported coast to coast by recreational fishing. The task force has not included any accountability requirements in their reports for evaluating or mitigating how the new policies they are drafting will impact the fishing industry or related economies.

"Given that the scope of this process appears to include a new set of policies for all coastal and inland waters of the United States, the omission of economic considerations is inexcusable."

This is not the only access issue threatening the public's right to fish, but it definitely is the most serious, according to Chris Horton, national conservation director for BASS.

"With what's being created, the same principles could apply inland as apply to the oceans," he said. "Under the guise of 'marine spatial planning' entire watersheds could be shut down, even 2,000 miles up a river drainage from the ocean.

"Every angler needs to be aware because if it's not happening in your backyard today or tomorrow, it will be eventually.

"We have one of the largest voting blocks in the country and we need to use it. We must not sit idly by."

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/saltwater/news/story?id=4975762

[Id_Jit]

That’s funny!

We have two Beagles. They often get taken out to off-leash doggie parks where they search out and chase rabbits through the bush for a couple hours. That’s what their Beagle instincts tell them to do. They have never caught one though, and probably never will. Yeah, like they would know what to do with the bunny if they ever did catch one. <g>
We have a couple rabbits living in our condo property. Whenever they see one, they go snaky.

In early January my Wife walked them out to a close by bush area (not an ‘official’ off-leash area) and turned them loose. Apparently the younger one could not find a bunny to chase. She did find a coyote to chase though. That could have ended badly, but the chase was toward "Mom" and when the coyote saw her, it headed into the bush, and Mom successfully called Krissy to her. She doesn’t take them there anymore.
There are foxes living in that area also.

Id

[ONEBGG]

Fox Hunting Must Be Stopped!


While I always agree that hunting is an ethical God given right, I think that I would have to agree with the author on this one.... fox hunting should be banned!

Please help ban fox hunting in Texas!

THIS MADNESS MUST STOP!!!



Signed,
Peter Cottontail

http://www.texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1201280/Re_Please_help_ban_fox_hunting

[eliot]

weekend update

2 weekends ago

thurs jan 21, water froze in house, waiting for water guy, thinking intensely while playing mindless solitaire on comp,the batteries in the mouse started crackling like they were pop rocks. took out batteries, and they were still popping like pop rocks but no leakage.hmmmmmmm. thursd nite freezing rain. so, to prepare, i lined the windshields with pizza box's and dog food bags. while scraping ice on my windshield, i tapped the wiper, and it FLEW 8' clear and stuck in the ice snow muck like an iriquois arrow. hmmmmmmmm
( them things can be rather tough to get off, but not this time )

friday morning there was 1/2" of the greasiest, slickest ice known to man. sure was glad i lined the shields. saw two dogs go down repeatedly. never saw that before. hmmmmmm. cars all warmed up, everyones ready to go. my wipers are not working. hmmmmmmmmm. check the fuse,,, third up far right, yeahp, third up, far right is where the fuse was supposed to be, yet, it was NOT there. NOT on the floor either. NOR the driveway. i used the wipers the day before. hmmmmmmmmmm. ( see ? ) ( see also wtf )

friday nite/ date nite with mrs eliot. had a nice time ( hic )

our driveway is rather steep with a bank turn at the steepest apex. our friends have learned, at certain times, to just park at the bottom and walk up. this driveway takes a certain amount of speed, and the most assured intent of I WILL NOT FAIL. i knew there was still ice on the driveway of certain death, but,,,,,,, well, i put down about 3 double capt morgan, with a couple of beers, so it was only natural for me to think i could MAKE it up the driveway of certain death in spite of the greasy glassed slick. that was the SECOND time in my life were i was wrong. ( the first time, i THOUGHT i was wrong ) reality re-entered my life suddenly,, as soon as the tires made that high speed spin sound, and trajectory was lost. hmmmmmmmmmm. quickly checking the rearview brought the realization that mrs eliot THOUGHT she could follow me up the driveway of definite doom ( i could see her headlights ) naturally, the first thing that came to my mind was
FAARRK!
i was sliding back and picking up speed quick.
my second thought was calling my ins. agent while visions of mangledness played in my head. mrs eliot both impressed and amazed me with here navy seal like driving accumen, cause she got out of the farking way. riplyes's should have been there. it is well to note that every year, i turn our driveway into the luge track of death, with the snowplow for the kids sledriding adventures. fortunately, the back end of the car hit the completely frozen embankment, and it spun me around 180 right back down the driveway with a wing where my fender used to be, and the muffler was abscombed from its morrings. hmmmmmmmmmmm

plan b was to use the neighbors driveway.

plan c was quickly enacted.

plan c for mrs eliot was to take off her heels and walk stocking footed up MNT GREASY GLASS. she said she could walk fine, and plan c was confirmed in the immediate. ( i knew her feet were melting the ice, but THAT would end soon. see about 6 steps ) i also kept that thought to myself as i had to focus real hard at not falling down. so there we were, laughing and blankety blank'n our way up. i do remember i kept yelling i'm calling all my friends to tell'm you walked up the driveway barefoot. she's carrying her shoes in one hand and using ice bolders as hand and foot holds. me too. it was the ONLY way. realizing she was holding me up and making me wait, i thought it prudent to express chivalry and offer to carry her shoes. then she could have two hands to grab frozen ice. it was about 10 degrees. i put the shoes in my hood cause i didnt want to slide back down the luge track for the bruising would be severe. kinda like free falling. probably would hit about 30 mph. we HAD TO crawl under weighted low hanging pine boughs. thats when one of here shoes were wrested from the hood, down it went. oh well.
after the ascension, its rather flat at the top, one would think the worst is over, thats when i HEARD mrs eliot go down. ( see impact, and that certain sound your lungs make ) i dont care who you are, thats funny.
got the st bernard un hooked. scary cause he is so excited to see us, and he cant stand up too good either, and he likes to LEAN into ya. yeah, i stayed vertical.

saturday, we're running low on wood, with all the snow, its rather difficult to find convenient wood. so,,,,,,, i grab my 87 350 orange ugly dump, complete with bad engine knock and fan belt screeching, saw, giant log turner thing, file, gas, oil, extra chain just in case, and my frankenstein mull. 14.5 # of pure splitting furry,,,,,,, and set out to cut the tree of death. 50' red oak snag. perfect. i've been looking at the tree for twice a day for about 2000 days. so close, so convenient, so dry, right by the road. i'm desperate enough too.
everything went great. prayers are real. four hours for a full cord. ahhhhhhh life is good.

sunday. in law party, but i stay home to play with my backhoe in the cold all day rain. it was 32 degrees. all day alone with my dirty little hoe. yes, life IS good. to date we had 3.5 feet of snow, and the only way to get the wood around the house was too excavate the snow. took 5 hours, and 4 of them were cold and wet. 2.5 of them were spent twisted around looking backward. and i might have contracted anheisers disease, but i'm still not sure.
GREAT, the way is clear, but spring is gonna suck because of the three tons of sod i'm sure i scooped up with the snow. some drifts were 5'. its 4:55 pm, dark at 5:30. man, i rode that dirty little hoe hard.
i'm tired,
hungry,
cold,
wet,
half buzzed
the wood from yesterday is still on the truck,,,,,,,, for a reason. i needed the weight so that i could PULL another 50' snag that WAS,,, 50 feet down over the hill, through 2 feet of snow, up hill, after i cut it down in twighlight. i've been fantasizing at this tree a while also.

there is at least one ton, maybe two on the truck. had to position the truck perpendicular across the road in order to pull the tree straight up the hill first. then it was positioned well enough that i could then re hitch the chain and pull this giantsonofabitch a half a mile up the road to our house. it is now half past dark thirty. mr busch was long for moral support.
first attempt to pull, nice and easy, didnt work. at all. slacked the chain but a smidgeon, and tugged harder. it aint moving.
hmmmmmmmmmmm. slacked up about 6-8' of chain, and hit it hard. BANG,,,,,,,,,,,,,, i'm mobile, and cant slow down now. up and out comes mr 2 ton white oak and up the road we go like ninja's in the night. i'm sure the neighbors thought it was a plow truck with all that rumbling grinding. then, the truck mysteriously picks up speed, and i realize the chain evaporated on the asphalt as if by magic. that giant line scrape in the road was probably made from the plow truck too. hmmmmmmmmm. re hooked, and hit it as hard as i could to make it up the driveway. had to ge the speed up. the mailbox did NOT get ripped out. thank God for wood nymph fairies. the truck almost couldnt do it, the pedal IS to the metal. after i un hooked, i went inside, got another beer, and walked outside, colder, wetter, hungrier, and the beer is starting to seem like whiskey in affect, and i scream in pure unadultered jubilation I DID IT.
that tree was 60' with big giant branches at the small end, and the but end was 20" - a 16" section weighs about 100#. its stringy stuff. the kind of wood that when you hit the wedge witha 14# mull, the wedge BOINGS out about three times before ya find a place that it will stick. and forget about trying to split 3 feet sections without a wedge. a 14# mull hardly dents it with a 'thunk' sound.

by now, i was kinda hoping the truck woulda unloaded itself, but it didnt, so around the house i go, past the treehouse swingset through all that mud ( it didnt used to be mud ,, it used to be grass ) and stacked. had another beer, called mrs eliot and say, 'oh my god honey there is a 60 foot tree down in the driveway' wait till you see it' just to get her excited. i could tell she was excited, by the way she kept saying ' oh my god, what happened' i told her to wait till she saw it. driving the truck past the tree house, i clipped the mirror, and the back end of the gate was down, which extended the length of the truck, which caught the swingset tree house on the tight turn, and brought i all DOWN smash and crash. maybe, just maybe the beer had an influence. hmmmmmmmmmmm.

walked down the driveway to fix the muffler with two flashlights and thats when i could FEEL two muscles at the base of my tailbone. one on one side, and one on the other. the ones that connect to the tailbone. each step. that was interesting. hmmmmmmmmm. i was already wet and cold, so laying on my back in the stream that was running down the side of the road wouldnt be too shocking to the system. got the muffler on just about the same time the water started making its way through my pant down the leg.

had dinner, went to sleep at 10:30

the end

[ONEBGG]

Great Hunter Pic

Somewhere near Rochester , New York ,

Ed set out to bag his buck at 5:30 a.m.

By 11:30 a.m., he was exhausted and hungry--and still no buck.

At 12 noon, the mighty hunter Ed guards the remains of his lunch

while a passer-by snaps a quiet photo

while trying not to startle the deer with a belly laugh.




http://www.premierphotographer.com/funny_pics_1.html

[ONEBGG]

Why Should This Photo Be Illegal?



Why Should This Photo Be Illegal?

By Darren Warner

Imagine getting a great photograph of your hunting partner shooting at a pheasant, then finding out it’s illegal to possess that photo.

Imagine going to the video store to rent a copy of your favorite hunting show, only to find the shelves bare. When you ask the clerk where they are, he tells you that the films are now illegal and that you can’t buy or rent them anymore.

This may sound like something out of 1984, but in United States v. Robert J. Stevens, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide this fall if photos like the one above, or video that shows hunters shooting at game, violate a 1999 federal law (18 USC § 48) that bans depictions of animal cruelty.

If the law is upheld, it could mean unprecedented problems for the entire hunting, fishing and outdoor media industry.

“We have a history in this country of outdoor reporting of hunting and fishing, and this case could potentially eliminate hunting and fishing TV, and even your favorite outdoor magazine,” said Bill Miller, executive producer of North American Outdoors Television.

The Law

In 1999, Congress sought to do something about the sale of “crush videos,” or short films showing women crushing small animals with their bare feet or high heels. Crush videos appeal to a small segment of the population who find them sexually gratifying.

The result was a new law that bans images of animals being hurt, wounded or killed if the depicted conduct is illegal under federal or state law either (1) where the creation of the depiction occurs; or (2) where the depiction is sold or possessed. The law provides exemptions for images that have serious “religious, political, scientific, educational, journalistic, historical, or artistic value.” But it's up to a jury to decide what has “serious value.”

The intent of the law is to reduce animal cruelty by targeting those who make or sell crush videos, as well as images of cock fighting or dog fighting. Those who violate the statute are subject to a fine and up to five years in prison.

The law does not criminalize acts of animal cruelty themselves, only their depiction.

“There shouldn’t be a need for another law to prevent the distribution and sale of films on cock fighting, dog fighting and other things like that because laws already exist to address those crimes,” added Miller.

The ban means that taking, possessing or selling images of an animal being harvested is a federal crime if the material is sold or possessed somewhere in the U.S. where the hunting of that animal (e.g., mourning doves) or the type of hunting (e.g., crossbow) is illegal.

For example, “Hunting is illegal in the District of Columbia,” said Ryan Shores, one of the attorneys writing an amicus brief opposing the law on behalf of the NRA. “Under this law, if you sell a deer hunting video in D.C., then it’s a criminally punishable offense.”

“The statute is extremely vague and broad,” said Victor Perlman, legal counsel for the American Society of Media Photographers. “And you wonder how anyone can decide what falls within the law’s exceptions for images that have serious value.”

The law also prevents hunters from taking images of game being harvested.

“The potential implication is that a hunter who videotapes or takes a picture of a deer being harvested could potentially be judged to be in violation of the law,” said Chris Chaffin, president of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA). “If that were to become the law of the land, then all communicators who make their living writing hunting stories and using harvest photographs could be put in the position of being felons for doing so.”

Imagine the delight of anti-hunting groups to find out about this law.

The Case

In January of 2003, Pennsylvania State Troopers and United States Department of Agriculture officials raided the home of Virginian Robert J. Stevens, a published author and documentary film producer. Officials broke down Stevens’ door at 5:30 a.m. and confiscated several films Stevens had made and sold. Stevens was charged with three counts of violating the depictions of animal cruelty law.

Stevens’ films document the history of pit bulls and how to properly train them for hunting purposes—legal in his state.*

At the trial, Stevens’ defense presented expert testimony that each of his documentaries has serious educational and historical value, so they are exempt from the law. After the judge instructed the jury that an exemption should only be considered if the work is “significant and of great import,” the jury took just 45 minutes to find Stevens guilty. He was sentenced to 37 months in prison. It was the first time someone had been tried and convicted of violating the federal law.

Stevens appealed the conviction, arguing that the law violates his First Amendment right to freedom of expression.

The government contended that depictions of animal cruelty are legally akin to obscenity and child pornography, and therefore not protected by the First Amendment.

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of appeals disagreed, overturning Stevens’ conviction. The court reasoned that there is no compelling interest in banning speech to compensate for the “under-enforcement of state animal cruelty laws.”

“Preventing cruelty to animals, although an exceedingly worthy goal, simply does not implicate interests of the same magnitude as protecting children from physical and psychological harm,” wrote U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Brooks Smith.

The case has severely damaged Stevens’ business and reputation. Although Stevens has no criminal record and is against animal cruelty, some media and private interest groups have characterized him as immoral and eccentric. For example, the Los Angeles Times stated, “Stevens is not someone I’d want around my children.” The Legal Satyricon described Stevens as a “rather unsavory fellow” and “a bit demented.”

Mr. Stevens, who is now 68 years old, also is the victim of selective enforcement of the law.

“Portions of Mr. Stevens’ films, which people gave to him, have been used by the Humane Society of the United States and Dateline® NBC to promote their interests, yet they haven’t been charged with a crime,” said Patricia Millett, Stevens’ attorney, who will present their case to the Supreme Court. “You can’t say that because conduct is outlawed somewhere, then images of it need to be outlawed everywhere – but that’s what the statute does.”

Now the case rests in the hands of the Supreme Court, and nothing less than the First Amendment-protected freedoms we enjoy are at stake.

“It’s very important to understand that just because you may not like something or you find it offensive, it does not mean that free speech should be suppressed,” explained Millett. “That’s part of the history of this country: we don’t leave it up to the government to say parts of free speech are off limits.”

What You Can Do

“The first thing people should do is write a letter or contact the NRA and thank them for their amicus brief that opposes this law,” suggested Millett. Then, contact POMA to show your support for the amicus curiae brief they’re writing that defends the free speech rights of hunters, anglers and those who enjoy outdoor magazines, TV, Web content and photography.

Check back to http://NRAhuntersri ghts.org for updates on the case as they occur.

http://www.nrahunterrights.org/Article.aspx?id=2170

[ONEBGG]

Beware Squirrel Hunters!

[ONEBGG]

I thought it awesome to, so when Larry sent it to me, I knew it had to be posted here.