From Wisconsin’s WBAY ABC 2 News:

A Waupaca County judge suspended the felony case against Nicholas Hermes, one of three men accused of running down deer with snowmobiles. . . .

Animal mistreatment charges were dropped against brothers Robby and Rory Kuenzi after two different judges ruled the men cannot be charged with both illegal hunting and animal mistreatment.

The state Department of Justice is appealing those decisions.

State lawmakers are also stepping in, angry that there's an apparent loophole in the laws.

A number of legislators are drafting bills to make it clear that intentionally killing wild animals with motor vehicles is an act of cruelty . . . .

Kaufert himself has drafted a bill making it clear wild animals do fall under the animal cruelty statutes. . . .

"The bottom line is this: I don't think there's anyone around who would say a snowmobile is a legitimate way to go deer hunting," Kaufert said.

More Whitetail Headlines

Indiana Considers Changes In Deer Regs

Vermont Eyes Suburban Bow Hunts

Youth Deer Hunt Stirs CA Controversy

Michigan To Cut Deer Check Stations

One of the largest whitetail bucks I have ever seen was not running across an Iowa cornfield, or careening through a northwoods clearcut, or even languishing behind the high-fence at a petting zoo.

He was standing in the cloverleaf of a busy highway, about three miles from the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport. It was a relatively high-traffic afternoon and, despite vehicles whizzing past and jets roaring overhead, this mega-buck stood as placid as a dairy cow, licking his flank. Every time the buck’s head would bob, a huge drop tine would scratch the hide along his backbone. Thankfully I wasn’t driving that day, because my rubber-necking would have certainly caused a multi-car pileup.

That incident happened several years ago, and the buck I saw is certainly dead by now. The buck in the photo above, however, is certainly not. He is alive and well and causing hunters in a certain Midwestern city to have night sweats and speak in odd tongues. This photo, supposedly shot from the back patio of a home, shows a monstrous non-typical that’s been running awhile. Note his open mouth and tongue hanging out….A sign that he is either a) looking for does or b) running from danger. Given his civilized environment, I’m guessing the former.

So how 'bout you guys? Ever seen a monster in the city? Lucky enough to have access to hunt one of these urban legends?

I have posted a few deer-vs.-predator bits in this space. But nothing like the one included in the video clip here. Granted, this has nothing to do with whitetail deer, and watching it will teach you more about snakes than their prey...but it was fascinating stuff for me, nonetheless.

So please take a few minutes to watch the clip, then answer me a couple questions: a) have you ever seen anything like this before? And b) what type of deer is this?

I do know this much; I’m glad we don’t have these critters in my neck of the woods!

Fresh back from the 4th of July holiday weekend, I received a letter from a Mr. D. Keezer, who had taken the time to read the FS bow test, which appeared in the magazine’s July issue. Mr. Keezer noted that he’d also scanned recent advertisements from bow companies, and that these companies were posting arrow speeds significantly faster (in one case 47 feet per second) than the ones we posted in the bow test.

Were these companies, Mr. Keezer wondered, making false advertising claims?

The answer is a qualified “no.” When bow manufacturers post the speed of a bow to post in ads, they are testing the bow according to IBO (International Bowhunting Organization) standards. This apples-to-apples test requires a manufacturer to shoot a 350-grain arrow from a bow set at 70# with a 30” draw length. That’s the “no” part of the answer.

Here’s the “qualified” part. Most bow makers do adhere to IBO standards, but they may also tweak their test to achieve the hottest arrow speed possible. They’ll fling a bare (unfletched) arrow shaft, and use a naked string; no nocking point, and certainly no peep sight or string silencer, all of which will slow an arrow. If possible, they’ll set the bow at the lowest option for let-off (65% vs. 80% for example), forcibly over-draw the bow, and shoot dozens of arrows. Then they’ll post the best FPS rating, rather than an average. 

In a nutshell, bow makers wring every possible ounce of speed out of a test model, so they can advertise and appeal to all the speed freaks out there. Does that mean the bow you buy will match the arrow speed pronounced in an ad? Highly unlikely, if not impossible.

But here’s the main reason the speeds in the FS bow test were so far below manufacturer’s claims. Every bow we shot sported a 28-1/2” draw length; we chose this draw length as an average among our test-team members, since we were as concerned with how a bow felt to the shooter and wanted as natural a fit as possible. This draw-length drop results in an automatic loss of some 15 fps. Also, the arrow we shot through our chronograph weighed 446 grains, another automatic speed deduction, since heavier arrows are slower than lighter ones. And who knows? Maybe our chronograph wasn’t calibrated perfectly.

Basically, the only factor of the speed equation we were interested in was relativity; given our setup, where did each bow rank in arrow speed? And we achieved that goal. If you haven’t guessed by now, speed is only factor in my decision about which bows are “best.” Sure, I appreciate a decently-fast bow...but as a hunter I’m far more concerned with a half-dozen factors that have to work together so a bow feels right to me.

And that, my friends, is my long-winded answer to Mr. Keezer’s question!