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By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

Since the last time the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) reviewed the status of Puget Sound steelhead in 1996, the trout’s numbers have fallen steeply. In September 2004, noting distinct downward trends in steelhead populations, retired fish biologist Sam Wright of Olympia, Oregon, urged the government to reconsider the fish for federal protection. NMFS has listened, recently proposing that they be listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act.   
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/12093688/ [ Read Full Post ]

By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

A wild turkey, know as Rufus to the owners and patrons of Culdesac, Idaho’s Jacques Spur Junction Cafe, has been making a good living and gaining notoriety by charming diners out of their leftovers in the eatery’s parking lot. But with the state’s turkey season starting in a week, Rufus had best stick close to Jacques. That is, as long as he doesn’t come inside, cook Kristie McDaide told the Lewiston Tribune. "I'd throw him right in my pot."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/04/AR2006040401570.html [ Read Full Post ]

By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

Speaking to the Cincinnati Community Press, Ohio archer Bill Wolf recalls a recent hunt during which two deer walked under his stand. “At first, I was just looking for an opportunity to get one of them. Then I saw them both lined up. I thought, 'This just might work.'" And it did. Wolf’s arrow passed through the vitals of both deer, killing the two of them almost instantly.

http://news.communitypress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060405/SPT/604050619/1078/Local

No doubt, it was a heck of shot, but it begs a question: Was it ethical? Would you take it? Let us know what you think in the comments box below. [ Read Full Post ]

By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

On Thursday, March 30, the U.S. Repeating Arms Company plant in New Haven paid out its last paychecks to its 186 remaining workers and closed its doors, probably forever. However, the City of New Haven and the State of Connecticut are unwilling to let the poor, 140-year-old company die a dignified death.

Governor Jodie Rell has pledged to save everyone’s job, and New Haven Mayor John DeStafano, Jr. has invited other gunmakers to inspect USRAC’s corpse. Apparently Smith & Wesson and Savage (which itself nearly died in the early 1990s) have taken a look, but have been unwilling to put the electric paddles to the Big Red W.

Who can blame them? About 20 years ago when Colt got into terminal do-do, the City of Hartford and the State of Connecticut and whatever union was involved tried to save the enterprise, but that combination could kill off kudzu. Colt continues to limp along, sort of, but it’s never been turned around. Old machinery, incompetent management, and a dated product line will do it every time. Just ask General Motors.

Back... [ Read Full Post ]

By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

With two terriers and a beagle recently munched, Chicago-area suburban coyotes seem to have discovered a taste for small-breed domestic dogs. In this latest incident, reported in the Chicago Tribune, a “wild-eyed” coyote had just begun snacking on the hindquarters of a miniature poodle named Annie in a mall parking lot. Seeing this, owner Cissy Lacks grabbed her pet by the front legs, pulled for dear life, and eventually won a harrowing 15-second-long tug of war, as the coyote gave up and sauntered away. Naturally, we at F&S are overjoyed to learn  that after a day of recovery,  Annie, according to Lacks, is no longer “very, very sad.”
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0604040155apr04,1,3428514.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true    [ Read Full Post ]

By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

Gun cleaning is like scooping the kitty litter box; it’s not uplifting or exciting, but you'd better do it (them kittycats believe in payback).

The key ingredient in all gun cleaning is the rod. Boy, have I seen some lousy rods out there. The worst ones let all the abrasive stuff that accumulates in your bore embed itself, which turns the rod into a file, and then they bend, which guarantees they’ll scrape against the rifling. Years ago, I saw a .22 with a chamber that was actually worn egg-shaped by misuse of a cleaning rod.

If you’re looking for a good rod, the best I’ve seen are made by Neil A. Jones in Saegertown, Pennsylvania. They’re spring steel; they will not bend, they will not let stuff embed, and they come in three diameters. You can flex one almost double and it will snap back straight, probably taking your eye with it. The one thing these rods will do is rust, so you are advised to keep them someplace dry when not in use. www.neiljones.com.  Lots of neat stuff on that website. [ Read Full Post ]

By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

According to this San Diego Union Tribune story, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s recent request for $141 million to fund the Endangered Species Act next year included a surprising admission: the agency doesn’t know whether the program is effective.  Due to a lack of funding, say officials, the USFWS cannot even describe in general terms the status of more than 500 listed species. With the Senate soon to consider a rewrite of the act, this uncertainty is bound to play a role in the process. Whether it leads to more or less radical change, however, is still up in the air.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20060403-9999-1n3status.html [ Read Full Post ]

By David E. Petzal and Philip Bourjaily

I buy a lot of my gun stuff from Cabela’s, and since many of you are probably customers, I thought I’d pass this along.

Some years ago, a friend of mine ordered a pair of Malone pants (which are heavy wool pants) in the springtime, took them out of the package and put them away until fall. When hunting season arrived, he put them on only to find that they were way too big. So he sent them to Cabela’s with a whiney note complaining that they’d sent him size 46 when he’s ordered 42, and could they please get it right this time?

After a few days he received a Cabela’s package with a pair of size 42 Malone trousers and a note:
“Dear Mr. T*****g: Enclosed are your size 42 Malone trousers. We hope you enjoy them. By the way, the pants you sent us came from L.L. Bean.”

As he puts it, “For the price of a pair of pants I’m theirs for life.”

If the U.S. government operated with the efficiency of the Cabela’s catalog service we would have rebuilt... [ Read Full Post ]

By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

At the Santee Cooper Bassmaster Elite Series event Thursday, Alton Jones had what he called his best day ever in a tournament, weighing in over 35 pounds worth of bass—enough to put him into second place . Five hours after the scales closed, though, B.A.S.S. announced that Jones was disqualified for having had assistance in operating his boat while he spotted fish during the official practice period. Sound familiar? Kevin Van Dam was DQd for a very similar violation on Monday.
http://www.bassfan.com/news_article.asp?ID=1672 [ Read Full Post ]

By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

Conservation Editor Bob Marshall reveals that the Department of the Interior's new claim of wetlands growth holds no water.

The Bush Administration announced last week that the nation is no longer losing wetlands--as long as you consider golf course water hazards to be wetlands.

Really.

Thursday, Interior Secretary Gale Norton called a press conference to claim our long nightmare of wetlands loss had finally come to an end due to unprecedented gains since 1997  (http://wetlandsfws.er.usgs.gov/status_trends/national_reports/trends_2005_report.pdf) However, she then admitted much of that gain has been in artificially created ponds, such as golf course water hazards and farm impoundments.

The sporting community--from Ducks Unlimited to the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership--reacted quickly, and not favorably. Researchers long ago established that natural wetlands such as marshes, swamps and prairie potholes are far more productive than even the best-designed artificial wetlands. And sharp-edged water bodies like water hazards, farm ponds, and even reservoirs offer very little for wildlife.  Putting man-made ponds in the same class as natural wetlands is like ranking pen-raised quail with wild coveys.

The boldness of Norton's claim was particularly galling given the Bush Administration's record on wetlands. President Bush, like other presidents before him, promised a policy of “no net loss” of wetlands, but... [ Read Full Post ]

By Dave Hurteau & Chad Love

According to the National Wildlife Federation, the budget resolution recently passed by the House Budget Committee is a “victory for wildlife” in that it is free of language facilitating Arctic National Wildlife Refuge drilling or the sale of federal lands to fund rural schools.

Of the latter issue, NWF president Larry Schweiger says, "America needs a permanent solution to funding rural schools that does not abandon hunters, anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts who depend on access to public lands. Once these lands are sold they are lost forever."

This development is far from a complete victory however, as both arctic drilling and the public-land sale will come up again during the House-Senate conference process.
http://www.nwf.org/news/story.cfm?pageId=4C1206A4%2DF1F6%2D7B10%2D376837FFD21AF40D [ Read Full Post ]