If you caught my last post, you know that F&S Whitetail columnist Scott Bestul and I just returned from an 8-day bowhunt in southern Iowa. We were after a 150-inch buck. There are lots of them, comparatively speaking, in The Hawkeye state. But even here, the best place to find one is at the taxidermist’s, especially with 75-degree temperatures in early November and a sea of corn still standing. So between morning and evening hunts, we dropped in on Risher Taxidermy (641-647-2648) just outside of Centerville, IA, where we found owner Monica Risher working on a ... [ Read Full Post ]

From a Southwick Associates Press Release:
In an October 2009 survey, Southwick Associates asked anglers and hunters which type of organization they trust the most for accurate information regarding fish and wildlife conservation. The results of the monthly AnglerSurvey.com and HunterSurvey.com poll show that state fish and wildlife agencies are considered the most trustworthy source of conservation information among hunters and anglers.

Of the 2,771 anglers surveyed, 54.4 percent reported state fish and wildlife agencies were their most trusted source. Of the 3,378 hunters surveyed, 50.7 percent agreed.  The second most trusted source, with 25.1 percent of anglers and 29.5 percent of hunters, was sport-fishing and hunting non-profit conservation groups.

Other options included federal agencies, outdoor television, and outdoor print media. Who do you trust most? [ Read Full Post ]

A guest post from Special Projects Editor (and Field Notes News Blogger) Dave Hurteau.

I know. It’s not the greatest photo. But it was the best I could do from a treestand, in low light, as the buck cruised by on the heels of a doe.

Last night I returned from an 8-day bowhunt in southern Iowa with F&S Whitetail columnist Scott Bestul. We had a mission: Kill a 150-inch buck. On November 6th, the third day of the trip, with the rut kicking in, we hung a stand in a pinch point between thick doe bedding cover along the edge of a standing corn field. That afternoon, I ... [ Read Full Post ]

From the Outdoor News:
Minnesota conservation officers last week seized a record-book deer rack and on Thursday morning filed poaching charges against a man from Cannon Falls, Minn., in the case. . . .
According to the complaint, Troy Alan Reinke, 32, admitted to conservation officers that he had shot a small doe and a small buck on separate dates in early October, and failed to tag or register either of the deer. Reinke said he shot the large 8-point buck, with a 185 net green score, on Halloween evening. . . .

[According to the] Boone & Crockett Club . . . the rack likely could be a world-record rack for an 8-point deer. [ Read Full Post ]

A 12-point buck shot Nov. 5 in Sheboygan Falls, Wisc., will almost certainly become the new Pope & Young world record typical whitetail and has a strong shot at toppling the Milo Hansen buck from the top spot in the Boone & Crockett record book as well. The buck was taken by Michael Gregoire on his brother’s farm. It was 4 1/2 years old and grossed 217 5/8 inches typical when green-scored by an official Boone & Crockett scorer.

Stay tuned -- we've got a bigger story and lots more photos in the pipeline! Here's the full story, with 23 photos of the buck. --The Editors [ Read Full Post ]

First off, I appreciate everyone who took the time last week to send in reports of the rut activity (or lack thereof) in your area. It is always fascinating to me to see how sometimes-small regional variations can make a huge difference in the level of rutting behavior that hunters witness.

Here in the upper Midwest, we are brink of an explosion. For the most part, the full-bore chase phase has not begun. But the bucks—including some of the mature deer—are getting very active. They are on their feet, roaming their core areas, hitting rubs and scrapes and looking for that first estrous doe. My good friend Mitch Hagen was hunting in southern Iowa over the weekend and reported several large bucks “shadowing” does. This is a fascinating behavior to me; the doe is clearly not “in” yet, but the buck senses she is getting close. The buck does not dog her or chase her, but simply follows and keeps track of her movements.

Mature bucks are highly adept at noting the signs of a soon-to-be estrous doe. He’s been down the breeding path before and can recognize whatever signals she’s sending... [ Read Full Post ]

Many years ago, when Shari and I were first dating, my wife-to-be was under the mistaken notion that I drank a 20-ounce bottle of pop every time I went hunting. Finally, I had to confess that I was not hooked on soda. The bottle was empty when I stuffed it in my backpack and, um, filled if my bladder convinced my brain we’d been in the treestand too long.

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We all know there isn’t much love lost between hunters and anti-hunters, but nobody wishes anybody any real harm—except when some crazy anti-hunter does wish us real harm and a newspaper has the poor taste to print his wish. Then it’s the hunters, in this case the National Shooting Sports Foundation, who take the high ground.

From the NSSF website:
Shameful is the word that comes to mind for the Burlington Free Press and its decision to print a reader's anti-hunting letter. . . . that was written in response to the Vermont paper's story about the opening of moose hunting season. . . .

Here's the letter:
Take a Few Hunters Along with the Moose
On this beautiful day we learn that about 1,251 hunters are taking to the woods with legal permits to "pursue prized quarry." Certainly the members of various humane organizations do not approve. I suggest that before the next annual killing season, other residents be awarded legal permits to kill hunters who will be out to kill these beautiful, non-destructive animals. Or the government could just rule out all this primitive killing.

The NSSF asked for an apology and got one, as well an... [ Read Full Post ]

Sometimes you read something that - to be perfectly honest - leaves you feeling hopeless and doomed. Something so depressing it makes you want to throw up your hands, shout "to hell with it all!" and head straight to the nearest bar. Something like this, from the LA Times.
 
The latest figures from Nielsen have children's TV usage at an eight-year high. Children's health advocates warn of adverse effects.
 
More than an entire day -- that's how long children sit in front of the television in an average week, according to new findings released Monday by Nielsen.

The amount of television usage by children reached an eight-year high, with kids ages 2 to 5 watching the screen for more than 32 hours a week on average and those ages 6 to 11 watching more than 28 hours. The analysis, based on the fourth quarter of 2008, measured children's consumption of live and recorded TV, as well as VCR and game console usage.

"They're using all the technology available in their households," said Patricia McDonough, Nielsen's senior vice president of insights, analysis and policy. "They're using the DVD, they're on the Internet. They're not giving up any media --... [ Read Full Post ]

The January issue of Outdoors Magazine—a periodical covering hunting and fishing in the Northeast—asks the question “Can the beautiful women we see on television really hunt, or are they just selling sex appeal?” The magazine also promises to “shine a spotlight on the steamy world of women and whitetails.”

I’m a little confused about this question. “Can these women hunt?” Of course they can hunt! They are on camera, in the field, pursuing and killing deer.

The implied question is a little more troublesome. “Do these women actually have hunting skills, or is the camera just on them because the producers know pretty women will attract male viewers?” I happen to know a couple of the attractive women featured on outdoor TV and they are both serious and highly successful. They may have been introduced to hunting by their husbands relatively recently, but what does that matter? Do we require the men we see on these shows to submit a 30-year resume of hunting accomplishments before we’ll watch them?

No we do not. We watch them if they are engaging personalities who portray hunting in what (to us) is a positive light... [ Read Full Post ]

I’ll start with a confession; I have watched very little outdoor television. That’s partly design, but mostly accident. When we moved into our current home our twins were just babies; when Shari and I weren’t too darn busy tending kids, we were just too tired to tune in. So we put off ordering cable or satellite, and our rabbit ears pick up nothing but local stations, and poorly (we live in the country). By the time we had baby-raising under control (assuming that’s possible) we realized we didn’t miss television much and just never got back to it. We’ve got a tv, but it’s little more than a movie-watching tool

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Last year, we ran a photo essay in this space provided by a South Dakota couple who separated two locked-up whitetails with a saw. This turned out to be a neat-and-tidy way of getting the job done that resulted in freed-up deer. But it was not, as many of you noted, a method that was without danger.

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