Deer Hunter Kills College Student, Injures Two Others (I hate posting stories like this, folks, but the news in the news. This is a heartbreaking tragedy that could have been avoided—and it serves as a sober reminder to us all to make safety the number one priority.)
Wrist-slap fines for poaching have long been a problem. Serious poachers—or even casual “thrill killers”—are often willing to risk getting caught if they know retribution won’t be too bitter a pill to swallow. In response, many states have amped up the penalties for poaching or other wildlife violations, and one of the more recent ways they've done this with whitetail poachers is to use a fine-calculator based on the buck’s antler size.
This question came up on another gun blog when someone mentioned that they had seen a rifle of mine for sale, and another blogger asked about the gun—a 7x57—and inquired if I was still alive. Far from taking offense, I see this as a reasonable question, and will attempt to answer it as best I may.
This question came up on another gun blog when someone mentioned that they had seen a rifle of mine for sale, and another blogger asked about the gun—a 7x57—and inquired if I was still alive. Far from taking offense, I see this as a reasonable question, and will attempt to answer it as best I may.
You won’t find Jim Lepage sitting in a treestand, waiting for a deer to show up. A vice president at Orvis, Lepage, who has stalked whitetails for 40 years, hunts the old-fashioned way—by tracking a moving deer. Lepage hunts in the Allagash wilderness of northern Maine, where the deer are less pressured, but the general principles translate to any hunter who goes after deer in big forests.
This works great when I head to Northern Michigan and can hunt vast amounts of state land after a fresh snowfall. However, for the most part were I hunt is all private and it wouldn't take long to leave a property that is even 3-4 hundred acres in size. It is just fun to have a variet of ways to hunt.
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.
Northern_mi_hunter it had been quite frustrating until some of the corn in the area started to come down. Good luck I will be heading up to Kalkaska- Grayling area for Thanksgiving weekend to see a abundance of orange and few deer.
Recently, the dog folk in the normally quiet town of Charleston, South Carolina have gotten wrapped up in a canine horror story. According to the Post and Courier, these are the details: After running over a dog on a rural road in McClellanville on Thursday morning, the driver of a pickup truck tried to "put the dog out of its misery" by whacking the animal with a machete and a hammer, authorities said.
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.
Yesterday, I did some doe management in southwest Michigan. The deer died within a few yards of my shot, not ever knowing what hit her. It was amazing the number of deer that she brought as a natural decoy, bait pile. Including several smaller bucks, and one mature one that came in at dark. The mature buck stayed with her for about 20 minutes circling and smelling her before departing. It was very, very dark before I could leave my stand. This is a great time of year.
Robert Ruark, writing in his journal about some particularly good African trophy that he had hammered, noted that it was “…collected, but not earned.” He believed, as many hunters do, that there should be a certain amount of work you put into bagging an animal or else you don’t really deserve it. This is a nice sentiment, but of course it is nonsense. You expect to have to work, and if you do work very hard and get something good as a result it is more rewarding, but that’s as far as it goes. Despite our touching belief that hunting is a matter of skill and perseverance, a lot of it is sheer dumb luck.
I agree with the problem of taking a monster trophy the first time out, but with that some people never get an opportunity to take such a trophy. You never know when it is going to be your lucky day, so take full advantage of it.
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Whitetail Deer and Deer Hunting Headlines: 11/12 - 11/1932
Deer Hunter Kills College Student, Injures Two Others
(I hate posting stories like this, folks, but the news in the news. This is a heartbreaking tragedy that could have been avoided—and it serves as a sober reminder to us all to make safety the number one priority.)
That is a sad story and is fear that many people have about public land hunting. The bad part is that it is fuel for antis.
Fining Poachers Based On Boone and Crockett Scores41
Wrist-slap fines for poaching have long been a problem. Serious poachers—or even casual “thrill killers”—are often willing to risk getting caught if they know retribution won’t be too bitter a pill to swallow. In response, many states have amped up the penalties for poaching or other wildlife violations, and one of the more recent ways they've done this with whitetail poachers is to use a fine-calculator based on the buck’s antler size.
It would be kind of like speeding tickets. The faster you go the more points and the higher the cost.
Is Dave Petzal Still Alive?54
This question came up on another gun blog when someone mentioned that they had seen a rifle of mine for sale, and another blogger asked about the gun—a 7x57—and inquired if I was still alive. Far from taking offense, I see this as a reasonable question, and will attempt to answer it as best I may.
7x57 that doesn't sound like a .338.
Is Dave Petzal Still Alive?54
This question came up on another gun blog when someone mentioned that they had seen a rifle of mine for sale, and another blogger asked about the gun—a 7x57—and inquired if I was still alive. Far from taking offense, I see this as a reasonable question, and will attempt to answer it as best I may.
If you passed away, who would we give a hard time too.
Still Hunting Tip: Tracking Bucks Through Clear-Cuts7
You won’t find Jim Lepage sitting in a treestand, waiting for a deer to show up. A vice president at Orvis, Lepage, who has stalked whitetails for 40 years, hunts the old-fashioned way—by tracking a moving deer. Lepage hunts in the Allagash wilderness of northern Maine, where the deer are less pressured, but the general principles translate to any hunter who goes after deer in big forests.
This works great when I head to Northern Michigan and can hunt vast amounts of state land after a fresh snowfall. However, for the most part were I hunt is all private and it wouldn't take long to leave a property that is even 3-4 hundred acres in size. It is just fun to have a variet of ways to hunt.
Weekly Rut Report34
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.
Northern_mi_hunter it had been quite frustrating until some of the corn in the area started to come down. Good luck I will be heading up to Kalkaska- Grayling area for Thanksgiving weekend to see a abundance of orange and few deer.
An Expert Gunsmith on Over-Pressure Rounds and Exploding Handguns75
A note to all you Gun Nuts: The photo below (and three more, which you can see by clicking here) came into my inbox attached to the following caption:
Wow!
How Far Would You Go To Defend Your Dog?89
Recently, the dog folk in the normally quiet town of Charleston, South Carolina have gotten wrapped up in a canine horror story. According to the Post and Courier, these are the details:
After running over a dog on a rural road in McClellanville on Thursday morning, the driver of a pickup truck tried to "put the dog out of its misery" by whacking the animal with a machete and a hammer, authorities said.
The person should hope that I didn't catch them.
Weekly Rut Report34
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.
Yesterday, I did some doe management in southwest Michigan. The deer died within a few yards of my shot, not ever knowing what hit her. It was amazing the number of deer that she brought as a natural decoy, bait pile. Including several smaller bucks, and one mature one that came in at dark. The mature buck stayed with her for about 20 minutes circling and smelling her before departing. It was very, very dark before I could leave my stand. This is a great time of year.
Petzal: Collecting Versus Earning Your Game50
Robert Ruark, writing in his journal about some particularly good African trophy that he had hammered, noted that it was “…collected, but not earned.” He believed, as many hunters do, that there should be a certain amount of work you put into bagging an animal or else you don’t really deserve it. This is a nice sentiment, but of course it is nonsense. You expect to have to work, and if you do work very hard and get something good as a result it is more rewarding, but that’s as far as it goes. Despite our touching belief that hunting is a matter of skill and perseverance, a lot of it is sheer dumb luck.
I agree with the problem of taking a monster trophy the first time out, but with that some people never get an opportunity to take such a trophy. You never know when it is going to be your lucky day, so take full advantage of it.
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