Archive for the 'Hunting' Category

This isn’t good news for ranchers and residents. Of course, the government, either purposefully or through incompetence, was dragging its feet.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will study delisting populations of grizzlies near Yellowstone and Glacier national parks

Idaho’s audacious bid to strip grizzly bears of Endangered Species Act protection was rejected by the Biden administration Friday.

But its neighbors Montana and Wyoming had better luck. Responding to delisting petitions from all three states, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said bear numbers in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems may be strong enough to qualify as distinct populations that can be considered for delisting. The agency will spend the next year collecting data to determine if each of those populations are indeed healthy enough to move from federal to state management.

The service dismissed Idaho’s much more expansive request that grizzly bears across the country be stripped of their threatened and endangered status. The decision came just a day after Idaho Gov. Brad Little threatened to sue the agency for failing to act on the state’s petition, submitted last March, within the required 90 days.

“The response is seven months late, and it took a threat of legal action from the State of Idaho to simply receive a response,” Little said in a prepared statement. “While we continue to evaluate the decision from (the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), this is another example of federal overreach and appears to have a disproportionate impact on North Idaho.”

There are about 1,000 grizzlies each in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide ecosystems, which are centered around Yellowstone and Glacier national parks.

[…]

Field & Stream.

• Ruger Scout Rifle 350 Legend
• Marlin 1895 Trapper 45-70 Government
• Wilson Combat Recon Tactical 450 Bushmaster
• Mossberg Patriot Predator 7mm PRC
• Kimber 84M Hunter Pro Desolve Blak 280 Ackley Improved
• Bergara B14 HMR 300 Winchester Magnum
• Winchester XPR Stealth Suppressor Ready 308 Winchester
• Franchi Momentum All-Terrain Elite 308 Winchester
• Stag Arms Pursuit Stag10 308 Winchester

Visit his reasons as the link.

What do you notice about these choices?  They are all large bore guns.  The 7mm PRC is just simply too much for a hog unless it’s 400 pounds.

With many of these rounds you won’t have ribs left.  I wouldn’t have a problem shooting hogs with any of these rounds, but take note that if you want to preserve meat and not tear it to pieces, you need a somewhat smaller round (like the 6mm ARC) and you need to aim carefully, be a good shot, and hit them right behind the ear.  They’ll go down instantly.

Outdoor Life.

Steele left his phone number and asked for the hunter to contact him. The unnamed hunter also discovered that Steele had deleted the pictures from his trail camera. The hunter called Steele and apologized, only to have Steele insist that he must stay away from the area, which the hunter eventually agreed to.

Weeks went by. Eventually, the hunter returned to his stand, pulled the memory card from his camera, and started climbing the stand. The stand looked normal and the climbing sticks were sturdy. But as soon as the hunter climbed onto the platform, it collapsed underneath him. He fell 20 feet to the ground, where he injured his back and ankle after landing on his feet.

The hunter worried that Steele was watching him on camera and left the area, limping. Upon returning home, he dialed 911 to report the incident. While at home, the hunter discovered his SD card had been wiped of images again. DNR conservation officer Josh Boudreaux responded, and opened a hunter harassment investigation.

Weeks later, the hunter returned to the same spot again with new straps. The next day, he received a text from Steele.

“Are we going to work something out for this spot or what?” the text read. “I got a picture of you yesterday going in there with climbing sticks. Just not gonna respect I was there first?”

Investigating officers paid close attention to the hunter’s treestand after learning Steele was “using a camera to spy on the hunter.” They soon discovered that Steele had gone out to cut the hunter’s straps a second time.

Good Lord.  He was ready to sacrifice the life of a man for the sake of a chance to kill an animal.  What a jerk.

He should have been charged with attempted murder and prohibited from hunting ever again in the state.  A hunter harassment investigation should have been a criminal investigation.

What do you want to bet – he wasn’t trying to feed his family.  He wanted to kill a trophy buck to brag to his buddies and show pictures around.

What a jerk.

We know how important ammo consolidation can be for both cost savings and ease of training/use. Here’s a great hunting combo.

Source:

Almost all shooters – and hunters – are plenty familiar with how Old West cowboys acquired both a long gun and handgun in the same chambering. That combination was most likely a lever-action rifle and a single-action revolver. A few popular pairings would have been traditional handgun rounds like the .44/40 Winchester, .45 Colt, and .32-20 Winchester.

Old-school shooters paired Colt and Winchester. Our modern-day mates are Henry Repeating Arms and Magnum Research. The method of putting together the perfect combination today may not be quite as critical to life and death, but it’s certainly a viable option for hunters, ranchers, and shooters building a supply of ammunition.

We’re taking this one boot step beyond the Old West today, as modern metallurgy and heavy-built actions allow us the ultimate big-bore combo rig that’s not in a handgun chambering but in the classic walloping .45-70 Government. The Magnum Research Biggest, Finest Revolver (BFR) and Henry Repeating Arms All-Weather Side Gate rifle are perfect playmates.

Photo: Kristin Alberts/Guns.com

It’s no mistake that we hunted Cape buffalo in Africa – on two separate trips – with the .45-70 Gov’t. The first foray saw that Henry rifle take down the buffalo with one well-placed shot. The second saw an even bigger beast drop with two rounds from the BFR. With a wide range of factory ammunition and reload recipes, the chambering can be tailored to handle smaller plains game as well.

But it’s not only for worldly adventures. In fact, the .45-70’s rich American historical bloodlines run deep, from U.S. military use and competition shooting to bison hunts. There’s good reason the round is still thriving 150 years later. We’ve harvested whitetails, varmints, warthogs, and all sorts of African plains game with this round from these two guns. They pack easily, look good together, fly well, shoot with 100 percent reliability, and do the job every single time.

The link also has a very informative 7min video.

Field & Steam

If you’re in the market for a rifle scope you can use to hit stuff that’s a long, long, way off, there’s some good news for you in 2023. If you’re in the market for a more general-purpose rifle scope, like a fixed 4X or the one-time industry standard 3-9X, you may have to fire up your time machine. Consumers drive the market, and the market says we need more long-range optics, and that’s what 2023 has given us. From a 1-10X LPVO to a 5-30X rifle scope that retails for less than seven Benjamins, you should be able to find something you like this year. Of course, there are sure to be some new red dot sights as well. From around $370 to ten times that much, here are the latest rifle scopes for 2023.

The GPO Spectra 1.5-8X44i with G4i reticle.

Interestingly:

GPO has added their very practical illuminated hunting reticle to one of their very practical hunting rifle scopes. Their Spectra 1.5-8X44i rifle scope now has the G4i reticle. This is a thin-wired German #4 style reticle with a small, illuminated dot at the center. The reticle brightness is fully adjustable and powers down when the scope has been stationary for more than three hours. This is a wonderful reticle option, in a great hunting scope, with a suggested retail price of $949.

There are others, including a reflex red dot.

American Hunter.

This is the primary reason hunters pull the cord on all-day sits. It’s tough to sit in a tree or ground blind all day, but it’s almost impossible to do so if you’re too cold, too warm or soaking wet. That’s why high-quality clothing is worth the price.

Hunters have learned that layering is the key to regulating temperature. The widely accepted three-layer system, which consists of a base layer, mid layer and outer layer, works well, but you must understand why this system works—and what may cause it to fail.

The base layer should be made of thin, wicking fabric. Cotton is out because it holds moisture, which robs the body of heat. The mid layer is an insulating layer that is designed to hold heat while still wicking away moisture. The outer layer is your protection against wind and rain, and it provides an additional insulating layer. Moisture is your enemy, so don’t pile on all your layers then hike a mile to your stand. Instead, shed your top layer and allow the perspiration to evaporate. Any exposed skin will lose heat, so a face mask, beanie and gloves that extend above the cuff of your jacket will help retain heat. Mittens are warmer than gloves, but in recent years I’ve come to prefer a hand-warmer muff with heat packs inside, and I always carry extra hand and foot warmers. In extreme cold, a sleeping bag or body suit will help keep you warm.

While I can’t say I live in the coldest of climates (certainly not compared to some of my readers), I can say that I have never gotten cold during a sit.  Boredom is my biggest enemy.

I wear a short sleeve sports shirt, wicking and non-cotton, with a long sleeve Merino wool shirt over that, the next layer is fleece, and the final layer is a Simms GorTex Parka.  It’s pricey, but fishing companies make the best rain gear.

I use Mechanix camo Impact gloves for mild days, and if it’s really cold I have Swany brand ski gloves.  I might invest in another brand (Hestra Guide Gloves), but they’re very pricey.

One trick I’ve known all of my life is that you lose a lot of warm air up through your neck coming from your whole body.  Using the hood of your parka prevents most of that.  Also, if you’re prone to your face getting cold, wear a balaclava.

Finally, a really enjoyed wearing a neck gaiter for the first time last season.  There is nothing like it.

Outdoor Life.

New Jersey appellate court judge issued an order on Wednesday, Nov. 30 to temporarily pause the state’s first black bear hunt since 2020, which was set to start on Monday, Dec. 5. The halt is in response to a lawsuit filed by the Animal Protection League of New Jersey, the Humane Society of the United States, and Friends of the Animals. These three organizations decry active black bear management and denounce population count methods used by the state. (If this all sounds familiar, it’s because a similar lawsuit was filed in Montana over wolf hunting.)

Many New Jerseyans were shocked on Nov. 15 when governor Phil Murphy and the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife reinstated a limited black bear hunt. Governor Murphy had sworn to end the hunt once and for all during his campaign but changed his tune after bear encounters spiked across the state. New Jersey has one of the highest concentrations of black bears in the country, with an estimated population of around 3,000 to 4,000 bears. New Jersey is 8,723 square miles, putting the population density at around one bear every 2.2 square miles. However, since much of the state is made up of metropolitan areas, densities in some places are likely much higher than that.

No one deserves this more than a state who would elect the likes of Bob Menendez and Cory Booker to the U.S. Senate, and Phil Murphy to the governor’s mansion.

Actions have consequences.  Suck it up, New Jerseyans.  Call the cops while that black bear is charging you or tearing your pet dogs to pieces.  Their response time should be less than half an hour.

Modern game management techniques and herd size control are only for smart people.  The rest can go pound sand.

Source.

A state lawmaker is now admitting a mistake was made that has led to a lot of confusion and anger from Indiana deer hunters. New regulations prohibit hunters from using any kind of rifle to hunt deer on public property, like state parks. But the author of the bill that caused this said that was never the intention.

Republican State Representative Sean Eberhart (Shelbyville) authored House Bill 1415, which is at the heart of the confusion.

“First of all, it was something that nobody caught when the bill was first passed,” said Eberhart.

In 2016, rifles could be used on public land only when they shot pistol rounds, but high velocity ammunition could be used on private property. This year, lawmakers changed the existing law to clarify the rules regarding high velocity rounds.

I think that’s an error in the article.  Rather than “pistol” cartridges, I think it should have read “straight wall” cartridges, which would include 350 Legend (Indiana was one of the reasons the cartridge was designed to begin with), 45-70, etc.  But I’ll let an Indiana reader clarify this.

“The intent of the change was to make it more clear on what high velocity rifle rounds you could use on private property,” said Eberhart, “when that change was made, it inadvertently pulled in the pistol rounds as well [and] unfortunately the law now says that you can use those high velocity and pistol rounds in a rifle, but only on private grounds.”

That oversight has left deer hunters unhappy. Many outfitters and gun stores we spoke to on the phone said they’re getting calls from angry and confused hunters.

When questioned how neither he nor any of the law co-signers caught the oversight before it was voted on, Eberhart responded, “That’s a good question, not only did we not catch it as myself or any other legislator, LSA didn’t catch it, no other department didn’t catch it, DNR didn’t catch it, so we had a lot of eyes on this bill and no one caught that inadvertent change.”

In light of that, Eberhart hopes to fix the problem soon.

“I’m very confident we can address it come session time in January…but it’s my hope that we can address it short term as well,” said Eberhart.

What that short term fix could be and whether it can happen fast enough for this season, which starts November 18^th, isn’t clear. But Eberhart reiterated that he and his fellow lawmakers are working on a solution.

Yes, this article is dated and I missed it when it came out, but after a brief search I haven’t been able to find any amelioration of this stupidity.

I’m also not convinced that this is an error or oversight.  The simplest thing to do here to remove the ban on all cartridges and let hunters shoot what they want, thus ensuring ethical harvesting.

Indiana’s hunting lands are far more expansive than where I live, and we don’t shoot centerfire cartridges into homes around here.  The alleged concern is a sham.

This is a good video; calm, and measured, and the best part is zero politics for 20 minutes.

Prior: understanding Mule Deer Migration “Wyoming “Deer 255” Breaks All Long Distance Migration Records”

Found at SurvivalBlog

Source:

The New Jersey Fish and Wildlife Council will vote Tuesday on a proposal to revive the state’s bear hunting season.

The bear hunting season could be returning to New Jersey after farmers and residents have complained about the surging black bear population and the Department of Environmental Protection reporting that encounters with bears have increased by 237% over 2021 numbers, according to reporting from News 12 New Jersey.

Those factors have prompted Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy to reconsider his stance on the season, which he canceled in part starting in 2018 and entirely last year, following through on a promise he made to animal rights activists during his 2017 election campaign.

“Since the outset of my administration, I have promised to ground every difficult decision on the latest science and evidence in order to protect our communities,” Murphy said in a statement last week while signaling support for reviving the hunt.

“From the data we have analyzed to the stories we have heard from families across the state, it is clear that New Jersey’s black bear population is growing significantly, and nonlethal bear management strategies alone are not enough to mitigate this trend.”

Murphy’s change of heart would be a welcome one for many state residents who have complained of increased encounters with bears that have terrified residents and damaged crops and livestock.

“They really knock a lot of corn down, eat a lot of corn and they’ll take anywhere from 5% to 25% of a field. We’ve seen some fields that have been 70% decimated this year,” Phillip Broadhecker, a farmer from Hampton Township, told News 12. “You can actually go on to Google maps and look at Earth views in the fall of fields and see circles and round spots in fields, and it’s astounding how bad it is.”

Broadhecker said the damage doesn’t stop at crops, noting that livestock and even people’s pets have been the targets of the growing population of bears.

“We’ve got a lot of livestock that have been killed or injured up here. Goats, chickens, pigs, small horses, even people’s dogs,” he said.