Courtesy of  Wichita Eagle

BY MICHAEL PEARCE

The Wichita Eagle

RICE COUNTY – From bitter cold to 85 degrees last week, Matt White walked many miles. He jumped across countless creeks, weaved his way through thick brush and hurried across broad expanses of open fields.

“It’s kind of like exercise for a purpose,” White said as he walked a creek bottom Thursday afternoon.

It’s more like exercise for a passion.

This year, White has found 64 antlers shed by bucks. His brothers, Nick and Scott, have collected about 20 each this year. The men in their mid-20s have collected about 1,000 shed antlers in their lives.

Much of their lives revolve around whitetail deer. Through the summer they use trail cameras and binoculars to check the antler-growing progress of bucks where they hunt.

Last fall, Matt and Nick White bow-killed bucks that could score high in the Pope & Young record book. On Oct. 27, Scott White bow-killed a buck that grossed slightly more than 200 inches of antler.

Their minds turn toward finding shed antlers once the deer seasons end.

“I start in early January glassing wheat fields (with binoculars),” Matt White said. “I know that’s really too early but I can’t help it. By late January, I’ll start walking the edges of fields.”

From then on, they’re ready to walk any particular area if the time seems right.

Much of this winter, one of Matt White’s trail cameras showed a trophy-class 12-pointer coming to a pile of corn.

One day the buck showed up without antlers.

“I found them within about 200 yards of where we got the pictures,” he said. “I figured I’d find them pretty close.”

The Whites also figure they’ll find certain antlers year after year.

Looking for shed deer antlers is one way they keep an inventory on the growth of bucks in their area.

By looking at particular antler’s characteristics — the sweep of a main beam, angle of points or a peculiar oddity — they can identify certain bucks.

Scott White has four consecutive years of sheds from the big buck he shot last year. They’d named the buck with exceptionally tall tines “The Big Nine.”

Thursday, he found a mediocre five-point shed from a buck the brothers had called “Right Side.”

“He never seems to get any bigger, year after year,” Matt White said as he looked at the shed antler. “He was about like this when he was 2 ½. This year he’ll probably be a 4 ½-year-old, but he won’t have the antlers to show it.”

As well as the antler itself, Matt White makes sure he has something to show for all of his finds.

He photographs every antler he finds before he picks it up.

“It’s kind of fun to relive that moment again down the road by looking through the pictures,” he said.

He hasn’t had the opportunity to photograph some antlers he’s collected recently.

He’s trained his 2-year-old Labrador retriever, Tess, to fetch shed antlers.

It began as simple playtime at home and in the yard. He’s working to get her to search for antlers when they’re out together.

“She’s brought a few back to me on her own,” he said. “If I see one I may call her over and work her. Usually when she finds it she’ll bring it to me.”

The Whites search for shed antlers beyond their personal hunting grounds.

Matt White’s best place is a bedding area where the landowner allows no hunting and nobody else to look for sheds.

He once found 15 sheds at the spot in a morning.

All three brothers will travel a few hours to look at other areas in Kansas.

Most summers they take a trip to Colorado to search for shed elk, mule deer and moose antlers as they scout hunting spots for the upcoming archery elk season.

Nick White said he loves the unknown of searching new areas. He said he sank to his knees and just stared when he found the sheds of a buck now named Ji-normous, a 200-inch class deer he never got to see.

“That’s a lot better than knowing some huge buck out there has dropped his horns and all you have to do to find them is keep walking,” Matt White said. “You just can’t stop until you find them. It almost haunts you.”

Can you imagine hunting for a monster buck and then seeing one come in your view.  You prepare, take that last breathe and squeeze the trigger and pray……..  Your heart is racing and you are so excited you can’t sit still…..Its killing you to wait to find it and brag about this monster that has now become your possession….

Photo and  Story Courtesy of Wichita Eagle Newspaper

Well, the story takes a huge turn around if you haven’t heard by now.  Mike Smith of Clay Center, KS has shot a doe…Not only did he shoot a doe, but it was a 27 point doe that could be the largest doe ever to be shot in the world.  What is amazing to me is  the doe was still in velvet and a doe might not shed its antlers like a buck does.

The next time I take a 25-06 out for  opening day of deer season I just might think twice about what I see in  my binoculars or scope.  At 179 inches I think I would be in shock that this would even be possible in today’s world of hunting..  So far the only record Mike has found was documented in Iowa at 155 inches for a doe with antlers.

I’m sure Mike has gotten lots of offers and attention.  I must say it is well deserved.  Way to go Mike!!!

Mike plans to get a life size mount of the deer and to not get rich but to share his experience with anyone who wants to know:)

Michael Callahan

Courtesy of NSSF

Former Cabela’s senior executive Michael Callahan has been appointed leader and facilitator of Task Force 20/20. Callahan brings 34 years of experience to the role, most recently serving as a consultant for Cabela’s and as the company’s senior vice president of business development and international operations before that.

“I’m excited and honored to have the opportunity to work with the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the members of Task Force 20/20 team and our industry on this vitally important project to meaningfully increase participation in our sports over the next five years,” said Callahan. “Some of the best minds representing the shooting sports and hunting from across the nation have come together to focus on this effort. I look forward to working with everyone and helping to turn this enthusiasm and support into real action and positive results.”

Task Force 20/20, which was formed at the conclusion of last year’s Shooting Sports Summit, has been charged with the goal of increasing participation in hunting and the shooting sports by 20 percent over the next five years. The 2009 Shooting Sports Summit is aimed at helping the Task Force reach that goal — working together, sharing ideas, taking action and holding nothing back.

Courtesy of Wichita Eagle and NSSF

TOPEKA – Next year, Kansans will vote whether to change the state constitution to guarantee individual gun rights.

“It is the law of the land today in every state. They (supporters) would like to make sure it stays that way in Kansas,” said Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, R-Independence.

Supporters of a resolution that passed the House and the Senate say the move is needed in case the U.S. Supreme Court ever decides that the Second Amendment doesn’t protect individual gun ownership. In 2008 the court ruled that the Bill of Rights covered an individual’s right to own firearms.

Before that Supreme Court decision, some lower courts had ruled that the intent of the Second Amendment was to tie the right of gun possession to militia service, such as a state national guard unit, rather than an individual’s right to own a gun.

Scott Vogel, spokesman for Freedom States Alliance, called the fear that the courts or the current presidential administration, might take away people’s guns “a phantom issue” and said lawmakers would have been better off focusing on more pressing issues.

The alliance works with grassroots organizations across the country to prevent gun violence.

“There is no wisdom that somehow people are not going to be able to get a gun, I mean, this is America,” Vogel said.

Wichita Republican Sen. Mike Petersen, one of the resolution’s top supporters, said he was surprised to learn that Kansas did not protect individual gun owner rights.

“I think a lot of voters thought that they already had this right, but they don’t,” he said.

Currently, the Kansas constitution guarantees those rights for “the people.”

A 1905 Kansas Supreme Court decision said that gun ownership is a collective, not an individual, right. The proposed amendment would give the right to each person.

The resolution, Senate Concurrent Resolution 1611, cleared the Legislature this week and the matter will appear on ballots in the November 2010 general election. The resolution garnered strong support in both chambers, including from many members who typically vote against expanding gun rights.

If approved by voters, the measure would replace the phrase “the people have the right to bear arms for their defense and security” with “a person has the right to keep and bear arms for the defense of self, family, home and state, for lawful hunting and recreational use, and for any other lawful purpose.”

“It’s a technical fix to bring us in line with what most believe is a right we already have,” Petersen said.

While the distinction of “the people” versus “a person” might not seem like much, “it is a critical word,” said Patricia Stoneking, president of the Kansas State Rifle Association, which has about 2,000 members.

When President Obama took office, fears began to surface that the administration would try to restrict gun rights.

“It has put firearm owners kind of on alert and everyone is kind of waiting for something bad to happen,” she said.

Changing the state constitution would be “something that is really greatly needed to quell some of the worry,” Stoneking said.

Amending the constitution requires the approval of a simple majority of voters.

Vogel did not think the change would hurt the efforts of groups such as his to stop gun violence. The new language would not affect the state’s ability to perform background checks before guns could be purchased, restricting the sale of some types of firearms or restricting certain people from owning firearms, he said.

“Even if you accept that there is an individual right to keep and bear arms… it doesn’t preclude the state from restricting who can keep and bear arms,” he said.

Gerald Hicks of Wichita predominantly uses his firearms for hunting and said he would support the change, but thought it was a little redundant, given the current federal law.

He approved of the state protecting individuals’ ability to keep and use firearms for hunting, sport and protection.

“I think it will get overwhelming support,” Hicks said.

Limited to 35 women, participants must pre-register as soon as possible
CHANUTE — On May 30, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, Lil Toledo Lodge, the Kansas Wildlife Officers Association, and the Kansas State Rifle Association, the Women of the National Rifle Association (NRA), and the Kansas Bow Hunter Association will join forces to conduct the area’s fourth Women on Target Shooting Skills For Women shooting clinic.

The event will be held at the Lil’ Toledo Lodge, southeast of Chanute. Activities will run from 8 a.m. through 5 p.m.. Lil’ Toledo Lodge sets along the banks of the Neosho River providing an esthetic setting in the outdoors. The grounds are covered by native oak and hickory trees, and mowed walking trails allow wildlife to be viewed in a natural setting.

This event is for women only and is designed for women who may have never handled a gun. Women who have some experience are also encouraged to attend. Each participant will learn to shoot a variety of guns and bows and enjoy fellowship with other women. The event will give participants the opportunity to shoot shotguns, revolvers, semiautomatic handguns, small-caliber rifles, big bore rifles, and black powder rifles, as well as longbows, recurve bows, and compound bows. Participants will also have the opportunity to use the Laser Shot shooting simulator. Activities are conducted so that each woman can participate at her own pace and at her own experience level. This shooting clinic will also reinforce safe gun handling techniques, the mechanics of loading and unloading guns, and how to use bows and tree stands. In the shotgun shooting portion of the event, all women will be consistently breaking targets in the air before the day is over.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided by Lil’ Toledo Lodge, where women will have the opportunity to meet and talk with the other women about the experiences that they had in the morning events and what they have to look forward to in the afternoon. Women will also have an opportunity to ask questions of the instructors and trainers. There will also be a drawing for items that have been donated by local businesses.

The registration fee is $30 per person, which helps cover the cost of shooting supplies and targets. This event will be limited to the first 35 women who register and pay the fee. All women must be 18 years old. Participants do not need to bring guns or ammunition. All guns and equipment and supplies will be provided. However, participants may bring their own 20-gauge shotguns if they wish. All guns must be checked by the person in charge of the training before they are used.

To participate in the Shooting Skills for Women event, contact the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Pratt Operations Office at 620-672-5911. Ask for Stacy in Hunter Education to pre-register. The event is first-come, first-served, so those wishing to participate should pre-register as soon as possible

Yes its true 28 inches of snow in Kansas!!!  Events  are closed and roads are shut down all around us.  This blizzard started yesterday and snowed through out the night and finally stopped snowing mid morning.  Haven’t made it out to find out if anything is open.  Road graders have made it to our street but that isnt promising anything.  Guess we will find out soon when the kids go out to play or dunk in the snow:)

Courtesy of NSSF

NEWTOWN, Conn. — Officials in Colorado County, Texas, have officially declared March “First Shots Month.”

A proclamation was made by the Commissioners Court of Colorado County to recognize the efforts of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the Austin Young Republicans and the Texas Historical Shootist Society.

The three groups are teaming up to host a First Shots® seminar March 7 in Columbus, Texas. The free seminar will provide first-time shooters with an introduction to firearm safety and the shooting sports. Anyone interested in attending can register at www.austinyr.com.

The proclamation reads:

. . . Recognizing the spirit and guidelines of the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s ‘First Shots Program’; and

WHEREAS, this Court recognizes the Texas Historical Shootist Society, the Yaupon Creek Black Powder Cartridge Silhouette Association, and the Austin Young Republicans for their endless efforts to introduce gun safety, handling, and proficiency to people interested in learning about firearms; and

WHEREAS, this Court also recognizes that the aforementioned groups are instrumental in generating commerce within the community through shooting sports; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT PROCLAIMED, that the Commissioners Court of Colorado County, Texas, does hereby declare the month of MARCH 2009 as “First Shots Month”; in Colorado County, Texas.

First Shots is an introductory program that provides the public with opportunities to give shooting a try. Developed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation and hosted by independent shooting facilities, First Shots provides participants with a comprehensive introduction to shooting by qualified range operators and instructors that includes firearm safety, local ownership requirements, shooting fundamentals, hands-on instruction and how and where to continue.

First Shots is one of many NSSF programs working to increase awareness of and participation in the shooting sports. For more information on First Shots, visit www.firstshots.org.

NSSF, founded in 1961, is the trade association for the firearms and recreational shooting sports industry and promotes the safe ownership and responsible use of products its members make and sell. For more information, visit www.nssf.org.

Courtesy of NSSF

NEWTOWN, Conn. — When a target shooter purchases a box of ammunition or a hunter a new deer rifle, wildlife in America benefits.

Every sportsman and woman contributes to a system that has been responsible for supporting healthy wildlife populations of both game and non-game species for the last 70 years.

The contributions, in the form excise taxes paid on sporting firearms, ammunition and archery equipment, benefit every state and have generated approximately $5.6 billion for wildlife conservation since 1939. The contribution for 2009 is a record — nearly $336 million, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which recently announced the Wildlife Restoration apportionment.

“We want all Americans to know about and value the support that hunters, recreational shooters and the firearms and ammunition industry make to wildlife conservation,” said Steve Sanetti, president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, trade association for the firearms and shooting sports industry. “With wildlife populations professionally managed and thriving, we can safely say that this is one investment guaranteed to not lose value.”

Species such as the white-tailed deer, Rocky Mountain elk, pronghorn, wild turkey and black bears have made significant population gains due to research and improved habitat funded by the Wildlife Restoration program.

In making the announcement, Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said, “These investments, which help create jobs while protecting our nation’s natural treasures, are particularly important in these tough economic times.”

Of the $336 million total, some $64.7 million benefits hunter education and firearms and archery range programs.

These contributions are the result of the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act, passed in 1937, which directs funds to states based on land area and paid hunting license holders, among other criteria. And while there is always a temptation for governments to redirect funds, legislative safeguards prevent these Wildlife Restoration monies from being diverted away from state wildlife agencies.

Both game and non-game species benefit as agencies use the money to manage wildlife populations, conduct research, acquire wildlife lands and public access and carry out surveys, among other uses. According to U.S. Fish & Wildlife, more than 62 percent of Wildlife Restoration funds are used to buy, maintain and operate wildlife management areas.

“The firearms and ammunition industry is proud to play a role in collecting, managing and contributing to these funds,” said Sanetti.

Sanetti hopes, however, that Congress will correct an inequity in the way the excise taxes are currently paid by industry, with the result that even more funds marked for conservation would be collected.

Legislation introduced earlier this year by Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wisconsin) will allow the industry to pay the firearms and ammunition excise tax (FAET) on a quarterly basis, the way other industries that support conservation do. Currently firearms and ammunition manufacturers must pay the FAET bi-weekly, a schedule that forces many manufacturers to borrow money to ensure on-time payment. Industry members spend thousands of man-hours administering the necessary paperwork to successfully complete the bi-weekly payments — monies that are due long before manufacturers are paid by their customers.

This legislation will not lower the amount of conservation dollars collected by the tax.

“Shifting to quarterly payments would allow manufacturers to invest in new equipment and product designs and enhance their marketing efforts,” said Sanetti. “This in turn could lead to greater participation in hunting and the shooting sports, providing even more funding for wildlife conservation and hunter education.”

The Premier Forum Exclusively
for Leaders of the Shooting Sports Industry

June 1-3, 2009
Hyatt Regency Bonaventure Conference Center & Spa
250 Racquet Club Road | Weston, FL 33326
954-616-1234 | 800-327-8090

Last year’s shooting sports summit was the first in six years and highlighted the results of a three-year comprehensive study that explored the future of hunting and shooting.  The program was greeted with tremendous support from more than 250 stakeholders that came together to learn more and to face the challenges our sports face head-on.  From this group Task Force 20/20 was formed to refine a plan and to look for opportunities.

The enthusiasm generated at last year’s forum can not be undervalued; it is this enthusiastic support that must be sustained and developed into a coordinated long-term approach.

This year we will turn this enthusiasm into ACTION.  Our agenda is clearly focused – it has been defined by the research and refined by a task force consisting of leaders from industry, wildlife conservation, target shooting, state agencies and gun rights organizations, with a clear and aggressive goal – to increase participation in hunting and the shooting sports by 20% over the next 5 years.

Fence sitters may say, “Impossible.”  And, if too many stay seated on the fence and simply watch, it will be.   However, if we all take aggressive action, if we all do our part, we can indeed meet the challenge and together reach the goal.

From its beginning in the early nineties, the Shooting Sports Summit has been fortunate to attract key decision makers from all segments of the firearms industry, conservation community and state wildlife agencies, people that can make a difference – and do make a difference.  The results are clear evidence that we can shape our future.

Past Shooting Sports Summit programs have yielded great results, launched countless positive programs and sparked many ideas throughout the community – resulting in real action that has extended well beyond NSSF.  Organizations have launched new programs, redoubled their efforts, removed barriers and have created new access and opportunities to better meet the needs of sportsmen.  Today, many programs now exist that were born from an idea, a conversation or a need identified at the Summit.  We applaud these efforts; our goal is to shine the light on the challenges facing our community, and to talk about possible solutions – when Summit attendees take action, our sports and our heritage win.

We appreciate your interest in the Shooting Sports Summit, and we look forward to working with you to help shape a bright future for hunting and the shooting sports. Your continued involvement will play an important role in making this event a success.  This event will continue the success that has become the legacy of past Shooting Sports Summit programs.

Courtesy of NSSF

NEWTOWN, Conn. — The National Shooting Sports Foundation has stepped up in a big way to help save a portion of the nation’s most important waterfowl breeding grounds by contributing $285,200 to Ducks Unlimited’s “Rescue the Duck Factory” campaign.

NSSF President Steve Sanetti presents a check for $285,200 to Ducks Unlimited Executive Vice President Don Young.

Approved by the NSSF’s Board of Governors at its annual meeting, the grant will help stop native prairie grassland from being turned into cropland, a process that destroys habitat that ducks and other wildlife depend on to breed and thrive. These grasslands are being threatened because of record-high commodity prices driven by the global demand for food and corn-based ethanol production.

“Ducks Unlimited and the National Shooting Sports Foundation are natural partners — after all, hunters are the original conservationists,” said Don Young, executive vice president for Ducks Unlimited. “This grant to ‘Rescue the Duck Factory’ will go a long way to protecting the most important waterfowl breeding area in the world, and will continue the proud waterfowling and conservation traditions that our organizations embody.”

The “Rescue the Duck Factory” campaign focuses on the immediate protection of 300,000 acres of prime waterfowl breeding habitat. Grassland conservation easements prevent plowing of the land forever. Purchasing the easements, which is less expensive than purchasing the land, provides ranchers and conservation-minded landowners the financial incentive they need to decide to preserve the land.

“The National Shooting Sports Foundation recognizes the critical need to save these important breeding grounds for the future of waterfowl and the sporting tradition they make possible,” said Steve Sanetti, president of NSSF. “On behalf of the shooting sports industry, NSSF is proud to support the ‘Rescue the Duck Factory’ campaign and encourages all individuals and organizations interested in ensuring abundant waterfowl populations for the future to lend their support to this Ducks Unlimited initiative.”

According Ducks Unlimited, upwards of 70 percent of North America’s waterfowl is produced in this “duck factory” region, which stretches from Saskatchewan to South Dakota. Some 50,000 acres of grassland prairie in the United States alone are being lost annually through conversion to agricultural land, and the “Duck Factory” campaign is designed to halt that loss. Learn more about the Rescue the Duck Factory at www.ducks.org/conservation.

Courtesy of NSSF

NEWTOWN, Conn. — In support of a new youth target shooting initiative, the National Shooting Sports Foundation will contribute $50,000 to the Scholastic Steel Challenge program of the United States Practical Shooting Association and Steel Challenge Shooting Association.

“Developing new target shooters through programs that teach safe and responsible handling of firearms is a priority of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, and we’re proud to help a program get off the ground that holds so much potential for introducing new shooters to a lifetime sport,” said Steve Sanetti, president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, trade association for the firearms and shooting sports industry.

The Scholastic Steel Challenge program is being modeled after the NSSF-developed Scholastic Clay Target Program that in addition to safety emphasizes building character and citizenship through teamwork.

“We thank the NSSF for its support and for providing an outstanding model for our Scholastic Steel Challenge program,” said Scott Moore, director of SSC. “Our goal is to introduce the thrill and action of shooting steel targets to the youth of America through a program that is grounded in safe gun handling principles.”

The SSC competition format is based on the Steel Challenge, a popular action pistol competition that attracts some of the world’s best shooters. The scholastic version has been designed so it can be enjoyed by both neophytes and experienced shooters. Competitors will engage targets from a low-ready position and not from holsters as is done in the Steel Challenge.

SSC is open to all eligible youth and offers a Junior Division for 14 to 16 year-olds and a Senior Division for 17 to 20 year-olds. Scores and rankings will be posted online, and championships will be awarded in both divisions.

The United States Practical Shooting Association has over 17,000 members and 350 affiliated clubs, and the annual Steel Challenge is one of the nation’s most successful handgun competitions.

“This is a program that youth can enjoy with friends and siblings, and which will help ensure a vibrant future for our sports,” said Moore.