Moose Droppings

I don’t get into politics much on the blog but Governor Palin’s selection has increased the opportunity to talk about moose. I get questions about moose hunting and the taste of moose on a regular basis now. Most of the questions come from my non hunting friends who have become fascinated with moose since Governor Palin is a fellow moose hunter.
Moose is the best tasting game meat I’ve ever eaten similar to the finest cut of beef. Where can you get some moose meat? I’m out killed my last one 3 years ago in Maine and I was not lucky enough to get drawn. If you want to hunt moose there are a number of places to hunt them in northern US states as well as Canada. Maine has a high hunter success rate but getting a tag is the hard part. Alaska is a beautiful state (while I’ve never hunted I have visited it) moose tags are over the counter and today’s Anchorage Daily News pegs hunter success rate at 34%.
What’s it like to field dress a moose? It tends to be a messy job just ask my friend Billy.

What a refreshing change to have a real hunter in the race. The 2nd Amendment is extremely important to me and with Obama’s views on guns it will be a cold day in a very warm place (further south then Florida) before I cast a vote for him. I guess I’m just bitter and clinging to my guns or just call me “Moose Hunter for Palin”

Story & Photo by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

Photo Courtesy of NCWRC

Gordon Myers has been named the new executive director filling the void left by the untimely departure of Dick Hamilton about a year ago. Gordon Myers is a 17 year employee of the NCWRC serving in a number of capacities but most recently as the Director of Operations. Mr. Myers is a Civil Engineer and a graduate of NC State University.
What does this appointment mean for the average sportsman in the state? I’m not sure but we’ve seen that over the recent history the politically appointed board is often out of step with the professional staff task with protecting and managing the resources. With the internal hire maybe the apparent riff between the commissioners and the professional staff will be mended. But the press release quote from Wes Seegars makes me wonder.

“Today is the last day we will operate as we always have,” said Wes Seegars, chairman of the Wildlife Commission, the 19-member governing board of the agency, upon announcing the appointment. “Beginning tomorrow, with the transition of leadership, we will become a new, more dynamic agency that will continue to nurture and value the relationships we have with our conservation partners, and begin to develop new programs that will promote and embrace our mission.”

I hope I’m reading more into this but I feel as long as appointments to the commission continue to be doled out as political favors the natural resources are in some jeopardy.

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

I rarely post much on the political scene but I see it as humorous that Obama has picked Joe Biden as a running mate. So much for a new direction or change Biden has been around longer then McCain. After all the build up about the announcement and sending it out as a text I see why the Biden pick was released at 1am. Very anti climatic
I’ll admit that I’m not overly excited about McCain but for us gun rights people the naming of Biden is a sweep for anti gunners on the democratic ticket.

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

The director of the North Carolina Zoo, Dr David Jones, is supporting the lifting of Asheboro’s ban on alcohol sales.

Dr. David Jones says the approval of alcohol sales could generate a substantial increase in attendance and places the zoo in a stronger position to expand.
“It puts us in a situation at the zoo where we can more actively, perhaps more aggressively, pursue a hotel and meeting facilities, a conference facility on-site here, expand our evening functions,” he listed.

News 14

The sale of alcohol is a local issue here in North Carolina but of course the sale of hard liquor is a monopoly controlled operation by the state. I’m just not sure a state public official should be weighing in on this issue in any way that can be viewed as he is endorsing one side or the other.

While I see nothing wrong with drinking I do see a conflict with the state having a monopoly on alcohol as well as state officials pressuring the locals about the law. The reality is that expansion of the zoo is more a numbers game when it comes to the overall attendance and although alcohol sales could affect that there are other influences as well.
Seems like every city and town is banking on attracting conferences and meetings by building these types of venues. I think too much hype by public officials gets put into the “conference facilities” angle at a time when some of those traditional activities could go away. The cost of travel has risen sharply over the last few months and technology is at a place where virtual meetings can happen that travel is no longer a necessity. As business and people look to adjust costs and trim budgets I’m not sure that traditional meetings in one location will continue to take place.

Adding alcohol to the zoo could bring some unwanted changes as well and tarnish the family friendly image. The bottom line is that Dr. Jones is in a position that is supported and paid for by the tax payers of North Carolina I’m not sure that lobbying for the lifting of the sale of alcohol is within the role of what he was hired to do.

Story and Photo by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

Dick Hamilton NC Camo Coalition

The Camo Coalition is an advocacy group for outdoor sportsmen assisting with organizing us to speak with one voice on the issues that really matter. The Hog Blog & The Outdoor Smorgasbord both did stories about this recently and that is great. Anything to help us get the word out and get more sportsmen to participate. North Carolina is not alone in this type of organizing there are a number of states that I’m aware of that have Camo Coalitions; SC, MS, and GA I know have them. If your not in one of these states check to see if your state has a Camo Coalition and if not you need to do what you can to organize one. The anti’s are organized and have a strong voice we need to organize to protect the heritage we believe in.

Story & Photo by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

Wildlife Commissioners are proposing to revamp the deer hunting season to improve hunter retention as well as increase the annual deer harvest. Under the proposals the deer season would become uniformed across the state of North Carolina rather then the four geographical seasons we currently have. Additionally on private lands hunters could choose any weapon they would like and not be restricted to archery only or a muzzleloader only season.
I had heard a rumor that sweeping changes would be proposed but I thought it was just a rumor. I was caught off guard when I read the list of proposed changes in today’s N&O;

* Create a single deer season for the state. Now, there are four main regional seasons. The new season would be the same as the current Eastern Deer Season, which this year runs Sept. 13 to Jan. 1.
* Allow bow hunting and falconry on Sundays on private land.
* Allow hunters to choose any weapon (bow, muzzleloader or center-fire rifle) from the start of the hunting season when on private land.
* Move the opening of turkey season to the first Saturday of April statewide, which would extend the season by about a week.
* Ask the legislature for the authority to regulate deer hunting with dogs, and possibly fine dog owners when hounds trespass on private land.
* Allow the hunting of coyotes at night with the use of artificial lights.

I’ve been thinking about many of these all day and talking with folks about them. I’ll be curious to hear what the biologists think about this. In the past there has been a huge disconnect between the professionals that have been hired to do the work and the political appointees that develop the rules. Looking at this I think the divide among these two groups has got to be bigger then ever.

You can bet we’ll continue to follow this story and to see the reactions of the different stakeholders like the NWTF & the NCBHA.

Story & photo by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

The military is looking to increase the size of the bombing range in the Pamlico Sound putting off limits some prime fishing and hunting areas raising the ire of many of the sportsmen in the state.

Joe Albea co host of Carolina Outdoor Journal as well as one of the strong advocates in the OLF fight sent out the following about this issue;

The US Military is currently working on plans to expand two of their bombing ranges (BT-9) and (BT-11) located in the Pamlico Sound. This expansion continues the trend by the military to gobble up as much (land & water) of the N.C. coastal plain as they can. They are doing this under an EA (environmental assessment) which will move the process quicker than an EIS (environmental impact study) and with less public input. All of this started in 2000 with the OLF(outlying landing field) and MOA (military operational area) expansion…… which were stopped.

This bombing range expansion needs to be stopped as well. The military currently owns thousands of acres of quality fishing and hunting areas that are closed to public access. Unknown damage to the environment is occurring due to live fire operations that are not being monitored by the state ( military will not allow access).

The Pamlico Sound is one of the largest estuarine nurseries in the United States and is important not only to fish populations in this state but the entire east coast and gulf coast. This expansion will not only adversely affect fish populations but also control your access to these areas.

Joe Albea
Greenville

The Camo Coalition has also sent out an alert about this issue;

Cherry Point Marine Air Station is trying to expand the Bombing Ranges in Pamlico Sound, which will result in further loss of high quality fishing, boating, and hunting grounds to North Carolina sportsmen as these areas are placed off-limits. The Navy has released an Environmental Assessment (EA) for the new range areas. An EA is a shortcut for an full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which looks in depth into alternatives and impacts. The impact of closing these substantial new areas in the Sound will be great and can not be adequately presented in an EA. We need to have a full EIS on this important proposal from the Navy before they go any further.
Expansion of the Range at Bryant Shoals will place many thousands of additional prime fishing grounds off-limits and will force boaters to detour widely into more treacherous waters in storms. The Range at Point of Marsh in Rattan Bay will exclude fishermen from the best shoreline fishing ground in the State and will add one and one-half miles to the existing four mile circle closed to entry for any reason. No compelling military reason has been given for this expansion. The current target zones have served the military well over the years and expansion cannot be justified given the information presented.
All North Carolina Watermen, Fishermen, Boaters, and others who want to preserve this area for public use need to oppose this usurption of the public domain for unsubstantiated purposes. The Navy is not providing a place for e-mail submissions of public comments for some reason, so we will have to send a written response. We will provide a suggested response under the “Take Action” link that you can edit, print, and send by postal service to the person and address that will be given. We will send a copy of your response to your Congressional Delegation by e-mail so they will know that this incursion by the Navy will be as controversial as OLF.

Although many of us are strong supporters of the military we’d like to see a bit more information and justification for taking this area over and putting it off limits. It would appear that there was an effort on the Navy’s part to sneak this one in under the radar which only increases our suspicions in light of the shenanigans that was pulled with the OLF deal. There is no email address available to voice your concerns so you’ll either have to snail mail it or fax it;
Susan Admire
Naval Facilities Engineering Command
6506 Hampton Boulevard
Norfolk, Va 23508
or fax to: (757) 322-4894.

Camo Coalition has a letter already typed out that you can fill in your information and print to send off the deadline is coming up quick, 17 July 2008. Please make your voice heard on this before we lose some prime costal area.

Yesterday’s ruling by the US Supreme Court to affirm the Second Amendment as a right for individuals to own and have guns was huge victory. The antis were handed a big defeat but it seems the spinning has already begun and the counter attack is beginning. A local radio newscast I heard yesterday one of the North Carolina Anti Gun Groups spokesperson was excited because they felt this was a good thing because they could now move on to more sensible and reasonable gun laws in this state now that the court has taken the total banning of guns off the table.

So in another words today I should feel reassured that mandatory registration of guns, limits on the numbers of guns I can buy, etc etc are reasonable because there is no reason I should think my right to own a gun is going to be challenged. Wrong!!! Wrong!! Wrong!! As easy as this court ruled one in the future could change that and these “sensible laws” will be used to confiscate and eliminate my right to bare arms. The antis are going to attempt to use this ruling to pull off middle of the road people who may be willing in the name of “safety” to trade small parts of our freedom to keep us all safer.

How about in light of this ruling some new sensible gun laws? Like the ability to Conceal Carry Nationwide…. How about the right of an American to purchase a gun any where in America with out limits to their home state borders? Huh How bout them Sensible gun laws.

We won a small battle but the war still rages to keep liberty alive.

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

I touch on politics out here from time to time but for the most part I stick with the outdoor topics. With today being Election Day here in North Carolina I got to touch on the election. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have been turning up all over the state along with their high profile supporters snarling traffic and littering the landscape with signs. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’d love to see a commercial for something other then someone running for office.
For many the election has come down to the gender or the color of the skin, which really doesn’t mean much to me. I want to see where they stand and of course on the key issues like second amendment rights. I got to admit that the media-grabbing politicians for the most part have dismal records when it comes to the right to keep and bear arms. I think as sportsmen no matter who makes it into the white house we are pretty much screwed.

As I went into the voting booth this morning I was one of the ones who made my mind up in the booth. In my case many might think the opportunity to have an African American man running the country swayed my decision over the thoughts of having our first female president. In the end it was the ideas he stands for over any of the other candidates and I hope he is still around for me to vote for in the general election.

Alan Keyes got my vote. I hope everyone gets out today to vote.

Story by Dan McLaughlin AKA Moose

A short Video to give you an idea of what is at stake.

This is a follow up to an earlier story I did about the court case that could potentially end the long standing practice of driving on the beach to access the area for recreational activities, the decision is in.
A decision that certainly seems to favor the special interests groups and seems to push sportsmen out. The beach access is supposed to be preserved for human recreational access and not to preserve habitat and species. Now I don’t think there is many sportsmen that would oppose sensible restrictions but to set up a distance equivalent to 11 football fields around a shore birds nest to me seems to excessive. At least my quick reading on the subject seems to suggest that is the distance that will be required.

It is also very concerning to me that little if any public input was sought and basically the special interest groups seemed to have the most voice. If I understand it right these are temporary rules while the National Park Service draws up the official rules. I have little faith in the National Park Service because access does not seem to be a high priority for them nor the desires of sportsmen.

Some Important Links to Check out; Tommy over at Carolina Region has an updated story and he has much more information and details about this story. So please check out his blog. The second link you should check out is SAVE HATTERAS & OCRACOKE ISLAND. Even if your not one who normally access the outerbanks please speak out and support your fellow sportsmen and an entire regions way of life.

This week is the one year anniversary of the tragic shooting at Virginia Tech and a renewed call for gun control. Our right to bear arms is guaranteed by the US Constitution and if we fail to fight to keep it we’ll lose it for sure. Across many college campuses there will be protests and calls for additional gun control. The University of North Carolina is no exception and given the recent high profile murder of their student body president.

On Wednesday, 32 protesters will lie on the ground on Polk Place near Gardner Hall for just a few minutes to illustrate symbolically how little time it takes to buy a gun.

Wednesday - April 16 - is the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting.

And one year later, not much has changed in terms of gun control, both in North Carolina and in the nation at large.

Why should there be any changes in the gun laws? It is one of the most regulated products out there. Myself I think we need to loosen the laws to make sure people have access so the scum that perpetrate such violent acts might have to think twice before they go on their crime sprees.

Gun control advocates often take the approach of having “sensible gun laws” that include gun registrations, waiting periods on purchases, limits on purchases etc. For what? They only penalize law abiding citizens and work to limit the number of law abiding citizens who can afford and meet all these requirements.

Why do we oppose gun registration? We know that at some latter date that information could be used to confiscate our guns. We only need to look at what happened in Canada and Australia when gun bans took place. New Orleans after the hurricane Katrina where law abiding citizens had weapons confiscated by authorities and then they were left unarmed in an area that was lawless and overrun with mobs to fend for themselves. That’s why we oppose any type of gun registration.

Today WalMart has announced that they will set up their own gun registration process to track all guns they sell. This is a significant cave on part of a major retailer and not really surprising given that they have scaled back many of the gun sales by eliminating them totally from their sporting goods section. What will the fall out be? I don’t know but we’ll follow it for sure.

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.