The American Sporting Dog Alliance has brought to my attention a California Assembly bill which will severely impact owners of dogs, especially those of us with hunting or working dogs.  Since this revised bill has removed the previous mandatory spay-neuter wording, it gives any citizen the ability to report a violation of any local ordinance.  The accused offender would have no right to appeal or review, but the choice between paying a high fine or spaying or neutering their dog.  That’s EXTORTION in my book.

I’ve included the ASDA release and contact info below.  Please help California’s responsible dog owners avoid another attempt by Animal Rights organizations to infringe on the rights of thousands of hunting dog and working dog owners.

Revised California AB1634 Unleashes
Animal Rights Vigilantes On Dog Owners

A Complaint Does Not Require Proof In Court

by JOHN YATES
American Sporting Dog Alliance
http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org
asda@csonline.net

SACRAMENTO, CA – Animal rights extremists would be given unchecked vigilante powers to attack dog owners under a revision to AB1634, which is now before the legislature.

Read the rest of this entry »

I was reading Phillip’s well worded Hog Blog column “The Great Divide - The Gender Gap in the Hunting Community“.  I found that it made me think more about what opportunities my daughters would have in the outdoors, if I wasn’t there to mentor them in learning the skills necessary to enjoy,  if not succeed as an outdoorswoman.  In brief comments, and posts in discussion forums, I learned from Kristine Shreve, what it was like for a women to enter a typically male dominated activity.  I found that I was guilty of ass-u-ming my audience was male.  Then I found this statement from Ken Howell, editor of Smokelore, an online magazine on the 24 Hour Campfire web page, that summed it up perfectly:

“He” is often a woman.  I use the linguistically masculine words man, he, him, and his in the traditionally proper, classically correct asexual generic sense for men, women, boys, and girls.  I consider the awkward, intrusive, politically “correct” forms “he (or she)” and “he/she” as linguistic abominations that I refuse to use in my own writing and eliminate from the manuscripts that I edit.  

(I’m neither a chauvinist nor a feminist, just a plain old egalitarian who delights in the fact that hunting and fishing are as truly and thoroughly egalitarian as any other activity known to man.  And although I’m not a master outdoorsman myself, I’ve noticed that all of the master outdoorsmen whom I’ve known feel exactly the same.

Well, maybe I’m tainted with a tinge of both chauvinism and feminism, because I also delight in noticing that the women of the outdoors are usually smarter and lovelier than those frumpy females who despise hunting and fishing.  And I feel absolutely no shame for this admitted personal bias but prefer to call it appreciation or taste.  Outdoorsmen appreciate all kinds of genuine treasures.

I have to say that the last paragraph echoes my personal sentiments about women in the outdoors.  I look forward to having some  dad ‘n’ daughter outdoor experiences, perhaps in concert with other western outdoor loving dads.  I think sometimes my daughters feel that they are the only girls who know what it’s like to skin a deer, or breast out a duck.  Perhaps a get together with other hunting girls would provide the impetus for them to continue to appreciate the outdoors whether it be hunting, fishing, big game or small. 

So I’m putting it out there for any other dads who want to get together, or daughters who want to show their dads about what they enjoy outdoors.  i think we would find a commonnn appreciation beyond the single gender outings.

Outdoor life has just reinforced what I have been saying for years.  If the outdoors is your passion the West is where you want to live.   Outdoor life writer John Snow details how they ranked the top towns

How we determined the rankings

Months of research went into compiling our list of the top 200 towns for sportsmen in America. We started by combing through every population center in the United States with more than 4,000 people. We gathered comprehensive data on the overall quality of life the towns offered. Some of the factors we considered were the growth rate of the local economy, the unemployment rate, the degree of taxation, the time it takes to commute to work, the crime rate, housing prices, median household income and even the variety of cultural opportunities within easy driving distance.

Then we looked at how the towns stacked up purely from a sporting perspective (the grades for some of the categories are listed with each of our top 10 profiles). We rated them on the fishing and hunting opportunities each town offers, the trophy quality of the sporting opportunities, proximity to public land, the restrictiveness of the gun laws and whether the fishing and hunting is good year-round.

We put all this into a massive database and developed a formula that gives slightly heavier emphasis (60/40) to the sporting opportunities than to the quality-of-life rankings. -John B. Snow

What did the rankings show?  Here are the top 6 towns, (Five of which are in the West).

Mountain Home, AR
POP: 12,215
HUNTABLE SPECIES: 7
FISHABLE SPECIES: 8
TROPHY POTENTIAL: 7
YEAR-ROUND OPPORTUNITIES: 5.8
PUBLIC-LAND ACCESS: 8
GUN LAWS: 9

2 Lewiston, ID
POP: 31,293
HUNTABLE SPECIES: 8
FISHABLE SPECIES: 9
TROPHY POTENTIAL: 8
YEAR-ROUND OPPORTUNITIES: 6.6
PUBLIC-LAND ACCESS: 8
GUN LAWS: 9

3 Sheridan, WY
POP: 16,429
HUNTABLE SPECIES: 8
FISHABLE SPECIES: 7
TROPHY POTENTIAL: 8
YEAR-ROUND OPPORTUNITIES: 5.6
PUBLIC-LAND ACCESS: 8
GUN LAWS: 10

4 Cody, WY
POP: 9,217
HUNTABLE SPECIES: 8
FISHABLE SPECIES: 6
TROPHY POTENTIAL: 8
YEAR-ROUND OPPORTUNITIES: 5.5
PUBLIC-LAND ACCESS: 7
GUN LAWS: 10

5 Pocatello, ID
POP: 53,932
HUNTABLE SPECIES: 9
FISHABLE SPECIES: 7
TROPHY POTENTIAL: 7
YEAR-ROUND OPPORTUNITIES: 6.6
PUBLIC-LAND ACCESS: 8
GUN LAWS: 9

6 Lewistown, MT
POP: 6,083
HUNTABLE SPECIES: 9
FISHABLE SPECIES: 6
TROPHY POTENTIAL: 7
YEAR-ROUND OPPORTUNITIES: 5.6
PUBLIC-LAND ACCESS: 7
GUN LAWS: 10

Take a look online at the detailed photo gallery in the Outdoor life article “Paradise Found” You can also pick up a copy of Outdoor life on newsstands nationwide.

As the clock strikes midnight, I can’t help but be caught up in the fresh start of a new calendar year.  What am I going to do better this year?  As I reflect back over the past 12 months I think about my “resolutions” for the New Year.

• In 2008 I’m going to be in better shape than last year.  Even though I ran my first marathon, I want to finish one this year under 5 hours.   In a few days I will start my official training with Team in Training to keep me on track.
• If there is a black bear in view in the 2008 season, I’m going after him.  In 2007 I watched a black bear feeding in a basin and I didn’t go after him because I thought he would take off before I could get there.  That bear fed in one place for over 45 minutes.  I could have put a sneak on him if I had “nutted up” and gone after him. I won’t make that mistake again.
• I’m going to backpack in further, and scout harder.  My California hunting area has big bucks, but few of them.  In 2008 I’m going to venture further off the trails and get into less crowded country.
• I am going to start an investment account to fund my out of state hunting applications.  The months of January through May are financially stressful times as I have dollar amounts in the four figures out to various states for licenses and tags.  That money needs to be in a specific account that will draw some interest when I get my rejection letters,  and not spent on hunting gear!

What are your resolutions for the new year?  Leave me a comment and let me know!

When I took the Hunter safety class with my daughter last Spring, I really found the section of the Hunter Ed Manual on “Stages of Hunting” to be quite accurate.  I thought about the people I hunted with and feel that the role models I had helped me progress faster throught the stages. 

I have to admit, I am at the “method stage”  in my bowhunting pursuits, but with a rifle I’m  nearing “sportsman” I hope.    I think that a few years of 3-D and field shooting took care of the desire to “fling” arrows.  Now I just want one GOOD shot.  As my daughters begin to take up hunting, I get more and more pleasure watching them grow in the sport.  I look forward to reporting on my stages and how they change in the next 5 to 10 years.

FIVE STAGES OF A HUNTER

Hunters change through the years. Factors used to determine
“successful hunting” change as well for each hunter. A hunter’s age,
role models, and his years of hunting experience affect his ideas of
“success.”

Many hunters may fit into one of the following five groups. In
1975-1980, groups of over 1,000 hunters in Wisconsin were studied,
surveyed, and written about by Professors Robert Jackson and Robert
Norton, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. The results of their
studies form a widely accepted theory of hunter behavior and
development. Where are you now? Where would you like to be?

SHOOTER STAGE

The hunter talks about satisfaction with hunting being closely tied to
being able to “get shooting.” Often the beginning duck hunter will
relate he had an excellent day if he got in a lot of shooting. The
beginning deer hunter will talk about the number of shooting
opportunities. Missing game means little to hunters in this phase. A
beginning hunter wants to pull the trigger and test the capability of
his firearm. A hunter in this stage may be a dangerous hunting
partner.

LIMITING OUT STAGE

A hunter still talks about satisfaction gained from shooting. But what
seems more important is measuring success through the killing of game
and the number of birds or animals shot. Limiting out, or filling a
tag, is the absolute measure. Do not let your desire to limit out be
stronger than the need for safe behavior at all times.

TROPHY STAGE

Satisfaction is described in terms of selectivity of game. A duck
hunter might take only greenheads. A deer hunter looks for one special
deer. A hunter might travel far to find a real trophy animal. Shooting
opportunity and skills become less important.

METHOD STAGE

This hunter has all the special equipment. Hunting has become one of
the most important things in his life. Satisfaction comes from the
method that enables the hunter to take game. Taking game is important,
but second to how it is taken. This hunter will study long and hard
how best to pick a blind site, lay out decoys, and call in
waterfowl. A deer hunter will go one on one with a white-tailed deer,
studying sign, tracking, and the life habits of the deer. Often, the
hunter will handicap himself by hunting only with black powder
firearms or bow and arrow. Bagging game, or limiting, still is
understood as being a necessary part of the hunt during this phase.

SPORTSMAN STAGE

As a hunter ages and after many years of hunting, he “mellows out.”
Satisfaction now can be found in the total hunting experience. Being
in the field, enjoying the company of friends and family, and seeing
nature outweigh the need for taking game.

Not all hunters go through all the stages, or go through them in that
particular order. It is also possible for hunters who pursue several
species of game to be in different stages with regard to each
species. Some hunters feel that role models of good sportsmen,
training, or reading books or magazines helped them pass more quickly
through some stages.

—————
California Department of Fish and Game. “California Hunter Education
Manual”. 1995 (revised edition). Sacramento, California. [p.8]

Looking back through my pictures from past hunts, I was struck by the fact that some of my most memorable hunts weren’t for the biggest bucks and bulls that I had killed. In fact, I don’t have any truly monstrous animals to my credit. I have some “Nice” mature animals that are representative of the species, but I won’t have Trophy Hunter magazine knocking down my door for an exclusive anytime soon.

I know it sounds strange that someone who is a measurer for Pope and Young would dismiss the antler or skull size of a harvested game animal as its true trophy value. For me the trophy is in the memories and experience. The feeling of “I did it right.” It is measured in woodsmanship, fellowship and how the game retrieval, skinning, and meat processing was handled.

A buck from Northern Idaho was my first whitetail. I spent three years hunting the countryside surrounding the college town of Moscow, Idaho before I finally was successful. What made this buck a trophy to me was the fact that it was the first big game animal I had killed outside of California. It was the beginning of a number of new experiences and firsts for me. I had never de-boned a deer before; I had never backpacked out a big game animal before. It was instrumental in building my confidence to take on other big game challenges in remote locations.

In 1998 I was able to sneak within 20 yards of a feeding blacktail buck near the coast of California. I was still-hunting up a ridge and heard the buck and the doe feeding in the chemise in front of me. I eased into a position where I could see the very top of the bucks back. He whipped his head up looking at me crouched in the brush. By then I already had the crosshairs centered on the white patch just below his jaw. When I squeezed the trigger he dropped in his tracks. It was at that moment I began to consider bowhunting as a possible new hunting method. I was most proud however when the owner of the custom meat processing plant complimented me on the cleanliness of the carcass and finally had to ask where I had hit him.
That buck was a trophy because of the fact that I was able to sneak so close, and make a clean kill. He was a nice heavy fork horn buck, but nothing extraordinary.

My blacktail buck from 2007 was a trophy experience because my daughters were there to watch me as I swung on the running buck and hit him on the run with my first shot. Despite his diminutive size, his 63 pounds of venison still evoke conversations at the dinner table about hunting from my daughters.

Then there are the “Firsts”. My first archery buck was certainly a trophy in it’s own right regardless of antler size. It just happened to make it into the Pope and Young records program. Regardless, I have never harvested a blacktail buck larger than a forked horn with eye guards. Some trophy hunter I am!

My first elk, while under the Pope and Young minimum, was still a momentous occasion, as my hunting partner Shane, called him within 35 yards for a one arrow kill. His 5×6 rack has a coveted position in my home, even though he was 50 inches under the Pope and Young minimum.

So perhaps we should take the time to explain to others, the trophy value of those “rafter bucks”. The ones we put in the shop or garage rafters because they aren’t of “eye catching size”. Well I’m here to tell you that as hunters we need to tell our trophy experience stories to everyone who will listen. Maybe it means jotting down the story, and putting it in the photo album, so that future generations will know why hunting is special to us. It is the values you hold dear to hunting that will keep new hunters enthusiastic, as they learn the skills through trial and error. Remember the passion that was pouring out of a first time successful hunter as they related the tale? That is the trophy experience. Capture that and you can elucidate others on what it means to hunt.

Why is it important to tell these stories? Well the Non-hunting public only reads about poaching busts, or immense trophy animals, in the news media. They are not exposed to the traditions that we enjoy. It is time to tell that story. We have been pushing the “science of wildlife management” for long enough that Susie Q Public is beginning to understand the value of hunting. Unfortunately the voting public is willing to let four legged predators, and professional depredation hunters perform that task, rather than what they perceive to be a bunch of trophy hunters.

So pass on those hunting stories that are trophy experiences and help create an understanding of what hunting means to you. We want that enthusiasm to permeate our culture, to distinguish going hunting from just a walk in the woods.

Growing up, my mentors instilled in me a sense of what was right and wrong.  I feel that in order to see a person’s true character come out, an examination of how they conduct themselves while hunting gives as clear an idea as anything about their business and personal ethics. 

 When I began hunting on my own, I found it hard to elucidate what I felt was ethical.  That was until I discovered the “Fair Chase”  philosophy that is the backbone of conservation organizations such as the Pope and Young and Boone and Crockett Clubs. 

The term “Fair Chase” shall not include the taking of animals under the following conditions:

1. Helpless in a trap, deep snow or water, or on ice.
2. From any power vehicle or power boat.
3. By “jacklighting” or shining at night.
4. By the use of any tranquilizers or poisons.
5. While inside escape-proof fenced enclosures.
6. By the use of any power vehicles or power boats for herding or driving animals, including use of aircraft to land alongside or to communicate with or direct a hunter on the ground.
7. By the use of electronic devices for attracting, locating, or pursuing game or guiding the hunter to such game, or by the use of a bow or arrow to which any electronic device is attached.
8. Any other condition considered by the Board of Directors as unacceptable.

 Now there are a number of legal hunting practices that do not fall under these guidelines, and I would not want to eliminate them.  Especially in the cases of depredation, subsistence, and handicapped hunters, there are exceptions to this philosophy that I would endorse.

By adhering to the Fair Chase ethic, I can be unapologetic about how I hunt and take game.  It is the “ethical, sportsmanlike and lawful pursuit of free ranging wild game animals which does not give the hunter an improper or unfair advantage over the animal”.  When I speak to non hunters, I want them to understand that I respect the game I pursue, and that that other hunters just like me, do as well.

The kill is the satisfying, indeed essential, conclusion to a successful hunt. But, I take no pleasure in the act itself. One does not hunt in order to kill, but kills in order to have hunted. Then why do I hunt? I hunt for the same reason my well-fed cat hunts…because I must, because it is in the blood, because I am the descendant of a thousand generations of hunters. I hunt because I am a hunter.- Finn Aagard

One cannot have hunted without attempting to kill, just as one cannot compete without trying to win. It is the establishment of a goal, and something to measure that goal against. How we conduct ourselves in the pursuit of these benchmarks, more important than the achievement itself to the ethical and responsible hunter. When killing or winning becomes the sole motivation, the activity is greatly diminished.
I find that many people who don’t understanding are not competitive or goal oriented. I see a parallel between competition and hunting. Killing is to hunting as winning is to competition. While it is the ultimate goal, and obvious benchmark of success, it is not what we derive the most pleasure or benefit from. When people ask me why I hunt rather than just observe wildlife, I have to go back to my sports analogy. I would rather take part in a game of football or baseball than sit in the stands. Being a part of the food chain rather than a spectator, is what I enjoy. I can still appreciate the game when I am a spectator, but my time on the field is what gives me a true appreciation that the pure spectator will never feel.
I am somewhat disappointed when someone accuses hunters of being bloodthirsty killers. I suppose I view death as part of life. Many people today are so shielded from the reality of death, that to be exposed to it shocks them. I call it “taking an active role in the food chain”. If I really enjoyed the killing aspect more than the preparation and process, then I would work in a meat processing plant. I think any one who hunts or raises animals for food takes a great deal of pride in a clean, humane kill. I know the folks I hunt with, and respect, do.

To the devout Vegetarian, I ask “What is different about harvesting a living, respiring healthy plant?” The difference is that we don’t attribute human characteristics to plants. We view them as food. So don’t tell me about the joys of hunting wild morel mushrooms in the wilderness, if you don’t want to hear about my elk hunt a couple drainages over.

If you don’t take part in hunting, I don’t mind. If I see you while I’m packing out a bull elk just look at me like you would look upon a grizzly with a kill. Give me the respect you give the other big predators in the woods. I’ll return the favor with a kind word. But vilify me with a sneer and condescending tone and I might not tell you about that 800-pound bruin that will be dining on that elk’s entrails later that day. I’m just taking an active part in my food chain. Have you?

While thumbing through a livestock magazine today, I came across this story from the Associated Press:

The Headline read “Fed’s Set aside more than 400,000 acres of land for bighorn habitat”

That amount of land is 625 square miles. 

Now as an outdoorsman I hold the Bighorn sheep dear to heart.  I would love to see a growing population.  But I wonder if this could be a move by groups like the Center for Biological Diversity to restrict grazing permits for domestic sheep ranchers in the areas of the Inyo and Humboldt -Toiyabe national Forests?  Remember the Spotted owl?  Endangered species are today’s poster child for reducing livelihoods which use natural resources such as timber, grazing and natural gas.  These industries are under attack by groups who use the Endangered Species Act as a weapon to push their ideal of a human free wilderness.

Many causes have been proposed for the decline in Bighorn populations across the west.  Among those is the theory of transmission of disease such as Pasturella spp.  from domestic livestock, to the naive wild sheep.  Others have proposed that there is a direct competition for forage between the wildlife and domestic stock.   I have a hard time  believing that either of these two causes are the root of the bighorns demise. 

The reason I would surmise that direct competition for forage is not an issue is that domestic sheep are migratory in their summer grazing.  Seldom do the domestic sheep stay in one area for more than a day or two.  The regrowth from that grazing, is vegetative leaf, rather than stem and seedhead.  This regrowth is higher in nutritive value than if the plant were allowed to “go to seed” ungrazed.  During the growing season, grasses and forbs are fully recovered from grazing within 28 to 36 days. 

The sheep ranchers I have talked to in the Sierra Nevada, have never mentioned any Bighorns in contact with their flocks, so I have a hard time believing that the pneumonia deaths are from domestic sheep since direct contact is necessary to transmit Pasturella.

I am more inclined to believe that limited winter range is the culprit.  You know, the Real Estate where the “million dollar views” are?  It is this transition between the lowlands and the high mountain peaks that are being developed more than any where else in the nation today. 

In any case I will continue to support conservation groups like The Foundation for North American Sheep

To date, FNAWS, its Chapters, and Affiliates have raised nearly 50 million dollars to fund projects, which include buffer land acquisition, wild sheep transplants, biological studies and research projects, prudent wild sheep management, wildlife habitat improvement, repressing poaching, and protecting sportsmen’s rights, and public education.

Sportsman funded groups, such as FNAWS  have put the money raised toward research and have relocated sheep to their historic ranges where the populations have grown.  Let’s not be swept up locking out certain users of the high country.  You may be the next one locked out…

Here is an update on the Men’ Outdoors Channel situation on Dish Network. Appparently they are not at liberty to discuss the matter, but it is not money at the root of the problem. I’ve included a statement that was on a thread on Archerytalk. I will be tracking this matter as it develops.

Folks,

First, on behalf of MOR, many thanks for the kind words and support. In light of many of the comments on this thread, as well as numerous instances of incorrect information from the Dish call center, we have issued the following statement. Should you have any questions, please feel free to include them in this thread, or visit us at www.watchmor.com. Again, thanks for your support!

———————————————————————

Due to continuing negotiations relating to the distribution of our networks on Echostar’s Dish Network, the broadcast of TMG’s suite of networks, including Men’s Outdoors & Recreation (MOR), has been suspended on Dish. This unfortunate circumstance has occurred despite our efforts to maintain your ability to view our networks during these discussions. We are working directly with Echostar at the highest levels to resolve this issue and get our programming back on the air as soon as possible. Until that time, we find it necessary to clarify several points of information that our viewers have been told by Dish customer service representatives:

1) The Media Group did not suspend the delivery of our networks on Dish; Dish made the decision late Friday, July 13th, to suspend the broadcast of our networks.

2) MOR and Beauty & Fashion continue to broadcast on DirecTV, Channels 604 & 223, respectively. You can also find TMG’s networks on multiple Time Warner and other select cable systems. Please check with your cable or satellite provider for further details or to request one of our networks.

3) Although we are not at liberty to discuss the details of our negotiations with Dish, we can say that despite our understanding of Dish CSR comments to the contrary, the suspension of our networks has nothing to do with a TMG request for “more money”, as we have made no such request.

Our thanks for your continued support as we work to get the programs you love back on Dish.

The Executive Team at The Media Group