NEWS RELEASE

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Haas Outdoors Inc. PO Box 757, 200 East Main Street, West Point, MS 39773 662/494-8859 Fax 662/494-8742

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFebruary 2008 FOR MORE INFORMATION: Bill AuCoin 1-727-522-2371 wmaucoin@verizon.net The image is downloadable in high or low resolution by clicking on the image or by going to www.howardcommunications.com

Mossy Oak® Announces Partnership With Wrangler® ProGearâ„¢ Leader in premium outdoor apparel offers Break-Up and the new Treestand on popular denim weights. GREENSBORO, N.C. - Starting in fall 2008, Wrangler® ProGearâ„¢ will take advantage of the exclusive right to incorporate the successful Mossy Oak® Break-Up® and the new Treestand® camouflage pattern into several of the brand’s popular denim hunting garments. “Wrangler is a time-tested, well-known brand that is synonymous with hardworking, active, outdoors people,” said Butch English, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Mossy Oak. “Mossy Oak is thrilled to be associated with a brand that makes quality gear for outdoorsmen regardless of their pursuit.” By integrating Mossy Oak’s realistic, 3-D patterns into denim, Wrangler ProGear will strengthen a well-established reputation for offering the most innovative, durable, premium quality outdoor clothing on the market. “The exclusive agreement between Wrangler ProGear and Mossy Oak establishes a partnership that creates garments to satisfy all outdoor enthusiasts. Specialty retailers will be able to offer garments that are the ultimate in concealment, comfort and protection,” said Jerry Guiliano, merchandise manager, Wrangler Specialty Apparel. Hunting garments constructed of nine ounces and higher cotton denim provide hunters with the ideal blend of durability, fit, quiet function and overall comfort. The fabric also allows Wrangler ProGear to continue offering design innovations such as its room2moveâ„¢ fit that affords maximum flexibility even in confined spaces like treestands. The full Wrangler ProGear collection includes nine-pocket hunter pants, classic five-pocket hunter pants, lined camo jeans, upland jeans, camo flannel field shirts, guide shirts with blaze orange, shooter shirts, camo tees in short and long sleeves, and the Pro Stalker camo jacket. Wrangler ProGear garments are sold through specialty retailers nationwide. For more information or to locate a nearby retailer, visit progear.wrangler.com or call 1-888-784-8571. Wrangler produces official licensed products of Mossy Oak/Haas Outdoors Inc. Haas Outdoors Inc., headquartered in West Point, Miss., was established in 1986 and is home of Mossy Oak (www.mossyoak.com). Mossy Oak specializes in developing and marketing modern camouflage designs for hunters and outdoorsmen. Mossy Oak patterns can be found on a multitude of products worldwide. Haas Outdoors Inc. is the outdoor industry leader in modern camouflage design, international licensing and marketing. Haas Outdoors Inc. markets its services and products under widely recognized brands including: Mossy Oak, BioLogic, Mossy Oak Productions and Mossy Oak Properties. ###

IT’S NOT A PASSION. IT’S AN OBSESSION

I really do envy this woman but at least she is able to follow her dreams and I for one wish her all the best of luck.

A southeast Iowa woman quit her job as an airline flight attendant to pursue her deer hunting hobby and now hosts a nationally-broadcast hunting TV show.

Thirty-two-year-old Tiffany Lakosky lives on 800 acres in rural Henry County, south of Mount Pleasant, and says her husband of five years convinced her to try bow hunting when they were still dating.

Lakosky says: “I was not raised hunting at all. I used to fish with my dad a lot. Lee used to work at an archery shop up in Minnesota for many years and he introduced me to archery and then, of course, to see him, I had to be up there shooting and then about two years after I started shooting, he said, ‘You want to try hunting?’ and I said, ‘That sounds like fun, I’ll try it.’ Went out the first night and shot a buck.” She says deer hunting was love — and obsession — at first sight.

Lakosky and her husband, Lee, co-host the TV program “Gettin’ Close,” carried three times a week on the Outdoor Channel. Lakosky, a petite five-foot-two blonde, says she’s harvested more trophy bucks than most men twice her size and age. “In all honesty, I never, ever thought I would become as addicted to the sport of archery and bow hunting and hunting in general as I did,” she explains,”it’s just something about being out there. You never know what’s going to come up. I don’t know — I guess what makes any of us get addicting to hunting and the thrill of it. It’s just an adrenaline rush when an animal’s out there and then when you shoot it and it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh!’ Just nothing beats that feeling.”

So why aren’t more women into hunting? Lakosky says many ladies are coming around, including her own mom. Her 57-year-old mother just started learning archery last year and went to Canada last year and shot and killed a black bear with a muzzle loader. Lakosky quoted her mom saying, “I didn’t realize the camaraderie of being in the hunting camp with everybody and how much fun you had.” Now, Lakosky’s mom wants to try the challenge of bow hunting for turkeys.

Both Tiffany and Lee Lakosky will be in Des Moines later this week to lead a panel discussion at the Iowa Deer Classic, running Friday through Sunday at the Iowa Events Center.

By Matt Kelley from Radio Iowa News

This could possibly save a lot of time down the road. No more driving here nor there, just a few clicks of a mouse and there you go.

Welcome to Connecticut’s Online Sportsmen Licensing System From this site, you can purchase Connecticut hunting, trapping and fishing licenses, as well as all required deer, turkey, and migratory bird permits and stamps. For more information about how to use this site, visit the Frequently Asked Questions page.To buy licenses and permits online, you will have to register for a Connecticut Conservation ID. A Connecticut Conservation ID is a unique number that is assigned to you for the online purchase of all hunting and fishing licenses, permits and tags. In the future, you will also use this number when you purchase licenses or permits at town clerks and sporting goods stores.

For calendar year 2008, PERMITS and TAGS will be MAILED to you after purchasing them online. As the online Sportsmens System is updated, you will be able to print permits and tags on your printer. Please check the DEP website for information detailing system updates. If you want to apply for the 2008 Deer Lottery, do that directly on the DEP website at www.ct.gov/dep/hunting.

If you want to buy a license or permit that gives you hunting or trapping privileges, you need a way to verify that you have met Connecticut’s hunter and trapper education requirements. If you have taken a Connecticut hunting/trapping safety course or if you have purchased a deer, turkey or bowhunting permit within the last year, your hunting and trapping license eligibility MAY already exist in the online licensing database. Please select START to begin.

I don’t understand it but it seems that anytime I am expecting money my truck starts having issues. I am beginning to think it is jealous. Some of the problems I have been waiting for our tax return to get them fixed.

For one thing it has an oil leak which is not good but, I can deal with it until the check shows up. Then the check engine light came on and a buddy has one of those things that you plug into the dash and it tells you what the check engine light means. After speaking to a garage it sounds like it needs another some sort of fuel valve. For the past month maybe give or take a few days I have been getting a knocking sound in the back like the shocks are going bad which is not a major deal.

Yesterday, yesterday it started acting like the transmission was skipping (I could scream right about now) and acting funny. I spoke to the garage about that as well and if I am lucky it is just a tranny filter or something like that otherwise I know where half my return is gonna go.

Unfortunately right now I can’t afford to trade it in and get stuck with another monthly car payment and I really do need to have it up and running but, I also had plans for most of the return. I hope the cost of repairs falls within the amount that has not been budgeted to go somewhere.

It is rather frustrating when you have to constantly change the budget to fit day to day problems. I know that is part of life and I don’t mean to sound like I am complaining. I guess I am just venting. For once it would be nice to get a lump of money and not have to use it.

OH Well…………………..

I honesty have mixed feelings about hunting deer over bait but fortunately for Mississippi it looks like they will be able to. A bill passed the House of Representatives and now has to go through the Senate. I just feel that it would infringe on the 100% wild and 100% fair chase of hunting whitetails which I am 100% in favor of.

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Shooting deer over bait would be legal under a bill passed Thursday by the Mississippi House of Representatives.

By a vote of 74-47, the House approved H.B. 1089 that would allow “the hunting of deer over grain or other supplemental food during any deer hunting season if the food is placed in a feeder that keeps the food covered or protected from the direct elements of weather and the feeder is located only upon private property.”

Among the dissenters speaking against the bill was Rep. John Mayo (D-Clarksdale).

“We just passed a bill to allow hunters to build a trough, cover it with a roof to protect it from the elements, and shoot deer that come up to feed from it,” Mayo said in an e-mail to The Clarion-Ledger. “That is exactly the way I phrased a question. The bill passed 74-47. …I was on the losing side — along with the deer.

“Why not just tie your cow up to a feed bucket and shoot it? Where’s the sport?”

H.B. 1089 now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Mississippi’s Senators must first consider its own version of a baiting bill, S.B. 2290. It is very similar to H.B. 1089, except that is also requires a $50 permit to hunt over bait.

The 2007 Legislature had passed a bill and Gov. Haley Barbour signed it, giving the Commission on Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks the authority to allow baiting. The Commission had not taken any action on the issue, and now it may not have to.

Mississippi sportsmen are divided over baiting, and thousands have done so illegally in growing numbers in recent years.

“I hope the Senate gets on board with this bill and finally makes it legal,” said Paul Jackson of Hattiesburg. “So many people are already baiting, it would finally give all of us a chance to catchup.”

By Bobby Cleveland - The Clarion Ledger

This part is important because it will tell you if all your efforts are paying off. I myself watch and keep track of deer all year long, either by watching with binoculars or trail cam pictures and then sitting down to study what I have seen and where. I also have a software system in my computer where I can store all my harvest data and deer sighting via photo’s. There are a few of those types of software out on the market today. The “Whitetail Pro Log” is the one I use. There is one that you can purchase from the QDMA and that one is “Buck Spy Advanced Management Software”.

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Herd Monitoring is Part 4

Herd Monitoring is another important building block of QDM. There are two types of data commonly collected ‹ harvest data and observation data. Harvest data should be collected from deer harvested during the season or found dead at other times. Observation data may be collected at any time, but generally collected while hunting. Together, these data help hunters and managers make educated decisions about their deer herds. Good records generally result in good management decisions, whereas poor or incomplete records often result in faulty decisions.

It takes a substantial amount of data to develop a good “picture” of a herd. On many properties, the number of deer taken is too small and measurements are too variable for conclusions to be drawn from a single year’s data.
Therefore, data must be collected over several years or combined with surrounding properties’ data to determine trends in herd condition.

Harvest Data

Harvest records are generally the most important information from which to base management decisions. However, management decisions are only as good as the quality of data gathered. Therefore, harvest data must be complete and consistently collected from every deer harvested. This should be made mandatory. If this is not possible, a convenient, well-equipped check station or shed to process deer will help encourage data collection.

When possible, one person should record all of the data while others process the deer. Data collected on both bucks and does include: date of harvest, sex, weight, age (jawbone), harvest location, hunter’s name, and any comments or unique observations. Additional data collected on bucks should include number of points, antler spread, antler length, circumference at the base, and possibly other details such as Boone & Crockett score. Additional data collected on does include evidence of lactation (”in milk”) and fetal information.

All jawbones should be retained until after the hunting season and provided to an experienced wildlife biologist for aging. With practice, hunters can become efficient at estimating deer age. Several resource materials on deer aging are available from the Quality Deer Management Association (QDMA).

Harvest data provide useful insight into the current condition of a deer herd. When compared to previous years, harvest data provide the opportunity to see where a deer management program has been and where it is going. This information is particularly useful in QDM programs that implement antler restrictions to protect young bucks.

Observation Data

When properly collected, observation data can reveal important details about a herd’s size, sex ratio, fawn survival, age structure, and overall management success. Because some age classes of bucks are protected from harvest under QDM, observation data, especially on bucks, can provide useful information not provided by harvest data. The most important aspect of observation data is consistency. Whether collected throughout the year or only during the hunting season, observation data should be collected the same way each time and compared only to information collected during the same period in future years.

Observation data can be collected by hunters or with remote-sensing cameras. When collected by hunters, every deer should be counted during each outing, even if the same animal was observed during a previous observation period. This means the same animal may be counted several times during a season. This is fine. The purpose is not to count every individual deer on a property, but rather to determine the relative abundance of deer and the proportion of bucks, does, and fawns. Also, unless a deer can be positively identified as a buck, doe, or fawn, it should be recorded as “unknown.” A small amount of reliable data is better than a large amount containing numerous misidentified animals.

The use of remote-sensing cameras positioned along trails or feeding areas is a relatively new method for collecting observation data. These cameras have the advantage that they can monitor deer at night and when no one is hunting the area, as well as provide useful reference photographs. This is especially important for mature bucks, which are infrequently seen by hunters except during the rut. The photographs taken can provide useful information on herd size, sex ratio, and buck abundance and age structure. They also can raise the excitement level around the deer camp and verify that management efforts to produce older bucks are working.

This just sickens me to know end and people like this should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. There is no reason what so ever for animal cruelty. What these three teenagers received for punishment does not any where come close to paying for what they did.

Suspects say boredom drives them to commit criminal acts against wildlife

Authorities often learn about it from landowners who hear shooting at night and find deer carcasses in their fields the next day.

One case came to light when a bloody deer heart was discovered in a girl’s high school locker. And some incidents are solved when conservation wardens catch the criminals red-handed - shooting from roads with the help of spotlights and headlights, then leaving the wounded and dying animals behind.

Conservation wardens call it “thrill killing” of animals, and it appears to be a growing problem throughout Wisconsin, said Chief Warden Randy Stark.

Several dozen cases have been confirmed in the past few years, mostly involving young men in their late teens and early 20s. Officials say suspects have been killing wild animals by shooting them with firearms and arrows, running them down with vehicles and clubbing them with baseball bats and home-made weapons, such as sharpened sticks.

When asked why, those that can muster a reason don’t say it’s because they want the venison or antlers - it’s because they’re bored.

“This is simply a criminal act. It has nothing to do with hunting,” said Department of Natural Resources Warden Rick Rosen, who is stationed in St. Croix County. “It has nothing to do with sportsmanship at all. As far as why, it’s just like retail theft. That’s the best analogy. It’s the thrill with getting away with something and not getting caught.”

It’s different from poaching because poachers, even though they’re flouting Wisconsin’s laws, are not leaving the animals to waste.

And there’s a reason why it’s illegal to shine lights and shoot guns at night for much of the year in Wisconsin - it’s dangerous, and not just for the animals. The shooters don’t know what might be beyond their target.

Jeremy Peery, a conservation warden in Rusk County, arrested three high school students several years ago who spent their summer driving around at night and shooting animals.

They “shot sandhill cranes, they shot turkeys, they even shot at some sturgeons that were spawning and porpoising up near a dam. Just for the kicks of doing it,” said Peery, who added that just about every warden in the state has heard of or investigated a similar case.

The three paid fines ranging from $2,000 to $4,000, served jail terms and lost their hunting and fishing privileges for years.

In neighboring Chippewa County, Peery said, another warden handled a case in which high school students spent their evenings traveling around the northern edge of the county, shining lights at deer and shooting the vulnerable animals paralyzed by the bright lights. They cut out the heart of one of the deer and put it in the locker of the ex-girlfriend of one of the boys.

Ted Dremel, a DNR warden in Waupaca County, has investigated a couple of thrill killing cases, including one in 2006 that’s now winding its way through court. Three young men admitted to killing or wounding 48 deer in the Iola area. Some deer were killed when the men shone a pickup truck’s headlights into a field and stood on the road blasting away. Most of the dead deer were left behind.

“They truly give hunters a bad name. I think it’s important to make a huge distinction between hunters and this type of activity,” Dremel said.

Another case in Waupaca County involved teenagers who drove around looking for wild animals such as raccoons, opossums and deer. Their goal was to run the creature down with their car, “wound it and then they had sticks they had sharpened with a grinder, and they would beat the animal to death,” Dremel said.

Three years ago the DNR surveyed wardens to see how much of a problem there might be, and 20 to 30 cases were reported by 23 wardens, said Chuck Horn, a conservation warden supervisor based in Dodgeville. A number of thrill killing cases have been reported around the state since then. Weapons ranged from .22-caliber rifles and shotguns to bows, vehicles and clubs.

The bulk of the perpetrators were between 15 and 22 years old, and most involved groups of people acting together to kill the animals. Wardens discovered that some of the defendants admitted to participating in thrill killings as a contest to see who could get the most.

“There’s a lot of speculation as to what’s going on,” Horn said. “The need for instant satisfaction compared to the tried and true ways of hunting properly - scouting your area, planning your hunt and going out and waiting.”

Although there’s an overabundance of deer in Wisconsin - the DNR estimated a herd of 1.6 million to 1.8 million before last November’s gun-deer season - deer hunters are appalled to hear of those who kill and leave behind the carcasses.

“If they want to take out a deer, here’s an idea - get a license and go out with the rest of us,” said Jeff Schinkten, national president of Whitetails Unlimited based in Sturgeon Bay.

For those of you who use plastic vanes on your arrows than I am sure you have seen them become wavy from time to time. Here is a nifty little tip from Buckmasters that just might get rid of that wavyness without having to refletch.

Fix Wavy Vanes Without Refletching

Plastic vanes are great, but one of their drawbacks is the tendency become wavy if the fletchings are coming in contact with your rest, or if you shoot through your target. While it’s good to know if your fletchings are coming in contact with your rest, it’s also a pain to have to refletch every time you get a wavy vane.

Believe it or not, these wavy vanes often can be straightened with a hot hair dryer. Put a hair dryer on its hottest setting and heat up your wavy vanes. Often they will straighten up in the hot air and be good as new.

 

Now this is the hard one. I personally started to try and do this 2 years ago and I have to say it is not as easy as it sounds. I have been studying the Whitetail Deer for the past 18 years and I still don’t have them figured out. I am learning how to judge them on the hoof so to speak and determine what age they are at. I think I am doing ok but, I still need to practice it. By letting the younger ones go I am letting them get bigger and hopefully healthier so they can pass on their genes to the deer of the future.

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Hunter Management is Part 3

Hunter management is a critical, yet often difficult aspect of QDM. Within most hunting groups, support for QDM varies. It is difficult to achieve the objectives of QDM unless all hunters are fully committed. Education is the key. Hunters must fully understand the benefits and costs of QDM before they become active participants.

Active participation in a QDM program requires hunters to learn about deer ecology and behavior, and become participants in management. They must be able to distinguish fawns, does, yearling bucks, intermediate-aged bucks (2.5 and 3.5 years old), and mature bucks (4.5 years and older). Making these distinctions requires knowledge of body size, shape, behavior, and other features related to sex and age. Again, education is the key to success.
Knowledge leads to increased respect for the quarry, and often a greater focus on the experience rather than the number or size of animals harvested. Conversations with other hunters become focused on what is observed and left rather than what is taken. Landowners and clubs can become better neighbors as they unite to have areas large enough for QDM. In brief, QDM fosters a sense of pride in the deer herd and nature as a whole.

Here we go again. I woke up this morning and it was snowing. I knew it was coming but, I went to bed thinking that I was going to wake up and see that it was a dream. Not to be I guess and after it is New England and it’s only February 22nd. Here is what the local weather station is saying.

I live in the northeast corner right on the line of either 5″- 8″ or 7″-10″ so I will be shoveling for the rest of the day no matter how you look at it. I have to do my own place and I do the neighbors driveway and walkway for her. Later this afternoon I have to go to work, where I maintain eight full size houses that the university uses as offices. So I will be shoveling there as well. Even though the University is closed due to the weather, I am considered an essential employee so I have to go in no matter what. The nice thing about that though is because the university is closed and I have to go in I get an extra full day on the books that I can use at anytime (I love it) so I don’t mind.

Here is a couple of early pictures from my the inside of my warm house.