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For anyone that is interested in hunting and when the various application deadlines are, pick up one of those ND outdoors calendars.  They have some cool wildlife pix, and they have the various deadlines marked on the calendars.  They also have season opening dates as well as sunrise and set times for everyday.  You can grab them for 3 bucks from Scheels or they come as the December issue of ND outdoors, if you have a subscription to that magazine.

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Fairfax, Va. – After months of negotiations, the National Rifle Association and Safari Club International are proud to announce a positive change in the antler and animal horn policy for United Airlines.

“We’d like to thank United for their attention to this matter and the commitment they’ve shown to their customers who use the airline when traveling to hunting excursions,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director for NRA-ILA. “For more than a year, hunters were prohibited from transporting many types of trophies in checked baggage on United Airlines flights, but this move will remove that ban.”

United Airlines published new packaging and cleaning requirements for antlers and animal horns to ensure their safe, clean transport. Also, the new language provides information on the size of antlers and animal horns United can accept based on the type of aircraft being flown and the special handling fee.

“Transporting antlers and animal horns in a safe, efficient manner is the goal of NRA, SCI and United Airlines,” concluded Cox. “Resolving this issue and providing a benefit to traveling hunters is a great victory for all parties involved.”

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It is clear from this article that the guy who bagged this buck was a complete dipshit.  It takes a special kind of moron to get caught poaching like this.  I could see shooting after hours and a game warden driving up to where s/he heard the shot…not a whole lot you can do about that (other than not do it I suppose), but to knock down a big one and try to claim the record…after you cheated?  What the hell kind of person does that?  How can a record you had to cheat to win mean anything to you?  I can understand how a professional athlete cheats to hit certain marks, there is a huge financial reward…but a regular guy with a deer?  There is probably some money to be made on trade marks and replication mounts…but it can’t be that much

If you are going to take a couple extra during season and you are going to completely use all the meat from the animal, I see absolutely nothing wrong with that at all.  I don’t see why I need to be “taxed” to shoot an animal that is roaming free on private land.  The government is not providing a value added service with their attempts to manage the game, there is no reason they should profit off of something they really don’t do anything with.  For the entire season, I don’t believe there was a game warden around the area I hunt.  In the past 20 years, I’ve only seen a game warden in that area 1 time.

People need to use their head when they are poaching.  First and foremost, if you shoot it out side of the rules…you’ve cheated.  Don’t be submitting it to the record books, if you want to get it mounted for your own viewing…fine.  Don’t be dumb enough to think you can outsmart the scientists, you can’t.  From the trama inflicted to the hide these very smart people can figure out what type of weapon the animal was shot with.  They will be able to ballpark age the animal back to the point it died.  Just don’t try it.  Shooting for bragging rights makes you a piss poor fuckin hunter in the first place…but that’s a topic for another time.

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A couple of buddies came up for season as well.  It’s nice to have other people around and shoot the shit a bit the last of them took off Thursday afternoon.  I like having the bush all to myself for a couple of days.  I don’t’ have to think about putting someone in a specific tree stand or work on their animals…again, I get to focus on myself.  A bit selfish, but I think I’m allowed once in awhile.

I was wondering through the brush a couple of days after season began and I came upon a scrape and a few rubs.  I figured there would be a buck back to check them out sooner or later, and to make sure I had everything laid out just the way I wanted I sprayed some “doe in heat piss” on my shoes and walked wide around the slough and into my hiding spot.  This should keep the buck’s head down on the trail as well as bring him in from a place where I would get a good shot.  I sat there for 3 hours on Saturday night and didn’t see anything.  The next night, I didn’t lay down new piss…I just went to my hiding spot…and waited.

Just as I’m getting ready to gather up my shit and go, I see this gray mass coming down the hill…right down the trail I laid down…head down.  I wasn’t able to see horns, but it had to be a buck from the body size and the path it was following (one I’d laid down the previous night).  He lifted his head for an instant and sure enough, it was a buck…from what I could see a pretty decent one.  He disappeared around a pile of brush and panic set in.  I had tried to get my gun up but couldn’t find shit in my scope.  I’ve got a Leopold scope on that .270 but it is old and very bad in low light.  I took the time he provided out of sight to try and clean the scope, threw it to my shoulder and took another look…there he came around the brush, head down and coming right towards me.  I gave him a few more steps, aimed and took my shot.  It was about 75 yards and I’m not sure I was even in the same zip code as him…he lifted his head up but didn’t move…it was clear he could see I was “something” but he wasn’t sure what and if he should run from it….a second shot!  By this time, I had another round in the chamber and the cross hairs on him.  When he lifted his head I got a slightly better look at the horns, they looked fairly good but I didn’t think much of it…BLAMO!  I fucking missed again!

The son of a bitch ran about 3/4 of the way across the slough, stopped and looked at me.  By the time he stopped I had come around the brush I was hiding behind, knelt and aimed for another shot.  When he turned, broad side in the better light I got a much better look at the rack.  This animal was quite possibly the biggest buck I have ever seen in person.  I’ve seen bigger in pictures, I’ve seen bigger mounted, but no one I’ve hunted with has got something this god damn big.  His horns are wide and tall…tall….jesus christ they are tall.  I didn’t attempt to count points, I never do…what’s it matter?  I knew this fucker was big.  It was bout 150 yards, broad side, me kneeling…the rapport of the rifle echoed through the woods…the echo of me yelling “fuck” echoed even louder.

I couldn’t believe I had missed…not once, but 3 times.  I’m not a sharp shooter by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m not bad either.  I checked where I had shot, in both places and there was no sign of blood…I looked a bit back in the brush, no sign of blood there either.  I can’t believe I missed such an easy set of shots.  I’ve replayed it over and over again in my head, had I been a bit more patient…I could have waited for an even closer shot on his approach.  I’ve been back to that place each night for the past week and seen nothing to him.

This time of year, you can’t pattern a buck too much.  It’s the breeding season and they are chasing does around without any thought for their own well being.  So taken by lust they chase tail…much like a man in his early 20′s.  A few days later I got a shot at another much smaller buck, 200 yards or so…one shot one kill.  How the hell could I hit that one without issues but miss the monster?  Clearly it wasn’t the guns fault, it was totally a mental fuck up on my part.  All the more disappointing.

A few more days, sitting hours upon hours with nothing showing up at all.  I don’t know if I stunk or what the deal was.  After seeing that monster I was chained to that god damn slough hole…which really sucked.  Next spring/summer I’m going to build a stand of some sort over that sucker.

Finally, Thursday morning I saw a small buck run across a slough hole as I was driving by, I got out of the truck, knelt down and took aim…the buck stopped in the trees to see what was going on.  The young deer do this quite a bit, they think they are hidden.  Also, a buck with a doe on his mind with do some screwy stuff as well…stop right out in the open and look at you, or just not move at all.  The urge to mate must be crazy strong.  I fired a shot and he took off…I was sure I missed.  A buddy and I went over to take a look and here was a blood trail about a foot wide.  I swear I was able to smell him before we saw blood…it could have just as easily been something on my buddy or myself that I picked up…but who knows.  He managed to make it about 100 yards or so up the hill before he fell over dead.  It was a little 4×4 basket rack, with a decent body.

Looking at where the bullet hit as opposed to where I aimed, I was a bit troubled.  I hit about 6 inches lower than I was aiming.  It’s possible I moved slightly before I shot, but I was braced on my own knee (thanks to “the regimen” I was able to aim like that easily).  I chalked it up to a bad shot and moved on.

I didn’t see anything again till Saturday after Sam came up.  We drove into a semi secluded slough and here was a small buck.  I probably wouldn’t have shot him, but Sam likes to see deer killed.  He was facing away from me, with his head folded over his back to look at me.  I braced against the door jam of the pickup and went for a head shot…blamo down he went.  I drove up to him and the bullet again was about 6 inches low…it broke his back instead of hitting him in the head.  I popped him with the .45 and called it good.

After that shot, it was clear what the problem with the gun is…I’m shooting 150grain bullets and the kid sighted it in with 130′s.  It doesn’t sound like much of a difference, but it’s huge when your talking about head shot accuracy.  When I started shooting the rifle, there was no need to zero it…it’s kc’s gun…if you knew the kid you would understand how much work he put in to making sure there was no doubt about the sighting.  When I target shoot, it’s easy to remember to aim slightly high at a given distance, but over the same distance in the field…I was forgetting to hold high.  Next year I’ll just use 130′s…should solve the problem.

That last Saturday, sam and I did some driving around on the 4-wheeler.  I went to parts of our land I hadn’t been on for years.  I also found a stand I knew nothing about as well.  It’s built from 2×4′s and 6′s…very solid, and it has a boat seat.  Right away I thought that was pretty ridiculous…but after thinking about it (as I was staring up) and realizing the boat seat will swivel…the genius of the design was clear.  I wish I’d found this thing days earlier, there were all sorts of fresh scrapes and a deer highway running right by it….I think it could have been a pretty hot spot.  Another stand the kid put up.  Next year I guess.

Deer season is the hardest time of year for the family.  We never put much effort into getting together other times of the year, and don’t really have too much to talk to each other about…but hunting has always been something we connected about.  We were all interested in it, are all fair at it…and put some effort into it.  Now, without the kid around and with the old man all but unable to hunt, it’s made me realize just how much is truly gone from my life.  It brings me a profound sense of loneliness and solitude.  I couldn’t imagine life without it though.  I’m convinced it’s why the kid died when he did.  I think  there is some “fight” (for lack of a better word) in people that can help keep thing going through difficult illnesses.  Certainly there comes a point where all the “fight” in the world isn’t going to help you…but between the onset and that ending, I think some people have a greater will to live than others.  I think the realization that he was going to die, and his inability to take part in deer season is what made him give up when he did.  He died on a Thursday, the day before opener…with that boy I just can’t buy that it’s a coincidence.

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Most high power rifles hold 4 rounds plus one in the chamber.  I am pretty sure there is a restriction on how many rounds the rifle is allowed to hold while hunting, but a quick look didn’t yield any results.  I used to keep extra rounds (3 or 4) in my pocket, but they can jingle while your walking and be slightly uncomfortable while you are sitting, beyond that they add to the bulk you carry around with you.  Enter the bullet stretchy.  This handy cheap piece of junk keeps your bullets secure, quiet and accessible.  I have 4 of these, one for each of the .270, .30-06, .30-30, and 12 gauge.

An over looked piece of equipment that is cheap and fills a need, why the hell couldn’t I think of that?

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I’m not seeing any information readily available for the 12 year old license pertaining to birth date.  In the past, for a regular rifle license you had to be 14 before opening day, also for a youth license you had to be 14 before opening day of that season.  It’s been changed now so you have to be 14 before opening day of the regular season (Nov X) to qualify for a youth license (Sept 1X).  Sam will now be able to qualify for a youth license.  Going by previous rules, she wouldn’t qualify for a youth license at 12, but she would at 13.  Depending on when the cut off date is…now she might at 12.  It really wouldn’t have been that difficult to make things clear.

The youth license is a really good idea IMO.  There are less people “in the field” at that time, so it’s easier to work with them and teach them proper safety and it also gives you a chance to actually see something that isn’t spooked out of it’s mind by all the people running around.  It does make it a little tougher to deal with the animal after the kill…if it’s not cold you can’t just hang it for a couple of days, you’d have to quarter it and toss it in the freezer ASAP.  The license being statewide is also pretty handy for us.  It’s been my experience that landowners are fine with letting people on to shoot a doe.  If a guy arranged things ahead of time, it should be fairly easy to find something for the kid(s) to shoot at.

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Back in the day, you used to get this yellow sheet of paper that you would put different stamps on.  Each of these stamps had some very nice art work that depicted the type of game each stamp was for.  When the “sportsman’s” license came out, this started the elimination of those pictures.  Last year, I went in to the sportsman’s warehouse to get a license and they just jacked in to the game and fish website and printed out the same thing I could have from the comfort of my home in underwear.  So f’ ‘em.

If you want people in your store…make it worth while to come in.

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DICKINSON, N.D. – The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has gone completely digital when it comes to out-of-state small game licenses this year. Venders will no longer offer the old paper method of licensing for nonresident hunters.

With pheasant season beginning next weekend and the youth pheasant season already under way, some are worried about the impact the change may have on their businesses.

“I’m kind of thinking our traffic is going to be way down this year,” said Greg Knutson, owner of Andrus Outdoors in Dickinson.

Knutson said the ability to sell the licenses draws a lot of business.

“It’s not going to be good for local businesses,” he said. “Before people would come in here, or any store, and get their licenses locally and then they would buy a box of shells or a vest, or maybe even sometimes a shotgun. But this year, I don’t see that happening. I’m really not happy about the whole thing.”

Paul Schadewald, chief of the administrative services division for NDGF, said the switch had a lot to do with convenience.

“With the online system, you don’t have licenses that you have to inventory,” Schadewald said. “That’s all something that we don’t have to handle anymore.”

He said the option of online licensing has been available for about 10 years, and water foul licenses underwent the same transition about four years ago. Most hunters were already getting their licenses online, so NDGF decided it was time to make the switch, Schadewald said.

“Last year we did just over 80 percent online,” he said.

Schadewald said he knows some businesses are upset about the change, but vendors who can access the Internet at their business can still provide licenses to customers.

Schadewald said hunters who don’t have access to the Internet can also use a telephone to purchase a hunting license.

“There is a service charge on the telephone, but it is there if they do have problems finding a license,” Schadewald said. “We call them instant licenses, in that as soon as they hang up, they’re able to go hunting. They’re considered to be licensed.”

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The North Dakota health and agriculture departments released Thursday the results of a study designed to determine whether processing guidance had any impact on the amount of lead found in ground venison. The study found that 5.94 percent of ground venison samples collected from meat processors contained lead fragments.

“Right now we don’t have any future studies planned, because we are finding some lead in the processed meat. That’s what we expect to find, and so, our recommendations aren’t going to change,” said Sandi Washek, lead-based paint coordinator for the department of health.

The health department continues to recommend that pregnant women and children younger than 6 should not eat any venison harvested with lead bullets, and that older children and adults should take steps to minimize the possibility of exposure to lead. Older children and adults should use their judgment about consuming game that was shot with lead-based ammunition.

In the recent study, department of agriculture field inspectors collected a total of 404 ground venison samples from 54 meat processing plants around the state from November 2008 through February 2009.

Of the 404 samples, X-rays showed foreign material in 49. Those 49 samples, along with two blank samples, were sent to a laboratory in Iowa to be analyzed for the presence of lead. Of the 51 samples analyzed, 24 showed measurable amounts of lead.

Concerns began about lead fragments in venison harvested with lead bullets arose when a small but valid investigation identified lead particles in more than 50 percent of packages. That study cannot be compared to the current study, because different sampling methods were used and there was a different sampling size of the product collected.

“In the previous study, the meat was collected by an individual who had picked it up from three different cities’ food pantries. In the second study, we wanted to know what was out there statewide,” Washek said.

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I have been contemplating getting a few of the accessories I had been missing or had broken for the muzzle loader.  I needed to make sure it was still accurate and useful for hunting before I bought those items.  SO off to the gun range I go…

I get there and shove a charge down the barrel, put the cap on and throw it to my shoulder….pop…no bang.  Shit!  I pull the nipple off and see that it is very corroded.  I replace it with a new one…shoulder the weapon..pop…BANG!  Life!  I shove another round down the barrel and it worked fine.  A few more rounds and she seems pretty accurate.  I guess it will work for hunting…

When I get home I have to deal with the real pain in the ass of shooting this god damn thing…the need for an immediate cleaning.  That is by far the biggest pain and deterrent from shooting these fawkers.  It seems a little strange, but the first step in cleaning them is to run hot soapy water up and down the barrel.  Afterwards, it needs to dry good then gets oiled up.  It’s such a process…

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