12 Charged with Poaching In Kansas

Twelve people have been charged in U.S. District Court in Wichita with poaching deer in Kansas, the U.S. attorney's office said Thursday. The 12, at least eight of whom reside in Texas, were charged with committing the misdemeanor offenses in 2006, 2007 and 2008.

They are among 60 people who could be charged with breaking state and federal hunting laws while at Camp Lone Star in Comanche County.

Camp Lone Star owner James Butler Jr. and his

brother, guide Marlin Butler, were sentenced in June for their part in running operations at the camp.

James Butler was sentenced to 41 months in jail and fined $50,000 for conspiracy and illegally trafficking game across state lines.

Marlin Butler was sentenced to 27 months in jail and ordered to pay $20,000. Both men are appealing their sentences.

Investigations said Camp Lone Star clients illegally shot deer after dark with the aid of lights and night-vision equipment, shot them with rifles during the archery season, and placed illegal permits on the deer.

More than 100 mounted deer or antlers have been

confiscated from Camp Lone Star personnel or clients. Camp clients paid between $2,500 and $5,500 to hunt with the Butlers.

Among those charged were Charles B. Sapp, 32, Center, Texas; Douglas Baker, 52, Palestine, Texas; Zach Belrose, 21, Center, Texas; Kyle Bush, 39, Timpson, Texas; James Donnan, 57, Center, Texas; James Jacobs, 41, Shelbyville, Texas; Michael Scarber, 31, Center, Texas; and Arthur Clemons, 67, Cushing, Texas;

Also charged were Jerry Deville, 39, Denham Springs, La.; Michael Herne, 37, Monroe, La.; Harry Wells, 53, Denham Springs, La.; and Bazil Moore, whose age and hometown were unavailable.

 

BY HURST LAVIANA

Bow hunting fanatics all over Georgia eagerly await the onset of deer season and it's only a month away!

The official opening date is Sept. 10th statewide and Georgia's white-tailed deer population is in good shape as reflected by a generous bag limit. Once again, hunters may take 12 per season, no more than two of which may be antlered. The rules also require that one of those antlered deer must have at least four points, one inch or longer on one side.
Archery hunting veterans are already prepared, but here are some things that might help newcomers get jump started toward successful hunts this fall.
In picking out a stand, be sure of a few things.
One of the most important considerations is being able to get to your spot without spooking your quarry. The noises you make and the human scent you inevitably spread are the two primary culprits here.
To help with the noise factor, you need to be able to access your stand as quietly as possible. Become familiar with how to get there in the dark and, if there is heavy brush along the way, cut it down ahead of time.
Even more important is the scent factor. No matter how much scent blocker you use, the best way to ensure that your smell doesn't reach deer in the area is to stay downwind from where you expect the deer to appear.
The best approach here is to know where prevailing winds are most likely to come from and to have at least two stands available to avoid that problem.
Another helpful hint is to have good clear shooting lanes, because limbs and leaves will alter your shot just enough to cause a miss.
This should have already been done, but if not, do it now. The less you stomp around your hunting area over the next month, the more likely the deer will be close by.
Additionally, it is a good idea to get in your stand and see if you can draw your bow without hitting a tree limb that will make noise and spook your deer before a shot can be taken.
As always, safety is a primary consideration. Check out your safety harness and the condition of the stand thoroughly to make sure that all is well.
Early season hunting always brings with it the problem of biting insects that can make for a miserable day. Rather than insect repellent, which will also repel deer, buy bug-proof suits to keep those critters off your skin. Several brands are lightweight and ventilated to enable you to stay relatively cool and protected.
If you hunt in an area where water is scarce, one of the most consistent spots to situate your stand is near an isolated water source. As an added bonus, there is usually a great deal of vegetation close to these places that is also attractive to your prey.
Obviously you need to do some scouting ahead of time to see if the deer are actually using that particular watering hole before going to the trouble of putting in a stand.
Always take note of food sources (or create your own next year) when deciding where to locate your hunting stand.
As with water, easy access to these food sources is one of the most important criteria to use in the selection process. Deer are going to be in areas where food, water and good bedding areas exist within a relatively small area. Honeysuckle bushes, muscadine patches and nut-bearing trees are good examples of delicacies that deer love.
Most good bucks are not killed while wandering around in the middle of a field in broad daylight except during peak times in the rut. With that in mind, think about setting up inside the wooded edges where the bucks will most likely stay until nearly dark.
Anywhere from 30-60 yards inside the tree line is generally considered a good rule of thumb.
Don't go hunting in the early season with your fall or winter hunting clothes. It makes for a miserable trip and your overall alertness will suffer if you are sweating a gallon an hour. Take some water on these steamy trips to the woods and you will be more apt to enjoy your trip.
It's not a bad idea to check on your stand in the days leading up to opening morning. It doesn't take long for a family of wasps to take up residence and blundering into them can ruin the day that you have planned for and looked forward to.

One of the great advantages you have in early season hunts is that the deer are not as wary as they will be

 later in the season. They are going to be in a predictable summer pattern and will probably stay in that routine until cooler weather arrives.

Because of those factors, you have an excellent chance to start using your tags while the gun hunters impatiently wait for October to arrive.

These are just a few basic things to help you get a jump on successful and enjoyable early season archery hunts. Always follow all hunting regulations, think safety first and enjoy your days in the woods.


-Alvan Richardson

Tips for Introducing Your Gun Dog Puppy to Birds

There are, of course, those who would disagree. They want their dog to sit, come to the whistle, whoa, and dance the hootchi kootchie before it ever sets eyes on a real live bird. Most of these folks are in the retriever camp, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my admittedly limited experience with retrievers, it’s that I don’t want to argue with the people who own them.

You own a pointing dog, though, which is presumably why you’re reading this. So why introduce your pup to birds before obedience and yard work? There are two reasons.

The first is that, done properly, it almost always increases prey drive. Second, it will provide you with a training “cushion,” a safe place for your pup to go when he’s tired, frustrated or bored. Birds will put a smile on his little mug and give him something to look forward to after training sessions.

If, like me, you are genetically predisposed to making stupid decisions from time to time, a planted bird or two will ease your dog over hurdles you may have all-too-clumsily put before him. Said another way, exposure to birds early and often will cover your butt. It has covered mine more times than I can count.

There are several ways to do this, and the easiest by far is to plant birds–pigeons, quail, chukars, whatever you’ve got–for him. Of course, the drawback to this method is that few folks have the time, temperament or space to set up a pigeon coop or callback pen. There are, however, a few creative ways around that.Using a small box or cage to confine your training birds ensures they won't flap around and startle a young pup.

It’s entirely possible to buy or build a small cage, say three by three feet, set it up under your porch eave or someplace else protected from the weather, and stock it with two or three pigeons, all you’ll need for the first few weeks of your pup’s exposure to live birds. Since, initially at least, you’ll want to tether or cage your planted birds so they can’t fly away, losing them won’t be a problem. Another way, and a good one, is to join the nearest sporting dog club and attend their weekly or monthly training sessions. They’ll have birds you can buy or rent.

But if neither avenue is open to you, a workable option is happy timing. Happy timing is a term a mentor of mine explained to me long ago, which simply involves taking your pup out for runs in the country. He’ll learn to point or flush whatever birds he finds, as well as grasshoppers, horses, and anything else that catches his fancy, and he’ll learn to hunt too, as the world comes alive through the wonderful nose he’s beginning to discover.

In fact, this is something I recommend to anyone with a puppy, whether or not they have penned birds at their disposal. How often should you do this? You can’t do it too much. Several times a week, minimum, and once a day isn’t pushing it.

The two dogs I have in my kennel this summer are a case in point. Both had some exposure to planted birds when they were little. Annie, a pint-size Brittany, took to pointing pigeons right from the start, at the tender age of 10 or 12 weeks. June, a setter, wasn’t nearly so precocious. Pigeons weren’t something she was particularly interested in, and after briefly nosing the birds I’d planted for her, she’d dash off, ready for some other adventure.

I suggested both owners take their dogs for happy-time runs, letting them find and chase all the trash birds they wanted. Surprisingly–I’m always surprised when people act on my advice–they did.

This spring, a year later, both dogs were back. Both, at around a year of age, had had months of happy-time runs (as well as an occasional planted quail). Annie’s drive to find birds and point them was stronger than ever. And June had made a complete turnaround. Birds were now the center of her existence. Her drive to hunt, in fact, was strong enough that I’ve been able to jump ahead with the next phase of her schooling.

Some pups, like this Brittany, start pointing at a very young age, while others may take several months to develop. Don't be concerned if your pup is one of the late bloomers; they all start pointing eventually.

Like everything else in the dog-training world, there’s a right and a wrong way to expose a puppy to his first birds. My youngest setter, Hanna, got her first planted pigeon at exactly 49 days of age. Since the last thing you want is a flapping bird scaring an impressionable puppy, make sure the bird is secured in a bird sock, or, easier still, take a couple turns of masking tape around its middle to lock its wings and legs in place. Then put the pup on a leash and lead it a few feet downwind of the bird, letting the pup use its nose to discover the bird on its own.

At that point, anything can happen. I’ve seen puppies pounce on the bird, grab a wingtip, and race around the yard, towing the bird with it. I’ve also seen them sniff it for a moment or two, then ignore it. And I’ve seen them take a step or two back, startled, and avoid any further contact. The thing to remember is that while scenario one is ideal, scenarios two and three are common and in no way indicative that your pup isn’t “birdy.”

However your pup reacts, proceed with caution. New research (I’ve been told) indicates that puppies are highly impressionable from eight weeks to 10 weeks of age, and at least one reputable trainer I know no longer introduces his pups to birds during those weeks. I haven’t had a problem so far, but waiting until the dog is 11 or 12 weeks old, or even older if you want to be absolutely safe, is fine.

In any event, once your pup is comfortable with a trussed pigeon, introduce him to a bird that has one wing free, then both, and so on. More often than not, that flapping wing will make a birdy puppy even birdier, and ignite the sleeping passion in a slow developer. But if not, if that slow developer shows signs of intimidation, back off and revert to a completely trussed bird. Never rush things.

What you eventually want, and what you should look for, is a puppy that is actually hunting–scouring the grass for scent, using his nose and his eyes to find the bird he knows is there. When he does that, if only for a few seconds at a stretch, he’s arrived. You could, if you wanted to, take him off birds at this stage, but I never do. It’s just too much fun watching them develop.

Like any other training technique, expect screw-ups. If your pup is intimidated by the bird, back off, give him a day or two to rest, and try again. If he’s still scared, give him a few weeks to mature, but keep up the happy-time runs. And if your puppy grabs the bird and tries to chew it? Won’t that create hardmouth or turn him into a flusher? Nope. I’ve yet to train a young dog that didn’t trap or grab a planted bird sooner or later, and not a single one has ever failed to develop its pointing abilities.

If your pup grabs a pigeon, take the bird away forcibly but gently, and don’t reprimand him! Then, plant future birds in a bird box. You can easily make one yourself, or buy one of the heavy wire trap baskets that serve the same purpose. Much later you can plant birds in actual traps, the type that spring a planted pigeon or quail into the air. But don’t use these on a very young dog–the noise may scare them.

Finally, the big question: what if your puppy won’t point? Chill, dude. It’s been my experience that most puppies won’t point on initial bird contact. As long as your pup is showing interest in the bird you’re ahead of the game. Pointing will come later, and almost always does.

How late? Beats me. Some puppies, like Annie, point birds at seven weeks; other dogs, like my point-crazed setter Scarlet, don’t start pointing until seven months. As long as the interest is there, the pointing will follow.

Getting your puppy into birds on a regular basis takes effort, but of all the stages of dog training, this is the one I enjoy most. Missing a puppy’s first point is like missing your kid’s first football game. True, you’ll both get along without having had the experience. But do you really want to?

-Dave Carty

1st Nevada Bear Hunt in 80 Years Announced

Bear-Hunting.Org is getting ready to celebrate the first Nevada bear hunt in over 80 years. Hunters in the state of Nevada on August 20th 2011 will be able to get a chance to draw a tag and bag a black bear. This is an excellent way for Nevada’s Department of Wildlife to help control the ever growing black bear population in their state; while at the same time allows hunters to experience a recreation big game hunt. There is a small collation attempting to prevent the bear hunt, but as of right now it’s expected to go as planned.

The season will start officially on August 20th 2011 and run until December 31st 2011. There will be a total of 45 tags assigned to hunters. However, only 20 black bears can actually be harvested; six females maximum. If the 20 bear limit is hit before December 31st 2011 than the season will be officially over. Don’t forget to check with Nevada’s Department of Wildlife to verify exactly what you need to legally hunt black bears in their state.

Some regulations set by Nevada’s Department of Wildlife specific to the bear hunt that you need to know; it will be unlawful to kill a sow (female black bear) that has cubs. It’s unlawful to kill a black bear cub (less than one year old or fewer than 50 pounds). Bear bait stations are strictly prohibited and may not be used at all. Make sure to check with the Nevada Department of Wildlife for any other rules or regulations you may need to follow.

If you’re going to experience a bear hunt in Nevada or any other state we recommend you visit the Bear-Hunting.Org website, which is dedicated portal for hunters to get educational information on bear hunting. We provide information that both the novice and expert hunter will find useful while helping them have a successful bear hunt.

By admin

Wolf Hunting Licenses Go on Sale Monday in Montana

 

After much debate and multiple trips to the courtroom, Montanans can officially purchase licenses to hunt wolves.

The tags go on sale Monday morning. According to a press release, you can purchase the licenses at any Fish, Wildlife and Parks office or on the department's website.

A license is $19 for Montana residents and $350 for out of state hunters. You also need a 2011 Conservation License which is eight dollars.

Commissioners approved a plan to hunt 220 gray wolves in the Treasure State. The season will begin on September 3.

Big game hunters can purchase surplus licenses for deer, elk and antelope in Region 4 starting Monday as well. Officials recommend buying the surplus licenses online when they go on sale starting at 5:30 am.

-Charlie Keegan

Plan on Year Round Food Plots

Food plots should offer deer nutritious food every month of the year.

Pottstown PA --(Ammoland.com)- “Why is it our farm does not seem to have as many deer especially bucks, on it as our neighbor’s farm?

The only difference in our management style is that our neighbors plant food plots, spring and fall and we plant food plots just in the fall.”

This is one of the questions we get most often from not only Whitetail Unlimited members, but deer hunters in general. Quite frankly, it is one of the easiest deer management questions to answer. It is, in part, about having a dinner plate full, on a year around basis.

Holding deer, specifically bucks, on a year around basis requires a combination of habitat requirements. First is security. There must be areas where the deer feel safe. Bedding areas and escape routes are a must. Then comes water. Deer require surface water to be available all year. Next is diversity. They like diversity so there is a need for openings, dense brush, open woods and corridors offering cover. And last, but by far not least, comes food. Deer require a variety of food including young twigs, buds, and leaves of certain trees and shrubs. They like certain grasses, sedges, legumes, forbs, fruits and nuts. Their consumption of these food plants varies seasonally, based on when they are available. It is here that the food plot plays a role in helping create the ideal year round habitat, or falls short.

As long as there is an ample supply of good food in the food plots and all other factors are met, the deer, bucks and does, are likely to stay in an area. Take away a choice food supply and they may start to wander in search of a new food source.

Plant warm season food plot crops with the same planning and care given cool season crops.

Advantages of Warm Season Food plots
As a wildlife manage, I have always found it easy to get hunting clubs and rural landowners to plant fall food plots as they are considered an attraction to bucks looking for choice food, a place to sit in a blind or stand and see deer. But the spring/summer food plots are not grown for hunting and they are more often than not considered of little value.
We all know that deer need all the help they can get in the way of food for the winter. A food shortage can be life threatening. We do not think, however, of the spring and summer as being a time of need, the woods and fields are green and wildlife appears to be healthy. In high quality habitat during years of ample rainfall and mild summer temperatures, this may be so; but these are becoming rare due, in part, to climate change.
The warm and hot months of summer are a stress period for deer and especially deer found in low quality habitat. Bucks are growing antlers. If food is insufficient, bucks will not develop antlers to their age and genetic potential. Does are pregnant, having fawns and producing milk. Fawns are growing and being weaned. The deer population is at its highest numbers. There is a sudden need for high quality food and lots of it. Now that some of the U.S. is suffering from higher summer temperatures, less rainfall, and drought or near drought conditions, much of the food available to deer is lower in moisture content than usual and often lower in quality. Deer are under stress and in the warmer parts of the country. The hot summer is the period of highest stress.

Planning is a Must
High quality year-round, cool season and warm season, food plots require planning to offer deer a dependable, highly nutritious food source on a 12 month basis. By now, most food plot growers know that in order to get top crop production on any food plot a soil test must be taken and the resulting recommendations for lime and fertilizer followed. Since most food plots are planted in annual crops for the fall and spring, it is necessary for the warm season crops to be listed on the soil test information sheet as well as the cool season crops. Far too many hunters list only the plants they are going to plant in the fall and omit the spring plants. To get healthy summer crops they must have the proper lime and fertilizer as well. This crop rotation information must be a part of the soil test.

Planning the crops to plant in your food plots for both cool and warm seasons requires some thought and advice from an agricultural expert with experience in the area where your land is available. Just selecting a highly advertised plant mix at a hardware store and scattering it in your food plots won’t produce the food source you want to keep the deer on your property happy. Each crop has certain requirements. Some do well on dry well drained sites while others do well in moist bottomland type soil. Some are hardy during low temperatures, while others do well under drought conditions. Some do well in the warm south, while others do best in the cooler north. Where there are high deer populations, you will want to select crops that can tolerate heavy grazing and keep coming back with new growth.

Consider Perennial Crops
There is a growing interest in planting food plots in green browse perennial plants. You plant this crop one time and, with management, it provides a green food plot on an almost year around basis for five years or more. Crops that fit this category include Durana clover, Ladino clover, Alsike clover, red clover and alfalfa. It sounds like a “magic bean” for food plots, but it isn’t quiet that. The advantages are obvious, plant it once in five years and you have wildlife food. However, it requires some effort. Like annual crops, it requires annual fertilization. It must be mowed to keep weed competition down during the warm months. It does not do well in all sites and regions, and, depending upon weather conditions, it can go through periods where there is little plant growth. Companies like Hunter’s Specialties, Pennington Seed and Whitetail Institute, however, continue working to prefect some of these perennials and they look very promising as long term food plot crops for some regions of the country.

Like the annual crops, the perennials must be selected with care, considering the soil and other conditions of your property.

Consult With County Agricultural Agent
One of the best sources of free advice for selecting both cool and warm season annuals and perennials is the local Cooperative Extension Service county agent. Almost every county in the U.S. has one. Ask at any farm supply store and they can tell you how to find him. Spend an hour with the county agent and you can plan your year around food plot crops and get free advice on soil testing, planting recommendations, and planting dates. Follow his recommendations and your food plots will reflect it. This may be the best free advice you will ever get!

Plan Replanting
On large properties with numerous food plots, the planting dates for planting annual crops can be crucial especially during the late summer plantings. All summer, the deer and other wildlife on your property have counted on the food being in the food plots. Then suddenly you come in and plow up the remaining food and replant a fall crop. This shock period can be reduced by planning your food plots so that it takes place gradually over a period of weeks. You want it so when the last food plots are being plowed up, the first ones plowed are coming back in green growth. The same thing needs to apply to the spring plantings. I never want all my food plots to be non-productive at the same time.

Keep Records
Having worked with food plots for over 40 years I have learned that food plots have their own personalities and you can learn how to get the most out of a food plot by keeping annual records on it. Such facts as how much lime and fertilizer is applied and the date applied need to be recorded as well as when it was plowed and when it was planted, what was the crop and seeding rate? How many bucks/does do hunters see on the plot and the dates? Rain dates and amounts are important. Deer and turkey taken on a food plot, their size and date taken is valuable. Reviewing records such as this, especially over a period of years, allows the manager to see what works best on a specific plot and what changes may be necessary to make it more productive. The more available highly nutritious food that is available on a food plot, year around, the more likely it is going to be in holding those bucks you want to see.

Year around food plots alone are not going to guarantee that your property will attract and hold mature bucks, but when it is a part of a totally managed habitat, you put the odds in your favor.

FOOD PLOT CROPS

Annual Cool Season

• Wheat
• Rye
• Corn
• Chicory
• Ryegrass
• Oats
• Crimson Clover

Perennial

• Durana Clover
• Ladino Clover
• Alfalfa
• Alsike Clover
• Red Clover
• Orchard Grass
• Redland Ii Clover

Annual Warm Season

• Cowpeas
• Soybeans
• Sunflower
• American Jointvetch
• Alyceclover
• Buckwheat
• Lablab

By J. Wayne Fears

Hunting along the Rocky Mountain Front proves recession-proof

The Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front said that based on economic indicators from recent Fish, Wildlife & Parks studies of hunting's impact, the Front needs further legislative protection.

Five Montana sportsmen said in a teleconference call Tuesday that the hunting industry is a rare economic bright spot in the current recession, and called the Front a poster child of this sustainable economic engine.

"The remarkable thing we are seeing here is stability," said Randy Newberg, an accountant and host of the hunting television series "On Your Own Adventures."

"The numbers along the Front show public land hunting has not been as susceptible to the broader economic challenges facing other industries during the recent recession," he said.

The coalition cited five years of hunting data collected by FWP regarding hunting on the Front. The numbers say that during 2006, sportsmen hunting along the Front spent $9.8 million; which grew to $10.4 million in 2008 — in the middle of the recession; and fell slightly in 2010, to $10.1 million.

"Hunting is annually renewable," said Stoney Burke of Choteau. "It is not boom and bust. It is a huge economic stimulus for these little communities along the Front."

FWP uses a formula based on the Consumer Price Index to give what it called a conservative estimate of the strength of the industry based on total hunting days throughout the year. No other expenditure data from other outdoor activities such as hiking, camping, summer outfitting or fishing were included in the analysis.

According to the data, most hunters visit the Front for upland game birds, deer and elk, while a smaller number of sportsmen hunt antelope, big horn sheep, moose and mountain goats in the area.

FWP counted more than 90,000 hunter days on hunting districts along the Front in 2010, and reported that hunters spent more than $4 million hunting upland game birds, and more than $5 million hunting deer and elk.

"That is money that goes to local businesses — bars, restaurants and gas stations," Newberg said. "The majority — 87 percent of those days — are from resident hunters; 54 percent of the revenue is from residents.

"Keeping that intact for hunting and fishing is not just an issue of the personal soul, it makes financial sense, too," he said. "We call it the second harvest season. In the fall, hunters are spending a lot of money."

"This recession did have an impact on the Rocky Mountain Front, but the bright spot is that the hunting economy was largely unaffected, and that makes hunting that much more important to communities on the Front," said Ryan Busse, a hunter and wildlife advocate.

The proposed Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act would add 70,000 acres to the Bob Marshall and Scapegoat wilderness areas, and would create a "conservation management area," which Montana Wildlife Federation spokesman Ben Lamb referred to as a "snapshot in time — a management regime that respects all uses."

He said the declaration would keep motorized trails going, keep quiet trails intact, and continue to allow "post and pole use. You can still use a chain saw on the CMA," Lamb said. "It also keeps the outfitters in business. The (U.S.) Forest Service, in fact, would increase the number of outfitter-use days."

The Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act also includes a weed component, which would coordinate weed control efforts along the Front.

"The aim is to codify management practices in existence now, and ensure that the Front as we know it now — both private and public management practices — are there for generations," Busse said.

The Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act is currently just a proposal, Busse said.

"We hope our congressional delegation will pick it up and introduce it, but we don't have a firm commitment from anyone," he added.

"For this to be a homegrown proposal, as it is, you have to realize we are looking for middle ground," Brady area farmer and conservationist Joe Perry said. "There are some people who would have preferred this entire area all be wilderness, and some would prefer not another acre."

Burke compared preservation of the Rocky Mountain Front with preservation of Yellowstone and Glacier national parks.

"If you put it to public vote, people would say, 'thank God we didn't tear this up and ruin the habitat and ruin the vistas," he said.

-MICHAEL BABCOCK