Everbody knows about Heston's death this week. Here is just 1 of his great quotes.
In a 1997 speech, he deplored a culture war he said was being conducted by a generation of media, educators, entertainers, and politicians against:
"...the God fearing, law-abiding, Caucasian, middle- class Protestant-or even worse, evangelical Christian, Midwestern or Southern- or even worse, rural, apparently straight-or even worse, admitted heterosexuals, gun-owning-or even worse, NRA-card-carrying, average working stiff-or even worse, male working stiff-because, not only don’t you count, you are a down-right obstacle to social progress. Your voice deserves a lower decibel level, your opinion is less enlightened, your media access is insignificant, and frankly, mister, you need to wake up, wise up, and learn a little something from your new-America and until you do, would you mind shutting up?"
[...]
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23479970/from/ET/wid/18298287/?GT1=45002
READ THIS LINK. I AM CERTAIN THAT THERE WILL BE A PIG SEASON SHORTLY, IN OUR STATE, IF MORE FARMERS TRY THIS. OH WELL. THEY ARE FOOLISH TO THINK THAT THIS WILL NOT TURN INTO AN ECOLOGICAL DISASTER. YOU WON'T HERE ABOUT ANY PIGS GETTING AWAY, THERE WILL JUST BE A PIC OF A 250LB BOAR IN THE DETROIT NEWS ABOUT 3 OR 4 YEARS FROM NOW!!
Political Hay
Bang Bang Kiss Kiss
By Robert VerBruggen
Published 12/31/2007 12:08:24 AM
When Americans nominate their presidential candidates next year, the Second Amendment won't be the first thing on their minds. The issue didn't even appear in a recent CNN poll that found that the economy, Iraq, health care, immigration, and terrorism are the nation's biggest concerns.
But in a country where 36 percent of Democrats and 48 percent of Republicans have firearms in their homes, the issue is still a locked and loaded one for candidates of both parties.
Republican presidential hopefuls, 
as expected, worked hard to win over the members of the National Rifle Association at the organization's convention in September. But even otherwise gun-shy Democrats are expressing Strange New Respect for gun owners.
Recently, Senator Barack Obama told a Harlan, Iowa, crowd that his wife Michelle had been traveling "up...in eastern Iowa...and she said 'Boy, it's really pretty up here,' but she said, 'But you know, I can see why if I was living out here, I'd want a gun. Because, you know, 9-1-1 is going to take some time before somebody responds.'"
So now we know that Obama's wife has some vaguely pro-Second Amendment views. Her husband, and many other presidential aspirants, are proving harder to get a bead on. Before they cast ballots for president, there are two Big Questions that informed gun owners want answered. They are:
1. Will candidate X veto anti-gun legislation? And by "anti-gun legislation" we mean assault weapon bans; gun registration; and attempts to repeal the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (Lawful Commerce Act hereafter), which prohibits lawsuits against firearms manufacturers when criminals use their products.
2. Will he appoint judges who will strike down gun-control laws? This is especially important because the Supreme Court will rule on the constitutionality of D.C.'s handgun ban next summer. A little judicial-branch muscle in the aftermath of a pro-gun ruling could set the tone for the next several decades, at least.
TO TAKE THE DEMOCRATS first, it's worth mentioning that not one official website of the three frontrunners prominently features the candidate's stance on the right to keep and bear arms.
However, the issue isn't totally ignored. John Edwards actually makes some pro-gun statements under his plan for "Restoring Hope to Rural America." He supports gun rights in a limited fashion, but usually links them to hunting rather than self-defense. Edwards also opposed the Lawful Commerce Act -- what, you thought a former trial lawyer would vote to limit legal liabilities? -- and supports assault weapon bans.
The other leading Democrats candidates have clearer positions that they're currently trying very hard to ignore. Clinton has a long-established anti-gun record. While in the Illinois legislature, Obama voted against giving leniency to people caught defending their homes with banned handguns.
Edwards's stance could peel off rural voters while ceding some big-city liberal votes to Clinton and Obama in the primaries. This is part of his overall strategy, including his faux working-class image and an emphasis on rural poverty.
It could work. Rural-dwellers made up a quarter of 2004 presidential election voters, and they're under-served by the other two candidates. Many big-city heavy states (California, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois) won't hold their primaries until February 5, giving Edwards time to build momentum in smaller states.
Edwards's moderate pro-gun position could help even more come general election time. Republicans only narrowly won rural areas in the 2006 midterms and aren't making much progress. In a general election, increased rural support won't mean decreased urban support, because city liberals will still vote Democrat.
THERE ISN'T A LARGE constituency in the Republican Party for gun control. Half of Republicans have firearms in their homes and few want to go grab guns from others. As such, Republican contenders play down any gun-grabbing tendencies they might have at least until the general election, and preferably until after they've left the White House and started writing their memoirs.
Those Republicans who aren't gung-ho about the Second Amendment walk a tightrope. They don't want to lose gun owners' support by not coming far enough in their direction, but the candidates are also wary of moving too far away from their former position, too fast. The shift can attract the "flip-flopper" label, which endangers their standing with both pro- and anti-gun voters.
Republican voters are a little more demanding than Democrats on this issue. They worry not only about stated positions but also about trustworthiness. Fred Thompson, Mike Huckabee and John McCain have basically strong, consistent records. Though McCain supports some control measures, he's done so pretty regularly. Rudy Giuliani and Mitt "I shot me some varmints" Romney, on the other hand, are coming off stints as Northeastern RINOs. They're praying to a benevolent Judeo-Christian Deity that voters won't hold their records against them.
Giuliani ran a city with a handgun permit system that bordered on a ban, and even today professes a sort-of federalist, ruralist interpretation of the Second Amendment. He's said, "maybe you have one solution [in a big city] and in another place, more rural, more suburban, other issues, you have a different set of rules," which would put him in roughly the same category as John Edwards and Michelle Obama. He has claimed to think D.C.'s outright ban is unconstitutional, but he's never bothered to explain why it's unconstitutional while the law he enforced is A-OK. Also, as mayor he sued the gun industry for legally distributing its products to government-licensed dealers.
As an olive branch to conservatives, Giuliani has promised to appoint "strict-constructionist" judges and stressed his respect for federalism. Conservatives have been skeptical on both fronts, reacting cooly to his NRA address and wincing at the notion that a fundamental constitutional right should depend on regional politics or population density.
As Massachusetts governor, Romney defended the state's "tough gun laws." He waited for his presidential campaign to join the NRA and discover that the Second Amendment protects an individual right. He claims the only gun law he would sign is an assault-weapon ban, and like Giuliani he professes strict-constructionism.
If Giuliani or Romney manages to escape hostile fire in the primaries, the nominee's positions might prove attractive to some moderates. But he would have a much harder time than any of the basically pro-gun candidates in bringing home the normal pro-gun vote, if the Supreme Court strikes D.C.'s gun ban down, or harnessing the anger of tens of millions of Americans, if the Supremes narrowly decide to ignore the clear meaning of the Second Amendment.
THE GREAT WILD CARD in all this is the National Rifle Association. The Washington Times recently reported that the organization was considering breaking with tradition by making a primary-election endorsement. Head lobbyist Chris Cox cited the "front-loading" of the process -- if neither party picks a true Second Amendment defender, there'll be no one worthy of a general-election NRA endorsement. The organization doesn't want to sit out the way it did in 1992 and 1996.
Even the NRA's fiercest critics have to concede that its efforts -- from grassroots activism to Capitol Hill lobbying -- bring results. A recent Independence Institute study found that, in any election for a seat in the House of Representatives, an endorsement can increase a candidate's share of the vote by 3 to 5 percent per 10,000 NRA members in that district.
If Giuliani and Romney's gun records set them back a bit now, an NRA intervention could tip the balance in many close primary elections, especially if an announcement were made between Iowa and New Hampshire...
I bought a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it with seed. What a beauty of a bird feeder it is as I filled it lovingly with seed. Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food.
But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table, and next to the barbecue.
Then came the poop. It was everywhere: on the patio tile, the chairs, the table...everywhere!
Then some of the birds turned mean. They would dive bomb me and try to peck me even though I had fed them out of my own pocket.
And other birds were boisterous and loud. They sat on the feeder and squawked and screamed at all hours of the day and night and demanded that I fill it when it got low on food.
After a while, I couldn't even sit on my own back porch anymore. So I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. I cleaned up their mess and took down the many nests they had built all over the patio.
Soon, the back yard was like it used to be...quiet, serene and no one demanding their rights to a free meal.
Now let's see..... our government gives out free food, subsidized housing, free medical care, and free education and allows anyone born here to be an automatic citizen.
Then the illegals came by the tens of thousands.
Suddenly our taxes went up to pay for free services; small apartments are housing 5 families; you have to wait 6 hours to be seen by an emergency room doctor; ! your child's 2nd grade class is behind other schools because over half the class doesn't speak English.
Corn Flakes now come in a bilingual box; I have to 'press one' to hear my bank talk to me in English, and people waving flags other than 'Old Glory' are squawking and screaming in the streets, demanding more rights and free liberties.
Just my opinion, but maybe it's time for the government to take down the bird feeder. If you agree, pass it on; if not, continue cleaning up the poop
Get ready for President Hillary. I know most of you guys are thinking no way but I am telling you right now it will happen. If you watch any show on TV the liberal commentators just go on about how great she is. No one asks her any tough questions they just toss her softballs all day. She gets crushed in all of the debates but no on says a thing about it. She tries to act like a moderate but she is left of Stalin. She tries to act like because her husband was president that will make her a good leader. LOL!!! Most people see thru that bull$#!T, but there are a lot of uneducated and ill-informed people out there who don’t. She does very poorly in polling when it comes to married women, highly educated women, people in the armed forces, business leaders, wealthy people, hunters, fishermen, and basically anyone else who has there S#!T together. So that leaves the uneducated, the PETA people, welfare recipients, single young women, the permanently unemployed, vegans, peace nicks, and basically anyone else who has there head in there A$$!! So if you want the country run by people like that make sure you sit on your ass and let it happen. Or you can get out there and vote and make sure that the beast doesn’t make it to the Whitehouse.
P.S. Don’t let your wife, sister, mother or any sissy guys that you know fall for her crap!!!
OLD VERSION*:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house
and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the
summer away.
Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed.
The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
MORAL OF THE STORY : Be responsible for yourself!
************************************************************
*UPDATED VERSION:*
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house
and laying up supplies for the winter.
The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the
summer away.
Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands
to know why the ant should be warm and well fed while others are cold and
starving.
CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering
grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table
filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast.
How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is
allowed to suffer so?
Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries
when they sing, "It's Not Easy Being Green."
Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the
news stations film the group singing, "We shall overcome." Jesse then has
the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.
Nancy Pelosi & John Kerry exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the
ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an
immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.
Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity and Anti-Grasshopper Act
retroactive to the beginning of the summer. The ant is fined for failing to
hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay
his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government.
Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a defamation
suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panel of federal judges
that Bill Clinton appointed from a list of single-parent welfare recipients.
The ant loses the case.
The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the
ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the
ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it. The ant
has disappeared in the snow. The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related
incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders
who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.
MORAL OF THE STORY : Be careful how you vote!!
U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance
801 Kingsmill Parkway, Columbus, OH 43229
Ph. 614/888-4868 • Fax 614/888-0326
Website: www.ussportsmen.org • E-mail: info@ussportsmen.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Beth Ruth (614) 888-4868 ext. 214
May 31, 2007
Microsoft Funds the Anti-Hunting Movement
(Columbus) – Microsoft has rejected a U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance request to abandon its partnership with the nation’s leading anti-hunting organization.
Microsoft, the software giant, will make a $100,000 donation to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and is partnering with the group on a pilot program called the i’m Initiative. Through the new program, whenever a Windows Live Messenger user has a conversation using i’m, Microsoft will give a portion of the program’s advertising revenue to one of ten organizations selected by the user. The HSUS is one of the choices, and there is no limit to the amount of money that can be donated.
The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, the nation’s leading sportsmen’s advocacy organization, has urged Microsoft to end its support of HSUS, but the company refused. According to Microsoft representative Tara Kriese, Microsoft believes the i’m Initiative is “a great way to enable people to help causes that are important to them.”
“Microsoft is going to pour hundreds of thousands of dollars, probably more, into an organization that recently issued a manifesto that targets hunting for extinction,” said USSA President Bud Pidgeon. “If there was ever a time for sportsmen to take grassroots action, this is it.”
Sportsmen should contact Microsoft and demand that its financial support of HSUS be terminated. Contact Bill Gates, Chairman, Microsoft, 1 Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052. Phone: (425) 882-8080. Fax: (425) 936-7329.
The Humane Society of the United States opposes all animal use, including trapping, hunting and fishing. It was a key player in the campaigns to outlaw dove hunting in Michigan, trapping in California, and black bear hunting in Colorado. The organization has created a hit list of hunting traditions that it hopes to dismantle, including bear hunting and hunting with hounds.
“The HSUS already has a multi-million dollar budget that it invests in legislative and ballot campaigns to ban trapping and hunting,” said Pidgeon. “The partnership that it has formed with Microsoft, the maker of the Xbox, will allow the organization to make money hand over fist, and continue to fund efforts to ban outdoor sports.”
Sportsmen can make a difference in an issue like this. Companies such as Iams, General Mills, Accor Hotels, Pet Safe, Sears, and Ace Hardware ended relationships with HSUS after thousands of sportsmen levied strong protest.
In 2002, Jeep raised the ire of sportsmen when it aired a blatantly, anti-hunting commercial called the “Deer Hunter.” After a flood of sportsmen’s contacts, Jeep pulled the commercial in three days.
The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance is a national association of sportsmen and sportsmen’s organization that protects the rights of hunters, anglers and trappers in the courts, legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs. For more information about the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and its work, call (614) 888-4868 or visit its website, www.ussportsmen.org.
United States Senator replied to my letter on State wildlife funding!!! I sure it was just one of her aids but it is nice to see a reply. I would hope more of you would send e-mail and letters to Washington so they don't forget that sportsmen vote!!! Here is a copy of the e mail.
Thank you . . .
. . . for contacting me about your support for funding of the State Wildlife Grant program. I share your views.
This program provides essential federal funding to help states protect wildlife and habitats. It is important to defend vulnerable populations of animals and fish, and I support full funding of this program. As the federal budget process for 2008 unfolds , I will fight to maintain funding for the State Wildlife Grants and other critical environmental protection programs.
Thank you again for contacting me. Please let me know if I can be of assistance to you or your family in the future.
Sincerely,
Debbie Stabenow
United States Senator
I received this letter from the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership please read. This is a chance for your voice to be heard. There are some Senators on our side and we need to give them support when they stand up for us!!!
TRCP asks you to urge your U.S. Senators to support funding for the State Wildlife Grants program by signing the "Dear Colleague" letter
(
http://www.teaming.com/pdf/Senate_SWG_FY2008.pdf) being circulated by Senators Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and John Warner
(R-VA) to members of the Senate requesting $85 million for State Wildlife Grants in FY2008.
This amount would restore funding to the FY2002 level, and is only $15.5 million more than the amount already included the President?s budget request.
We absolutely need your Senators to add their names to the Senate "Dear Colleague" letter by 5:00 PM EST on April 16th by contacting Todd Wooten in Senator Lincoln?s office (4-7499) or Tack Richardson in Senator Warner?s office (4-5494).
You can take action on this alert via the web at:
http://trcp.ga0.org/campaign/swg_senateletter/wbeskxsroxnwedk?
Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.
http://trcp.ga0.org/campaign/swg_senateletter/forward/wbeskxsroxnwedk?
We encourage you to take action by April 16, 2007
Senate Letter Urging Funding for Fish and Wildlife
INSTRUCTIONS TO RESPOND VIA THE WEB:
If you have access to a web browser, you can take action on this alert by going to the following URL:
http://trcp.ga0.org/campaign/swg_senateletter/wbeskxsroxnwedk?
Your letter will be addressed and sent to:
Your Senators
----THIS LETTER WILL BE SENT IN YOUR NAME---- Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],
The State Wildlife Grants Program is our nation's core program to prevent wildlife from becoming endangered. The program supports innovative, on-the-ground conservation projects in every state to conserve and restore wildlife.
I highly value wildlife, and so do many other residents and visitors to our community. Taking action to conserve wildlife also helps prevent conflict over endangered species, and it will ultimately save taxpayer dollars down the road.
Please support inclusion of $85 million for State Wildlife Grants funding in the Fiscal Year 2008 budget.
We ask that you add your name to the growing bipartisan list of signers of the Dear Colleague letter being circulated by Senators Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and John Warne (R-VA).
Contact Todd Wooten in Senator Lincoln's office (4-7499) or Tack Richardson in Senator Warner's office (4-5494) by 5:00 PM EST on April 16 to add your name to the Dear Colleague letter.
----END OF LETTER TO BE SENT----
--------------------------------------------------
If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for TRCP at:
http://trcp.ga0.org/trcp/join.html?r=rp_KUE91WnaCE
The insane presidential election coverage has already started and it got me thinking. I was wondering who actually represents the sportsmen of our country. I know most of you are saying what the hell this guy is thinking, it is the Republicans surely!! Well if you really look at it there are several things that you need to hunt or fish. The obvious thing is game to hunt or fish. Of course every animal needs a place to live, eat, sleep and breed. Here in lies the big problem that sportsman should have with the Republican Party. Many hunters I know are getting disgusted with the bulldoze it and develop it mentality of the Republican Party. They fight any attempt to help the environment. We see a CRP field as good upland bird cover. They see it as a good place to have illegal’s build some low quality homes. Then they plant two twigs and call it a heavily wooded nature lot. Of course the yuppies who buy them tell you they have a bird feeder and they love nature so it all works out in the end. LOL!!! Republicans think that drilling in every good hunting and fishing spot around North America will solve our oil issues. They will say screw the caribou or no one goes way up in the mountains anyway. Remember Republican party line about ten years ago, the who gives a *** about endangered owls and the 100 year old trees campaign? They would really like to get there hands on the gulf which would be great because the Bill fish thrive in oil soaked water when some jack ass runs a ground a 1,000,000,000 gallon oil tanker. Of course by no means do I think that the Democrats have our back on very many issues. Most of the bastards are completely anti-hunting from the start. They would really like to expand your gun rights of course!!! LOL!!!!!
I am sure all of you think that Nancy Pelosi will be on your next deer hunting trip. The other thing is watch for the Dem’s they do this every year they go bird hunting one day and tell everyone that they are a life long hunter. Slick Willie did it so did Kerry. They do that because there adviser tells them they can’t shoot a deer and no one really cares about the birds anyway.
So to review the Republicans screw us on land and environment. Dems screw us on guns and hunting and trapping rights. As you can see we get F@#ked from both directions.
As sportsmen we need leaders who help the environment and habitat of our country. We also need pro-gun guys who set aside land for us to hunt on in the future.
We need to hold our elected representatives responsible for our outdoor needs. Look at there voting record and what they have said in the past. Don’t buy some bull *** line that Billary is a friend of the outdoorsman!!! So get involved and e-mail or call your elected people and let them know how you feel on an outdoor related topic. Trust me guys neither party is worth a *** unless you hold them responsible on the issues that we care about!!!!
One of the other guys on the site posted this in the joke forum, but I feel it did not receive the proper exposure for the top notch educational document that it is.
Humans existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters and gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in winter.
The 2 most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into 2 distinct subgroups: Liberals and Conservatives.
Once beer was discovered it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early human ancestors were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.
Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to B-B-Q at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as "the Conservative movement."
Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q's and doing the sewing, fetching and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement. Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. The rest became known as 'girliemen.'
Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy and group hugs and the concept of democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer that conservatives provided.
Over the years conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. Liberals are symbolized by the jackass.
Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal fare.
Another interesting revolutionary side note about liberals: most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood and group therapists are liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn't "fair" to make the pitcher also bat.
Conservatives drink domestic beer. They eat red meat and still provide for their women. Conservatives are big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen, medical doctors, police officers, corporate executives, Marines, athletes and generally anyone who works productively. Conservatives who own companies hire other conservatives who want to work for a living.
Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to "govern" the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America. They crept in after the Wild West was tame and created a business of trying to get MORE for nothing.
Here ends today's lesson in world history:
I trap for the same reasons that I hunt. I would have to say that trapping is just another form of hunting. You have to learn the animal’s habits and patterns. You have to do your research to learn the woods and rivers that they live in. It makes you feel like part of the woods. After a small time in the woods you feel more alive then ever, you will feel like you actual belong in the woods. Your sight works better; you start to notice every little movement around you. Your hearing is more acute, you will hear the tiniest stick break or leave rustle. Some times you feel so in tuned with your environment that you can even feel when there is game around. It is challenging and it brings out a primal feeling that no other activities can bring out. All hunters and trappers know what I am talking about. Non-hunters laugh at that last comment. I just think they are the ones who don't get the fact that our eyes are mounted to the front or that our teeth are made for tearing and grinding meat. The anti's and the non-hunters will tell you that we can buy our meat, and that a vegetarian diet is better for you. Then they will tell you we can use fake fur for clothing, and there is no need for trapping. The major point that they miss is that I was designed to hunt, trap and kill animals to survive over thousands of years of evolution. I will not just suddenly ignore all that positive mental stimuli or dismiss that internal craving to be a hunter – gather. Notice that hunter comes first!!! I will use my abilities that are engrained in my brain with pride and with no apologies!!!
I have done very little trapping in my life I never really had the desire, but that has really begun to change. I have fished and hunted for just about everthing in the midwest so I could normally get my outdoor fix thru one method or another. Unfortunely the last few years I get the winter blues, not enough ice for fishing to much snow to preadator calling. I know you guys are thinking to much snow? Trust me the snowmobiler's and guy's running coyotes with dogs can pretty much ruin any chance of you calling a yote into range at least during the day. The last few weeks I have really started to get into trapping, it is great!! I tried trapping a few years back it didn't work out very well I had a bad run in with a ditch couger. I know a lot of you guys look down your nose at trappers but think of this for a second. First it requires scouting and reading the lay of the land just like hunting and fishing do. Second what else are you going to do when there is no good ice and it's after the deer season. I mean you can only rabbit hunt so much!! Third and most importantly is it is an exellent management tool. I think a lot of you guys don't realize one of the best ways to improve your turkey, partridge, quail, rabbit, pheasant, and deer populations are to do some trapping. If you think about it there is nothing else to keep fox, coyote, bobcat, weasel and mink numbers under control. Everyone of these species can cause all kinds of havoc if there numbers get out of control. So try and help out the local small game populations and get out and do some trapping. Also it is a hobby that can help pay for itself with your fur sales. I know some of you guys are thinking I don't want to go thru all the time and trouble to skin everthing I trap. The good news is you don't have to skin everthing most fur buyer's with buy your animals whole. There is a lot of info out there so do a little reseach buy some traps. Then get out in the woods and give it a try, you won't be disappointed. Check out the pics of the weasel boxes that I made last weekend in the photo page.
On Sunday morning I was in the stand very early because the temperature was about 45 degrees at 6:00 A.M. I thought the deer would only be moving early if at all. I was very wrong about the last statement. I could here deer moving all around before it got light. At 8:00 a large doe with 2 fawns came in from the southwest. The 2 fawns came within 15 yards on the base of the tree stand. The doe on the other hand would not cross my boot tracks even though they where in 6 inches of muck. I know she could not smell me because I had walked through foot deep water with rubber boots on for the last 100 yards. I also know that she could see my boot tracks in the mud and I have seen deer run off at the sight of human tracks in the snow before. She picked her head up truned around and made one quit grunt and the 2 fawns came running. All 3 deer slowly walked out to the south about 75 yards in the woods and made a giant circle around me. At 8:30 a single large doe came in from the northeast within 30 yards but I decided to let her go hoping for a buck. About an hour after that I could here all kinds of racket to my south so I scanned the woods with my binoculars and I spotted a spike buck waking my way. He walked right in and stood broadside at 20 yards for 10 minutes. I let him go and he worked his way east very slowly for the next 45 minutes. At 10:15 a small doe fawn came in from the north and feed at the base of my tree stand for 10 minutes. She trotted off and headed to the south west. It was a very active morning sit.
In the evening my wife joined me as we sat behind my uncle’s house and got comfortable in our blind at 3:00 P.M. Not 5 minutes later a small button buck came into the food plot 80 yards to the west. He feed for an hour and then walked off to the north. At 4:15 another button buck came into the food plot from the south and began feeding. 15 minutes later a second fawn came out of the woods from the same run. The next half an hour we just watched the 2 fawns feed. At 5:00 2 more button bucks came into the food plot from the north to make it a total of 4 fawns, 3 button bucks and 1 doe. The fawns all milled around in the clover and feed till dark. The bad part about the sit was that mature deer never bothered to show themselves, but it was still nice to see deer during the entire afternoon hunt.
I was only able to hunt the evening because I had been putting off yard work for the last month. My wife decided to go hunting with me on this evening. We had a long and very wet walk to the back half of our property. That being said I was still encouraged about our chances because we had been seeing some nice bucks in the area. I also had made the decision that if I saw a nice doe that I was going to take her. So all I would need to see is a mature deer to make things interesting. We were sitting for a couple of hours without seeing anything until 5:00 rolled around. We started to here some leaves rustle about 50 yards to the southeast and then a large doe appeared. She was trotting and heading our direction very quickly. I got ready to shoot and all of a sudden she stopped at about 15 yards ahead of me in the brush. She had seen me. I had my gun on her, but there was only a small opening to shoot. I paused a second and then fired. The gun went BOOM and sticks went flying everywhere. She turned and ran about 30 yards and then started to slowly walk away in thick cover. Another doe had joined her and they just trotted off like nothing had happened. I thought what the hell just happened? Then my wife quickly pointed out a 4 inch tree branch about 7 to 8 feet in front of me with a large bullet hole in it. DAMN!! I didn’t see it in the scope when I was aiming at her. My mistake but the good thing is that she ran off unharmed. Those were the only deer that we saw all afternoon.