MODERN HUNTER 2016

It’s as American as apple pie and Chevrolet, and one of the things that makes this country so great, and a unique haven for modern outdoorsmen — the abundance of public land available for hunting. Whenever I hear someone say they don’t have a place to hunt, I know I’m looking at a person who hasn’t done his or her homework. For starters, there are 76 areas managed by the National Park Service; 336 national wildlife refuges and 36 wetland management districts managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and over 220 million acres of BLM-managed public lands that allow hunting in accordance with federal and state regulations and laws. Add to that state and county owned and managed land and private land with public access and we’re talking…

Many of us have seen or heard about videos of deer gobbling up baby birds on the ground, but researchers in North Dakota discovered that deer actually target nesting birds for food. The revelation came in 2015, when researchers placed cameras over songbird nests to study nest predation. They expected to see squirrels, feral cats and other mammals raiding nests, but they got an unexpected surprise. While squirrels robbed 13 nests, whitetails were right behind them, consuming live birds in their nests like patrons at a diner. But deer like it better when they don’t have to work for their poultry. In Canada, ornithologists used tight-mesh mist nets to trap birds for inspection and banding. It’s an effective method for capturing birds — that is, unless deer get to them…

On July 9, the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) announced the results of its latest annual lesser prairie chicken breeding population survey, which showed an increase of about 30 percent over the previous year. Observers counted 38,637 lesser prairie chickens compared to 29,934 the previous year. The survey shows annual gains of about 3,000 birds since 2013, when major drought conditions began to subside across the bird’s native range, which includes Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Colorado and New Mexico. “The most encouraging result from the survey is the increasing population trend over the past six years, which likely reflects improving habitat conditions,” said Roger Wolfe, the WAFWA’s lesser prairie chicken program coordinator. In 2014, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the lesser prairie chicken as “threatened.” A…

If you want to support wildlife conservation in America, buy a hunting license, a firearm and some ammunition. No other financial contribution remotely approaches the positive impact hunters make through the purchase of resident and nonresident state hunting licenses, tags, permits and federal duck stamps. That’s just on the state level. On the federal level, hunters advance wildlife conservation by paying an 11 percent excise tax on firearms, ammunition, hunting optics, archery equipment and other hunting equipment by way of the Federal Aid in Wildlife Conservation Act, commonly known as the Pittman-Robertson Act. Technically, equipment manufacturers pay the tax, but they pass the cost on to consumers. The U.S. Department of the Interior distributes these funds back to the states according to a formula based on several factors, including geographic…

“When he was young, I told Dale Jr. that hunting and racing are a lot alike. Holding that steering wheel and holding that rifle both mean you better be responsible.— DALE EARNHARDT” 9 STATES The number of states that have adopted the white-tailed deer as their state animal: Arkansas, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. 200 How many meals one deer provides for needy Americans. According to Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry, fresh meat is one of the hardest commodities to acquire due to its high cost ($3 to $5 per pound). Since venison is low in fat, naturally nutritious and costs about $.25 per serving, it is a perfect low cost substitute for other meats. Additionally, most venison donations feed the hungry in…

Sometimes buying new hunting gear can be downright overwhelming, and sifting through a mountain of (often conflicting) information and manufacturer hype can leave the hunter/consumer scratching his head like a flea-bitten dog. Sure, some outdoor retail stores have products on display that you can handle: binos to look through, rifles you can shoulder and camo clothing you can try on. But a lot of the really, really cool stuff is under wraps — secure in its child-proof packaging. And if you’re shopping online … well, good luck! So you rely on research — and a lot of second-hand information from your cronies down at the local gun shop. But don’t you really just want to rip into that box, pull out its guts and accept or reject the product based…