Challenge to weapons ban in Cook County upheld by state’s Supreme Court
The Illinois Supreme Court today rejuvenated a challenge to Cook County’s ban on assault weapons, a move that is being seen as positive in the gun owner community.
Bloggers on Hunting
The “Grand Poobah” of hunting sport shows
The Field and Stream Deer and Turkey Expo in Madison is the “Grand Poobah” of hunting expos in the U.S. Each year when Wisconsin Outdoor News attends the show, our booth is packed with people looking to renew or sign up for a new subscription, and we also tend to get our fair share of questions. Ultimately, the most frequent…
House approves wolf hunt, earlier fishing opener
The state House passed its Game and Fish Bill on Tuesday, shortly after the most recent edition of Outdoor News had gone to press. So here’s a recap of what’s in it, and what may unfold when lawmakers return to St. Paul following the Easter break. Earlier fishing opener. The bill sets this season’s opener for May 5, rather than…
Spring has me thinking of deer – and the food plots they love
This unseasonably warm weather has me thinking one thing: deer. But, how do you get the deer? How do you keep the deer?
Deer Management Report by the Deer Doctors
Deer report from Drs. James Kroll, David Guynn and Gary Alt.
Get out and find those Morels
An ongoing discussion, after a number of very warm days in March, has been whether or not morel mushrooms will be plentiful, slim picking, or completely absent. The questions have not been completely answered for Wisconsin except these mushrooms began appearing in late March. I found some March 29, which were two to three days old. By April 1, a…
Weird warm winter may or may not make ticks/Lyme worse
Seems like a no-brainer, doesn't it? The threat presented by the legions of ticks that were so active last fall — eager to latch onto hunters in the field — can only be worse after they survived the winter that wasn't. I have been hearing unsubstantiated warnings that Lyme disease, a malady carried by deer ticks that has become a…
P.A.S.T. trying to breathe life back into traditional archery
The P.A.S.T. is still alive at Pyramid State Park for 33 members of an elite club from Southern Illinois. The Pyramid Archery Society (Traditional) or P.A.S.T is a group of individuals from Washington, Perry, Jefferson, Jackson, and Williamson counties whose goal is to keep traditional archery alive. In 1994, founding members of P.A.S.T. began gathering at Pyramid State Park archery…
Early spring
We’ve become accustomed to expecting many major plant and animal events to be prompted by photoperiod. Plants flower and animals mate based on increasing or decreasing day length, it seems. But what about March 2012? March was so atypical that events were weeks ahead of a normal schedule and sequence of events. Will this early spring have any impact on…
New Governor’s Advisory Council for Hunting, Fishing and Conservation holds first quarterly meeting.
The council's first task will be screening candidates for two vacant commissioner seats on the Pennsylvania Game Commission board. On March 26 the council was expected to interview nine applicants who have applied for the vacant seats in the southeast and northcentral regions. It’s going to be a long process, but one that the council should be able to finish…
Vermilion bowhunter scores on 18-point buck
Berlin Heights, Ohio – Daniel McGlothlin is fairly new to the sport of deer hunting. He’s been fairly lucky at it and his second buck proved to be the charm. On Nov. 11, McGlothlin, of Vermilion, killed an 18-point buck that would score in the 170s non-typical. It has a 20-inch inside spread. The deer weighed about 275 pounds. “It…
And they wonder why we don't trust them…
Politicians wonder why we sportsmen don't trust the words from their mouths. Mitt Romney tries to portray himself as an outdoorsman by hanging out with Jeff Foxworthy drinking beer and eating catfish. Just come on out and say, "Hey, I'm a pilgrim when it comes to outdoor sports but I support you guys and will do nothing to jeopardize your…
Ridiculous weather and follow-up on Wyoming tribe eagle permit
Crazy warm spring Shooting hoops with the boys last Thursday evening, we killed a couple of those early season big, dumb mosquitoes. Oh the Ides of March. Heading to church two evenings later, I saw no fewer than a half-dozen dead muskrats along the roads. Outdoor News Publisher Glenn Meyer said he counted at least 50 in his weekend travels around…
Shooting like a "Cowboy"
There probably aren’t many men who didn’t at one time in their youth fantasize about being a cowboy in the Old West, possibly leading a band of regulators to clean up a town full of bandits and marauders. It’s not too late. Across the country some men, and women, are experiencing a fountain of youth of sorts and reliving their…
40 Turkey Kills in 90 Seconds
A few days ago, I received an email from a marketing company with an ad from a turkey call maker. It included a link to a video titled, “40 Kills in 90 Seconds.” The maker claimed that the video would get me “fired up for turkey season.” I clicked on the YouTube link and was subjected to images of one…
DNR to "examine" deer management program
DNR announced today that it is taking a close look at its deer programs. More specifically, the agency is “examining its deer management program to determine if modifications are needed to hunting seasons and regulations.”
Adopting the Right to Carry Part One
I have always supported the right to carry a concealed weapon, but the thought of myself obtaining a permit? Really, why would I?
Six town hall meetings with Deer Czar now fully set
The Wisconsin Conservation Congress and Dr. James Kroll have finalized the meeting locations for the six April town hall forums that will be offered across the state as a means of giving sportsmen a chance to deliver their thoughts on Wisconsin deer management to Kroll. Kroll had met earlier with a number of Wisconsin conservation groups by invitation only. All…
Weather brings some fishing, hunting concerns
It’s not even spring on the calendar and I’m wearing shorts and a T-shirt. I was fishing on the Niagara River a few days ago and I wasn’t even wearing a survival suit – a hooded sweatshirt and jacket was all I needed as we drifted for trout. Who would have thought the area was setting itself up for a…
Fee increase moving
A plan to hike fishing and hunting license fees, which hasn’t been done on a general scale since 2001, won unanimous approval from a key Senate committee on Tuesday. The Environment and Natural Resources Committee approved of the plan, offered by committee chair Bill Ingebrigtsen, R-Alexandria, that, among other things, would increase the annual cost for a resident fishing license…
Special hunt procedure to be reviewed
A rule change to allow bona-fide, non-profit outdoor organizations conduct special hunts for young and handicapped hunters is pending before the Ohio General Assembly's Joint Committee for Agency Rule Review (JCARR). Ken Fitz, acting administrator of law enforcement for the Ohio DNR's wildlife division, said the agency wants to streamline the permitting process for legitimate organizations and weed out the…
Dr. Strangeweather, or: How I learned to stop worrying and love global warming
If this is global warming then I’m all for it! I’ve been running my truck in the driveway lately just to pump a bit more carbon into the atmosphere. I’d burn a bunch of coal in my backyard fire pit but I’m afraid of igniting an apocalyptic grass fire—although that would put even more carbon into the atmosphere and give…
Seeing red, and ducking
In a perfect world, our three Labrador retrievers would be on the same schedule, eating, sleeping and heading outside to answer nature's call at the same time. That's not the case, however, and as a result I'm usually never sitting – or sleeping – for more than a couple hours at a time before getting nudged by an anxious Lab trying…
What do moose and eelpout have in common?
A story by long-time Grand Forks Herald outdoors scribe Brad Dokken has appeared in several publications and websites the past few days via the Associated Press wire. Dokken reports a recurring theme about burbot, or eelpout, in this part of the country: They’re struggling. Like the moose – another signature species in Minnesota – eelpout prefer cold Minnesota weather. While…
No contest
I don’t quite understand why we’ve become so competitive. Competition in sports is good, of course, and I enjoy a good baseball or football game as well as the next guy. But today it seems there’s a competition for just about everything. I love to cook, but do I need to watch a television show that pits one chef against…
Have 'shed' hunters become as tight-lipped as mushroom hunters?
After a mid-winter’s lull and with spring looming on the horizon, now is the time to get back into the woods. While turkey season is still a few weeks away, one can spend the afternoons roaming field and forest in search of discarded whitetail headgear, otherwise known as “sheds”. Yes, it’s that time of year. The boys are starting to…
