Deerjack

Deer-jacked! Hunter is held up

November 28, 2006

ASSOCIATED PRESS

MEADVILLE, Pa. - Three men stole a hunter’s doe at gunpoint, the hunter said.

“I’m really, really upset about the whole ordeal,” said Robert Hanna, 42, of Meadville, Pa.. “(It’s) over a dumb deer. If they wanted it so bad I would have said, ‘Take it.’”

Hanna said he shot the deer on Monday afternoon and was getting ready to come down from his tree stand when he was approached by three men with rifles.

They ordered him to empty his rifle and throw his gun down and one of the men then knocked him to the ground, he said.

“It’s an armed robbery and an assault,” said Vernon Township Sgt. Randy Detzel. “They knocked him to the ground and took his deer.”

Police had no suspects.

From AZGFD:

News for hunters: first-come javelina tags, upcoming small game seminars
Nov. 24, 2006

Looking for a holiday gift? First-come javelina hunt tags are still available

Looking for a great holiday gift idea? There are still several thousand javelina hunt-permit tags available for the spring 2007 hunts on a first-come, first-served basis by U.S. mail only from the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

To find out what hunts have javelina tags available, visit azgfd.gov/draw or call (602) 789-3702. Keep in mind that each work day, the number of permits remaining can dwindle as applications are received and processed.

Department officials stressed that those who apply for the leftover tags need to pay attention to the new increased fees for licenses and tags for 2007 on page two of the spring hunt regulation supplement.

Those applying for the first-come, first-served process might also keep in mind that there are super new license deals available for 2007, including a new family license, a super conservation hunting license (includes various tags and stamps), and a super conservation combination hunt/fish license, which are available at department offices.

As a side note, don’t forget there is a change in the timing to apply for elk and antelope during the upcoming year: 2007 will be the first year the department conducts a winter draw, or lottery, for elk and antelope tags. The application deadline for elk and antelope is Feb. 13. Hunt permit-tags and refund warrants will be mailed out by April 27.

The department will begin accepting applications for elk and antelope as soon as the regulations are posted on the department’s Web site at azgfd.gov. That posting should occur by the end of December. The printed regulations should be available at hunting license dealers by Jan. 12.

Man, I HATE this stuff!

TUCSON, Ariz. — The Arizona Game and Fish Department is asking for the public’s help in finding a poacher that killed a mature mule deer buck and a fawn near Willcox on Nov. 11 or 12.

The deer were shot in Game Management Unit 32 in a hay field near Willcox. According to Wildlife Manager John Bacorn, both deer were found on Monday morning, Nov. 13, where they were left in the field to waste.

“We need help from the public in catching the poachers,” said Bacorn. “If you were in the area recently, please think back about anything you might have seen or heard or any conversations you might have had. Maybe someone doesn’t realize he or she has the key to solving this case.”

The poaching of these animals is considered a major loss for the residents of Arizona and our wildlife resources.

Anyone with information about this poaching can call the department’s Operation Game Thief hotline toll-free at (800) 352-0700. A quick report of any poaching case to the department is important, in order to preserve any evidence. Callers may be eligible for a reward, and all calls can remain confidential upon request.

Free small game hunting seminars offered for beginning and novice hunters

Hunters who have puzzled over the right shot size for ducks, where to find Mearns’ quail, or whether a flashlight and gunnysack are really needed to hunt snipe can find the answers to these and other questions at two upcoming seminars hosted by the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

The two-hour seminars are free to the public and will be held Wednesday, Nov. 29 and Thursday, Dec. 14, starting at 7 p.m. at the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Mesa regional office, 7200 E. University Drive. Pre-registration is not required.

“These seminars are designed for the beginner and novice hunter who would like to learn the techniques for putting more game on the table,” says Randy Babb, information and education program manager for the Game and Fish Mesa region. “We’ll provide tips to help ensure a more successful hunt.”

Topics include how and where to hunt a variety of small game species (including quail, doves, ducks and rabbits), firearms, ammunition, regulations and miscellaneous equipment.

For more information, call (480) 324-3546.

If you don’t think these kinds of issues are coming to Arizona, it’s time to wake up and have a whiff of Folgers….

On November 7, Michigan voters defeated Proposal 3, a referendum that would have allowed mourning dove hunting, by a margin of 68 percent to 32 percent. Anti-hunters financed the multi-million dollar campaign.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the nation’s most powerful anti-hunting group, bankrolled the effort to ban the hunt with $1.6 million in contributions out of $2.3 million spent by the opponents’ campaign. Its contributions reveal a 250 percent increase over its previous record amount spent on a wildlife issue.

The HSUS and its puppet organization, the Committee to Restore the Dove Shooting Ban, purchased television airtime and ran anti-hunting messages throughout the final six weeks of the campaign.

This level of spending on a ballot issue is unprecedented for HSUS, and confirms sportsmen’s greatest fears about the retooled animal rights organization, which merged with the Fund for Animals in 2005. The merger put anti-hunting zealots in charge of more than $100 million that could be spent to take away hunting rights.

The sportsmen-led Citizens for Wildlife Conservation Committee, formed to defend the dove hunt, never truly got off the ground in its efforts to match the financial largesse of the anti-hunting campaign. The group raised less than $500,000, and was able to muster only a week-long radio campaign to combat the antis’ television ads.

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance was one of the largest contributors to the campaign to protect the hunt, which had been established by the legislature in 2004.

PETA

Nov 25, 7:18 AM EST

PETA Mistakenly Targets Alaska Church

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The pastor at Anchorage First Free Methodist Church was mystified. Why was the activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals chastising him? No animals are harmed in the church’s holiday nativity display. In fact, animals aren’t used at all.

People, however, do dress the parts - Mary, Joseph, the wise men, etc. The volunteers stand shivering at a manger on the church lawn in a silent tribute to Christmas.

The Rev. Jason Armstrong was confused by an e-mail this week from PETA, which admonished him for subjecting animals “to cruel treatment and danger,” by forcing them into roles in the church’s annual manger scene.

“We’ve never had live animals, so I just figured this was some spam thing,” Armstrong said. “It’s rough enough on us people standing out there in the cold. So we’re definitely not using animals.”

Jackie Vergerio, PETA’s captive animals in entertainment specialist, said her organization tracks churches nationwide that use real animals in “living nativity scenes.”

Seems the confusion started with the church’s choice of phrase. PETA flagged Free Methodist’s display as a “living nativity,” and indeed, that’s how the church describes it on its Web site.

To PETA, that means animals.

“Those animals are subject to all sorts of terrible fates in some cases,” Vergerio said. “Animals have been stolen and slaughtered, they’ve been raped, they’ve escaped from the nativity scenes and have been struck by cars and killed. Just really unfathomable things have happened to them.”

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In the letter to Armstrong, Vergerio shared some sad fates of previous nativity animals - like Brighty the donkey, snatched from a nativity scene in Virginia and beaten by three young men. Ernie the camel fled a creche in Maryland but was struck and killed by a car. Two sheep and a donkey had to be euthanized after a dog mauling at a manger scene in Virginia.

Free Methodist’s display is peaceful, Armstrong said. The congregation erects the stable. Members spread straw and don costumes. Some even dress as manger animals.

“We have some puppet camel things we put out,” Armstrong said. “We have a cow hood thing that a person will wear that actually just looks spooky.”

The volunteers stand beneath a brightly lit electric star as Christmas music fills the frosty air. They don’t even speak.

“No one’s come by protesting or thrown bloodstained fur at us or anything,” Armstrong said. “We even use a plastic baby.”

Wow - cool trailcam sequence

Bobcat

Wow - a GREAT story posted by a gent over on Monster Muleys

Story

Thanksgiving

Ummm Okayyyy…

Man accused of having sex with dead deer

Duluth News Tribune
Nov. 15, 2006 03:13 PM

DULUTH, Minn. - Prosecution of a case involving alleged sexual contact with a dead deer may hinge on the legal definition of the word “animal.”

Bryan James Hathaway, 20, of Superior, Wis., faces a misdemeanor charge of sexual gratification with an animal. He is accused of having sex with a dead deer he saw beside a road on Oct. 11.

A motion filed last week by his attorney, public defender Fredric Anderson, argued that since the deer was dead, it was not considered an animal and the charge should be dismissed.
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“The statute does not prohibit one from having sex with a carcass,” Anderson wrote.

Judge Michael Lucci heard the motion Tuesday.

“I’m a little surprised this issue hasn’t been tackled before in another case,” Lucci said.

The Webster’s dictionary defines “animal” as “any of a kingdom of living beings,” Anderson said.

If you include carcasses in that definition, he said, “you really go down a slippery slope with absurd results.”

Anderson argued: When does a turkey cease to be an animal? When it is dead?

When it is wrapped in plastic packaging in the freezer? When it is served, fully cooked?

A judge should decide what the Legislature intended “animal” to mean in the statute, he said. “And the only clear point to draw the line in that definition, I believe, is the point of death.”

Assistant District Attorney James Boughner said the court can use a dictionary to determine the meaning of the word, but it doesn’t have to.

“The common and ordinary meaning of a word can be found in how people actually use the word,” Boughner wrote in his response to the motion.

When a person’s pet dog dies, he told Lucci, the person still refers to the dog as his or her dog, not a carcass.

“It stays a dog for some time,” Boughner said.

He referred to the criminal complaint, in which Hathaway told police he saw the dead deer in the ditch and moved it into the woods. Hathaway called it a dead deer, Boughner said, not a carcass.

“It did not lose its essence as a deer, an animal, when it died,” he said.

Anderson argued that the statute, which falls under the heading “crimes against sexual morality,” was meant to protect animals. That would be unnecessary in the case of a dead animal.

“If you look at the other crimes that are in this subsection, they all protect against something other than simply things we don’t like or things we find disgusting,” he said.

Other crimes in that subsection include incest, bigamy, public fornication and lewd and lascivious behavior.

Boughner said the focus of the statute was on punishing the human behavior, not protecting animals.

“It does not seem to draw a line between the living and the dead,” he said.

Interpreting the statute to exclude dead animals would also exclude freshly killed animals, Boughner said. That, he said, could lead to people who commit such acts with animals to kill them.

Lucci said he would render a decision by Hathaway’s next court appearance on Dec. 1.

The misdemeanor charge carries a maximum penalty of nine months in jail and a fine of up to $10,000. If convicted, Hathaway could serve a prison term of up to two years because of a previous conviction. In April 2005, Hathaway pleaded no contest to one felony charge of mistreatment of an animal for the shooting death of Bambrick, a 26-year-old horse, to have sex with the animal.

“Do you have a muzzleloader? Put in for the muzzleloader hunt in 6A. If you get drawn, I’ll guarantee you a bull.” Those were the words from my friend that began the adventure. I had stopped in to ask my friend Greg McBride what hunts and units I should put in for, in Arizona’s fall Big Game draw. Being a fine taxidermist, and an experienced hunter, Greg is a good friend to have. He is also my Number One source for advice, and for the past 2 years, his consultations had become a must. This was my 8th year living in Arizona, but only the 3rd year putting in for the Big Game Draw. So far, I had only been drawn for javelina; I still hadn’t filled a tag of any kind. I was hoping that 2005 would be my year!
Twenty years ago, I was prowling around the softwood forests, cedar swamps, and hardwood ridges of New Brunswick, Canada where I was born and raised. I fished, hunted, and ran traplines. My worldly travels had taken me as far as northern Maine, a half hour away. I lived in Maine for about five years, before moving to Arizona. Never in my wildest dreams had I imagined I’d be someday hunting elk in far off Arizona. You might as well have told me that I’d be stalking keeflongs on the surface of the moon.
One never knows where life will take them however, and Arizona is indeed, where I ended up. Although I had arrived in Arizona in the spring of 1997, I had a delayed start, when it came to experiencing the outdoors. With a new job, a new wife, and ultimately – a new baby – I had really gotten sidetracked. Finally, in 2002, I started getting my feet wet again, so to speak. Not having any hunters at my job, I began to learn the strategies of Arizona hunting on my own. I found some websites, made “outdoor friends” when I could, and even signed on for a hitch as Assistant Editor of the Arizona Outdoorsman magazine. I had written outdoor columns back east, and had offered my services to the fledgling Arizona publication. I had started dabbling at being a Booking Agent as well – ironically, representing New Brunswick Outfitters at the Outdoor Shows here in the southwest. Ultimately, that is how I met Greg. I was in need of some mounts for my trade show booth, and Greg kindly offered to lend me some of his.
My home is located just east of Phoenix, and due to some logistical issues, I am limited to day trips. Greg knows my situation well, and always provided recommendations for the draw based on Unit distance, draw odds, success rates, etc. As I said, this was my third year entering the big game draw; so far, all I had drawn was javelina tags. I wasn’t totally discouraged, as elk tags were getting harder and harder to draw, in Arizona. I was a 2-year veteran in seeing “Not Drawn” on my applications for antelope, antlered (rifle) deer, bear, elk and turkey. Finally, my 2005 applications were filled out, double- and triple-checked, funds inserted, and mailed in - about a week and a half before the deadline. Then the waiting began. I don’t know how it works in other states, but in Arizona, the fall draw (and spring draw, to a lesser extent) is an interesting phenomenon. It’s all hunters talk about, from the deadline, to when the results are announced. It is an obsession, really. The websites are buzzing. Hunters are antsy. Arizona Game & Fish adds to the agony by saying the drawing will “occur no later than…”. No firm date. No mark on the calendar indicating for sure when hunters can either jump for joy, or resign themselves to another year passing them by. When the “no later than” time period draws near, folks’ activity reaches the point where it almost frantic. The AZG&F website gets pounded as people check the draw results every 5 minutes. The phone lines get a work out as well, due to the sheer volume of people calling in to see if the results are available. It is indeed, a frenzy.
As the draw deadline drew near, my anticipation began to build, right along with everybody else’s. On a particularly slow day at work, I logged on to see if the results were up. For a day or two, there had been a message on the site saying something to the effect that “The draw results were being loaded, and would be available soon”. When the screen came up, the same old message was still there. About 10 minutes later, I got away from what I was doing, went back to the site, and hit “refresh” after typing in my ID numbers the screen wobbled, and then it appeared:
Turkey Not Drawn
Bear Not Drawn
Elk, Bull 6A Permit #xxxx (ML only)
Mule Deer, Any antlered 24B Permit #xxxx

I blinked at first, kind of like a kid looking at a pile of gifts left by Santa or the Easter Bunny. For a few moments, it just didn’t sink in. Gradually, it dawned on me – I had drawn an elk tag, and a deer tag! My first call was to my wife Karole. Now, Karole has always been supportive of my hunting related activities, but admittedly, she doesn’t quite “get it”. She was happy for me, but her reaction was certainly less than animated. I had to call Greg! I called and dang it – he wasn’t in. Excitedly, I left a message. Over the weeks and months to follow, he and I would be seeing a lot of each other, as we made plans. Greg asked if he could include a good friend of his, Bruce. Bruce was intimately familiar with my Unit, and was scouting it on a regular basis.
The next several weeks passed quickly in some ways, and agonizingly slow in other ways. Greg regaled me with Bruce’s reports, every time I stopped in to the taxidermy shop. Excitement was building, for sure. Sleepless nights became the norm. Bruce and Greg were constantly adjusting “the plan”, and the “guarantee” of a bull was so far, unscathed. Greg’s only caveat was – “I’ll get you a shot, the shooting is up to you”. Shooting was the least of my worries – I had never experienced a problem with my shooting ability. Never had succumbed to “buck fever”. My worries were on the logistics of the trip – not with making the shot.
As it turns out, Greg and Bruce drew tags for New Mexico. Their hunt started the day after we had planned our elk hunt. The finalized plan was that Greg and I would leave at 2:30 AM, drive north to meet Bruce at daylight, (hopefully) kill an elk, and head back. As I would stop at home, Greg and Bruce would drive all night to New Mexico (silly hunters!). Finally the day arrived, and true to my life’s experiences so far, Murphy was along for the ride. The weekend before, I was doing some final sighting in, with my muzzleloader. That night, while struggling with a stubborn breech plug, I turned the scope in the rings. Wednesday after work, I stopped at the range, and 3 shots confirmed my fears – they were not even on the paper any more. Luckily, I had a “Plan B” – Greg had been suggesting all along that I use his rifle. A nicer model than mine, and it was dead-on at 200 yards – it looked like I would be using his after all.
Friday morning, I picked Greg up at 2:15 AM. I loaded my gear into his truck, and away we went. The trip to 6A was quick, and uneventful – by 5:30, we had pulled up alongside of Bruce’s truck. We got out, Greg made the introductions, and we loaded up. Bruce briefed us, we had a game plan, and we ambled across the road, down into the forest. Crisp morning air and the smell of pines was something I hadn’t experienced in years. I was nervous, excited, and anxious to see an elk!
We had strolled for less than half an hour when a strong odor wafted across my face. We all looked at each other, and Greg muttered “Elk!”… I had no idea those creatures would smell so strong. Less than 5 minutes later, Bruce spotted some elk trotting through the trees ahead. We ascertained where they were heading, and trotted ahead, intent on cutting them off. Finally, there they were – about 8 or 10 elk, about 120 yards away. I shed my pack, and Greg and I sprinted up to a suitable firing position. Greg pointed and hissed “There – a good bull! Shoot!”. I had braced my rifle on a branch. In my scope I saw a bull indeed – but he was quartered away, with 2 cows directly behind him. I waited to see if they would move. Greg was clearly excited – “Shoot!” I replied that I couldn’t. “Yes, you can! Shoot”. I answered again, that I couldn’t. Greg was clearly agitated, as the elk wandered out of sight. “That was probably your one shot for the day”, he said. After some discussion, we determined that we were looking at 2 different sets of elk. We had barely figured that out, when Bruce was motioning for us that he had spotted more elk. Again, Greg and I were quickly tromping up to a firing point. Frankly, I had been exercising working up to the hunt, but I was not ready for all of this running. An hour into the hunt, and I was getting pooped already. My eyes were taking it in, but my brain was having a hard time processing it. 180 yards across the little pasture in front of me, 50-60 elk were streaming from right to left. It looked like the Serengeti, on a National Geographic special. I found a rest, and picked a bull. He trotted into the opening, but as he stopped, 2 cows pulled up next to him. They then moved ahead, and he was in the clear. I picked a point-of-aim, and squeezed the trigger. “BOOM”, followed by the cloud of pungent smoke. The elk kept trotting along. Greg and I quickly reloaded as the bull moved over the draw, with the rest of the herd. There was no chance for a second shot. The elk had filed past Bruce, and he hadn’t noticed any bulls acting as if they were hit. Greg and I checked the spot where the bull had stood. No hair, no blood. Just tracks and tracks and tracks. I was in disbelief, and was disappointed.
Soon we were chasing another herd through the trees. We got ahead of them, and planned an ambush. Greg pointed to an opening about 120 yards away. “They will be going by there” he said, “get ready”. My sight picture was focused on a 3 or 4 foot opening in the trees ahead. As I focused, Greg called it out “Cow, cow, calf, calf, calf, cow, spike, cow, cow…bull.. there he is…get ready!” As the bull stepped across the opening, I sighted and squeezed – “KABOOM” – with a belch of fire and smoke. Again, no bull fell. We inspected the spot, and again – found absolutely no sign of a hit. As the day progressed, we put a lot of miles on, and saw a lot of elk. I had packed my pack too full, and was in misery. After bull Number 2, I had relaxed my previous “I’ll shoot any bull except a spike” rule. I was growing concerned, and discouraged. By noon, Bruce had to leave. We had been rained on, snowed on, and hailed on. As the end of the day drew near, we trudged back towards the truck. My mind was racing, I was sore and exhausted, and I was sad beyond words. Worst of all -I had taken shots at 5 different bulls! If we had seen one elk, we had seen 200. Greg stated that it was the most elk he had ever seen in a day of hunting. I was in shock. My dream hunt had turned into a disaster, and I felt guilty for wasting Greg and Bruce’s time. When I arrived home that night, I was near tears. My socks were a bloody mess. I was exhausted – by my calculations we had walked about 12 miles total that day. I had decided that I would never hunt again. I was disappointed beyond all belief. I had nary a clue of what happened. Over the next few weeks, the self-pity began to recede. I wrote a mini-account on some hunting websites that I participated on. Friends were supportive, and encouraged me to write the full story. It took courage they said, to relate my experiences so that others may learn. “We always hear the success stories” said one, “but never the other stories. Mistakes are the best teachers.” “That’s why they call it hunting”, said another. “We’ve all had trips like that – most of us never mention them.”
Pulling up my boot straps, I analyzed the trip. I decided to make this a giant learning experience, instead of something terrible. Maybe other new elk hunters could learn as well. After a great deal of thought, I came up with the following “root causes”:

1. Weapon - I shouldn’t have “settled” on the other rifle, especially without shooting it. That is just stupid. I deferred to the experience of my friends, however. Also, as noted - time was a factor, and even finances (ammo) came into play. Regardless, I should have scheduled things in such a way that I had the time to get mine sighted back in, or at least - done some familiarization shooting with my friend’s rifle.

2. Confidence - Well, in this case, over-confidence. I was so confident that my buddies would get me into elk, that I was overly affected by the whole thing, when it turned sour. From the first missed shot, to the trip in its entirety; over confidence had added fuel to the humiliation and embarrassment. I had bought a freezer, and being a freelance writer - was already thinking of titles for an article. Confidence good; cockiness stupid.

3. Pressure (self) – Arizona hunting hadn’t been kind to me. I put a lot of pressure on myself, and 3 seasons without a javelina led to me being even more determined to fill my elk tag. The quest for articles and photographs; not wanting to “let down” my friends and family, you name it. Instead of just relaxing and having fun, I put far too much pressure on myself.

4. Pressure (time) - Having only one day to hunt only added to the pressure. Add to that, my 2 buddies were driving to New Mexico, that night, for a deer hunt. There was a feeling that we needed to get this done, which resulted in rushed shots, or shots I wouldn’t normally take. More available days in the field would have definitely made a difference.

5. Attitude - I have always hunted by myself. Re-playing all of those shots in my head, many of them I would not have taken - either farther than what I was comfortable with, or at walking animals. My buddies were just trying to get me an elk; I think though, that being by myself, I would have chosen shots more carefully, not felt rushed, and probably - been more successful.

6. Fitness - I had been working out (particularly for the mule deer hunt) for about 6 weeks. It was mostly back and leg strength stuff, with some cardio. I was not prepared to run (in order to get ahead of herds). Next time, more cardio.

7. Equipment - I was evaluating a pack on behalf of a national Hunting Magazine (see #3 - pressure ). Thinking I only had a mile or two to go, I had packed it wayyy too heavy. I wore the wrong boots. At some point, my discomfort that day surely added to my lack of marksmanship, and certainly my frame of mind.

In summary, I know “that’s why they call it hunting”, but the experience certainly threw me for a loop. In spite of all the influencing factors I listed above, I still don’t know what REALLY happened that day. I used to teach marksmanship in the military. Like I said, no sniper - but I never would have imagined that not only would I miss once, but FIVE times. I am relieved that they were all clean misses (no animal reaction, no blood, no hair). We did check each time, and had I knowingly wounded an animal, my hunt would have been over. Looking back, it was a great trip. I had seen more elk in a day than some people see in several seasons. I learned a ton about their habits. The air was fresh and crisp, and I enjoyed (sort of) a great day with an old friend and a new one. I learned a new area well. Best of all, I think I hit almost every “what not to do” possible. I can’t wait to draw another tag!

A gent posted a great story about hunting with his wife, over on Coues Whitetail

CWT.com Story