Hunt Lake Manitoba Narrows

Winnipeg, Canada – In early May, 2009 a story was released by Manitoba newspapers about a highly venomous spider — the Brazilian Wandering or Banana Spider — from tropical America, which arrived in a box of bananas at an IGA grocery store in Russell. Through the efforts of a number of people, the 25-mm-long spider with long legs and red hairy fangs made its way to the Assiniboine Park Zoo. Considering that the fear of spiders (arachnophobia) is almost universal, it is remarkable that a chain of individuals cared enough about this little wandering stowaway to ensure that no harm came to it after surviving its over-4000-km trip from the tropics.

The spider appears to have started its journey by hiding in a load of bananas in Guatemala, and then being transported to Manitoba. The box of bananas was ultimately shipped to the IGA store in Russell, where one night it left its refuge in search for prey. A cleaning-staff member discovered the spider and succeeded in trapping it in a container. He handed it over to the Produce Manager, who then in turn gave it to the Major Pratt High School 12th-grade biology class for study. Using the resources of the internet, the students took up the challenge of identifying it, and they came to the startling conclusion, based on its size and striking red chelicerae that it was a venomous Brazilian Wandering or Banana Spider (a species of Phoneutria; the Greek name for “Murderess”), the bites of several species of which have resulted in the deaths of children and seniors in Amazonia. Although the bites of these spiders are highly sensationalized as the most-venomous, -deadly, and -painful in the world (Guinness World Records 2007), venom is often not released, or is delivered in such small doses that it is insufficient to kill most healthy human victims. The common names arise due these big (body length up to 48 mm; leg span to 150 mm) spiders’ habit of actively hunting over the forest floor at night, and frequent association with banana shipments.

Amid stories in the media, the spider was passed on by one of the students to two Manitoba Conservation officers, and with the recommendation from a Canadian Wildlife Service officer, they delivered the specimen on May 8 to the Assiniboine Park Zoo for safe-keeping. It was set up securely in a terrarium for public viewing in the Tropical House by zookeepers experienced in maintaining spiders. Until its identification could be confirmed, it was treated as a potentially dangerous specimen. When offered a cricket as food, the spider instantly captured and then devoured the insect, so the spider appeared to be in good health after its long journey. Many visitors came to the Zoo specifically to see this spider with a big reputation.

Zoo Curator Dr. Robert Wrigley contacted Dr. Terry Galloway at the Entomology Department at the University of Manitoba, who recommended he speak to Canadian spider specialist Dr. Robb Bennett with the British Columbia Provincial Government. Dr. Bennett acknowledged that these large spiders are easily misidentified, and while this specimen might be a Phoneutria, it was more likely (based on range data) to be a species of another, harmless wandering spider of the same family (Ctenidae) called Cupiennius chiapanensis — a newly discovered species that also features red hairs on the prominent chelicerae. These spiders have also been known to be transported in fruit to other North American cities (e.g., Tulsa in March, 2008), where they are usually misidentified by local spider aficionados as the venomous Phoneutria. Other large stowaway spiders (e.g., wandering and black-widows) have been turned over to the Zoo and the J.B. Wallis Museum of Entomology (University of Manitoba) over the years, mainly deriving from shipments of produce. This Manitoba specimen will eventually be submitted to a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who is preparing a comprehensive article on accidental shipments of exotic creatures. The huge volume of cargo being transported around the world generates frequent opportunities for invasive species to reach new regions and even continents, where they often cause enormous and permanent damage to native ecosystems and to national economies (e.g., based agriculture and forestry). Tropical spiders could never survive and reproduce in Canadian habitats, but no doubt several-dozen potentially dangerous spiders arrive here annually, often in boxes of fruit and vegetables – an occurrence many grocery-store personnel have experienced. Interestingly, the problems related to exotic stowaways are the very subject covered in a display at the Magnetic Hill Zoo in Moncton, New Brunswick, which won an award from the Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

Spider specialist David Wade believes Manitoba is host to over 700 species of spiders (1400 estimated in Canada, 175,000 worldwide), which occupy almost all terrestrial habitats and some aquatic ones as well. They play major roles as predators of insects and other small organisms, and serve as food for songbirds, amphibians, and many other kinds of animals. All Manitoba spiders carry venom to immobilize and digest prey, but none is dangerous to humans, although the bite of a few species can be painful and cause local irritation, swelling, or mild allergic reaction. The public is encouraged to leave spiders alone to carry out their natural lives, and to not destroy them out of needless fear.

In the autumn, many people in western Canada are alarmed to discover an impressively large, yellowish-brown spider (with two bumps on the abdomen) in a web attached to their home, resulting in a call to a zoo, university, museum, or insect-control department. This is usually the Jewel Spider (Araneus gemmoides), the females of which have a respectable head-body length of up to 15 mm. One of Canada’s largest orbweavers, it is docile and only bites if repeatedly provoked. The female has likely mated with the smaller male, and is looking for a secluded site to deposit her egg case, which may contain 800 fertilized eggs. It appears that houses are a preferred site for stashing the egg case. The female dies soon after, and the cold-hardy eggs over-winter, then hatch with the warming days of spring. On a sunny day, each tiny spiderling climbs up as high as it can on some structure, rises on its legs with its abdomen pointed up (“tiptoeing”), and begins to releases numerous strands of silk. These attach to each other in the breeze to form a gossamer parachute which catches the wind or a rising thermal and carries the tiny spider away. While many alight a short distance away, others are carried aloft up into the upper atmosphere (altitude up to five kilometres) where the jet stream may take them over 1600 km from their place of origin. They have been known to survive for almost a month while “ballooning”, and while most likely fail to survive, a few make the journey to an appropriate site successfully, to renew the species’ cycle of life. No doubt about it, spiders are a gold mine of interpretive stories for a zoo and other nature centers.

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But Inuit leader disputes starvation is cause

The late formation of Arctic sea ice may be forcing some hungry and desperate polar bears in northern Manitoba to resort to cannibalism.

Eight cases of mature male polar bears eating bear cubs have been reported this year among the animals around Churchill, according to scientists.

Four cases were reported to Manitoba Conservation and four to Environment Canada.

Some tourists on a tundra buggy tour of the Churchill wildlife management area on Nov. 20 were shaken and started crying after witnessing a male bear eating a cub, said John Gunter, general manager for Frontiers North Adventures, an area tour operator.

“A big male polar bear separated a young cub from its mother and had its way with the cub,” he said. “But the whole time, while that mother polar bear watched and witnessed, and actually after the big bears left, she still tried to take care of it.

“It was difficult for our guests to witness and it was difficult for me to hear about and learn about. It was a sombre day on the buggy that’s for sure.”

In recent years, Manitoba Conservation has received one to two reports each year about bear cannibalism.

Retired Environment Canada biologist Ian Stirling, who has studied bears all over the arctic, said evidence suggests the cubs are being killed for food, not just so the male can mate with the sow. The Hudson Bay sea ice, which the bears use to get at the seals they need to fatten up for winter, isn’t appearing until weeks later than it used to, he said.

However, an Inuit leader in Rankin Inlet, Nunavut said the incidents are non-events and that it’s wrong to connect the bear’s behaviour with starvation.

“It makes the south — southern people — look so ignorant,” said Kivalliq Inuit Association president Jose Kusugak.

“A male polar bear eating a cub becomes a big story and they try to marry it with climate change and so on, it becomes absurd when it’s a normal normal occurrence,” Kusugak said.

Kusugak admitted some communities are having polar bear problems because warmer than average temperatures means sea ice hasn’t yet formed properly.

But he disagrees that their numbers are dwindling or that polar bears are in other danger because of climate change.

Bears trying to survive longer on fat reserves, conservationists say

Infanticide occurs among all species of bears but can become accentuated among polar bears when they run low on fat reserves and become hungry enough to resort to cannibalism, according to Polar Bears International, a non-profit organization dedicated to the worldwide conservation of polar bears and their Arctic habitat.

Scientists predict that with later formation of ice in the fall and earlier breakup in the spring because of climate warming, polar bears in places like western Hudson Bay will have to survive on land for longer on their diminishing fat reserves instead of hunting seals.

“At this time of year, polar bears are hungry because they have been surviving on their stored fat reserves since the ice cover of Hudson Bay broke up a few months ago. Thus, days they spend waiting for the sea ice to return, they are losing weight and eventually get quite hungry,” said Stirling, who has studied the western Hudson Bay polar bear population for over 35 years.

“During the summer and autumn, polar bears lose up to 30 per cent of their body mass because they burn up to one kilogram of stored body fat every day while they are waiting for the ice to freeze.

“We have observed that the average body condition of the western Hudson Bay polar bears has been declining for almost 30 years. By mid-to-late November, if they can’t get on the sea ice to feed on seals, males may seek out alternate food sources.”

Killing of a cub for food by an adult male has also been recorded in Svalbard, in the Norwegian Arctic, said Stirling.

And in the southern Beaufort Sea, where the body condition of polar bears has also declined apparently because of deteriorating ice conditions, there have been four cases of cannibalism by adult male bears in the last few years.

In those four cases, the victims were three adult females and one yearling, according to Stirling.

Ice breaking up earlier than ever

The average date of breakup of the sea ice in western Hudson Bay is about three weeks earlier than it was 30 years ago, although there is a lot of variation between years, said Robert Buchanan, president of Polar Bears International.

In 2008, the breakup was later, in early August, so the bears came ashore in better condition than in most recent years.

But that advantage has been lost due to the current delay in freeze-up, Buchanan said.

This year may be an even longer wait for the bears to return to the sea ice to hunt as the current long range forecast calls for above average temperatures in the region until the second week of December.

Twenty years ago, the average date the bears returned to the ice was Nov. 8, Buchanan noted.

“While these images are very difficult to look at, we need to remind people that there is hope and each of us can help save polar bears and their habitat,” he said about the photos provided by the organization of the Nov. 20 incident of cannibalism.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2009/12/03/mb-polar-bear-cannibalism-churchill-manitoba.html

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You don’t just run out there and gun down the wary crow. Take time setting up. He has his blind spots. Learn to use them.

A pair of crows, their big mouths spieling out raucous threats, was tearing in from our right. “Take the front one,” I whispered to Gordie Pleiss, my hunting partner. Blamity blamm! echoed over the field. The pair collapsed in midair, thumping to the ground.

“They never saw us,” chuckled Gordie, stuffing in a new shell to replace the spent one.

“That just shows you how wrong you can be,” I laughed.

The crows were retrieved. They were the first of many to fall for the setup we’d thought impossible. By the time the sun was 10 o’clock high, a sizable stack of black marauders would be piled next to our blind. This first barrage was only the beginning.

Crow blinds are the most important part of successful crow shooting. They are equally as important as a duck blind or a goose blind, in my book – my theory being, the smaller and lower the better. Even if it means waiting and shooting from an uncomfortable position.

In 18 years of trying to outsmart crows, this one thing has been proved over and over. Shooting will be only as good as your preparation in building a blind.

Unfortunately, the best place to shoot crows is usually where there is a scarce amount of available cover. At least this is true in my part of Michigan, were farm fields offer little concealment. Gordie and I had run into this knotty problem on an early spring day last year.

The north-bound crows were just filtering into Michigan after spending their winter vacations south of the Mason-Dixon line. This particular spot was a cut over cornfield.

The crows were using it to supplement their meager spring rations. They were picking up corn left over from a mechanical picker. It was t a five-acre field, with nothing but an old barbed-wire fence and a few trees running through the center. We’d cased the place on numerous occasions; each time we’d given up. At times we’d shot a few crows by drawing them to the far edge, where sufficient cover offered concealment for a gunner.

When we’d arrived on Saturday morning there were about 150 crows frolicking around. Singles and doubles were dropping in quite regularly. Finally I couldn’t stand it any longer. In the back of the sta tion wagon was a brand-new 20-gauge shotgun. I’d gotten delivery on it on Wednesday and was bustin’ to try it out. We just had to figuic on a way to get at this noisy outfit.

Lookouts in trees are a must in crow shooting. Sentries give incoming crows the assurance all is well. They also can be seen a long way off.

“To heck with it,” I finally said, putting down the binocular. “Let’s try to make a blind with the camou flaged netting, right next to that tree. That way we’ll be protected from the right, and if we keep it low, we can pull up some grass to give it a natural look.”

“What can we lose?” agreed my partner.

I slung the carrying case over my shoulder, and after Gordie grabbed the guns, we set out across the field.

Crows lifted in a screaming mass, hollering about being disturbed from their morning breakfast. Dig ging out two rotten fence posts, we propped them up, stringing the 20-foot piece of camouflaged netting around them. With two six-foot pieces of light metal tubing, carried for just this purpose, we made enough room to shoot from a kneeling position.

A made-over mosquito-netting tent is the most important part of an effective crow rig, it can be used anywhere as a base to build from.

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There’s a “perfect” rifle for every man; but it takes study, time and know-how to find it

There are two broad, general schools of traditional varmint-hunting devotees. For this particular narrative we shall classify them in this manner, anyway, to spare you a belaboring of way-out aspects of the game. The first type we’ll define as “The Stalker.” This good chap gets his jollies by steathily approaching Farmer Rogowski’s north pasture in quest of a grizzled trophy-type woodchuck. He cautiously peeks through the hedgerow with the skill of a Sioux warrior contemplating a mayhem on a hapless sodbuster. When our hero locates a good woodchuck specimen munching away with contented abandon on Brother Rogowski’s alfalfa, his joy knows no bounds. With exaggerated concern, he moistens a forefinger and tests the wind with the care of a top grizzly guide. He observes the contour of the terrain and mentally notes each bush, tree, knoll and other area of concealment. His purpose is to get as close as possible to the quarry.

     When he achieves this (and it isn’t easy to do), he is often within 50 feet of the trophy. He sometimes shoots it in the head or neck, carefully placing his bullet for the ideal instantaneous kill. His rifle? It more often than not is a .22 rimfire with open sights.

     The other breed of varmint hunter, extravagantly overwhelming in numbers (and popularity), we can safely refer to as “The Rifleman.” While his ultimate goal (a clean kill) is the same as the Stalker’s, he goes at it a bit differently. His objective (in a manner of speaking) is to get, within reasonable limits, as far from the mark as seems prudent. Instead of stalking-type terrain, he seeks a good open shot – with a safe background so that his bullet fragments (in the event of a miss) will not jeopardize person, beast or property. In passing, varmint bullets from high-velocity rifles do not ricochet, as do .22s and other low velocity cartridges – hence, they are safe even in settled areas.

     But to resume - the farther away from the chuck (or whichever) The Riffleman can get, within the capabilities of his rifle, the better he likes it. His rifle, It’s a flat-shooting precision centerfire with telescope sight. He often locates his varmint with binocular and even studies it with spotting scope (checking mirage). He has to learn to be an excellent judge of distance and wind, else he’ll miss more than a hit. (Many advanced varmint hunters would just as soon have a close miss as a hit. If they strike within an inch or two of the chuck, they consider it a hit.)

     It is significant that in each instance the technique strongly resembles that of serious big-game hunting. It is no secret that long-experienced varmint hunters are the most successful big-game trophy hunters on the continent. For when the chips are done, they rarely fail to anchor their ram, grizzly or other species. Woodchuck hunting is, these days, the very best training for big-game markmanship, for the methods are quite similar – and any fellow used to knocking off a wary woodchuck with regularity is going to have no trouble getting a bullet into the lung cavity of big game. Even if he has a “touch of the buck,” as all humans do on occasion, he automatically and subconsciously shoots well, because of his long training in the field with comparatively tiny beasts at unknown ranges. Not to say that other varmint hunting isn’t excellent too - such as gunning for jackrabbits, coyotes, crows, marpies, prairie dogs, ground squirrels and so forth. It is all good and all fun.

     I have employed both techniques, but my interest is irrevocably entrenched in that of the Rifleman. I get no particular kick out of stalking close to varmints, unless it is for study or photographic purposes. This is merely a matter of personal preference, nothing more, and is akin to the fact that some guys get a glazed look at the sight a voluptous blonde whereas others assume the expression of a stricken moose calf when they feast their eyes upon a svelte brunette.

     I have an affliction concerning rifles that could best be described as a recurring ailment. We’ve all heard tales of how the moon affects animals and people. A well-designed and accurate example of the gun art is a source of infinite joy and satisfaction to its owner.

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Dick Herfindahl, Woods & Water

Published Friday, November 6, 2009

I have often stated that fall is my favorite season. Although the weather can be a real mixed bag, it is still No. 1 with me.

I don’t think that there is anything more refreshing than taking a nice long walk on a brisk sunny fall day. My favorite time to walk is early morning when everything seems just a little fresher. While walking the side streets of our neighborhood there are times when the occasional smell of someone cooking breakfast floats in the breeze. There is no mistaking the aroma of bacon being cooked and then there is the smell of someone’s wood stove or fireplace, which always gives me a cozy feeling. Another smell that I always associate with fall is when we were allowed to burn leaves in town, that is another smell that, of course, is truly unique.

This is the time of year when I enjoy just driving around the countryside and taking in the beauty of fall. There doesn’t have to be any fall foliage left on the trees for one to enjoy the beauty of the countryside. The different shades of rust and brown and of course the golden color of the dead grass and the still-standing corn add to the colorful countryside.

Most of this year’s corn crop is still in the fields because of our rain-filled fall and I hope we get the much-needed dry weather so that the farmers can get the crops out before the snow falls. While driving around the lake the other day it was nice to just take in the beauty of a sunny, late fall day. A few fishermen were scattered along the channel below the dam and down by Frank Hall Park where some nice perch were being caught.

The perch bite should be good right up until ice-over.

Dick Herfindahl

With the start of deer season I mentioned in my last column about being safety conscious. I have known a few folks that have done some pretty remarkably dumb things and still managed to be with us.

On one occasion a guy that I knew decided that staying up most of the night consuming alcohol and then going hunting was OK. He then proceeded to take a bottle of brandy with him to the deer stand (to keep warm?). About an hour into it his hunting partner heard a terrible commotion and went to check and found that the guy had apparently passed out and toppled out of his deer stand.

Luckily he wasn’t hurt but it could have been a real disaster. This is probably a worse case scenario (except for serious injury) but it did actually happen. There is always plenty of time to socialize with your hunting buddies after the hunt is done. Alcohol and guns just do not go well together and the aforementioned person is lucky to be around to hunt another day.

Musky talk

The November meeting of Southern Crossroads Chapter 54 of Muskies Inc. will be Wednesday, at 7 p.m. at Eagles Club in Owatonna.

Our speaker is Randy Jacobs. Randy has guided for 30-plus years from Southern Missouri to Manitoba. He has guided for muskies in Northern Minnesota.

There will be nominations for officers and board members for the coming year. Keep your calendar open for our open to the public, third annual, money for muskies banquet, Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. at Eagles Club in Owatonna. Our speaker is Bob Mehsikomer, host of TV show, “Simply Fishing.” Bob reveals his secrets for finding and catching big fish and educates people on fishing techniques etc. There will be door prizes, raffles, silent auction, and special events and drawing for kids. Tickets are $20, kids 12 and under free. Chicken and ribs dinner. Ticket info call 507-390-3549 or 507-259-5074. Help support and improve musky fishing in Southern Minnesota.

Our meetings are second Wednesday of every month that includes informative speakers, door prizes, raffle, updates and reports. Also, great conversation. Anyone interested in musky fishing is always welcome. Musky hunters bring a friend and check us out. Check our Web site, www.michapter54.com.

I know of quite a few local anglers that venture north to Red Lake during the “hard water” fishing season so the following news release from the DNR may be of interest:

Upper Red Lake walleye regulations to change Dec. 1

Upper Red Lake walleye anglers still can keep four fish beginning Dec. 1, but all walleye 17-to 26-inches in length must be immediately released. Anglers can keep one walleye longer than 26 inches.The change from the open water 20- to 26-inch protected slot limit to the winter 17-to 26-inch protected slot limit that begins, Dec. 1 will continue through Feb. 28, 2010.

The estimated open-water walleye harvest from state waters of Upper Red Lake for 2009 was 147,000 pounds. That harvest level is 21,000 pounds below the threshold that would trigger a more conservative three-fish limit.

Regulations for the 2010 open water fishing season will be determined later this winter and announced in advance of the walleye opener on May 15, 2010.

More fishing and hunting:

CROSBY — Walleye fishing continues to be productive on Rabbit, Serpent, Pelican and the Mississippi River. Jigs and minnows have been the setup of choice, while Lindy Rigs, crankbaits and jigs tipped with plastic have been producing some fish as well. Key depths all around have been 20-22 feet.

Some trout have been caught as well on Pennington, Huntington and Portsmouth pits from boats on crankbaits, while Manual has been kicking out some rainbows as well. Grouse hunters have been reporting some success in the area, and waterfowlers have been seeing plenty of geese to supplement their duck numbers. Most of the birds in the area are mallards at this time, with lots of birds still using the river and the backwater ricebeds. Archery hunters registered a few more deer this past week than before, signaling a jump in deer activity.

ELY — Bird hunting still tops the list of outdoor activities, with most hunters scoring at least a couple of grouse each trip. Crappies are starting to show up in some better numbers. Twin Lakes, White Iron and Fall lakes are the spots to be. The fish are suspended 6 to 10 feet from the bottom in 20 to 35 feet of water. Minnows under a slip bobber or jigs tipped with a minnow seems to be working best. Walleyes are beginning to turn up in the deeper holes on Shagawa Lake and White Iron with floating jig heads or floating Lindy rigs being the top producers. If you get a break in the foul weather try to make one last trip of the season before putting the boat up for winter. Remember, the weather can change rapidly, so always wear a life jacket when on these colder waters.

WATERVILLE — Walleyes hitting the near the bridge on Sakatah using Rapalas. Also Lake Elysian is giving up a few walleyes to the shore fisherman near Highway 60.

LEECH LAKE — Leech Lake’s hot news is the muskies! We have heard of eight muskies caught and released over 50 inches in the last 10 days — the biggest 54 inches — but fishermen reported seeing a bigger one beside the boat. Walker Narrows, Pelican Island, are the two most fished spots. Perch and walleyes are still going strong on a jig and minnow. Crappie action is also picking up. Fall is a busy time, but if you can break away, it could really pay! Fishing in November is awesome and the lake is not very busy — great time to catch a wall hanger! There is a lot more to do up here as well — grouse numbers are up and deer are plentiful. Archery season has been great for me personally and I have talked to many people seeing lots of young deer. I have never been a trophy hunter but there are some around. Lots of public land, so come enjoy Leech Lake area with us!

Until next time keep fishn’, hunt safe and always take a little time to enjoy our great Minnesota outdoors.

Remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers throughout the year.
http://www.albertleatribune.com/news/2009/nov/06/take-time-enjoy-crisp-fall-days/Dick Herfindahl, Woods & Water

I have often stated that fall is my favorite season. Although the weather can be a real mixed bag, it is still No. 1 with me.

I don’t think that there is anything more refreshing than taking a nice long walk on a brisk sunny fall day. My favorite time to walk is early morning when everything seems just a little fresher. While walking the side streets of our neighborhood there are times when the occasional smell of someone cooking breakfast floats in the breeze. There is no mistaking the aroma of bacon being cooked and then there is the smell of someone’s wood stove or fireplace, which always gives me a cozy feeling. Another smell that I always associate with fall is when we were allowed to burn leaves in town, that is another smell that, of course, is truly unique.

This is the time of year when I enjoy just driving around the countryside and taking in the beauty of fall. There doesn’t have to be any fall foliage left on the trees for one to enjoy the beauty of the countryside. The different shades of rust and brown and of course the golden color of the dead grass and the still-standing corn add to the colorful countryside.

Most of this year’s corn crop is still in the fields because of our rain-filled fall and I hope we get the much-needed dry weather so that the farmers can get the crops out before the snow falls. While driving around the lake the other day it was nice to just take in the beauty of a sunny, late fall day. A few fishermen were scattered along the channel below the dam and down by Frank Hall Park where some nice perch were being caught.

The perch bite should be good right up until ice-over.

Dick Herfindahl

With the start of deer season I mentioned in my last column about being safety conscious. I have known a few folks that have done some pretty remarkably dumb things and still managed to be with us.

On one occasion a guy that I knew decided that staying up most of the night consuming alcohol and then going hunting was OK. He then proceeded to take a bottle of brandy with him to the deer stand (to keep warm?). About an hour into it his hunting partner heard a terrible commotion and went to check and found that the guy had apparently passed out and toppled out of his deer stand.

Luckily he wasn’t hurt but it could have been a real disaster. This is probably a worse case scenario (except for serious injury) but it did actually happen. There is always plenty of time to socialize with your hunting buddies after the hunt is done. Alcohol and guns just do not go well together and the aforementioned person is lucky to be around to hunt another day.

Musky talk

The November meeting of Southern Crossroads Chapter 54 of Muskies Inc. will be Wednesday, at 7 p.m. at Eagles Club in Owatonna.

Our speaker is Randy Jacobs. Randy has guided for 30-plus years from Southern Missouri to Manitoba. He has guided for muskies in Northern Minnesota.

There will be nominations for officers and board members for the coming year. Keep your calendar open for our open to the public, third annual, money for muskies banquet, Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. at Eagles Club in Owatonna. Our speaker is Bob Mehsikomer, host of TV show, “Simply Fishing.” Bob reveals his secrets for finding and catching big fish and educates people on fishing techniques etc. There will be door prizes, raffles, silent auction, and special events and drawing for kids. Tickets are $20, kids 12 and under free. Chicken and ribs dinner. Ticket info call 507-390-3549 or 507-259-5074. Help support and improve musky fishing in Southern Minnesota.

Our meetings are second Wednesday of every month that includes informative speakers, door prizes, raffle, updates and reports. Also, great conversation. Anyone interested in musky fishing is always welcome. Musky hunters bring a friend and check us out. Check our Web site, www.michapter54.com.

I know of quite a few local anglers that venture north to Red Lake during the “hard water” fishing season so the following news release from the DNR may be of interest:

Upper Red Lake walleye regulations to change Dec. 1

Upper Red Lake walleye anglers still can keep four fish beginning Dec. 1, but all walleye 17-to 26-inches in length must be immediately released. Anglers can keep one walleye longer than 26 inches.The change from the open water 20- to 26-inch protected slot limit to the winter 17-to 26-inch protected slot limit that begins, Dec. 1 will continue through Feb. 28, 2010.

The estimated open-water walleye harvest from state waters of Upper Red Lake for 2009 was 147,000 pounds. That harvest level is 21,000 pounds below the threshold that would trigger a more conservative three-fish limit.

Regulations for the 2010 open water fishing season will be determined later this winter and announced in advance of the walleye opener on May 15, 2010.

More fishing and hunting:

CROSBY — Walleye fishing continues to be productive on Rabbit, Serpent, Pelican and the Mississippi River. Jigs and minnows have been the setup of choice, while Lindy Rigs, crankbaits and jigs tipped with plastic have been producing some fish as well. Key depths all around have been 20-22 feet.

Some trout have been caught as well on Pennington, Huntington and Portsmouth pits from boats on crankbaits, while Manual has been kicking out some rainbows as well. Grouse hunters have been reporting some success in the area, and waterfowlers have been seeing plenty of geese to supplement their duck numbers. Most of the birds in the area are mallards at this time, with lots of birds still using the river and the backwater ricebeds. Archery hunters registered a few more deer this past week than before, signaling a jump in deer activity.

ELY — Bird hunting still tops the list of outdoor activities, with most hunters scoring at least a couple of grouse each trip. Crappies are starting to show up in some better numbers. Twin Lakes, White Iron and Fall lakes are the spots to be. The fish are suspended 6 to 10 feet from the bottom in 20 to 35 feet of water. Minnows under a slip bobber or jigs tipped with a minnow seems to be working best. Walleyes are beginning to turn up in the deeper holes on Shagawa Lake and White Iron with floating jig heads or floating Lindy rigs being the top producers. If you get a break in the foul weather try to make one last trip of the season before putting the boat up for winter. Remember, the weather can change rapidly, so always wear a life jacket when on these colder waters.

WATERVILLE — Walleyes hitting the near the bridge on Sakatah using Rapalas. Also Lake Elysian is giving up a few walleyes to the shore fisherman near Highway 60.

LEECH LAKE — Leech Lake’s hot news is the muskies! We have heard of eight muskies caught and released over 50 inches in the last 10 days — the biggest 54 inches — but fishermen reported seeing a bigger one beside the boat. Walker Narrows, Pelican Island, are the two most fished spots. Perch and walleyes are still going strong on a jig and minnow. Crappie action is also picking up. Fall is a busy time, but if you can break away, it could really pay! Fishing in November is awesome and the lake is not very busy — great time to catch a wall hanger! There is a lot more to do up here as well — grouse numbers are up and deer are plentiful. Archery season has been great for me personally and I have talked to many people seeing lots of young deer. I have never been a trophy hunter but there are some around. Lots of public land, so come enjoy Leech Lake area with us!

Until next time keep fishn’, hunt safe and always take a little time to enjoy our great Minnesota outdoors.

Remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers throughout the year.
http://www.albertleatribune.com/news/2009/nov/06/take-time-enjoy-crisp-fall-days/

http://www.resolutionmediation.net

British Columbia Auto Financing

Hunt Lake Manitoba NarrowsDick Herfindahl, Woods & Water

Published Friday, November 6, 2009

I have often stated that fall is my favorite season. Although the weather can be a real mixed bag, it is still No. 1 with me.

I don’t think that there is anything more refreshing than taking a nice long walk on a brisk sunny fall day. My favorite time to walk is early morning when everything seems just a little fresher. While walking the side streets of our neighborhood there are times when the occasional smell of someone cooking breakfast floats in the breeze. There is no mistaking the aroma of bacon being cooked and then there is the smell of someone’s wood stove or fireplace, which always gives me a cozy feeling. Another smell that I always associate with fall is when we were allowed to burn leaves in town, that is another smell that, of course, is truly unique.

This is the time of year when I enjoy just driving around the countryside and taking in the beauty of fall. There doesn’t have to be any fall foliage left on the trees for one to enjoy the beauty of the countryside. The different shades of rust and brown and of course the golden color of the dead grass and the still-standing corn add to the colorful countryside.

Most of this year’s corn crop is still in the fields because of our rain-filled fall and I hope we get the much-needed dry weather so that the farmers can get the crops out before the snow falls. While driving around the lake the other day it was nice to just take in the beauty of a sunny, late fall day. A few fishermen were scattered along the channel below the dam and down by Frank Hall Park where some nice perch were being caught.

The perch bite should be good right up until ice-over.

Dick Herfindahl

With the start of deer season I mentioned in my last column about being safety conscious. I have known a few folks that have done some pretty remarkably dumb things and still managed to be with us.

On one occasion a guy that I knew decided that staying up most of the night consuming alcohol and then going hunting was OK. He then proceeded to take a bottle of brandy with him to the deer stand (to keep warm?). About an hour into it his hunting partner heard a terrible commotion and went to check and found that the guy had apparently passed out and toppled out of his deer stand.

Luckily he wasn’t hurt but it could have been a real disaster. This is probably a worse case scenario (except for serious injury) but it did actually happen. There is always plenty of time to socialize with your hunting buddies after the hunt is done. Alcohol and guns just do not go well together and the aforementioned person is lucky to be around to hunt another day.

Musky talk

The November meeting of Southern Crossroads Chapter 54 of Muskies Inc. will be Wednesday, at 7 p.m. at Eagles Club in Owatonna.

Our speaker is Randy Jacobs. Randy has guided for 30-plus years from Southern Missouri to Manitoba. He has guided for muskies in Northern Minnesota.

There will be nominations for officers and board members for the coming year. Keep your calendar open for our open to the public, third annual, money for muskies banquet, Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. at Eagles Club in Owatonna. Our speaker is Bob Mehsikomer, host of TV show, “Simply Fishing.” Bob reveals his secrets for finding and catching big fish and educates people on fishing techniques etc. There will be door prizes, raffles, silent auction, and special events and drawing for kids. Tickets are $20, kids 12 and under free. Chicken and ribs dinner. Ticket info call 507-390-3549 or 507-259-5074. Help support and improve musky fishing in Southern Minnesota.

Our meetings are second Wednesday of every month that includes informative speakers, door prizes, raffle, updates and reports. Also, great conversation. Anyone interested in musky fishing is always welcome. Musky hunters bring a friend and check us out. Check our Web site, www.michapter54.com.

I know of quite a few local anglers that venture north to Red Lake during the “hard water” fishing season so the following news release from the DNR may be of interest:

Upper Red Lake walleye regulations to change Dec. 1

Upper Red Lake walleye anglers still can keep four fish beginning Dec. 1, but all walleye 17-to 26-inches in length must be immediately released. Anglers can keep one walleye longer than 26 inches.The change from the open water 20- to 26-inch protected slot limit to the winter 17-to 26-inch protected slot limit that begins, Dec. 1 will continue through Feb. 28, 2010.

The estimated open-water walleye harvest from state waters of Upper Red Lake for 2009 was 147,000 pounds. That harvest level is 21,000 pounds below the threshold that would trigger a more conservative three-fish limit.

Regulations for the 2010 open water fishing season will be determined later this winter and announced in advance of the walleye opener on May 15, 2010.

More fishing and hunting:

CROSBY — Walleye fishing continues to be productive on Rabbit, Serpent, Pelican and the Mississippi River. Jigs and minnows have been the setup of choice, while Lindy Rigs, crankbaits and jigs tipped with plastic have been producing some fish as well. Key depths all around have been 20-22 feet.

Some trout have been caught as well on Pennington, Huntington and Portsmouth pits from boats on crankbaits, while Manual has been kicking out some rainbows as well. Grouse hunters have been reporting some success in the area, and waterfowlers have been seeing plenty of geese to supplement their duck numbers. Most of the birds in the area are mallards at this time, with lots of birds still using the river and the backwater ricebeds. Archery hunters registered a few more deer this past week than before, signaling a jump in deer activity.

ELY — Bird hunting still tops the list of outdoor activities, with most hunters scoring at least a couple of grouse each trip. Crappies are starting to show up in some better numbers. Twin Lakes, White Iron and Fall lakes are the spots to be. The fish are suspended 6 to 10 feet from the bottom in 20 to 35 feet of water. Minnows under a slip bobber or jigs tipped with a minnow seems to be working best. Walleyes are beginning to turn up in the deeper holes on Shagawa Lake and White Iron with floating jig heads or floating Lindy rigs being the top producers. If you get a break in the foul weather try to make one last trip of the season before putting the boat up for winter. Remember, the weather can change rapidly, so always wear a life jacket when on these colder waters.

WATERVILLE — Walleyes hitting the near the bridge on Sakatah using Rapalas. Also Lake Elysian is giving up a few walleyes to the shore fisherman near Highway 60.

LEECH LAKE — Leech Lake’s hot news is the muskies! We have heard of eight muskies caught and released over 50 inches in the last 10 days — the biggest 54 inches — but fishermen reported seeing a bigger one beside the boat. Walker Narrows, Pelican Island, are the two most fished spots. Perch and walleyes are still going strong on a jig and minnow. Crappie action is also picking up. Fall is a busy time, but if you can break away, it could really pay! Fishing in November is awesome and the lake is not very busy — great time to catch a wall hanger! There is a lot more to do up here as well — grouse numbers are up and deer are plentiful. Archery season has been great for me personally and I have talked to many people seeing lots of young deer. I have never been a trophy hunter but there are some around. Lots of public land, so come enjoy Leech Lake area with us!

Until next time keep fishn’, hunt safe and always take a little time to enjoy our great Minnesota outdoors.

Remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers throughout the year.
http://www.albertleatribune.com/news/2009/nov/06/take-time-enjoy-crisp-fall-days/

Sphere: Related Content

New Brunswick’s largest gun shop owner is shedding no tears over the passage of a federal private member’s bill that is designed to kill Canada’s long-gun registry.

Ross Faulkner, the owner of the McAdam, N.B.-based Gun Dealer, sells more than 9,000 firearms annually.

That means Faulkner is required to enter data in a book and again online in the federal registry each time he sells a weapon. This task creates hours of work each day, especially in hunting season when he said he can sell 40 rifles or shotguns a day.

Faulkner said he is relieved to hear the registry could soon be shut down.

“I think common sense has prevailed. The objective to eliminate crime in Canada has not been met. It’s been too costly,” he said.

“I believe that the money that could be saved here would be better used by putting police on the streets where we do have problems with crime.”

Faulkner said he does not accept the position of Canada’s police chiefs that they need the information collected by the Miramichi, N.B.-based registry.

“I cannot believe that they continue to say this. The information is already available at store level,” he said.

“The police chiefs know there is a lot of inaccuracies in the system. It is not 100 per cent accurate.”

In an annual report from Canada’s firearms commissioner prepared by the RCMP, police said they used the registry more than 2.5 million times in 2007.
Liberals introduced gun registry

The Conservatives have long opposed the gun registry, brought in by a former Liberal government in response to the killing of 14 women at Montreal’s L’École Polytéchnique in 1989.

Conservatives often argue the long-gun registry has been a billion-dollar boondoggle.

However, a 2006 study by the auditor general found that eliminating the long-gun portion of the registry would only save taxpayers about $3 million a year.

Manitoba Tory backbencher Candice Hoeppner’s private member’s bill to eliminate the long-gun registry still has a few parliamentary hurdles to overcome before people such as Faulkner can finally say goodbye to the gun registry.

The bill must go to a parliamentary committee for examination before heading back to the House of Commons and the Senate for votes.

With support from 18 Liberals and New Democrats, the private member’s bill passed second reading 164-137.

Madawaska-Restigouche Liberal MP Jean-Claude D’Amours voted with the Conservatives in support of ending the gun registry.

Liberal MPs Dominic LeBlanc and Brian Murphy and NDP MP Yvon Godin voted against the bill, while the province’s Tory MPs all endorsed the private member’s bill.

If passed, Bill C-391 would scrap the decade-old registry and destroy existing data within the system on about seven million shotguns and rifles.
Rural opposition

Opposition against the gun registry was especially acute in rural areas of Canada.

In New Brunswick, several Liberal backbenchers have voted against the gun registry over the years, fearing a backlash in their ridings.

But not everyone is celebrating the loss of the gun registry.

Deborah Glazebrook, a St. Stephen resident, said the gun registry is needed to protect police officers entering homes where there are domestic disputes.

“They might be able to keep an eye on what’s going on with different houses,” she said.

“They could say, OK, this household has registration of four guns, this name keeps popping up.”

She said she hopes MPs think twice about scrapping it before their final vote.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2009/11/06/nb-gun-registry-reaction-541.htmlNew Brunswick’s largest gun shop owner is shedding no tears over the passage of a federal private member’s bill that is designed to kill Canada’s long-gun registry.

Ross Faulkner, the owner of the McAdam, N.B.-based Gun Dealer, sells more than 9,000 firearms annually.

That means Faulkner is required to enter data in a book and again online in the federal registry each time he sells a weapon. This task creates hours of work each day, especially in hunting season when he said he can sell 40 rifles or shotguns a day.

Faulkner said he is relieved to hear the registry could soon be shut down.

“I think common sense has prevailed. The objective to eliminate crime in Canada has not been met. It’s been too costly,” he said.

“I believe that the money that could be saved here would be better used by putting police on the streets where we do have problems with crime.”

Faulkner said he does not accept the position of Canada’s police chiefs that they need the information collected by the Miramichi, N.B.-based registry.

“I cannot believe that they continue to say this. The information is already available at store level,” he said.

“The police chiefs know there is a lot of inaccuracies in the system. It is not 100 per cent accurate.”

In an annual report from Canada’s firearms commissioner prepared by the RCMP, police said they used the registry more than 2.5 million times in 2007.
Liberals introduced gun registry

The Conservatives have long opposed the gun registry, brought in by a former Liberal government in response to the killing of 14 women at Montreal’s L’École Polytéchnique in 1989.

Conservatives often argue the long-gun registry has been a billion-dollar boondoggle.

However, a 2006 study by the auditor general found that eliminating the long-gun portion of the registry would only save taxpayers about $3 million a year.

Manitoba Tory backbencher Candice Hoeppner’s private member’s bill to eliminate the long-gun registry still has a few parliamentary hurdles to overcome before people such as Faulkner can finally say goodbye to the gun registry.

The bill must go to a parliamentary committee for examination before heading back to the House of Commons and the Senate for votes.

With support from 18 Liberals and New Democrats, the private member’s bill passed second reading 164-137.

Madawaska-Restigouche Liberal MP Jean-Claude D’Amours voted with the Conservatives in support of ending the gun registry.

Liberal MPs Dominic LeBlanc and Brian Murphy and NDP MP Yvon Godin voted against the bill, while the province’s Tory MPs all endorsed the private member’s bill.

If passed, Bill C-391 would scrap the decade-old registry and destroy existing data within the system on about seven million shotguns and rifles.
Rural opposition

Opposition against the gun registry was especially acute in rural areas of Canada.

In New Brunswick, several Liberal backbenchers have voted against the gun registry over the years, fearing a backlash in their ridings.

But not everyone is celebrating the loss of the gun registry.

Deborah Glazebrook, a St. Stephen resident, said the gun registry is needed to protect police officers entering homes where there are domestic disputes.

“They might be able to keep an eye on what’s going on with different houses,” she said.

“They could say, OK, this household has registration of four guns, this name keeps popping up.”

She said she hopes MPs think twice about scrapping it before their final vote.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2009/11/06/nb-gun-registry-reaction-541.html

British Columbia Auto Financing

Winnipeg Auto Financing

Hunt Lake Manitoba Narrows

www.huntlakemanitobanarrows.com

New Brunswick’s largest gun shop owner is shedding no tears over the passage of a federal private member’s bill that is designed to kill Canada’s long-gun registry.

Ross Faulkner, the owner of the McAdam, N.B.-based Gun Dealer, sells more than 9,000 firearms annually.

That means Faulkner is required to enter data in a book and again online in the federal registry each time he sells a weapon. This task creates hours of work each day, especially in hunting season when he said he can sell 40 rifles or shotguns a day.

Faulkner said he is relieved to hear the registry could soon be shut down.

“I think common sense has prevailed. The objective to eliminate crime in Canada has not been met. It’s been too costly,” he said.

“I believe that the money that could be saved here would be better used by putting police on the streets where we do have problems with crime.”

Faulkner said he does not accept the position of Canada’s police chiefs that they need the information collected by the Miramichi, N.B.-based registry.

“I cannot believe that they continue to say this. The information is already available at store level,” he said.

“The police chiefs know there is a lot of inaccuracies in the system. It is not 100 per cent accurate.”

In an annual report from Canada’s firearms commissioner prepared by the RCMP, police said they used the registry more than 2.5 million times in 2007.
Liberals introduced gun registry

The Conservatives have long opposed the gun registry, brought in by a former Liberal government in response to the killing of 14 women at Montreal’s L’École Polytéchnique in 1989.

Conservatives often argue the long-gun registry has been a billion-dollar boondoggle.

However, a 2006 study by the auditor general found that eliminating the long-gun portion of the registry would only save taxpayers about $3 million a year.

Manitoba Tory backbencher Candice Hoeppner’s private member’s bill to eliminate the long-gun registry still has a few parliamentary hurdles to overcome before people such as Faulkner can finally say goodbye to the gun registry.

The bill must go to a parliamentary committee for examination before heading back to the House of Commons and the Senate for votes.

With support from 18 Liberals and New Democrats, the private member’s bill passed second reading 164-137.

Madawaska-Restigouche Liberal MP Jean-Claude D’Amours voted with the Conservatives in support of ending the gun registry.

Liberal MPs Dominic LeBlanc and Brian Murphy and NDP MP Yvon Godin voted against the bill, while the province’s Tory MPs all endorsed the private member’s bill.

If passed, Bill C-391 would scrap the decade-old registry and destroy existing data within the system on about seven million shotguns and rifles.
Rural opposition

Opposition against the gun registry was especially acute in rural areas of Canada.

In New Brunswick, several Liberal backbenchers have voted against the gun registry over the years, fearing a backlash in their ridings.

But not everyone is celebrating the loss of the gun registry.

Deborah Glazebrook, a St. Stephen resident, said the gun registry is needed to protect police officers entering homes where there are domestic disputes.

“They might be able to keep an eye on what’s going on with different houses,” she said.

“They could say, OK, this household has registration of four guns, this name keeps popping up.”

She said she hopes MPs think twice about scrapping it before their final vote.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2009/11/06/nb-gun-registry-reaction-541.html

Sphere: Related Content

Tom Longboat had a lot to lose when he joined the army in 1916.

An Onondaga from the Six Nations Grand River Reserve in Ontario, Longboat was a world champion long-distance runner. In 1907 he won the Boston Marathon in record time, and two years later triumphed in the world professional marathon championships at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

His athletic career was thriving. Nonetheless at the age of 29 he set it all aside and went to fight in the chaos that was Europe during the First World War.

Longboat was just one of the estimated 15,000 Aboriginals, including Inuit and Métis, who served in the Boer War of 1899, the First and Second World Wars, and the Korean War. Of these, more than 500 lost their lives.

In both world wars, Canadian aboriginal soldiers were part of every major land battle and campaign, and earned many medals and decorations. Some excelled as snipers and reconnaissance scouts, drawing upon their traditional hunting and warrior skills.

Tom Longboat was able to put his prowess as a runner to good use—he became a dispatch carrier with the 107th Pioneer Battalion in France, running messages and orders between units.

Many of them struggled afterwards because they weren’t prepared to go back to that same subservient role that was expected of them at that time and I think it was a difficult homecoming.” — Scott Sheffield

Most aboriginal recruits served in the army because Canada’s navy and air force had race restrictions. Although natives were not obliged to join the armed forces, enthusiasm was such that some reserves became almost depleted of young men.

As with non-aboriginals, the reasons natives so eagerly joined up were many and varied. But for some communities it may have been a “culturally driven thing,” says Scott Sheffield, a historian at the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia.

“Some of the Plains First Nations had strong warrior traditions and those had become impossible to sustain with the onset of the reserve era in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many hundreds of Plains First Nations men were able to enlist and serve in the First World War and maybe recapture or sustain some of those warrior traditions.”

There’s also no doubt, Sheffield says, that some Aboriginals—living at the time in a society where racial prejudice was very real in their daily existence—enlisted out of a desire to prove themselves.

Sergeant Tommy Prince (R) was the most highly decorated aboriginal soldier of WW II and did two tours of duty in the Korean War. (Library and Archives Canada)
“Soldiers like Tommy Prince, for example, the most highly decorated indigenous soldier of the Second World War. Some of the biographies that have been done on his existence talk about him almost having a chip on his shoulder; he just had to prove himself as good as or better than any white man. And his war service was really quite extraordinary, perhaps in part because of that driving need.”

A member of Manitoba’s Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, Prince was one of Canada’s most decorated soldiers. A hero of both the Second World War and the Korean War, he was one of the few non-Americans ever awarded the Silver Star, an American decoration for gallantry in action.

One of Prince’s legendary feats of bravery occurred in the summer of 1944 when he walked across miles of mountainous terrain deep behind German lines in southern France to locate an enemy camp, going days without food or water. He reported back and led his brigade to the encampment, which resulted in the capture of more than 1,000 German soldiers.

But Prince returned from Europe to a country where Aboriginals were not deemed citizens and didn’t have the right to vote. To add insult to injury, aboriginal veterans had to fight another kind of war when they got home in order to receive the same benefits and assistance as white veterans were given.

Coming home was also problematic for many because they had been treated as equals while in the army—they were accepted and respected. And while training in England aboriginal soldiers could go to a pub and have a beer with their comrades, something they couldn’t do in Canada where status Indians were banned from any place that served alcohol.

In addition, life back on the reserve was controlled in large part by Indian agents, many of whom ruled with an iron fist, says Sheffield.

“A lot of veterans didn’t want to take that any more. Many of them struggled afterwards because they weren’t prepared to go back to that same subservient role that was expected of them at that time and I think it was a difficult homecoming.”

This may explain why, after the start of the Korean War, many Aboriginals who had fought in Europe re-enlisted.

“When Korea broke out, the first contingent that was recruited to go overseas in 1950 had a large number of Indian soldiers,” says Sheffield, who is conducting a study on the comparative wartime and post-war experiences of the indigenous peoples of Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

Aboriginal women also contributed during WW II as nurses tending the sick and wounded soldiers. They also helped raise funds to provide medical supplies and comforts for the troops, and served in non-combatant roles in the women’s branches of the forces.

Tommy Prince did two tours of duty in Korea. By the time the war ended, he walked with a noticeable limp from a previous knee injury and was discharged from the army with a disability pension. Sadly, he descended into alcoholism and poverty and died, anonymous and virtually alone, in 1977 at the age of 62.

As for Tom Longboat, he was wounded twice during his time of service and was once ‘missing declared dead,’ but he survived the war and returned to Canada. He died in 1949, also at the age of 62. He is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and the Indian Hall of Fame.
Last Updated
Nov 5, 2009

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/24812/Tom Longboat had a lot to lose when he joined the army in 1916.

An Onondaga from the Six Nations Grand River Reserve in Ontario, Longboat was a world champion long-distance runner. In 1907 he won the Boston Marathon in record time, and two years later triumphed in the world professional marathon championships at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

His athletic career was thriving. Nonetheless at the age of 29 he set it all aside and went to fight in the chaos that was Europe during the First World War.

Longboat was just one of the estimated 15,000 Aboriginals, including Inuit and Métis, who served in the Boer War of 1899, the First and Second World Wars, and the Korean War. Of these, more than 500 lost their lives.

In both world wars, Canadian aboriginal soldiers were part of every major land battle and campaign, and earned many medals and decorations. Some excelled as snipers and reconnaissance scouts, drawing upon their traditional hunting and warrior skills.

Tom Longboat was able to put his prowess as a runner to good use—he became a dispatch carrier with the 107th Pioneer Battalion in France, running messages and orders between units.

Many of them struggled afterwards because they weren’t prepared to go back to that same subservient role that was expected of them at that time and I think it was a difficult homecoming.” — Scott Sheffield

Most aboriginal recruits served in the army because Canada’s navy and air force had race restrictions. Although natives were not obliged to join the armed forces, enthusiasm was such that some reserves became almost depleted of young men.

As with non-aboriginals, the reasons natives so eagerly joined up were many and varied. But for some communities it may have been a “culturally driven thing,” says Scott Sheffield, a historian at the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia.

“Some of the Plains First Nations had strong warrior traditions and those had become impossible to sustain with the onset of the reserve era in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many hundreds of Plains First Nations men were able to enlist and serve in the First World War and maybe recapture or sustain some of those warrior traditions.”

There’s also no doubt, Sheffield says, that some Aboriginals—living at the time in a society where racial prejudice was very real in their daily existence—enlisted out of a desire to prove themselves.

Sergeant Tommy Prince (R) was the most highly decorated aboriginal soldier of WW II and did two tours of duty in the Korean War. (Library and Archives Canada)
“Soldiers like Tommy Prince, for example, the most highly decorated indigenous soldier of the Second World War. Some of the biographies that have been done on his existence talk about him almost having a chip on his shoulder; he just had to prove himself as good as or better than any white man. And his war service was really quite extraordinary, perhaps in part because of that driving need.”

A member of Manitoba’s Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, Prince was one of Canada’s most decorated soldiers. A hero of both the Second World War and the Korean War, he was one of the few non-Americans ever awarded the Silver Star, an American decoration for gallantry in action.

One of Prince’s legendary feats of bravery occurred in the summer of 1944 when he walked across miles of mountainous terrain deep behind German lines in southern France to locate an enemy camp, going days without food or water. He reported back and led his brigade to the encampment, which resulted in the capture of more than 1,000 German soldiers.

But Prince returned from Europe to a country where Aboriginals were not deemed citizens and didn’t have the right to vote. To add insult to injury, aboriginal veterans had to fight another kind of war when they got home in order to receive the same benefits and assistance as white veterans were given.

Coming home was also problematic for many because they had been treated as equals while in the army—they were accepted and respected. And while training in England aboriginal soldiers could go to a pub and have a beer with their comrades, something they couldn’t do in Canada where status Indians were banned from any place that served alcohol.

In addition, life back on the reserve was controlled in large part by Indian agents, many of whom ruled with an iron fist, says Sheffield.

“A lot of veterans didn’t want to take that any more. Many of them struggled afterwards because they weren’t prepared to go back to that same subservient role that was expected of them at that time and I think it was a difficult homecoming.”

This may explain why, after the start of the Korean War, many Aboriginals who had fought in Europe re-enlisted.

“When Korea broke out, the first contingent that was recruited to go overseas in 1950 had a large number of Indian soldiers,” says Sheffield, who is conducting a study on the comparative wartime and post-war experiences of the indigenous peoples of Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

Aboriginal women also contributed during WW II as nurses tending the sick and wounded soldiers. They also helped raise funds to provide medical supplies and comforts for the troops, and served in non-combatant roles in the women’s branches of the forces.

Tommy Prince did two tours of duty in Korea. By the time the war ended, he walked with a noticeable limp from a previous knee injury and was discharged from the army with a disability pension. Sadly, he descended into alcoholism and poverty and died, anonymous and virtually alone, in 1977 at the age of 62.

As for Tom Longboat, he was wounded twice during his time of service and was once ‘missing declared dead,’ but he survived the war and returned to Canada. He died in 1949, also at the age of 62. He is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and the Indian Hall of Fame.
Last Updated
Nov 5, 2009

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/24812/

Winnipeg Downtown Hotel

Hunt Lake Manitoba Narrows

www.huntlakemanitobanarrows.com

Tom Longboat had a lot to lose when he joined the army in 1916.

An Onondaga from the Six Nations Grand River Reserve in Ontario, Longboat was a world champion long-distance runner. In 1907 he won the Boston Marathon in record time, and two years later triumphed in the world professional marathon championships at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

His athletic career was thriving. Nonetheless at the age of 29 he set it all aside and went to fight in the chaos that was Europe during the First World War.

Longboat was just one of the estimated 15,000 Aboriginals, including Inuit and Métis, who served in the Boer War of 1899, the First and Second World Wars, and the Korean War. Of these, more than 500 lost their lives.

In both world wars, Canadian aboriginal soldiers were part of every major land battle and campaign, and earned many medals and decorations. Some excelled as snipers and reconnaissance scouts, drawing upon their traditional hunting and warrior skills.

Tom Longboat was able to put his prowess as a runner to good use—he became a dispatch carrier with the 107th Pioneer Battalion in France, running messages and orders between units.

Many of them struggled afterwards because they weren’t prepared to go back to that same subservient role that was expected of them at that time and I think it was a difficult homecoming.” — Scott Sheffield

Most aboriginal recruits served in the army because Canada’s navy and air force had race restrictions. Although natives were not obliged to join the armed forces, enthusiasm was such that some reserves became almost depleted of young men.

As with non-aboriginals, the reasons natives so eagerly joined up were many and varied. But for some communities it may have been a “culturally driven thing,” says Scott Sheffield, a historian at the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia.

“Some of the Plains First Nations had strong warrior traditions and those had become impossible to sustain with the onset of the reserve era in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many hundreds of Plains First Nations men were able to enlist and serve in the First World War and maybe recapture or sustain some of those warrior traditions.”

There’s also no doubt, Sheffield says, that some Aboriginals—living at the time in a society where racial prejudice was very real in their daily existence—enlisted out of a desire to prove themselves.

Sergeant Tommy Prince (R) was the most highly decorated aboriginal soldier of WW II and did two tours of duty in the Korean War. (Library and Archives Canada)
“Soldiers like Tommy Prince, for example, the most highly decorated indigenous soldier of the Second World War. Some of the biographies that have been done on his existence talk about him almost having a chip on his shoulder; he just had to prove himself as good as or better than any white man. And his war service was really quite extraordinary, perhaps in part because of that driving need.”

A member of Manitoba’s Brokenhead Ojibway Nation, Prince was one of Canada’s most decorated soldiers. A hero of both the Second World War and the Korean War, he was one of the few non-Americans ever awarded the Silver Star, an American decoration for gallantry in action.

One of Prince’s legendary feats of bravery occurred in the summer of 1944 when he walked across miles of mountainous terrain deep behind German lines in southern France to locate an enemy camp, going days without food or water. He reported back and led his brigade to the encampment, which resulted in the capture of more than 1,000 German soldiers.

But Prince returned from Europe to a country where Aboriginals were not deemed citizens and didn’t have the right to vote. To add insult to injury, aboriginal veterans had to fight another kind of war when they got home in order to receive the same benefits and assistance as white veterans were given.

Coming home was also problematic for many because they had been treated as equals while in the army—they were accepted and respected. And while training in England aboriginal soldiers could go to a pub and have a beer with their comrades, something they couldn’t do in Canada where status Indians were banned from any place that served alcohol.

In addition, life back on the reserve was controlled in large part by Indian agents, many of whom ruled with an iron fist, says Sheffield.

“A lot of veterans didn’t want to take that any more. Many of them struggled afterwards because they weren’t prepared to go back to that same subservient role that was expected of them at that time and I think it was a difficult homecoming.”

This may explain why, after the start of the Korean War, many Aboriginals who had fought in Europe re-enlisted.

“When Korea broke out, the first contingent that was recruited to go overseas in 1950 had a large number of Indian soldiers,” says Sheffield, who is conducting a study on the comparative wartime and post-war experiences of the indigenous peoples of Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand.

Aboriginal women also contributed during WW II as nurses tending the sick and wounded soldiers. They also helped raise funds to provide medical supplies and comforts for the troops, and served in non-combatant roles in the women’s branches of the forces.

Tommy Prince did two tours of duty in Korea. By the time the war ended, he walked with a noticeable limp from a previous knee injury and was discharged from the army with a disability pension. Sadly, he descended into alcoholism and poverty and died, anonymous and virtually alone, in 1977 at the age of 62.

As for Tom Longboat, he was wounded twice during his time of service and was once ‘missing declared dead,’ but he survived the war and returned to Canada. He died in 1949, also at the age of 62. He is a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and the Indian Hall of Fame.
Last Updated
Nov 5, 2009

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/24812/

Sphere: Related Content

It’s a good time for the federal gun registry to die. After 11 years of low-calibre crime-fighting — shooting blanks at bad guys, backfiring financially or taking aim at all the wrong targets — the billion-dollar boondoggle uncovered in 2002 by the Auditor General will likely be placed on the de-registration block this afternoon.

The magic number to send the gun registry bill off for committee scrutiny and sober Senate thought is 10 opposition MPs.

Under intense pressure from an attack ad campaign against MPs in ridings the Conservatives don’t hold, and where local opposition to the registry is strong, at least five Liberals and six New Democrats will likely be spooked enough to vote with the government or abstain on Manitoba MP Candice Hoeppner’s private member’s bill.

Unless the two opposition party leaders successfully plead for unity at caucus meetings this morning, that count should stick, lifting the bill over its highest hurdle and putting it on track to unplug the registry and shred its records.

The beauty of using the private-member process is how it allows the Conservatives to scrap a registry they have demonized for a decade without tarnishing their law-and-order credentials.

As a free vote, the bill’s passage will allow Prime Minister Stephen Harper to tell police organizations and urban voters who support the registry that a three-party, um, coalition of MPs actually put it out of its misery, not government ideology.

That’s just optics, of course.

The Conservatives have tried three times to legislate the firearms registry into oblivion, only to watch the bills die on the order paper or languish in the Senate. The private-member bill route at least offers them some political cover.

The premise behind registering long guns (handguns will remain subject to a registration requirement that began in 1934) was always suspect. The greater the owner’s propensity for illegal gun activity, the less likely they’d be to register their weapon.

“We do have a problem in Canada with gun crime, but it’s handguns mixed with drugs and gangs,” says Ms. Hoeppner. “It’s not the law-abiding long gun owners.”

The better approach, she argues, would be to track those who are prohibited from owning firearms, most of them living without any form of weapons surveillance, and leave hunters and sport shooters subject only to obtaining a licence when they purchase unrestricted firearms.

It’s the right move, but it doesn’t mean they will be shuttering any time soon that unmarked brown box of an office building that houses registry computers in Miramichi, N.B. Opposition MPs supporting the move could get cold feet when the final roll is called or the Liberal-controlled Senate could stonewall the bill until the next election kills it yet again.

But that would really prolong the inevitable. Despite the 7.3-million firearms on file now, the vast majority being hunting rifles or unmodified shotguns, the registry has become outdated and thus unreliable after three years of reporting amnesties.

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=0be68578-76fa-4f1d-895f-9ed56a8a8e6e#ixzz0W5fIAEM9
The New Financial Post Stock Market Challenge starts in October. You could WIN your share of $60,000 in prizing. Register NOW

Besides, it just doesn’t seem to work.

While proponents point to the falling crime rate as proof it has merit, serious crime rates are falling much faster in the United States where the right to bear arms is constitutionally guaranteed.

Police have warped its merits by recently showcasing a weapon seizure and wrongly boasting their haul was helped by the registry. They also exaggerate law enforcement reliance on the registry by insisting police access it about 5,000 times a day, knowing full well every search of the Canadian Police Information Centre for any reason generates an automatic search of the firearms registry.

There’s lingering political sensitivity to axing the registry. Prime Minister Harper, for example, has promised to preserve the 290 Miramichi and Ottawa headquarters jobs at risk from the closure. How? Why? The last thing this bloated, deficit-ridden government needs to do is preserve employees for eliminated jobs, particularly ones of dubious merit.

Later today, if the bill passes second reading, a billion-dollar loss for taxpayers and inconvenience for honest gunowners will finally move up the Parliament Hill it should die on.

dmartin@nationalpost.com
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=0be68578-76fa-4f1d-895f-9ed56a8a8e6e&p=2It’s a good time for the federal gun registry to die. After 11 years of low-calibre crime-fighting — shooting blanks at bad guys, backfiring financially or taking aim at all the wrong targets — the billion-dollar boondoggle uncovered in 2002 by the Auditor General will likely be placed on the de-registration block this afternoon.

The magic number to send the gun registry bill off for committee scrutiny and sober Senate thought is 10 opposition MPs.

Under intense pressure from an attack ad campaign against MPs in ridings the Conservatives don’t hold, and where local opposition to the registry is strong, at least five Liberals and six New Democrats will likely be spooked enough to vote with the government or abstain on Manitoba MP Candice Hoeppner’s private member’s bill.

Unless the two opposition party leaders successfully plead for unity at caucus meetings this morning, that count should stick, lifting the bill over its highest hurdle and putting it on track to unplug the registry and shred its records.

The beauty of using the private-member process is how it allows the Conservatives to scrap a registry they have demonized for a decade without tarnishing their law-and-order credentials.

As a free vote, the bill’s passage will allow Prime Minister Stephen Harper to tell police organizations and urban voters who support the registry that a three-party, um, coalition of MPs actually put it out of its misery, not government ideology.

That’s just optics, of course.

The Conservatives have tried three times to legislate the firearms registry into oblivion, only to watch the bills die on the order paper or languish in the Senate. The private-member bill route at least offers them some political cover.

The premise behind registering long guns (handguns will remain subject to a registration requirement that began in 1934) was always suspect. The greater the owner’s propensity for illegal gun activity, the less likely they’d be to register their weapon.

“We do have a problem in Canada with gun crime, but it’s handguns mixed with drugs and gangs,” says Ms. Hoeppner. “It’s not the law-abiding long gun owners.”

The better approach, she argues, would be to track those who are prohibited from owning firearms, most of them living without any form of weapons surveillance, and leave hunters and sport shooters subject only to obtaining a licence when they purchase unrestricted firearms.

It’s the right move, but it doesn’t mean they will be shuttering any time soon that unmarked brown box of an office building that houses registry computers in Miramichi, N.B. Opposition MPs supporting the move could get cold feet when the final roll is called or the Liberal-controlled Senate could stonewall the bill until the next election kills it yet again.

But that would really prolong the inevitable. Despite the 7.3-million firearms on file now, the vast majority being hunting rifles or unmodified shotguns, the registry has become outdated and thus unreliable after three years of reporting amnesties.

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=0be68578-76fa-4f1d-895f-9ed56a8a8e6e#ixzz0W5fIAEM9
The New Financial Post Stock Market Challenge starts in October. You could WIN your share of $60,000 in prizing. Register NOW

Besides, it just doesn’t seem to work.

While proponents point to the falling crime rate as proof it has merit, serious crime rates are falling much faster in the United States where the right to bear arms is constitutionally guaranteed.

Police have warped its merits by recently showcasing a weapon seizure and wrongly boasting their haul was helped by the registry. They also exaggerate law enforcement reliance on the registry by insisting police access it about 5,000 times a day, knowing full well every search of the Canadian Police Information Centre for any reason generates an automatic search of the firearms registry.

There’s lingering political sensitivity to axing the registry. Prime Minister Harper, for example, has promised to preserve the 290 Miramichi and Ottawa headquarters jobs at risk from the closure. How? Why? The last thing this bloated, deficit-ridden government needs to do is preserve employees for eliminated jobs, particularly ones of dubious merit.

Later today, if the bill passes second reading, a billion-dollar loss for taxpayers and inconvenience for honest gunowners will finally move up the Parliament Hill it should die on.

dmartin@nationalpost.com
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=0be68578-76fa-4f1d-895f-9ed56a8a8e6e&p=2

Hunt Lake Manitoba Narrows

www.huntlakemanitobanarrows.com

It’s a good time for the federal gun registry to die. After 11 years of low-calibre crime-fighting — shooting blanks at bad guys, backfiring financially or taking aim at all the wrong targets — the billion-dollar boondoggle uncovered in 2002 by the Auditor General will likely be placed on the de-registration block this afternoon.

The magic number to send the gun registry bill off for committee scrutiny and sober Senate thought is 10 opposition MPs.

Under intense pressure from an attack ad campaign against MPs in ridings the Conservatives don’t hold, and where local opposition to the registry is strong, at least five Liberals and six New Democrats will likely be spooked enough to vote with the government or abstain on Manitoba MP Candice Hoeppner’s private member’s bill.

Unless the two opposition party leaders successfully plead for unity at caucus meetings this morning, that count should stick, lifting the bill over its highest hurdle and putting it on track to unplug the registry and shred its records.

The beauty of using the private-member process is how it allows the Conservatives to scrap a registry they have demonized for a decade without tarnishing their law-and-order credentials.

As a free vote, the bill’s passage will allow Prime Minister Stephen Harper to tell police organizations and urban voters who support the registry that a three-party, um, coalition of MPs actually put it out of its misery, not government ideology.

That’s just optics, of course.

The Conservatives have tried three times to legislate the firearms registry into oblivion, only to watch the bills die on the order paper or languish in the Senate. The private-member bill route at least offers them some political cover.

The premise behind registering long guns (handguns will remain subject to a registration requirement that began in 1934) was always suspect. The greater the owner’s propensity for illegal gun activity, the less likely they’d be to register their weapon.

“We do have a problem in Canada with gun crime, but it’s handguns mixed with drugs and gangs,” says Ms. Hoeppner. “It’s not the law-abiding long gun owners.”

The better approach, she argues, would be to track those who are prohibited from owning firearms, most of them living without any form of weapons surveillance, and leave hunters and sport shooters subject only to obtaining a licence when they purchase unrestricted firearms.

It’s the right move, but it doesn’t mean they will be shuttering any time soon that unmarked brown box of an office building that houses registry computers in Miramichi, N.B. Opposition MPs supporting the move could get cold feet when the final roll is called or the Liberal-controlled Senate could stonewall the bill until the next election kills it yet again.

But that would really prolong the inevitable. Despite the 7.3-million firearms on file now, the vast majority being hunting rifles or unmodified shotguns, the registry has become outdated and thus unreliable after three years of reporting amnesties.

Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=0be68578-76fa-4f1d-895f-9ed56a8a8e6e#ixzz0W5fIAEM9
The New Financial Post Stock Market Challenge starts in October. You could WIN your share of $60,000 in prizing. Register NOW

Besides, it just doesn’t seem to work.

While proponents point to the falling crime rate as proof it has merit, serious crime rates are falling much faster in the United States where the right to bear arms is constitutionally guaranteed.

Police have warped its merits by recently showcasing a weapon seizure and wrongly boasting their haul was helped by the registry. They also exaggerate law enforcement reliance on the registry by insisting police access it about 5,000 times a day, knowing full well every search of the Canadian Police Information Centre for any reason generates an automatic search of the firearms registry.

There’s lingering political sensitivity to axing the registry. Prime Minister Harper, for example, has promised to preserve the 290 Miramichi and Ottawa headquarters jobs at risk from the closure. How? Why? The last thing this bloated, deficit-ridden government needs to do is preserve employees for eliminated jobs, particularly ones of dubious merit.

Later today, if the bill passes second reading, a billion-dollar loss for taxpayers and inconvenience for honest gunowners will finally move up the Parliament Hill it should die on.

dmartin@nationalpost.com
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/columnists/story.html?id=0be68578-76fa-4f1d-895f-9ed56a8a8e6e&p=2

Sphere: Related Content

I recently talked to an old friend of mine from Ankeny, Iowa, who told me he is teaching his 14-year-old son to trap this year, not because of fur prices, which are very low, but because he wants to see him learn about the outdoors, the ways of the wild, what being a true hunter and outdoorsman is really about. Brad Coulson is an old time taxidermist and he feels, as I do, that deer hunting is the poorest way in the world to make a hunter and outdoorsman out of a youngster. Today though, there are few who trap, or hunt squirrels or rabbits, and the “trophy” idea is running rampant.

To my way of thinking, it is a horrible thing to make a trophy out of any wild creature, but hunters have never before been as they are becoming today, when nothing matters but the antlers.

“I see hunters come in here with a big set of antlers, measuring 160 or so and if they don’t make the Boone and Crockett record book, which requires 170 inches, they are just devastated.” Brad told me. “It is the only reason they have to hunt. I want to tell them how much they are missing. Most hunters 50 years ago would have been tickled to death with a deer like that.”

Today, big antlers are downright common. It takes monster antlers to make the big money now. Coulson gets a constant flow of deer-breeders catalogs in the mail, and he says they list hundreds and hundreds of breeders raising buck deer, trying to sell them to game ranches where “hunters” come in and pay from 15 to 50 thousand dollars to shoot that half-tame, pen-raised deer, fed a diet with meat byproducts to create a set of huge antlers. He says the catalogs increase each year to a point where there are thousands of 250- to 325-inch deer antlers being grown.

*
“Some guy will bring in an Iowa deer to be mounted, and he thinks because it will reach those Boone and Crockett requirements he has a rack worth 10,000 dollars,” Brad says, laughing. “Not anymore, a Boone and Crockett buck is fairly common now when you consider what is being raised in pens.”

Coulson has raised a lot of deer himself, raising one buck to the age of 12 years. He says the idea that letting a smaller buck go to become a big-antlered deer next year works just fine, sometimes. But many times, he will not get any bigger than he is. “I have seen 300-pound bucks with big, wide, forked antlers. If he is fed right, and has the right genetics, he may be an eight or ten-point buck at 1 and 1/2 years old, and at 3 and 1/2 years his antlers might be bigger or they might still be the same. But he might also lose a point or two, even though his antlers become heavier,” he said. “As he ages, his teeth wear down, and as his teeth wear, his antlers will not become any more impressive than they are.”

“Colorado tried the same thing years ago with mule deer that Missouri is doing now.” Coulson says. “They began to find a lot of big mule deer killed and left where they fell, because hunters just couldn’t tell for sure how many points the deer had, and they would shoot first and count later.”

He agreed that few hunters in heavy timber or brush, early or late in the day without good sunlight, can positively tell how many points are on each antler. Hunting conditions make it next to impossible to tell unless you use a good scope on your rifle, or binoculars. Too many hunters like me, who hunt with open sights in heavy woods, cannot count points on a moving buck they get a good look at for only fifteen or twenty seconds. And no matter what else can be said about the four-point restriction, that is the thing which disturbs me most… the fact that some hunter who never had a shot at a nice buck before will find out that the heavy antlers he saw had only three points on each side. And yes, sometimes that set of antlers will have more points next year, and sometimes it will not.

Coulson, an expert on deer antlers if I ever knew one, says that each deer is an individual, and theoretically, the whole plan sounds great, but there are so many exceptions to the rule, and a buck that becomes four or five years old, will seldom have the antlers he had at 2 or 3 years of age. That’s why the deer-growers sell deer at two and a half to three and a half years old, rather than keeping them until they are five or six. An aging buck may have heavier antlers with fewer points, or he may have small antlers his entire life.

The whole thing centers around money, and this tremendous ego which big antlers seem to stoke. Trophy antlers conceivably bring in more out-of-state hunters. Estimates are that this year, 18,000 non-resident hunters will come to hunt deer in Missouri, and the tags sell for 225 dollars each. Multiply that! The MDC has a lot to gain if trophy hunters think they can find bigger antlers in the state each year. If 5000 or so small bucks are killed and left in the woods, it isn’t considered to be a great number. The trophy hunter’s attitude about that is… who cares?

But you can count on this… the money factor is declining. Wild bucks will not produce the big-money-antlers in the future, unless you go to Manitoba to hunt. Once while goose-hunting in Manitoba in the 80’s I found the most unbelievable shed antler I have ever seen. Back in Missouri, a trophy-hunter nut said he would give me a thousand dollars for a set of antlers like that, if only I had found both.

But Bass Pro Shops and Cabelas can only buy so many racks for their walls, and they have about reached the maximum number they have room for. Those they bought ten years ago aren’t much now compared to the ones being raised in pens. Today, there are people making synthetic deer antlers which you cannot tell from real ones. A ten thousand dollar rack ten years ago may not be worth 100 dollars in another ten years.

And someday, that will put the quietus on trophy hunting…mounted deer head saturation. It then might thin out the numbers of the once-a-year hunters who stream out of the cities in their bright orange suits, and judge their worth according to the number and size of the deer heads they have hung on their office walls. Right now, the four-point restriction means money. It was instigated for that reason. But we only have to put up with this nonsense for a couple of weeks in November, and then the circus is over. The woods I walk through in December and January will be empty. And you would be amazed at the deer carcasses I will find.

As a side bar, it is interesting that this year a non-resident youngster under 16 years of age can get a deer tag which his father would have to pay 225 dollars for, at a cost of only 8 dollars and 50 cents. I hope a non-resident trophy hunter doesn’t figure out that he can bring his youngster and hunt bucks in Missouri about 217 dollars less. Of course, that never happens in the youth season, why would it happen in the regular season!

The website, www.larrydablemontoutdoors.blogspot.com. Write to me at Box 22, Bolivar, Mo. 65613 or e-mail lightninridge@windstream.net.

I recently talked to an old friend of mine from Ankeny, Iowa, who told me he is teaching his 14-year-old son to trap this year, not because of fur prices, which are very low, but because he wants to see him learn about the outdoors, the ways of the wild, what being a true hunter and outdoorsman is really about. Brad Coulson is an old time taxidermist and he feels, as I do, that deer hunting is the poorest way in the world to make a hunter and outdoorsman out of a youngster. Today though, there are few who trap, or hunt squirrels or rabbits, and the “trophy” idea is running rampant.

To my way of thinking, it is a horrible thing to make a trophy out of any wild creature, but hunters have never before been as they are becoming today, when nothing matters but the antlers.

“I see hunters come in here with a big set of antlers, measuring 160 or so and if they don’t make the Boone and Crockett record book, which requires 170 inches, they are just devastated.” Brad told me. “It is the only reason they have to hunt. I want to tell them how much they are missing. Most hunters 50 years ago would have been tickled to death with a deer like that.”

Today, big antlers are downright common. It takes monster antlers to make the big money now. Coulson gets a constant flow of deer-breeders catalogs in the mail, and he says they list hundreds and hundreds of breeders raising buck deer, trying to sell them to game ranches where “hunters” come in and pay from 15 to 50 thousand dollars to shoot that half-tame, pen-raised deer, fed a diet with meat byproducts to create a set of huge antlers. He says the catalogs increase each year to a point where there are thousands of 250- to 325-inch deer antlers being grown.

*
“Some guy will bring in an Iowa deer to be mounted, and he thinks because it will reach those Boone and Crockett requirements he has a rack worth 10,000 dollars,” Brad says, laughing. “Not anymore, a Boone and Crockett buck is fairly common now when you consider what is being raised in pens.”

Coulson has raised a lot of deer himself, raising one buck to the age of 12 years. He says the idea that letting a smaller buck go to become a big-antlered deer next year works just fine, sometimes. But many times, he will not get any bigger than he is. “I have seen 300-pound bucks with big, wide, forked antlers. If he is fed right, and has the right genetics, he may be an eight or ten-point buck at 1 and 1/2 years old, and at 3 and 1/2 years his antlers might be bigger or they might still be the same. But he might also lose a point or two, even though his antlers become heavier,” he said. “As he ages, his teeth wear down, and as his teeth wear, his antlers will not become any more impressive than they are.”

“Colorado tried the same thing years ago with mule deer that Missouri is doing now.” Coulson says. “They began to find a lot of big mule deer killed and left where they fell, because hunters just couldn’t tell for sure how many points the deer had, and they would shoot first and count later.”

He agreed that few hunters in heavy timber or brush, early or late in the day without good sunlight, can positively tell how many points are on each antler. Hunting conditions make it next to impossible to tell unless you use a good scope on your rifle, or binoculars. Too many hunters like me, who hunt with open sights in heavy woods, cannot count points on a moving buck they get a good look at for only fifteen or twenty seconds. And no matter what else can be said about the four-point restriction, that is the thing which disturbs me most… the fact that some hunter who never had a shot at a nice buck before will find out that the heavy antlers he saw had only three points on each side. And yes, sometimes that set of antlers will have more points next year, and sometimes it will not.

Coulson, an expert on deer antlers if I ever knew one, says that each deer is an individual, and theoretically, the whole plan sounds great, but there are so many exceptions to the rule, and a buck that becomes four or five years old, will seldom have the antlers he had at 2 or 3 years of age. That’s why the deer-growers sell deer at two and a half to three and a half years old, rather than keeping them until they are five or six. An aging buck may have heavier antlers with fewer points, or he may have small antlers his entire life.

The whole thing centers around money, and this tremendous ego which big antlers seem to stoke. Trophy antlers conceivably bring in more out-of-state hunters. Estimates are that this year, 18,000 non-resident hunters will come to hunt deer in Missouri, and the tags sell for 225 dollars each. Multiply that! The MDC has a lot to gain if trophy hunters think they can find bigger antlers in the state each year. If 5000 or so small bucks are killed and left in the woods, it isn’t considered to be a great number. The trophy hunter’s attitude about that is… who cares?

But you can count on this… the money factor is declining. Wild bucks will not produce the big-money-antlers in the future, unless you go to Manitoba to hunt. Once while goose-hunting in Manitoba in the 80’s I found the most unbelievable shed antler I have ever seen. Back in Missouri, a trophy-hunter nut said he would give me a thousand dollars for a set of antlers like that, if only I had found both.

But Bass Pro Shops and Cabelas can only buy so many racks for their walls, and they have about reached the maximum number they have room for. Those they bought ten years ago aren’t much now compared to the ones being raised in pens. Today, there are people making synthetic deer antlers which you cannot tell from real ones. A ten thousand dollar rack ten years ago may not be worth 100 dollars in another ten years.

And someday, that will put the quietus on trophy hunting…mounted deer head saturation. It then might thin out the numbers of the once-a-year hunters who stream out of the cities in their bright orange suits, and judge their worth according to the number and size of the deer heads they have hung on their office walls. Right now, the four-point restriction means money. It was instigated for that reason. But we only have to put up with this nonsense for a couple of weeks in November, and then the circus is over. The woods I walk through in December and January will be empty. And you would be amazed at the deer carcasses I will find.

As a side bar, it is interesting that this year a non-resident youngster under 16 years of age can get a deer tag which his father would have to pay 225 dollars for, at a cost of only 8 dollars and 50 cents. I hope a non-resident trophy hunter doesn’t figure out that he can bring his youngster and hunt bucks in Missouri about 217 dollars less. Of course, that never happens in the youth season, why would it happen in the regular season!

The website, www.larrydablemontoutdoors.blogspot.com. Write to me at Box 22, Bolivar, Mo. 65613 or e-mail lightninridge@windstream.net.

http://lakeexpo.com/articles/2009/11/03/top_news/04.txtI recently talked to an old friend of mine from Ankeny, Iowa, who told me he is teaching his 14-year-old son to trap this year, not because of fur prices, which are very low, but because he wants to see him learn about the outdoors, the ways of the wild, what being a true hunter and outdoorsman is really about. Brad Coulson is an old time taxidermist and he feels, as I do, that deer hunting is the poorest way in the world to make a hunter and outdoorsman out of a youngster. Today though, there are few who trap, or hunt squirrels or rabbits, and the “trophy” idea is running rampant.

To my way of thinking, it is a horrible thing to make a trophy out of any wild creature, but hunters have never before been as they are becoming today, when nothing matters but the antlers.

“I see hunters come in here with a big set of antlers, measuring 160 or so and if they don’t make the Boone and Crockett record book, which requires 170 inches, they are just devastated.” Brad told me. “It is the only reason they have to hunt. I want to tell them how much they are missing. Most hunters 50 years ago would have been tickled to death with a deer like that.”

Today, big antlers are downright common. It takes monster antlers to make the big money now. Coulson gets a constant flow of deer-breeders catalogs in the mail, and he says they list hundreds and hundreds of breeders raising buck deer, trying to sell them to game ranches where “hunters” come in and pay from 15 to 50 thousand dollars to shoot that half-tame, pen-raised deer, fed a diet with meat byproducts to create a set of huge antlers. He says the catalogs increase each year to a point where there are thousands of 250- to 325-inch deer antlers being grown.

*
“Some guy will bring in an Iowa deer to be mounted, and he thinks because it will reach those Boone and Crockett requirements he has a rack worth 10,000 dollars,” Brad says, laughing. “Not anymore, a Boone and Crockett buck is fairly common now when you consider what is being raised in pens.”

Coulson has raised a lot of deer himself, raising one buck to the age of 12 years. He says the idea that letting a smaller buck go to become a big-antlered deer next year works just fine, sometimes. But many times, he will not get any bigger than he is. “I have seen 300-pound bucks with big, wide, forked antlers. If he is fed right, and has the right genetics, he may be an eight or ten-point buck at 1 and 1/2 years old, and at 3 and 1/2 years his antlers might be bigger or they might still be the same. But he might also lose a point or two, even though his antlers become heavier,” he said. “As he ages, his teeth wear down, and as his teeth wear, his antlers will not become any more impressive than they are.”

“Colorado tried the same thing years ago with mule deer that Missouri is doing now.” Coulson says. “They began to find a lot of big mule deer killed and left where they fell, because hunters just couldn’t tell for sure how many points the deer had, and they would shoot first and count later.”

He agreed that few hunters in heavy timber or brush, early or late in the day without good sunlight, can positively tell how many points are on each antler. Hunting conditions make it next to impossible to tell unless you use a good scope on your rifle, or binoculars. Too many hunters like me, who hunt with open sights in heavy woods, cannot count points on a moving buck they get a good look at for only fifteen or twenty seconds. And no matter what else can be said about the four-point restriction, that is the thing which disturbs me most… the fact that some hunter who never had a shot at a nice buck before will find out that the heavy antlers he saw had only three points on each side. And yes, sometimes that set of antlers will have more points next year, and sometimes it will not.

Coulson, an expert on deer antlers if I ever knew one, says that each deer is an individual, and theoretically, the whole plan sounds great, but there are so many exceptions to the rule, and a buck that becomes four or five years old, will seldom have the antlers he had at 2 or 3 years of age. That’s why the deer-growers sell deer at two and a half to three and a half years old, rather than keeping them until they are five or six. An aging buck may have heavier antlers with fewer points, or he may have small antlers his entire life.

The whole thing centers around money, and this tremendous ego which big antlers seem to stoke. Trophy antlers conceivably bring in more out-of-state hunters. Estimates are that this year, 18,000 non-resident hunters will come to hunt deer in Missouri, and the tags sell for 225 dollars each. Multiply that! The MDC has a lot to gain if trophy hunters think they can find bigger antlers in the state each year. If 5000 or so small bucks are killed and left in the woods, it isn’t considered to be a great number. The trophy hunter’s attitude about that is… who cares?

But you can count on this… the money factor is declining. Wild bucks will not produce the big-money-antlers in the future, unless you go to Manitoba to hunt. Once while goose-hunting in Manitoba in the 80’s I found the most unbelievable shed antler I have ever seen. Back in Missouri, a trophy-hunter nut said he would give me a thousand dollars for a set of antlers like that, if only I had found both.

But Bass Pro Shops and Cabelas can only buy so many racks for their walls, and they have about reached the maximum number they have room for. Those they bought ten years ago aren’t much now compared to the ones being raised in pens. Today, there are people making synthetic deer antlers which you cannot tell from real ones. A ten thousand dollar rack ten years ago may not be worth 100 dollars in another ten years.

And someday, that will put the quietus on trophy hunting…mounted deer head saturation. It then might thin out the numbers of the once-a-year hunters who stream out of the cities in their bright orange suits, and judge their worth according to the number and size of the deer heads they have hung on their office walls. Right now, the four-point restriction means money. It was instigated for that reason. But we only have to put up with this nonsense for a couple of weeks in November, and then the circus is over. The woods I walk through in December and January will be empty. And you would be amazed at the deer carcasses I will find.

As a side bar, it is interesting that this year a non-resident youngster under 16 years of age can get a deer tag which his father would have to pay 225 dollars for, at a cost of only 8 dollars and 50 cents. I hope a non-resident trophy hunter doesn’t figure out that he can bring his youngster and hunt bucks in Missouri about 217 dollars less. Of course, that never happens in the youth season, why would it happen in the regular season!

The website, www.larrydablemontoutdoors.blogspot.com. Write to me at Box 22, Bolivar, Mo. 65613 or e-mail lightninridge@windstream.net.

I recently talked to an old friend of mine from Ankeny, Iowa, who told me he is teaching his 14-year-old son to trap this year, not because of fur prices, which are very low, but because he wants to see him learn about the outdoors, the ways of the wild, what being a true hunter and outdoorsman is really about. Brad Coulson is an old time taxidermist and he feels, as I do, that deer hunting is the poorest way in the world to make a hunter and outdoorsman out of a youngster. Today though, there are few who trap, or hunt squirrels or rabbits, and the “trophy” idea is running rampant.

To my way of thinking, it is a horrible thing to make a trophy out of any wild creature, but hunters have never before been as they are becoming today, when nothing matters but the antlers.

“I see hunters come in here with a big set of antlers, measuring 160 or so and if they don’t make the Boone and Crockett record book, which requires 170 inches, they are just devastated.” Brad told me. “It is the only reason they have to hunt. I want to tell them how much they are missing. Most hunters 50 years ago would have been tickled to death with a deer like that.”

Today, big antlers are downright common. It takes monster antlers to make the big money now. Coulson gets a constant flow of deer-breeders catalogs in the mail, and he says they list hundreds and hundreds of breeders raising buck deer, trying to sell them to game ranches where “hunters” come in and pay from 15 to 50 thousand dollars to shoot that half-tame, pen-raised deer, fed a diet with meat byproducts to create a set of huge antlers. He says the catalogs increase each year to a point where there are thousands of 250- to 325-inch deer antlers being grown.

*
“Some guy will bring in an Iowa deer to be mounted, and he thinks because it will reach those Boone and Crockett requirements he has a rack worth 10,000 dollars,” Brad says, laughing. “Not anymore, a Boone and Crockett buck is fairly common now when you consider what is being raised in pens.”

Coulson has raised a lot of deer himself, raising one buck to the age of 12 years. He says the idea that letting a smaller buck go to become a big-antlered deer next year works just fine, sometimes. But many times, he will not get any bigger than he is. “I have seen 300-pound bucks with big, wide, forked antlers. If he is fed right, and has the right genetics, he may be an eight or ten-point buck at 1 and 1/2 years old, and at 3 and 1/2 years his antlers might be bigger or they might still be the same. But he might also lose a point or two, even though his antlers become heavier,” he said. “As he ages, his teeth wear down, and as his teeth wear, his antlers will not become any more impressive than they are.”

“Colorado tried the same thing years ago with mule deer that Missouri is doing now.” Coulson says. “They began to find a lot of big mule deer killed and left where they fell, because hunters just couldn’t tell for sure how many points the deer had, and they would shoot first and count later.”

He agreed that few hunters in heavy timber or brush, early or late in the day without good sunlight, can positively tell how many points are on each antler. Hunting conditions make it next to impossible to tell unless you use a good scope on your rifle, or binoculars. Too many hunters like me, who hunt with open sights in heavy woods, cannot count points on a moving buck they get a good look at for only fifteen or twenty seconds. And no matter what else can be said about the four-point restriction, that is the thing which disturbs me most… the fact that some hunter who never had a shot at a nice buck before will find out that the heavy antlers he saw had only three points on each side. And yes, sometimes that set of antlers will have more points next year, and sometimes it will not.

Coulson, an expert on deer antlers if I ever knew one, says that each deer is an individual, and theoretically, the whole plan sounds great, but there are so many exceptions to the rule, and a buck that becomes four or five years old, will seldom have the antlers he had at 2 or 3 years of age. That’s why the deer-growers sell deer at two and a half to three and a half years old, rather than keeping them until they are five or six. An aging buck may have heavier antlers with fewer points, or he may have small antlers his entire life.

The whole thing centers around money, and this tremendous ego which big antlers seem to stoke. Trophy antlers conceivably bring in more out-of-state hunters. Estimates are that this year, 18,000 non-resident hunters will come to hunt deer in Missouri, and the tags sell for 225 dollars each. Multiply that! The MDC has a lot to gain if trophy hunters think they can find bigger antlers in the state each year. If 5000 or so small bucks are killed and left in the woods, it isn’t considered to be a great number. The trophy hunter’s attitude about that is… who cares?

But you can count on this… the money factor is declining. Wild bucks will not produce the big-money-antlers in the future, unless you go to Manitoba to hunt. Once while goose-hunting in Manitoba in the 80’s I found the most unbelievable shed antler I have ever seen. Back in Missouri, a trophy-hunter nut said he would give me a thousand dollars for a set of antlers like that, if only I had found both.

But Bass Pro Shops and Cabelas can only buy so many racks for their walls, and they have about reached the maximum number they have room for. Those they bought ten years ago aren’t much now compared to the ones being raised in pens. Today, there are people making synthetic deer antlers which you cannot tell from real ones. A ten thousand dollar rack ten years ago may not be worth 100 dollars in another ten years.

And someday, that will put the quietus on trophy hunting…mounted deer head saturation. It then might thin out the numbers of the once-a-year hunters who stream out of the cities in their bright orange suits, and judge their worth according to the number and size of the deer heads they have hung on their office walls. Right now, the four-point restriction means money. It was instigated for that reason. But we only have to put up with this nonsense for a couple of weeks in November, and then the circus is over. The woods I walk through in December and January will be empty. And you would be amazed at the deer carcasses I will find.

As a side bar, it is interesting that this year a non-resident youngster under 16 years of age can get a deer tag which his father would have to pay 225 dollars for, at a cost of only 8 dollars and 50 cents. I hope a non-resident trophy hunter doesn’t figure out that he can bring his youngster and hunt bucks in Missouri about 217 dollars less. Of course, that never happens in the youth season, why would it happen in the regular season!

The website, www.larrydablemontoutdoors.blogspot.com. Write to me at Box 22, Bolivar, Mo. 65613 or e-mail lightninridge@windstream.net.

http://lakeexpo.com/articles/2009/11/03/top_news/04.txt

Winnipeg Downtown Hotel

Hunt Lake Manitoba Narrows

www.huntlakemanitobanarrows.com

I recently talked to an old friend of mine from Ankeny, Iowa, who told me he is teaching his 14-year-old son to trap this year, not because of fur prices, which are very low, but because he wants to see him learn about the outdoors, the ways of the wild, what being a true hunter and outdoorsman is really about. Brad Coulson is an old time taxidermist and he feels, as I do, that deer hunting is the poorest way in the world to make a hunter and outdoorsman out of a youngster. Today though, there are few who trap, or hunt squirrels or rabbits, and the “trophy” idea is running rampant.

To my way of thinking, it is a horrible thing to make a trophy out of any wild creature, but hunters have never before been as they are becoming today, when nothing matters but the antlers.

“I see hunters come in here with a big set of antlers, measuring 160 or so and if they don’t make the Boone and Crockett record book, which requires 170 inches, they are just devastated.” Brad told me. “It is the only reason they have to hunt. I want to tell them how much they are missing. Most hunters 50 years ago would have been tickled to death with a deer like that.”

Today, big antlers are downright common. It takes monster antlers to make the big money now. Coulson gets a constant flow of deer-breeders catalogs in the mail, and he says they list hundreds and hundreds of breeders raising buck deer, trying to sell them to game ranches where “hunters” come in and pay from 15 to 50 thousand dollars to shoot that half-tame, pen-raised deer, fed a diet with meat byproducts to create a set of huge antlers. He says the catalogs increase each year to a point where there are thousands of 250- to 325-inch deer antlers being grown.

*
“Some guy will bring in an Iowa deer to be mounted, and he thinks because it will reach those Boone and Crockett requirements he has a rack worth 10,000 dollars,” Brad says, laughing. “Not anymore, a Boone and Crockett buck is fairly common now when you consider what is being raised in pens.”

Coulson has raised a lot of deer himself, raising one buck to the age of 12 years. He says the idea that letting a smaller buck go to become a big-antlered deer next year works just fine, sometimes. But many times, he will not get any bigger than he is. “I have seen 300-pound bucks with big, wide, forked antlers. If he is fed right, and has the right genetics, he may be an eight or ten-point buck at 1 and 1/2 years old, and at 3 and 1/2 years his antlers might be bigger or they might still be the same. But he might also lose a point or two, even though his antlers become heavier,” he said. “As he ages, his teeth wear down, and as his teeth wear, his antlers will not become any more impressive than they are.”

“Colorado tried the same thing years ago with mule deer that Missouri is doing now.” Coulson says. “They began to find a lot of big mule deer killed and left where they fell, because hunters just couldn’t tell for sure how many points the deer had, and they would shoot first and count later.”

He agreed that few hunters in heavy timber or brush, early or late in the day without good sunlight, can positively tell how many points are on each antler. Hunting conditions make it next to impossible to tell unless you use a good scope on your rifle, or binoculars. Too many hunters like me, who hunt with open sights in heavy woods, cannot count points on a moving buck they get a good look at for only fifteen or twenty seconds. And no matter what else can be said about the four-point restriction, that is the thing which disturbs me most… the fact that some hunter who never had a shot at a nice buck before will find out that the heavy antlers he saw had only three points on each side. And yes, sometimes that set of antlers will have more points next year, and sometimes it will not.

Coulson, an expert on deer antlers if I ever knew one, says that each deer is an individual, and theoretically, the whole plan sounds great, but there are so many exceptions to the rule, and a buck that becomes four or five years old, will seldom have the antlers he had at 2 or 3 years of age. That’s why the deer-growers sell deer at two and a half to three and a half years old, rather than keeping them until they are five or six. An aging buck may have heavier antlers with fewer points, or he may have small antlers his entire life.

The whole thing centers around money, and this tremendous ego which big antlers seem to stoke. Trophy antlers conceivably bring in more out-of-state hunters. Estimates are that this year, 18,000 non-resident hunters will come to hunt deer in Missouri, and the tags sell for 225 dollars each. Multiply that! The MDC has a lot to gain if trophy hunters think they can find bigger antlers in the state each year. If 5000 or so small bucks are killed and left in the woods, it isn’t considered to be a great number. The trophy hunter’s attitude about that is… who cares?

But you can count on this… the money factor is declining. Wild bucks will not produce the big-money-antlers in the future, unless you go to Manitoba to hunt. Once while goose-hunting in Manitoba in the 80’s I found the most unbelievable shed antler I have ever seen. Back in Missouri, a trophy-hunter nut said he would give me a thousand dollars for a set of antlers like that, if only I had found both.

But Bass Pro Shops and Cabelas can only buy so many racks for their walls, and they have about reached the maximum number they have room for. Those they bought ten years ago aren’t much now compared to the ones being raised in pens. Today, there are people making synthetic deer antlers which you cannot tell from real ones. A ten thousand dollar rack ten years ago may not be worth 100 dollars in another ten years.

And someday, that will put the quietus on trophy hunting…mounted deer head saturation. It then might thin out the numbers of the once-a-year hunters who stream out of the cities in their bright orange suits, and judge their worth according to the number and size of the deer heads they have hung on their office walls. Right now, the four-point restriction means money. It was instigated for that reason. But we only have to put up with this nonsense for a couple of weeks in November, and then the circus is over. The woods I walk through in December and January will be empty. And you would be amazed at the deer carcasses I will find.

As a side bar, it is interesting that this year a non-resident youngster under 16 years of age can get a deer tag which his father would have to pay 225 dollars for, at a cost of only 8 dollars and 50 cents. I hope a non-resident trophy hunter doesn’t figure out that he can bring his youngster and hunt bucks in Missouri about 217 dollars less. Of course, that never happens in the youth season, why would it happen in the regular season!

The website, www.larrydablemontoutdoors.blogspot.com. Write to me at Box 22, Bolivar, Mo. 65613 or e-mail lightninridge@windstream.net.

I recently talked to an old friend of mine from Ankeny, Iowa, who told me he is teaching his 14-year-old son to trap this year, not because of fur prices, which are very low, but because he wants to see him learn about the outdoors, the ways of the wild, what being a true hunter and outdoorsman is really about. Brad Coulson is an old time taxidermist and he feels, as I do, that deer hunting is the poorest way in the world to make a hunter and outdoorsman out of a youngster. Today though, there are few who trap, or hunt squirrels or rabbits, and the “trophy” idea is running rampant.

To my way of thinking, it is a horrible thing to make a trophy out of any wild creature, but hunters have never before been as they are becoming today, when nothing matters but the antlers.

“I see hunters come in here with a big set of antlers, measuring 160 or so and if they don’t make the Boone and Crockett record book, which requires 170 inches, they are just devastated.” Brad told me. “It is the only reason they have to hunt. I want to tell them how much they are missing. Most hunters 50 years ago would have been tickled to death with a deer like that.”

Today, big antlers are downright common. It takes monster antlers to make the big money now. Coulson gets a constant flow of deer-breeders catalogs in the mail, and he says they list hundreds and hundreds of breeders raising buck deer, trying to sell them to game ranches where “hunters” come in and pay from 15 to 50 thousand dollars to shoot that half-tame, pen-raised deer, fed a diet with meat byproducts to create a set of huge antlers. He says the catalogs increase each year to a point where there are thousands of 250- to 325-inch deer antlers being grown.

*
“Some guy will bring in an Iowa deer to be mounted, and he thinks because it will reach those Boone and Crockett requirements he has a rack worth 10,000 dollars,” Brad says, laughing. “Not anymore, a Boone and Crockett buck is fairly common now when you consider what is being raised in pens.”

Coulson has raised a lot of deer himself, raising one buck to the age of 12 years. He says the idea that letting a smaller buck go to become a big-antlered deer next year works just fine, sometimes. But many times, he will not get any bigger than he is. “I have seen 300-pound bucks with big, wide, forked antlers. If he is fed right, and has the right genetics, he may be an eight or ten-point buck at 1 and 1/2 years old, and at 3 and 1/2 years his antlers might be bigger or they might still be the same. But he might also lose a point or two, even though his antlers become heavier,” he said. “As he ages, his teeth wear down, and as his teeth wear, his antlers will not become any more impressive than they are.”

“Colorado tried the same thing years ago with mule deer that Missouri is doing now.” Coulson says. “They began to find a lot of big mule deer killed and left where they fell, because hunters just couldn’t tell for sure how many points the deer had, and they would shoot first and count later.”

He agreed that few hunters in heavy timber or brush, early or late in the day without good sunlight, can positively tell how many points are on each antler. Hunting conditions make it next to impossible to tell unless you use a good scope on your rifle, or binoculars. Too many hunters like me, who hunt with open sights in heavy woods, cannot count points on a moving buck they get a good look at for only fifteen or twenty seconds. And no matter what else can be said about the four-point restriction, that is the thing which disturbs me most… the fact that some hunter who never had a shot at a nice buck before will find out that the heavy antlers he saw had only three points on each side. And yes, sometimes that set of antlers will have more points next year, and sometimes it will not.

Coulson, an expert on deer antlers if I ever knew one, says that each deer is an individual, and theoretically, the whole plan sounds great, but there are so many exceptions to the rule, and a buck that becomes four or five years old, will seldom have the antlers he had at 2 or 3 years of age. That’s why the deer-growers sell deer at two and a half to three and a half years old, rather than keeping them until they are five or six. An aging buck may have heavier antlers with fewer points, or he may have small antlers his entire life.

The whole thing centers around money, and this tremendous ego which big antlers seem to stoke. Trophy antlers conceivably bring in more out-of-state hunters. Estimates are that this year, 18,000 non-resident hunters will come to hunt deer in Missouri, and the tags sell for 225 dollars each. Multiply that! The MDC has a lot to gain if trophy hunters think they can find bigger antlers in the state each year. If 5000 or so small bucks are killed and left in the woods, it isn’t considered to be a great number. The trophy hunter’s attitude about that is… who cares?

But you can count on this… the money factor is declining. Wild bucks will not produce the big-money-antlers in the future, unless you go to Manitoba to hunt. Once while goose-hunting in Manitoba in the 80’s I found the most unbelievable shed antler I have ever seen. Back in Missouri, a trophy-hunter nut said he would give me a thousand dollars for a set of antlers like that, if only I had found both.

But Bass Pro Shops and Cabelas can only buy so many racks for their walls, and they have about reached the maximum number they have room for. Those they bought ten years ago aren’t much now compared to the ones being raised in pens. Today, there are people making synthetic deer antlers which you cannot tell from real ones. A ten thousand dollar rack ten years ago may not be worth 100 dollars in another ten years.

And someday, that will put the quietus on trophy hunting…mounted deer head saturation. It then might thin out the numbers of the once-a-year hunters who stream out of the cities in their bright orange suits, and judge their worth according to the number and size of the deer heads they have hung on their office walls. Right now, the four-point restriction means money. It was instigated for that reason. But we only have to put up with this nonsense for a couple of weeks in November, and then the circus is over. The woods I walk through in December and January will be empty. And you would be amazed at the deer carcasses I will find.

As a side bar, it is interesting that this year a non-resident youngster under 16 years of age can get a deer tag which his father would have to pay 225 dollars for, at a cost of only 8 dollars and 50 cents. I hope a non-resident trophy hunter doesn’t figure out that he can bring his youngster and hunt bucks in Missouri about 217 dollars less. Of course, that never happens in the youth season, why would it happen in the regular season!

The website, www.larrydablemontoutdoors.blogspot.com. Write to me at Box 22, Bolivar, Mo. 65613 or e-mail lightninridge@windstream.net.

http://lakeexpo.com/articles/2009/11/03/top_news/04.txt

Sphere: Related Content

A CBC News investigation has found that a plan to reduce the risk of a catastrophic goose-strike accident at Winnipeg’s airport was developed five years ago but never implemented.

The plan was presented to the Urban Goose Working Group (UGWG) in 2004. It proposed 26 measures that could be taken to manage the Canada goose population in Winnipeg.

Geese have caused damage to aircraft measured in the millions of dollars, and threaten the safety of people on board the planes and result in delays at airports.

‘If we should strike them at the wrong point in a flight, the results can be extremely critical to our safety’—Richard Sowden, Air Canada Pilots Association

Key recommendations in the Manitoba Conservation-drafted plan included developing a goose-management system for Winnipeg and drawing down the water in storm-retention ponds near the airport to reduce the lure of the area to birds.

But the working group — which included Manitoba Conservation (MC), the City of Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Airports Authority, Transport Canada and Environment Canada — failed to adopt the plan and stopped meeting after the 2004 plan was tabled.

“We felt we needed more support, that we needed terms of reference — that would lend credence to it,” said Barry Verbiwski, MC’s wildlife manager.

But other agencies were not eager to sign on to the report.

Minutes of the group’s Aug. 4, 2004 meeting say the City of Winnipeg representative “stated that the residents of Winnipeg do not feel the geese in the Greater Winnipeg Area pose any problem, as she has had only a few calls of complaint … Based on this the City of Winnipeg does not consider Canada geese to be a problem.”

The Winnipeg Airports Authority “suggests the poor attendance by UGWG members is indicative of lack of interest by members.” The minutes suggest the WAA was concerned the report would scare the public.

The WAA “advised that air travel is still the safest mode of transportation and did not want the travelling public to become alarmed and cautioned that extreme care be taken with the document.”
Working group told of potential for calamity

At the same meeting, the working group members heard of the problems when geese and airplanes mix. In September 2003, a Canadian Forces Airbus struck a Canada goose while on final approach to Winnipeg’s airport, “causing over $1 million damage alone and the potential loss of crew members had the goose gone into the motor.”

At the time, pilots for major airlines warned the working group that action was needed to reduce the risk of goose strikes at Winnipeg’s airport.

And the concern is growing, especially in light of incidents such as a U.S. incident last January when a plane ingested geese into its engines and was forced to land on the Hudson River in New York.

“We know that if we should strike them at the wrong point in a flight, the results can be extremely critical to our safety,” says Richard Sowden of the Air Canada Pilots Association. Sowden is urging authorities to do more to reduce the hazard.

“Wildlife management, it’s like home insurance,” Sowden said. “We have to keep investing in that insurance so that we can protect ourselves from having one of those serious strike events with a catastrophic result.”
Local airline says problem increasing

The head of a Winnipeg airline shares Sowden’s concern. Mark Wehrle of Perimeter Aviation said geese strikes are happening more often.

“At one time it was a very rare event, now it’s becoming more common,” Wehrle said.

On Oct. 16, 2009, a Perimeter flight carrying nine people from Oxford House, Man., was on final approach to land in Winnipeg when Wehrle said the pilot told him he heard a swoosh and a thud. The cabin then filled with the smell of burning flesh.

A Canada goose had been sucked through the propeller blades and into the engine.

The pilot shut down the affected engine and the plane was able to land safely. But Wehrle said he’s stuck paying a six-figure repair bill — more than $150,000 damage was done to the engine.

Wehrle said his company suffers about 10 bird strikes a year that are not always due to geese. But he said because of the large body size of geese, they can cause more damage than smaller birds when hit by an aircraft.

Conservation’s Verbiwski said some progress has been made on reducing the number of geese in Winnipeg by measures such as introducing a hunting season on the outskirts of the city. But he acknowledged there is still more work to be done.

If you have any tips for the CBC News investigative team, call the confidential tip line at 788-3744.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2009/11/01/f-man-geese-airplanes-iteam.htmlA CBC News investigation has found that a plan to reduce the risk of a catastrophic goose-strike accident at Winnipeg’s airport was developed five years ago but never implemented.

The plan was presented to the Urban Goose Working Group (UGWG) in 2004. It proposed 26 measures that could be taken to manage the Canada goose population in Winnipeg.

Geese have caused damage to aircraft measured in the millions of dollars, and threaten the safety of people on board the planes and result in delays at airports.

‘If we should strike them at the wrong point in a flight, the results can be extremely critical to our safety’—Richard Sowden, Air Canada Pilots Association

Key recommendations in the Manitoba Conservation-drafted plan included developing a goose-management system for Winnipeg and drawing down the water in storm-retention ponds near the airport to reduce the lure of the area to birds.

But the working group — which included Manitoba Conservation (MC), the City of Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Airports Authority, Transport Canada and Environment Canada — failed to adopt the plan and stopped meeting after the 2004 plan was tabled.

“We felt we needed more support, that we needed terms of reference — that would lend credence to it,” said Barry Verbiwski, MC’s wildlife manager.

But other agencies were not eager to sign on to the report.

Minutes of the group’s Aug. 4, 2004 meeting say the City of Winnipeg representative “stated that the residents of Winnipeg do not feel the geese in the Greater Winnipeg Area pose any problem, as she has had only a few calls of complaint … Based on this the City of Winnipeg does not consider Canada geese to be a problem.”

The Winnipeg Airports Authority “suggests the poor attendance by UGWG members is indicative of lack of interest by members.” The minutes suggest the WAA was concerned the report would scare the public.

The WAA “advised that air travel is still the safest mode of transportation and did not want the travelling public to become alarmed and cautioned that extreme care be taken with the document.”
Working group told of potential for calamity

At the same meeting, the working group members heard of the problems when geese and airplanes mix. In September 2003, a Canadian Forces Airbus struck a Canada goose while on final approach to Winnipeg’s airport, “causing over $1 million damage alone and the potential loss of crew members had the goose gone into the motor.”

At the time, pilots for major airlines warned the working group that action was needed to reduce the risk of goose strikes at Winnipeg’s airport.

And the concern is growing, especially in light of incidents such as a U.S. incident last January when a plane ingested geese into its engines and was forced to land on the Hudson River in New York.

“We know that if we should strike them at the wrong point in a flight, the results can be extremely critical to our safety,” says Richard Sowden of the Air Canada Pilots Association. Sowden is urging authorities to do more to reduce the hazard.

“Wildlife management, it’s like home insurance,” Sowden said. “We have to keep investing in that insurance so that we can protect ourselves from having one of those serious strike events with a catastrophic result.”
Local airline says problem increasing

The head of a Winnipeg airline shares Sowden’s concern. Mark Wehrle of Perimeter Aviation said geese strikes are happening more often.

“At one time it was a very rare event, now it’s becoming more common,” Wehrle said.

On Oct. 16, 2009, a Perimeter flight carrying nine people from Oxford House, Man., was on final approach to land in Winnipeg when Wehrle said the pilot told him he heard a swoosh and a thud. The cabin then filled with the smell of burning flesh.

A Canada goose had been sucked through the propeller blades and into the engine.

The pilot shut down the affected engine and the plane was able to land safely. But Wehrle said he’s stuck paying a six-figure repair bill — more than $150,000 damage was done to the engine.

Wehrle said his company suffers about 10 bird strikes a year that are not always due to geese. But he said because of the large body size of geese, they can cause more damage than smaller birds when hit by an aircraft.

Conservation’s Verbiwski said some progress has been made on reducing the number of geese in Winnipeg by measures such as introducing a hunting season on the outskirts of the city. But he acknowledged there is still more work to be done.

If you have any tips for the CBC News investigative team, call the confidential tip line at 788-3744.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2009/11/01/f-man-geese-airplanes-iteam.html

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A CBC News investigation has found that a plan to reduce the risk of a catastrophic goose-strike accident at Winnipeg’s airport was developed five years ago but never implemented.

The plan was presented to the Urban Goose Working Group (UGWG) in 2004. It proposed 26 measures that could be taken to manage the Canada goose population in Winnipeg.

Geese have caused damage to aircraft measured in the millions of dollars, and threaten the safety of people on board the planes and result in delays at airports.

‘If we should strike them at the wrong point in a flight, the results can be extremely critical to our safety’—Richard Sowden, Air Canada Pilots Association

Key recommendations in the Manitoba Conservation-drafted plan included developing a goose-management system for Winnipeg and drawing down the water in storm-retention ponds near the airport to reduce the lure of the area to birds.

But the working group — which included Manitoba Conservation (MC), the City of Winnipeg, the Winnipeg Airports Authority, Transport Canada and Environment Canada — failed to adopt the plan and stopped meeting after the 2004 plan was tabled.

“We felt we needed more support, that we needed terms of reference — that would lend credence to it,” said Barry Verbiwski, MC’s wildlife manager.

But other agencies were not eager to sign on to the report.

Minutes of the group’s Aug. 4, 2004 meeting say the City of Winnipeg representative “stated that the residents of Winnipeg do not feel the geese in the Greater Winnipeg Area pose any problem, as she has had only a few calls of complaint … Based on this the City of Winnipeg does not consider Canada geese to be a problem.”

The Winnipeg Airports Authority “suggests the poor attendance by UGWG members is indicative of lack of interest by members.” The minutes suggest the WAA was concerned the report would scare the public.

The WAA “advised that air travel is still the safest mode of transportation and did not want the travelling public to become alarmed and cautioned that extreme care be taken with the document.”
Working group told of potential for calamity

At the same meeting, the working group members heard of the problems when geese and airplanes mix. In September 2003, a Canadian Forces Airbus struck a Canada goose while on final approach to Winnipeg’s airport, “causing over $1 million damage alone and the potential loss of crew members had the goose gone into the motor.”

At the time, pilots for major airlines warned the working group that action was needed to reduce the risk of goose strikes at Winnipeg’s airport.

And the concern is growing, especially in light of incidents such as a U.S. incident last January when a plane ingested geese into its engines and was forced to land on the Hudson River in New York.

“We know that if we should strike them at the wrong point in a flight, the results can be extremely critical to our safety,” says Richard Sowden of the Air Canada Pilots Association. Sowden is urging authorities to do more to reduce the hazard.

“Wildlife management, it’s like home insurance,” Sowden said. “We have to keep investing in that insurance so that we can protect ourselves from having one of those serious strike events with a catastrophic result.”
Local airline says problem increasing

The head of a Winnipeg airline shares Sowden’s concern. Mark Wehrle of Perimeter Aviation said geese strikes are happening more often.

“At one time it was a very rare event, now it’s becoming more common,” Wehrle said.

On Oct. 16, 2009, a Perimeter flight carrying nine people from Oxford House, Man., was on final approach to land in Winnipeg when Wehrle said the pilot told him he heard a swoosh and a thud. The cabin then filled with the smell of burning flesh.

A Canada goose had been sucked through the propeller blades and into the engine.

The pilot shut down the affected engine and the plane was able to land safely. But Wehrle said he’s stuck paying a six-figure repair bill — more than $150,000 damage was done to the engine.

Wehrle said his company suffers about 10 bird strikes a year that are not always due to geese. But he said because of the large body size of geese, they can cause more damage than smaller birds when hit by an aircraft.

Conservation’s Verbiwski said some progress has been made on reducing the number of geese in Winnipeg by measures such as introducing a hunting season on the outskirts of the city. But he acknowledged there is still more work to be done.

If you have any tips for the CBC News investigative team, call the confidential tip line at 788-3744.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2009/11/01/f-man-geese-airplanes-iteam.html

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