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Here’s what’s worth reading today, Thursday, October 24, 2019:
‘Hunt the Hunters’: Wisconsin deer stands vandalized with anti-hunting messages: For the second time in just weeks, deer stands in Wisconsin’s Dunn County were discovered vandalized with messages targeting the area’s hunters, including one message which read, “Hunt the hunters.” On Friday, the Dunn County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that the second deer stand — located in the Township of Dunn — had been spray-painted with the message, as well as what appeared to be the logo for the Animal Liberation Front. The Animal Liberation Front, or A.L.F., has since told Fox News the organization was “very pleased” with the development.
Two dead, one injured after helicopters crash over ranch in Duval County during deer netting: Two people have been confirmed dead Wednesday morning following a crash involving three helicopters that were netting deer at a ranch northeast of Hebbronville, Texas. According to the Duval County Sheriff Romeo Ramirez, it happened Wednesday morning over a private ranch inside Duval County about 5 miles from Hebbronville. Ramirez said three small helicopters were being used to net deer on the ranch. It is believed that two of the helicopters got too close to each other and their rotors collided and one of them crashed. The other two landed safely.
Hunter dies after deer attacks him in Marion County, Arkansas: This tragedy is on the list of odd hunting related deaths the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has investigated. “I’ve worked for the Game and Fish Commission for 20 years, and it’s one of the stranger things that’s happened,” said Keith Stephens, the Chief of Communications with the agency. Officials said 66-year-old Thomas Alexander shot a buck with a muzzleloader while hunting near Yellville. “I don’t know how long he left it there, but he went up to check it to make sure it was dead. And evidently it wasn’t,” Stephens said. Stephens said that is when the deer attacked. “It got back up, and he had several puncture wounds on his body,” he said. The agency reported Alexander was by himself but able to call his family, who called emergency responders. He later passed away at the hospital.
Boy, 10, calls big catch a ‘moment of a lifetime’ after fishing trip with his dad: A young fisherman in Florida is encouraging others to chase their dreams after a video showing him catching his record-breaking bass went viral. Ke’Mari Cooper, 10, of Tallahassee, Florida, was fishing at Waverly Pond Park recently with his father, Velt Cooper, when he was able to reel in the 7-pounder. He said the miraculous catch came after his third cast following a black trick worm lure. He told ABC News on Saturday that he still couldn’t believe that he’d caught such a massive fish but added that “you can catch anything as long as you put the effort into it.” Velt Cooper, a 32-year-old delivery truck driver who’s been fishing his entire life, captured the moment on video and posted it on social media on Oct. 13.
Louisiana man dies in hunting accident at deer stand: A Louisiana man died in a hunting accident Sunday after he fell and hit his head on a deer stand. Paul Landry, 53, had left his home around 5:30 a.m. to go hunting alone in Sabine Parish when he made several trips up and down the 14-foot ladder to take his weapon and backpack to the top of the stand, coroner Ron Rivers told KSLA-TV. As he tried to make one last trip up the ladder, Landry tripped on a large tree stump and fell face-first onto its lowest rung, Rivers said. After they failed to reach Landry with several phone calls, family members went to check on him around noon and discovered his body at the foot of the deer stand, Rivers told KTBS-TV.
Texas wildlife experts predict quality quail hunting ahead of season opener Oct. 26: With quail hunting season opening Saturday, Oct. 26 statewide, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department wildlife biologists predict average to above-average prospects across most of the state. “Habitat and weather can cause dramatic shifts in bobwhite and scaled quail populations from one year to the next,” said Robert Perez, quail program leader for TPWD. “Although last year’s quail season was not very productive, quail have an uncanny ability to quickly bounce back when conditions are good. Thanks to favorable weather conditions earlier this year, hunters can look forward to productive quail hunting across most of the state this season.” For the core quail range in Texas, this year’s El Nino weather pattern translated to above average rainfall and below average temperatures, resulting in an above average bobwhite quail season in most of South Texas, average to slightly above average scaled quail season for the Trans Pecos region, and good prospects for scaled quail and bobwhite in the Panhandle above Interstate 40.
The bizarre moment activist tries to shame fisherman for ‘trying to kill fish’ A fisherman managed to film a bizarre interaction between him and and woman who tried to scold him for fishing. Land Fish TV, a YouTube channel dedicated to fishing, uploaded the full video of the exchange to the video streaming platform, titling it “Fisherman vs Activist.” According to the reviews on the Land Fish TV Facebook page, the channel is run by a man called Lincoln, who according to the About section on his YouTube account, mainly fishes from “land based locations with limited equipment, but a whole lot of enthusiasm,” report Yahoo News Australia. “Excuse me, have you read the signs,” the woman asks the fisherman as he throws his line into the water. The fisherman then asks which sign she is referring to. “The sign down there that says it’s an offence to disturb wildlife,” the woman says. “We’re not disturbing wildlife,” Lincoln says. “You’re fishing, you’re trying to kill fish,” the woman says.
Family, friends search for Oklahoma man who went missing during hunting trip in Colorado: Family and friends are desperately searching for an 87-year-old man from eastern Oklahoma who went missing over the weekend during a yearly hunting trip to Colorado. Alvie Webb, a former teacher and principal from Muldrow, went missing Saturday morning. A close family friend describe him as “sharp as a tack.” “Very emotional and still am. Shocked and disbelief,” Karen Wilson said. “Nothing. There’s been nothing.” Each year, Webb and his son, his grandson and a group of men go on a hunting trip in Dolores, Colorado. Wilson told KOCO 5 that Webb was dropped off Saturday morning at his hunting spot. “They told him, said, ‘Now we’ll pick you up at the bottom of the hill, on the road around 10 o’clock,'” she said. After some time passed, Wilson said Webb’s son went to go pick him up at the bottom of the hill. Webb wasn’t there, so the son waited for his father for a little while, but “Papaw didn’t show up.”
Be courteous in the woods, hunting seasons overlap: A hunter friend of mine was complaining to me earlier this week that where he was recently deer hunting there was a contingent of upland bird hunters who seemed to think they were the only hunters afield. It’s a complaint that is not uncommon. Hunter etiquette is every bit as important as stream etiquette for anglers. During the new few weeks in particular, archers — including crossbow hunters — will be trying to fill their deer and bear tags. At the same time, turkey season will be open for the last two weeks of October, pheasant hunters will be afield until the end of February, as will ruffed grouse hunters. Rabbit and squirrel hunters may show up on the scene and maybe even the occasional coyote hunter. Traipsing under some deer hunter’s tree stand while you are bird hunting isn’t going to make a new friend for you. Nor will running your portable stand up a tree a few yards away from where a turkey hunter has set up shop.
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