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Here’s what’s worth reading today, Thursday, September 19, 2019:
New study puts the crosshairs on American attitudes about hunting: Americans haven’t changed their minds about hunting in the last 25 years, but their opinions have grown more nuanced. Days before Saturday’s opening of Pennsylvania’s early archery deer season in the region, a new national survey shows that the general acceptance of legal hunting has gradually increased from 73% in 1995 to nearly 80%, the highest level ever recorded. Legal hunting, as opposed to illegal poaching, garnered varied support depending upon the respondent’s hometown, race, gender and age. Approval ratings were influenced by the species being targeted and the stated reason for hunting. The survey was conducted by Responsive Management, a research firm that has tracked public attitudes about hunting, fishing, shooting, trapping and other wildlife-related activities since 1995.
Texas deer hunters should make sighting in rifles priority before season
Early hunting trips help kids squirrel away knowledge: Like many who enjoy hunting and fishing, I monitor social media and emails to see who is catching fish or finding success in the woods, whether they are chasing moose or squirrels. Virginia’s fall squirrel season began Sept. 7 and its advent had me pondering how times and expectations seem to be evolving. We’ve noted before how squirrel hunting helps teach youngsters and novices outdoors skills, marksmanship and that much-needed quality of patience. Many baby boomers and prior generations honed their skills hunting bushytails. You started small and worked your way up to larger game. That seems to be a diminishing practice. Today, it seems you are as likely to see a photo of a child with a deer or turkey as with a squirrel.
Hunting brings so much more to the area than ‘single-use tourism’ Paying attention to the Post Independent’s opinion page is often difficult for me because of how busy each day can be throughout the school year. However, Lindsay DeFrates’ column on Sept. 10, “Our visitors must become more than single-use tourists,” really struck a nerve. Usually, I enjoy reading Lindsay’s columns because she’s a very thoughtful person with views that often align with my own. That wasn’t the case when reading her latest column, though, where she came off as elitist, complaining that tourists aren’t doing enough in the area, like getting to know the people and the stories within our town. The part that bothered me the most was the outright attack on hunters, writing that they’re just here for the perfect shot and a nine-point buck to take home to display on their wall. It’s not just Lindsay, it’s the general line of thinking surrounding hunting in this area that bothers me as a whole. There’s so much more to the hunting industry for this area outside of hunters walking into the woods with their guns, bagging big game, and leaving. Quite frankly, it’s flat-out false and irresponsible to claim such in a column.
So what happened to deer hunting? So what happened to deer hunting? Some of you out there may be saying, “What is he talking about?” (I get that a lot.) If you have been deer hunting for longer than 20 years or so, you have seen some big changes. Now I’m not saying that we all need to go back to wearing Woolrich hunting clothes and that everybody should carry a Winchester Model 94 .30/30 rifle with open sights. On the other hand, I’m not sure all of the changes we have seen have been for the better. Here are examples of what is going on in the deer world. An obsession with aging deer and antler size. When you hear your hunting buddies talk about seeing some deer, the conversation may go something like this.
Is using the latest hunting and fishing technology important? How much technology is enough? Is it really an absolute necessity that we purchase the newest edition of whatever we purchased just a year ago? Is bigger really better, faster really needed, color better than black and white? The answer to all those questions, in my opinion, is yes, no, maybe and how much do you want to spend. Let’s talk depth finders for starters. After all, what fisherman doesn’t rely on a depth finder?
Flybraries are little “libraries” for fly fishing: Now folks who fly fish have the opportunity to pay it forward, thanks to the Flybrary Project. Much like the little book lending libraries, at “flybraries” people can leave a fly to share, or take one if they need one. And they are encouraged to create their own flybrary which they can then add to the project’s growing registry.
Australian cyclist dies after encounter with angry magpie: Animal attacks during bike rides are rare but unfortunate occurrences. While unruly dogs are often the culprit, cyclists have encountered or been chased by everything from bears to kangaroos. Most recently, though, a different Australian critter was involved in an attack that tragically resulted in a cyclist’s death. On September 15, near Nicholson Park in Woonona, Australia, a 76-year-old man died from injuries sustained during a freak bicycle accident that was caused by a territorial magpie. According to local police, the man was riding down an off-road path when he and another cyclist encountered a “swooping” magpie. The attack caused the man to swerve off the path and into a fence post.
Tourists arrested at Yellowstone National Park’s Old Faithful geyser for ‘thermal trespassing’ Two men are in hot water for getting too close to the hot water at the Old Faithful geyser in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. The tourists have since been arrested for “thermal trespassing” at the famous hot spring and are now due in court in two months. On Sept. 10, two men were caught walking “dangerously close” to the spout of the legendary geyser and taking photos on their cellphones, said National Park Service officials. It would hardly be the first time, however, that bad behavior at Old Faithful has made headlines. In September 2018, a Yellowstone visitor was ticketed for walking too close to the famous geyser and reportedly urinating on it. In August 2019, another Yellowstone tourist went viral for all the wrong reasons when he walked dangerously close to Old Faithful and allegedly flipped off a disapproving crowd.
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