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Here’s what’s worth reading today, Tuesday, November 3, 2020:
Texas deer hunting checklist provides plan for opening day of whitetail season
Bowhunting couple charged in Nebraska’s largest poaching case ever
Josh and Sarah Bowmar are no strangers to the spotlight. The Ohio couple is well-known for their collective bowhunting success, online videos, and physical fitness training programs. But they’re now set to go to federal court. Together, they face charges that allege hunting turkeys without a valid permit, illegally transporting game across state lines, and illegal baiting of wildlife, among others.
Among violations of numerous Nebraska state laws, the Bowmars are also charged with violating the federal Lacey Act through interstate commerce of wildlife.
Filed by United States Attorney Joseph P. Kelly in July, a 20-page indictment lists all charges. The document requests the forfeiture of three whitetail bucks killed in 2016 and 2017 by the couple, a compound bow, and monetary reparations equal to the value of the property involved. However, no amount is yet disclosed.
The case is part of a much larger sting involving Hidden Hills Outfitters (HHO) of Broken Bow, Nebraska. Co-owner and lead guide, Joshua Hueftle, received 30 months in federal prison and a $214,375 fine — restitution set to be paid to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission. He also faces a 15-year ban from obtaining hunting licenses.
More than 30 defendants pled guilty in the case, resulting in more than $500,000 in fines and 53 years of revoked hunting and fishing privileges. In all, 97 animals were found to be taken illegally. HHO also regularly killed non-game migratory birds, meaning birds like red-tailed hawks and American kestrels. The latter is a violation of the federal Migratory Bird Act.
Alaska officials: Hunt safe, hunt smart and hunt legal
Hunting is an important way to pass on family traditions and fill our freezers with healthy wild game meat. As we begin the Fortymile Caribou winter hunt, we want to make sure you are ready to get out and be successful in your harvest. On top of everything that you may have on your typical pre-hunt checklist, you will also need to be aware of any COVID-19 mandates that local communities have put into place.
Knowing who manages the lands on which you will be hunting is important. In some cases, that may influence whether you can legally hunt there. Typically, Alaskans access the backcountry with all-terrain vehicles, some other form of off-road vehicle, planes or boats. Sometimes, though, there are restrictions on how you traverse those lands.
For example, the Pinnell Mountain Trail along the Steese National Conservation Area straddles federal Bureau of Land Management-managed and state lands, and each side of the trail has different rules. Contacting local BLM and DNR offices are your best bet to know land status and rules for the areas you plan to travel.
Along with all your usual hunting gear, you will need to make sure you are fully prepared for the frigid temperatures that Interior Alaska is known for. Hypothermia is a very real possibility during a winter hunt, and making sure you stay warm and dry is essential. To assist with that, being fully prepared before you leave home is especially important this season as every one of us is having to adapt our lives considering the pandemic.
Given the situation at the time you go hunting, some of the local communities you have traditionally passed through for supplies and provisions could have restrictions in place. You need to check ahead of time online and prepare for limited access to those services.
A deer hunt can take on a language of its own
It is sometimes understandable why non-hunters don’t understand hunters. If you’ve never tried it you can’t really comprehend the experience and the thrill. It can also be quite confusing to the uninitiated when listening to hunter conversations. Sometimes common words can have very different meanings to specialized groups, especially deer hunters.
In colloquial conversation, a drag is synonymous with something negative: a bummer or a downer. In deer hunting’s lexicon it’s a method for getting your deer out of the woods, which makes it a good thing unless you shot that deer way back in the boonies and you’re by yourself. Then it can be a real drag getting it out.
Somewhat similarly, a rut is something you don’t want to get stuck in, either when driving the backwoods roads or traveling along the path of life. To a deer hunter however, the rut is a magical time, the whitetail breeding season when normally wary bucks drop their guard and move about more during daylight, sometimes acting quite foolish. That’s one rut we wish we could get stuck in but unfortunately it only lasts a few brief but wonderful days.
Somewhat the same, a rub is also something to avoid in life as it represents some hindrance or drawback in the language of common folk. Not so for the deer hunter. Bucks rub trees for several reasons, including to leave scent along their regular travel routes. By noting on which side a buck rubs successive trees along such a route the hunter can determine the deer’s direction of travel, and so avoid getting rubbed the wrong way.
Grizzly bear shot after injuring Montana hunters during ‘surprise encounter,’ wildlife officials say
Two Montana outdoorsmen shot and killed a grizzly bear after the animal attacked and injured the father and son during a hunting excursion over the weekend.
On Saturday, the hunters from Flathead Valley were near a gated road by Smith Lake, north of Whitefish Lake, when the grizzly charged out of a thickly wooded area “at very close range” and attacked, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (FWP) said a statement.
“The two individuals sustained significant injuries before they were able to shoot and kill the bear,” the agency said.
The hunters were flown to Kalispell Regional Medical Center for treatment; authorities did not disclose further details about the extent of their injuries.
Later, the Wildlife Human Attack Response Team found a deer carcass near where the attack occurred.
Investigators concluded that the adult female grizzly, who was about 20 years old, was likely defending the food and her offspring, FWP Regional Game Warden Captain Lee Anderson said of the “surprise encounter.” The bear is believed to have had at least one cub when the incident occurred.
Other Stuff That Might Tickle Your Fancy
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