What’s it worth environmentally to eat deer instead of beef? Our numbers say: plenty

By Sam Eifling
Kill any green deer lately?

Chances are you have, if you followed the prime directive of ethical hunting — that you eat what you shoot.

A wild deer, with its bulk built from acorns and clover, supplies some of the most environmentally-responsible protein a person can eat. It’s a source that requires less water, fossil fuels or carbon emissions than the meat and even the vegetables Americans typically consume.

Hunters often claim to be the original environmentalists. In the case of their diet, a back-of-the-bar-napkin ESPNOutdoors.com analysis suggests they may have a point.

The short version — if you don’t want to plod through the math below — eating a pound of wild venison instead of a pound of beef may keep roughly a gallon of gas out of industrial food production.

Read More:
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/hunting/news/story?id=3714828

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By James Swan
ESPNOutdoors.com

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by Erick Prather, Missoula

After the great response to my last letter (Nov. 18) I’ve decided to write another.

Although some have labeled me as a “radical righty,” I was determined to fin

d my true political affiliation. So, I took three political party tests online and concluded that I wasn’t a lefty nor a righty; all three tests confirmed I was a centrist.

Therefore, as a centrist, I want to bring to attention H.R. 6257, the Assault Weapons Ban Reauthorization Act of 2008. This has got to be the worst bill yet. Thankfully, it has never made it out of committee to be voted on. However, this is far from over and the battle will continue for at least four more years – more likely, forever.

President-elect Barack Obama stated at a VPC fundraiser in 2007 that his “first priority will be to reinstate the assault weapons ban as soon as I take office,” “work with Congress on a National No Carry law,” “ban all semiautomatic weapons,” ” allow one gun purchase per month” and “within 90 days of taking office will go after all table dealers, Internet sales and gun show loop holes.”

As a gun enthusiast, I believe not all American’s should enjoy our Second Amendment. Those individuals who have elected not to be law-abiding citizens should not be permitted to carry or possess a firearm, and most are forbidden by law. Often, those who commit crimes involving guns are not obtained legally. I believe individuals who commit crimes with firearms should be prosecuted and penalized in a manner which they will reconsider committing another crime. I ask Congress to enforce the laws we have, revisit the penalties for criminals and protect our Constitution.

Good luck, may your god bless you, and stay informed!

Erick Prather, Missoula

http://www.missoulian.com/

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The Carolina Outdoors Organization would like to go on record opposing the proposal by the NC WRC Big Game Committee Commissioners. We agree with bow hunting on Sundays, Carolina Outdoors opposes the current rule against hunting on Sundays. However we feel that the majority of the recommendations are counter productive to the quality management of North Carolina s whitetail deer herd. We feel that the WRC Commissioners recommendations are based on pressure from the NC Insurance Industry lobby, not on sound biological study. We understand the concern of the Insurance Industry, but the  opening of firearms season on the dates proposed is not the answer. We feel that this would be harmful to most counties in the western end of the state. Hopefully a throughly researched and intelligent compromise can be reached. Carolina Outdoors endorses the proposal by the NC WRC Division of Wildlife Management. We feel it is the most intelligent proposal to benefit the NC whitetail deer herd.

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Situation 1: The Wounded Warrior

You live in the country, in prime deer habitat. You don’t feed deer intentionally, but they visit your bird feeder, eat the shrubbery in your backyard, bed in the dense windbreak not far from the house.
One day, long after the firearms season has ended, but with some days left on the bow-hunting clock, you notice a nice buck in your backyard.

He is limping noticeably and — although you can’t get a real good look at his hind leg — it appears to be broken; either hit by a bullet or side-swiped by a vehicle.

It’s legal to hunt on your property, and although you don’t normally do so, you decide to hang a stand on the border. The buck is a decent one and, your gut tells you, it’s not likely to survive what’s shaping up to be a tough winter. If he’ll just slide in past that stand one evening, you’ll take him. Not only will you have a chance to fill an unused bow tag, you’ll save the animal from suffering needlessly.

Unfortunately, the buck scents you the first night you hunt him and refuses to come near the stand. Repeat sits offer no buck sightings. However, the deer is still there; you see him at night near the bird feeder, or glimpse him limping off in the predawn as you get in the car to go to work in the morning. Each time his limp is more severe, his retreat a little slower. To your eye, he seems to be going downhill fast.

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for more go to
http://www.deeranddeerhunting.com/article/EthicsTest/

Click here to visit the International Hunter Education Association

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by Bob Marshall

Rampant urbanization, changed cultural values, and the new American religions of organized sports and electronic entertainment are keeping kids out of the woods. But our eroding commitment could be the fatal blow.

The lines on the graphs are grim, reading like an epitaph on a tombstone. One shows the adult population growing older; the other reveals that arrivals from the next generation are falling.

Sportsmen know these are the signs of species fighting for survival. Similar equations have clouded the future of canvasbacks and steelhead, grizzlies and bull trout.

But this report is even more troubling. This one is about us.

http://www.fieldandstream.com/article/Hunting/Why-Johnny-Wont-Hunt

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