The rut is over, but your archery tag isn’t filled yet. Now what? Here’s some worthy advice for late-season bowhunting.

Minus-5 degrees would not have been terribly bad, but the wind-chill factor dropped the count by another 20 degrees.

The end of the season was near, so whatever conditions Mother Nature dished out, it was time for Andy Newton and his 13-year-old son, Adam, to get serious. This particular winter was making up for previous mild ones. The rural landscape was covered with knee-deep snow, and drifts in many farm fields were waist-deep.

For the Newtons, however, the stage was set. Andy had left a couple acres of standing soybeans and plowed tractor-width paths through the snow to field-edge tree stands. These cleared trails looked like deer highways in the soybeans.

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By Scott Nicholson
Several local and regional waterways faced proposed fishing and designation changes under proposals by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

The public-comment period on dozens of proposed changes to the state’s hunting and fishing rules began Monday and will continue through a series of public hearings in January.

A 1.6-mile section of Winkler’s Creek near Boone could receive a “Wild Trout Waters” designation. The creek serves as the town’s back-up municipal water supply, but the designation wouldn’t affect the town’s ability to draw water from the creek.

Click here for the article from the Watauga Democrat

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Courtesy of the Sedalia Democrat

Randy Goodman, 47, of Sedalia, is seen with the buck that injured him Nov. 16. Goodman shot the deer twice, but it did not go gently into the night. The buck attacked Goodman, cutting his head, before he finished the job.

SEDALIA, Mo. — A Sedalia hunter bagged a big buck on the second day of firearms season, but the kill caused him a lot of pain.

Forty-nine-year-old Randy Goodman said he thought two well-placed shots with his .270-caliber rifle had killed the buck on Nov. 19. Goodman said the deer looked dead to him, but seconds later the nine-point, 240-pound animal came to life.

The buck rose up, knocked Goodman down and attacked him with his antlers in what the veteran hunter called “15 seconds of hell.” The deer ran a short distance and went down, and died after Goodman fired two more shots.

Soon Goodman started feeling dizzy and noticed his vest was soaked in blood.

So he reached his truck and drove to a hospital, where he received seven staples in his scalp and was treated for a slight concussion and bruises.

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