The Outdoor Pressroom

British angler achieves all 3 IGFA 'Royal Slams'

Briton Zyg Gregorek, 65, is being hailed as the first angler to catch the International Game Fish Association's Billfish Royal Slam, Shark Royal Slam and Tuna Royal Slam. IGFA President Rob Kramer said Gregorek's achievement was unsurpassed. "To achieve one royal slam is impressive but to get all three is unheard of. He is the first and maybe the last," he said. In The Scotsman and a special feature and interview by outdoor writer Ed Zieralski in the San Diego Union Tribune.

Annual machine gun & cannon shoot in Wyoming

The 11th annual Northern Rockies Machine Gun and Cannon Shoot, hosted by the Wyoming NFA Shooters Club, takes place this weekend near Casper. Attendees may not bring their own firearms, but machine guns and cannons are available for rent. This year's event will feature a 90mm cannon that was used by the Israeli Army in the Six-Day War. It's great to live in America! In the Casper Star-Tribune.

Hillary: Handguns a state issue

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton told Montana reporters Friday that she does not favor national handgun registration and licensing, even as she supports such measures in her adopted state of New York. "What I came out for was the New York law," the U.S. senator said Friday. In The Billings Gazette.

Coyote defense? Walk loudly & carry a big stick

After a spate of coyote encounters in which several small dogs have been killed or threatened at a SW Florida residential community, a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission representative offered a Teddy Roosevelt-like solution. "I think you're better off with a nice, long, big stick" and making a lot of noise to scare the predatory critters, FWC Capt. Denis Grealish told more than 80 residents of The Brooks gated communities Wednesday. In the Ft. Myers News-Press.

Court chock full o' lawyers for Montana wolf hearing

Lawyers representing a coalition of 11 environmental groups were in a Missoula courtroom yesterday to argue their clients' case for reinstating federal protection to wolves in the Northern Rockies. On the other side, about 17 lawyers representing as many state agencies and nonprofit policy groups defended the feds' new management plan requiring states to maintain a minimum of 300 wolves. Reported in The Missoulian.

Montana bear hunter kills wolf in self defense

Kalispell resident Zachary Harms killed a wolf while he was hunting black bear west of Whitefish Tuesday, and state wildlife officials have determined the shooting was justifiable. “Based on the evidence, this was a justifiable self-defense shooting,” said Lee Anderson, regional warden captain for the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Reported in The Missoulian.

Alabama gator hunting area enlarged, permits increased

The Alabama Conservation Advisory Board has approved expanding the area around the Mobile-Tensaw Delta where alligator hunting has taken place the last two years. For the 2008 season, 125 permits will be available on the Delta, up from 100 last year, and the area will reach north to the Mobile and Baldwin county lines. Jeff Dute in the Press-Register.

Iowa town on alert after multiple bear sightings

Authorities in North Liberty, Iowa are searching for a black bear after nearly a dozen people reported seeing a bruin weighing between 100 and 125 pounds near a trail Wednesday and Thursday. Students at a nearby school were kept inside during recess periods yesterday as a precaution. In the Iowa City Press-Citizen.

Ohio motorist hits doe, delivers its fawn

Wade Sutherland was driving his wife to work on Ohio Rt. 2 Wednesday when he plowed into a whitetail doe with his Chevy Lumina. When the animal collapsed on the roadside, the couple noticed tiny protruding hooves. As semi-trucks roared by, the couple delivered a 7-pound, white-spotted female fawn. The deer was later taken to an animal rehabilition center, and the prognosis is good. The Port Clinton News-Herald reports.

Camera hooks sticky-fingered stink bait pilferer

After a rash of thefts near the end of last year's fishing season, Gary Bollmeyer, owner of Gare's Bait 'n Tackle in downtown Correctionville, Iowa, placed a security camera inside his bait house, where customers often purchase nightcrawlers, chicken livers, chubs and shrimp using the honor system when no one's tending the store. The camera nabbed its first culprit last week, when it taped someone swiping a $5 can of Sonny's Super Sticky Channel Cat Bait. The stinker who stole stink bait has since ponied-up $10, and Bollmeyer says he won't press charges. In the Sioux City Journal.

NM landowners to get hundreds of antelope tags

New Mexico Game and Fish wants to eliminate nearly 1,000 antelope from the herd living around Roswell, and has said it will issue landowners 900 tags to either use or sell to hunters. But the tags are opposed by groups like the NM Wildlife Federation, whose spokesman said "Profit motives should not be part of population reduction." In The Albuquerque Journal.

No CWD detected in Penn. hunter-killed deer samples

The Pennsylvania Game Commission announced today that chronic wasting disease (CWD) was undetected in any of the 3,800 tissue samples taken from hunter-killed deer during the 2007 season. To date, the state has tested nearly 18,100 deer in the past five years, without finding a single positive case of CWD.

Australian tourist survives snakebite to manhood

An Australian tourist is fortunate to be alive after he was bitten on the end of his penis by a venomous snake during a roadside toilet stop, according to The Cairns Post. The deadly brown snake reportedly struck as the man crouched near Laura, 300km northwest of Cairns. Though the snake apparently failed to envenomate its target, responding medical personnel said the victim was sufficiently "shocked and embarrassed." Trouser snake, indeed.

Attack victim: Bear "was just being a mother"

A Barbours, Penn. woman who was injured in a bear attack outside her home the night of May 12 tells the Harrisburg Patriot-News she blames herself for going outside with her dog to bring in her bird feeders after dark. Her dog was killed in the attack. "It wasn't her fault," Denise Haldeman said of the protective female bruin. "It was the mistakes I made. She was just being a mother."

Florida's popular gator tag drawing day approaching

Beginning at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, Florida alligator hunters may apply for limited tags in more than 100 public waters units and selected waters in most counties. Each permit includes two tags, at a cost of $272 for a Florida resident, plus a $2.25 fee for Internet applications. Byron Stout of the Ft. Myers News Press writes that hunting is not for the weak of heart, as trappers are required to first attach to an alligator in some permissible way, via snatch hooks, harpoons, crossbows or traditional archery equipment.