The Outdoor Pressroom

Backing Obama costs Cooper his CEO status

In a follow-up to its story published earlier this week, USA Today is reporting that Montana gunsmith Dan Cooper has been ousted as chief executive of the Montana-based Cooper Arms rifle company after a firestorm of  pressure from gun bloggers and gun-industry leaders for both his financial support and high-profile public stance favoring Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama. Can you say Zumboed?

Camoed, turkey-hunting teen handcuffed, detained in NH

Responding to a call from a Hampton Falls, NH woman who was concerned that a man dressed in full camouflage was sneaking through the woods near her home, authorities detained and handcuffed a teenaged turkey hunter. Police Chief Robbie Dirsa said cops soon determined no crime was committed and the boy was released to his parents. Seacoast Online reports.

Winthrop U buck hogtied, carted away

A young whitetail buck that smashed into a computer room located on the Rock Hill, SC campus of Winthrop University on Wednesday met its match when 4 carpenters--all deer hunters--arrived at the scene and lassoed the animal, subdued it, and removed it using a computer cart. "We hog-tied him and hauled him out of there," a carpenter identified as Fluff told the Rock Hill Herald. The deer was released unharmed.

Ruger issues safety warning and recall

Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. has announced a recall on LCP pistols bearing the serial number prefix "370" based upon reports from the field indicating the firearm may discharge when dropped onto a hard surface with a round in the chamber. The company stressed that no injuries have been reported. Ruger press release.

800-pound sturgeon caught & released in Canada's Fraser

An 800-pound, 11-foot sturgeon was caught, photographed, tagged and released by fishing guide Matt Schaap and crew on Saturday--the largest Fraser River sturgeon for 2008 and the fifth largest since tagging began on the Canadian waterway in the 1990s. Using a Lamiglas rod and Penn reel with 150-pound test, Schaap and four other anglers took turns fighting the massive sturgeon for about an hour. The Province.

Fatal deer/car crashes double since 1993

A new report from the Highway Loss Data Institute points to urban sprawl and overlapping habitat as the main reason for the significant increase in fatal vehicular accidents involving deer and other wildlife--with 223 deaths last year, up from 150 in 2000 and 101 in 1993. In the past 15 years, Texas has led the country with 227 fatailities, followed by Wisconsin with 123 and Pennsylvania with 112. Via AP.

Deer hunter mauled by Kodiak Island bears

A deer hunter from Montana was badly mauled in a bear attack while in a remote region of Alaska's Kodiak Island Sunday. Matthew T. Sutton, 31, was unable to get help for two days before being rescued Tuesday after he was attacked by a sow and two cubs while dragging a deer carcass to the beach along Viekoda Bay near the Rolling Point cabin. In the Anchorage Daily News.

 

Denying deadbeats hunting, fishing licenses pays off

In the first year since the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS) teamed with the state DNR to deny hunting and fishing licenses to deadbeat parents, the program has netted approximately $263,506 in delinquent child support. Illinois Government News.

Wisc. hunters can check scopes, hearts at one location

Now, here's something you wont find in a lot of places outside Wisconsin. In an effort to reduce hunters' health-related problems in the field this year, the Dane County Law Enforcement Training Center is hosting a combination rifle sight-in program and heart screening at a single location. In the Capital Times.

Federal judge rules for wild Calif. steelhead

U.S. District Court Judge Oliver Wanger ruled Monday that hatchery-raised fish are no substitute for wild steelhead in California rivers and that federal fisheries managers have discretion to recognize differences in steelhead fish populations when determining the species protective listing under the Endangered Species Act. Via AP and the Fresno Bee.

Ruling: Iditarod champ hunted moose illegally

A federal magistrate ruled Friday that 4-time Iditarod champion Jeff King illegally killed a moose inside Denali National Park during a September 2007 hunting trip. During the August trial, King argued that the park did not have properly marked boundaries. A date for sentencing has not yet been set. If the conviction stands, King faces up to six months in prison and a fine of $5,000. In the Fairbanks News-Miner.

First woman qualifies for Bassmaster Classic

Alabaster, Ala. pro angler Kim Bain-Moore made history Saturday by becoming the first woman to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic. Bain-Moore, 28, qualified by winning the Women's Bassmaster Tour Championship on Arkansas' Lake Hamilton, her second victory of the five-event season. In the Palm Beach Post.

Montana hunter mauled by grizzly

A yet-unnamed hunter received injuries to his legs yesterday after he was attacked by a female grizzly bear traveling with a cub north of Gardiner, Mont. Sunday was the opening day of the general firearms big game hunting season in the state. Reported in the Bozeman Chronicle.

AZ authorities kill cougar that stalked hiker

Arizona Game and Fish Dept. authorities tracked and killed a mountain lion this weekend after the animal approached a hiker and his dog on a popular trail in the Santa Rita Mountains south of Tucson. Via AP.

89-year-old Wisc. woman uses crossbow, bags buck

89-year-old Delores Wilhelms hadn't hunted in northern Wisconsin since 2002. This year, despite being told by some folks she was too old, she used her late husband's crossbow to take a 3-point buck, with the aid of a helpful neighbor. "It's a thrill I tell you. I hope God lets me live long enough to do it again next year," Delores said. In the Fond du Lac Reporter.