Slugs & Plugs

Luckiest deer hunter of the year (so far)

As is often the case, a Southern Illinois bowhunter’s “deer of a lifetime” also came with a “hunting story of a lifetime.”  

In fact, here at Slugs & Plugs, we think Joe Graber’s 25-point non-typical that green-scored around 215 inches qualifies for the luckiest shot of the season (so far). 

When the massive Madison County buck walked 40 yards from Graber’s treestand on October 25, the archer drew his bow and took aim on the lung area—just like he’s done with dozens of other deer he’s successfully taken during his past 35 years of hunting. 

Rod Kloeckner, my good friend and outdoor writer for the Belleville News-Democrat, reports that something totally unexpected occurred when Graber loosed his arrow at the biggest deer he’d ever seen on the hoof: The arrow deflected off an unseen branch—missing its mark. Instead, the hunting shaft traveled straight at the buck’s head, entering its ear with a resounding whack. 

“I heard it hit,” Graber told Kloeckner. “It sounded like a firecracker went off. It pretty much paralyzed him.” 

The deer flipped in the air, skidded down an embankment and dropped off a 20-foot cliff into a creek, where it drowned. 

It took several hours for Graber and a friend to retrieve the deer in the rain and approaching darkness. As word spread of how he killed the buck, Graber said he took some good-natured heat from fellow deer hunters. 

“It’s not like I aimed for his head,” Graber explained. “I shoot my bow all summer, and I can keep it in a 3-inch circle at 35 yards pretty much with my eyes closed. 

“It wasn’t like I didn’t know what I was doing or didn’t feel comfortable with the shot. It hit something, and I got lucky.” 

No argument there. Lucky, indeed.

Will Montana voters nix outfitter tag allocation?

Advocates who want to change Montana’s non-resident hunting license system and end the issuance of preferential outfitter set-aside big game tags have received approval to begin collecting petition signatures to place the issue on the November 2010 ballot.   

Currently, Montana non-residents have two options for obtaining big game tags; they can hire an outfitter for $1,500 and are guaranteed a hunting license. Their other choice is to enter the drawing process for $400, where they have about a 60-percent chance of getting a tag. 

Some Montanans believe the process is unfair, including Kurt Kephart, the primary organizer behind Initiative 161. 

“There’s no sense giving the outfitting industry the tools they need to take our privileges and our opportunities away from us,” Kephart told The Missoulian newspaper last week. 

Details of Initiative 161 ballot language: 

I-161 revises the laws related to nonresident big game and deer hunting licenses. It abolishes outfitter-sponsored nonresident big game and deer combination licenses, replacing the 5,500 outfitter-sponsored big game licenses with 5,500 additional general nonresident big game licenses. It also increases the nonresident big game combination license fee from $628 to $897 and the nonresident deer combination license fee from $328 to $527. It provides for future adjustments of these fees for inflation. The initiative allocates a share of the proceeds from these nonresident hunting license fees to provide hunting access and preserve and restore habitat. 

Kephart says Montana’s system of guaranteeing hunting licenses for outfitted hunters privatizes and commercializes Montana’s prized big game. But Montana outfitters beg to differ, claiming the set-aside tags give them the stability they need to run a viable business in rural areas where the economy is highly dependent on big game hunting. 

In order to qualify for the November 2010 ballot, Kephart and other supporters of Initiative 161 must gather more than 24,330 voter signatures before next summer.

SC 2nd Amendment tax holiday approaches

On the biggest shopping weekend of the year, South Carolinians will have the opportunity to enjoy a two-day reprieve from paying state or local sales taxes on firearms, thanks to a provision passed by state lawmakers. 

Legislators in The Palmetto State initially passed the nation’s first tax holiday on guns last year, but it was subsequently found unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court because it was attached to an unrelated energy amendment. The issue was revisited during the 2009 session and restored as a one-time event in the budget for the last weekend in November.

Louisiana lawmakers passed a similar tax holiday for a wide selection outdoor gear occurring in September, but S. Carolina’s begins on “Black Friday,” which marks the beginning of the Christmas buying season for most major retailers. 

For 48 hours, S. Carolina shoppers will pay no state or local sales taxes on handguns, rifles and shotguns, which can total around 9 percent. Taxes will continue to be charged on ammunition and accessory purchases.

Texas to join Interstate Wildlife Compact

With last week’s approval by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission, The Lone Star State will soon join 31 others as part of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact (IWVC), a cooperative agreement honoring hunting and fishing license suspensions enacted by all member states. 

A measure approved in the most recent Texas legislative session authorized TPWD to enter the compact. 

“If a person plans to hunt, fish or trap in Texas and they have a license suspension in another state, this compact allows us to deny them a license,” said Major David Sinclair, Texas Parks and Wildlife’s chief of fisheries and wildlife enforcement. “The same will hold true for a Texan with a suspended license looking to hunt or fish elsewhere.” 

Prior to 1989, when lawmakers in Colorado, Nevada and Oregon passed legislation to create the nucleus of Compact, if someone was convicted of poaching and had his hunting or fishing privileges revoked as a result, there was nothing to prevent him from obtaining a license to hunt or fish in another state. Today, every Western state is an active IWVC member, along with a growing number of Midwestern and Eastern states. 

Simply, the IWVC puts wildlife lawbreakers on notice that their activities in one state can affect their privileges in all participating states. 

And any way you look at it, that’s a good thing. 

To date, it is estimated that the IWVC has identified more than 4,000 poachers and other game violators whose hunting and fishing privileges have been revoked in compact member states. 

While some details of the agreement regarding deer breeding regulations specific to Texas remain to be clarified, a TPWC spokesman said its goal is to enter the compact by February 2010.

S&P random quote

"I wouldn’t give you a dime to shoot all the quail in Georgia without a dog, but I’d walk to Atlanta to see a pretty point." 

-Georgia quail hunter Colonel Gerald Graham, quoted by Tom Huggler in Quail Hunting in America, 1987

Vendetta? Deer smashes venison processor’s window

A video surveillance camera recorded a deer crashing into the plate glass window of a northern Illinois venison processor one morning this week, leaving it shattered before scampering off in a nearby wooded area. 

According Dave Alwan, owner of Echo Valley Meats in Bartonville, Ill., he received a call around 6:45 a.m. from a woman who was driving nearby and saw the deer in action. 

While Alwan and police initially thought the deer had entered the butcher shop, Alwan said video surveillance showed the deer crashing into the window and taking off. The deer was not found. 

Bartonville Police Chief Brian Fengel said the broken window was valued at $500, and no injuries were reported. He said he wasn’t surprised by the report. 

“I know it’s rut season for deer,” the chief said. “We’ve had a lot of deer accidents and a lot of deer running around.” 

Not surprisingly, the shop owner recognized the irony in the early morning incident. 

“We’re so good, they’re just dying to get in,” Alwan chuckled.

Minnesotan charged with poaching record 8-point

A Minnesota man with a criminal history is suspected of illegally killing a massive-racked whitetail buck that could be the largest 8-point ever recorded. 

Last week, Minnesota conservation officers seized the antlers involved in the case and on Thursday, Nov. 12 filed charges against Troy Reinke, 32, of Cannon Falls, Minn. Reinke was charged by the Goodhue County Attorney’s Office with 13 counts, including exceeding his limit and failure to register a deer. 

According to the complaint, Reinke admitted to conservation officers that he shot a small doe and a small buck on separate dates in early October, and failed to tag or register either. Reinke said he shot the large 8-point buck, on Halloween evening. 

State conservation officers confirmed that a scoring form utilizing Boone and Crockett measuring indicated the deer had a gross antler score of 190 5/8 and net score of 185. The only deduction was a small “kicker point” on the rack’s right side. 

Though there is no specific Boone and Crockett category for 8-point whitetails, the largest 8-point typical on record was taken in Michigan and scored 183. 

Rob Drieslein, editor of Minnesota Outdoor News reported that Chuck Corcoran, the Hampton, Minn., taxidermist who handled the deer for Reinke, said the buck field-dressed at 269 pounds. 

“And it’s just a rack you’ve got to see to believe,” Corcoran said. 

During their investigation, conservation officers seized a bow, two deer racks, the meat from the three deer, and the hide from the large buck. 

Related media reports coming out of Minnesota indicate that Reinke has previous convictions for domestic assault, theft and fishing with too many fishing lines. According to court records, he served 120 days in jail recently for his second domestic assault charge. 

Officially, Reinke has been charged with: Two counts of gross misdemeanor, transport of illegally taken big-game animals; One count, gross overlimit of wild animals; Two counts, misdemeanor, failure to register deer; Two counts, misdemeanor, failure to validate a deer license; Two counts, misdemeanor, untagged big-game animal; Two counts, misdemeanor, take overlimit of deer, and; Two counts, misdemeanor, take or hunt deer without a license. 

If convicted on all counts, Reinke could face $19,000 in fines, up to a year in jail and revocation of his hunting license. 

Investigating officers said they were initially alerted to the alleged poaching through a tip from a concerned sportsman. 

A trial date has not been set.

Bully buck loses fight with faux elk

Here’s a story to file under Slugs & Plugs’ heading of “be careful who you pick a fight with.” It’s also a great indicator that the whitetail rut is well underway in the state of Wisconsin. 

A 7-point buck point obviously chose the wrong adversary in his testosterone-induced attempt to exhibit male dominance when it challenged a 640-pound concrete elk statue in the yard of Mark Brye in rural Viroqua, Wisc. 

Brye told outdoor writer Bob Lamb of the LaCrosse (Wisc.) Tribune that each morning he looks out in his yard at the stately bull elk given to him by his son and daughter because he likes to hunt elk out West. 

But one morning last week, the bull, uh, wasn’t exactly standing. The massive molded ungulate was instead resting on its side, its antlers broken and scattered in pieces on the ground. 

And there, some 20 feet away, lay the 180-pound lifeless buck, its skull crushed from its repeated impact with the unforgiving lawn ornament. 

Brye alertly snapped a photograph to document the bizarre battle and its aftermath. 

“I could tell the buck poked the statue a couple of times by the chipped paint on it,” Brye said, adding that the deer must have rammed it like a mountain goat because of the damage inflicted to its own antlers and body. 

A Wisconsin DNR conservation officer investigated the unusual incident and tagged the buck for the family’s personal use. The resulting venison tenderloins will undoubtedly generate plenty of stories as they are savored as table fare at the Brye household in coming months. 

And what about the battered bull elk? Brye says he might attach the buck’s antlers on the bull to mark the fateful November battle, though he’ll need some help to return the heavy statue to its feet. 

“I can’t tip it back up until I get a whole bunch of guys to help me,” he said.

Survey: sportsmen trust state agencies for data, info

An October 2009 survey conducted Southwick Associates, a research firm specializing in hunting, fishing and conservation issues found that American hunters and anglers overwhelmingly trust their state wildlife agency for data and information regarding conservation. 

Of the 2,771 anglers surveyed in Southwick’s monthly AnglerSurvey.com, 54.4 percent reported state fish and wildlife agencies were their most trusted source. Of the 3,378 hunters surveyed in the pollster’s HunterSurvey.com, 50.7 percent agreed. The second most trusted source, with 25.1 percent of anglers and 29.5 percent of hunters, were sportfishing and hunting non-profit conservation organizations. 

Other sources of conservation information presented to those taking the survey included non-profit conservation groups not focused towards fishing or hunting, which were preferred by 5.3 percent of anglers and 7.4 percent of hunters. Interestingly, federal fish and wildlife agencies were rated as the most trusted source by only 5.0 percent of anglers and 4.3 percent of hunters. Non-outdoor television programming and magazines ranked even lower. 

”The results indicate that sportsmen and women want to hear from their state fish and wildlife agency when it comes to fish and wildlife conservation issues,” said Southwick’s Donna Leonard. “Efforts to increase conservation awareness or behavior will have better success if state fish and wildlife agencies are involved.”

Grizzly deterrent: let us spray?

Hunting blogs and online forums are abuzz this week as a fresh and predictably spirited debate over the effectiveness of bear deterrent spray has emerged in Wyoming.

This is after prominent Teton (Wyo.) County Attorney Steve Weichman appeared before the Yellowstone Grizzly Coordinating Committee last week to officially announce he is seeking a Wyoming state legislator to sponsor a bill that would mandate all backcountry users in grizzly country carry bear spray at all times.

That means hunters, outfitters, hikers, overnight campers and others required to obtain permits to use federal land where grizzlies are known to reside—perhaps even those with permits to cut Christmas trees—would be required to carry bear spray and use it as a first line of defense.

As justification for such a law, Weichman cites studies indicating that bear spray is more effective than bullets at preventing injury to humans during a bear attack. One such study, conducted by Brigham Young University professor Thomas Smith, showed that bear spray stopped aggressive bruins 92 percent of the time, while firearms were 67 percent effective.

Despite the study’s statistics, the potential of such a mandate already has some hunter groups in a lather, especially if the legislation would require the use of spray when a hunter is already carrying a firearm and is faced by an angry, charging 500-pound grizzly sow.

Bob Wharff, who heads the Wyoming Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife, says spray is not the answer for every encounter with an aggressive bruin, especially for hunters.

“There are some instances, when you’re not surprising the animal, when you may have time to get your pepper spray out,” Wharff told the Jackson Hole News and Guide. “[But] when you stumble into a bear, the minimal time you have to respond is not adequate to go through the though process [of getting your bear spray out]. You’re talking milliseconds. It’s illogical that you’re going to set your gun down and get your pepper spray.”

Wyoming Game and Fish bear management supervisor Mark Bruscino told the Yellowstone Grizzly Coordinating Committee that his agency encourages hunters to carry bear spray through public service announcements and bear spray demonstrations.

“There’s not a lot of confidence that it works (among) the hunting public,” he said.

Bruscino went on to echo Wharff’s contention that sometimes dropping a gun in favor of bear spray just doesn’t make much sense.

“Bear spray isn’t the answer to all these instances,” he said. “These instances happen quickly. (Bear spray) should be part of the hunter’s tool belt.”