Hunting Sense

Mitt Romney wants us to believe he is a hunter and a pro-gun supporter. He has gone to great lengths in trying to do so, from joining the NRA to stretching the truth about his hunting experience. Even as the truth is separated from fiction, he continues trying to make us believe by spinning elaborate excuses and cracking jokes about it.

Interestingly, Mr. Romney failed to take an opportunity in St. Louis on Friday to further make us believe by not attending the NRA annual conference. He was in the same city at the same time for a fund-raiser, so why didn’t he? Like many of his other actions and remarks, it does little in supporting his claims of being one of us. It does, however, help in confirming the only reason he wants us to believe these things is to garner our votes.

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Weekend posts aren’t as common for me lately because of nicer weather and doing things outside with the family. I wanted to make an effort to make a post today, though, to cover some things that happened over the course of this last week that I didn’t get a chance to mention during it.

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Steve over at Black Bear Blog has published the results of a poll they ran asking: “Do you think the use of ‘military style’ weapons hurts the image of hunters?” It was nearly a 50/50 split between yes and no, with a handful of people unable to decide.

If the answer being sought by the poll was whether or not you think the use of ‘military style’ weapons should hurt the image of hunters, I think it did a pretty fair job of showing the division within our own ranks of the issue. On the other hand, if it meant exactly what it asked as worded, then I personally think anyone who believes the use of ‘military style’ weapons doesn’t hurt the image of hunters is living in a fantasy world. Maybe I’m splitting hairs, but it seems there’s a huge difference between the two.

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Deer- and turkey-hunting permits typically are issued to people chosen in a random, computerized lottery, although DNR spokesman Chris McCloud said few are denied. Typically, hunters simply must send in an application and the $15 fee.

Ok, now I am confused.

If few are denied, and all a person has to do is send in an application and the $15 bucks, then why circumvent the entire process?

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It seems Illinois hunters, who had no idea about a discreet administrative process, lost out to those who did when it came to state hunting permits. Those who knew about it were handed permits without having to participate in the lottery like everyone else. Oddly enough, those who got to forego the lottery were made up of politicians, judges, professional athletes, hunting industry big wigs, and donors to the state’s Conservation Foundation.

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In 2005, Texas rancher John Lockwood had an idea for the next step in internet interactivity. Live-Shot.com would bring big game hunting to the computers of internet users everywhere.

The idea was that a user could sign onto his website, and through the use of a camera and remote controlled rifle mounted to a tripod, could shoot an animal on his game ranch for a hefty price tag. The animal would then be processed and shipped by mail to the ‘virtual hunter’.

Needless to say, the idea met with a flurry of protest from both non-hunters and hunters alike. Before it even really began, Live-Shot.com was shut down by the Texas legislature. Two years later, the concept of internet hunting is still a major concern, even though no other operation of it’s type has been started.

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Does smoking while on stand destroy the chance of being successful in bagging a deer?

No doubt, most of us would answer yes if asked this question. Scent reduction plays an important part in being successful while hunting. Just take a look at the sheer number of products available geared toward masking, reducing, or eliminating a hunters scent and the general acceptance of it’s importance is evident.

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Have you ever been rabbit kicked by a giant bunny with an attitude? Well, let me tell ya, it isn’t fun by any means. It’s kind of like getting a buzz cut with a lawnmower, which, by the way, isn’t recommended either.

The alarm went off at four this morning, and I rolled out of bed happy with what I had accomplished yesterday to salvage my planned ambush of the Easter Bunny. After a hot cup of coffee, I slid into my winter camouflage and gathered my arsenal of equipment that looked like it had been ordered from an Acme catalog. I have to admit, I did feel rather wiley as I silently made my way out the door.

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Easter is once again upon us. Along with it come baskets filled with colorful eggs, jellybeans, and chocolate rabbits. But it isn’t the chocolate variety of rabbit I’m interested in. Nope, it’s that most wascally wabbit of them all, the Easter Bunny: aka Peter Cottontail.

He’d like for you to think he’s all cute, cuddly, and caring, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. He’s one shady character, sneaking around hiding eggs from little kids and then hopping down the bunny trail before anyone spots him. That and the fact that he hangs out with a notorious group of fairies, elves, and other shadowy figures we hear about but never see.

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There’s always some sort of legislation being proposed dealing with gun control, it’s a hard reality we have had to come to live with. That’s why we always have to be vigilante in staying up-to-date on current bills. House Bill 760, recently introduced into the Pennsylvania House of representatives, is yet another.

“The legislation calls for every gun in Pennsylvania to be registered with the state, and each registration must be renewed annually. The registration would cost the gun owner $10 per gun each year. The bill also calls for each gun owner to be fingerprinted, have a back ground check, and to submit pass port-style photos for registration cards. The registration card for each gun would then have to be carried with that gun at all times. Any gun that registration is denied for would then be confiscated by the state police.�

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I’ve been fascinated with knives for as long as I can remember. As a kid, I collected pocket knives, my family picking them up at garage sales, flea markets, and wherever else they ran across one. As I got grew older, the knives grew too. Hunting knives, bowies, fantasy knives, swords and everything in between. I even have a Klingon Bat’leth (yes, I’m a Redneck Trekkie, scary, isn’t it?).

Knives tend to be a very personal item for me, and I imagine for many others, as well. There are so many designs, it can almost become an extension of your personality. And who doesn’t have their favorite hunting knife? The one you never go to the woods without, and maybe even consider a necessity for a successful hunt.

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It’s been awhile since I did a new piece for the So You Want to Coon Hunt series, but after yesterdays post, you had to see it coming for today. We’ll look at another inquiry I’ve seen typed in as a search: Good guns for coon hunting?

The over-riding factor of this question would ultimately be what the regulations are for the type of gun you’re allowed to use wherever you’re located. I believe, though, that most states that allow firearms allow the use of .22 calibre weapons, although I would have to check my facts on that. I know that my home state of Oklahoma allowed them, and that is the calibre we used when we did carry guns. Shotguns are another that should be commonly allowed as well.

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I was just looking at some of the search strings people use that brought them to Hunting Sense and had to laugh at one of them.

‘cliffs notes for where the red fern grows’

I know I’ve made a post about the book, and my name is Cliff, but it really struck me as funny that it would turn up on a search for the always useful Cliff’s Notes books. Siomehow, I don’t think that the person doing the search found quite what they were looking for.

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Jim Zumbo said he would join the fight for the right to keep and bear all types of guns and it appears he is keeping his word. Posted on the NRA website on March 30th, here is an open letter from him to the US Senate.

JIM ZUMBO

March 28, 2007

An Open Letter to the
United States Senate

Dear Honorable Ladies and Gentlemen:

It recently came to my attention that one of your colleagues, Michigan Sen. Carl Levin, has chosen to attack firearms owners using remarks I wrote in mid-February as his launch pad. As you probably know, Sen. Levin has been making anti-gun speeches every week for the past eight years because of a promise he made to the Economic Club of Detroit in May 1999.

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