(May 30, 2004)
YOUR TIME IS is running out to apply for a number of big game tags in the western states. Below is information you will need to jump on fast and I mean right away! Go to the link below for the deadline information for Arizona, California and Idaho.
http://www.westernhunter.com/Pages/Vol06Issue04/deadlines.html
Good Luck and Good Hunting!
(May 21, 2004)
ANOTHER COMPANY JUMPS in bed with anti-hunters. Michelin, the tire company, is donating funds to the American Humane Association. The American Humane Association states that it "opposes the hunting of any living creature for fun, trophy, or for simple sport.” Find out what you can do about this in the next issue of WesternHunter.com due out this weekend.
NEVADA HAS SET it's big game tag quotas for the 2004 season. The number of tags have been increased but not as much as the NDOW recommended. Check the next WesternHunter.com issue of the whole story.
A CALIFORNIA ANTI-GUN/HUNTER bill was passed by the state senate this week. SB 1152 was passed out of the senate and over to the Assemby for consideration. This bill if it becomes law will require you to give your thumbprint and other information when you buy ammunition. All but two Democrats voted for the bill and all Republicans plus two Democrats voted aganist the bill. In California, all you have to do is look at the voting record and you know which party is against your hunting and gun rights.
(May 16, 2004)
THE FOUR YEAR rule. If you want to hunt in most western states, this will be of interest to you.
They are called special, premium or trophy hunts and the tags to hunt these areas or seasons are awarded in a draw system. Oregon, California, Arizona, Nevada, Montana, Colorado, etc. all have drawings for these limited tags for these special hunts. Some of the drawings use a Preference Point System, some a Bonus Point System or they can be modifications of both.
The high demand for these tags and the point system means you have to be extremely lucky to get a tag each year. If you are like me, it is even worse because I am known as an "unusually, unlucky hunter" in these drawings. So, what is this FOUR YEAR RULE?
The Four Year Rule goes by the theory that it will take you about four years to get drawn for a quaility tag under a point system. So, if you keep after it and continue to put in for these tags in multiple states you increase your chances of getting drawn for a quaility hunt each year. For example, if I put in for a point draw in California, Oregon, Nevada and Arizona each year, my chances become much higher of getting one of these tags every year. Now increase your chances by applying for deer, elk, and antelope.
On the down side — $$$. Yes, that's right, getting those Preference Points or Bonus points can get expensive when you have to buy those hunting licenses in the states that require them in order to get or keep those points. You can look at it like an investment or you can go fishing during hunting season three of the four years instead.
(May 14, 2004)
OREGON STATEWIDE DEER tags are proposed to be reduced by 13 percent. Reasons for the decline in tag numbers include lower recruitment ratios and disease-related mortality.
Oregon is known for it's great blacktail deer hunting but things are going to change. A 22 percent proposed reduction in tags for blacktail deer is based on an apparent decline of black-tailed deer numbers. More than 700 individuals attended recent public meetings to discuss black-tailed deer season options. After 18 months of analysis and public comment, the Commission directed ODFW to implement several strategies for black-tailed deer management including completion of a species management plan by the summer of 2006. Some of the other strategies are:
• Western Oregon general rifle season was shortened from 40 to 35 days starting in 2004.
• A bag limit changed from "one buck deer" to "one buck deer having not less than a forked antler" for western Oregon early and late archery season for 2004.
CALIFORNIA BIG GAME hunters need to remember that June 2 at 5 p.m. is the deadline to get your applications in for the drawing for this year's big game tags. Don't miss it or you will even miss out on getting preference points if you don't draw the tags for which you applied.
(May 2, 2004)
OVERALL IT WAS an excellent spring turkey season in California, according to outdoor writer and turkey guru, Terry Knight. With today being the last day of turkey season in California, Knight reported to us that for most of the hunters that he spoke with, it's probably the best season ever in California. "I received a lot of reports from successful hunters who hunted on public land" said Knight.
As I write this column today, turkey season is over for me, but on Friday I went out for one last hunt. I have to report that one turkey had a worst day than I did — see the full story and pictures in the next issue of WesternHunter.com.
