by Tom Dickson

If you don’t hunt, you might wonder what’s so appealing about this activity. Why, for example, would anyone sit for hours in a chilly duck blind? Or trudge mile after mile through soggy cattail sloughs? And what’s the thrill in trying to kill an animal, anyway? If hunters want to be outdoors and see animals, can’t they just watch wildlife without shooting them?

Hunting, with a half-million Minnesota participants, must certainly stir the curiosity of those who don’t take part.

Why someone hunts is a personal matter. Many do it to spend time outdoors with friends or family. Others hunt to continue a tradition passed down from their parents and grandparents. Some go for the satisfaction of providing their own meat or the challenge of outwitting a wild animal. Many hunt simply because they feel an urge to do so. As environmentalist and hunter Aldo Leopold put it, “The instinct that finds delight in the sight and pursuit of game is bred into the very fiber of the race.”

by Tim L. Tyrrell Sr.

Due to a severe weather-related decline in the wild bird population in Nebraska, I have been reluctant in the past year to invest in a four-legged hunting partner. Until I retired a year ago I did not have the time to dedicate to a top-quality dog. My occupation required that I travel exclusively, and having to constantly burden friends and family or board the dog at a kennel would not have been fair or proper.

In my search for what would be the right dog I met several really great dog trainers and breeders. Several of them not only have their own kennels, they also have hunting areas as well. For a modest sum they will provide some excellent Pheasant and Quail hunting over their own dogs.

by David Rice

When the one ton giant bull rounded the sagebrush-covered hill in front of us, our hearts pounded as he headed straight for us on a dead run!

This exciting January day actually began a month earlier, when I won a trophy bison hunt from Thousand Hills Bison Ranch and Mt. Blanca Gamebird & Trout Lodge of Blanca, Colorado. Thousand Hills Bison sponsors sporting clay tournaments throughout the country in which they give a trophy hunt away. Although I did not win any of the shooting prizes, I did get drawn for the grand prize!

As morning dawned, the temperature hovered at a balmy -14 degrees. Our kind hosts, John and Michele Ray of Thousand Hills Bison, served hot, homemade cinnamon rolls during our pre-hunt briefing. The hunt takes place in the Brown Hills of the San Luis Valley of Colorado. Located at 7,894 feet above sea level, the hunting area covers over 62,000 acres of prime, native bison habitat. The valley floor is dotted with sage, rabbit brush, and blue gramma grass while the rolling hills consist of large lava rocks.

— by Jake Gunson

Most of the following will apply equally well to rifle and spotting scopes, although there are some added variables to consider when purchasing a scope.
Getting Started

First you need to ask yourself the following questions:

* What do you want binoculars for?
* At what time of day are you most likely to use them?
* At what distances will you use them?
* How often will you use them?
* How important are they for the type of hunting that you do?
* How much money are you willing to spend?

Don't go shopping until you can answer these questions. Once you know what you want, then you can figure out what you need. There is a huge selection of binoculars to choose from, and the odds of picking up the right pair are fairly slim, unless you know what you're looking for.

by Michael Lindquist

It was the final weekend of rifle season for whitetails in Minnesota. The night before, I decided to relocate from the lakeside of Leveaux Mountain to the backside of the ridge. It just seemed pretty quiet where I used to be, so I went in search of better buck sign. I found a nice spot, deep in the woods between the Leveaux Creek swamp area and the ridge. I basically set up Friday night in the dark, not really having a chance to sit during the golden hour of nightfall.

Early the next morning I headed out. When I arrived at my treestand I immediately heard a loud crash behind me, and a big cow moose came bellowing through the area. At one point she was within 150 yards of my position. I hoped to see a bull, but also wondered if I set up too close to the swamp. She eventually lumbered off.

By GLENN DOWLING
Published on: 10/24/06

On Nov. 7 every registered voter in Georgia will have the opportunity to support Georgia's time-honored traditions of hunting and fishing. Proposed Constitutional Amendment 2 will read: "Shall the Constitution be amended so as to provide that the tradition of fishing and hunting and the taking of fish and wildlife shall be preserved for the people and shall be managed by law and regulation for the public good?"

The placement of this amendment by the General Assembly on this year's ballot was not in response to any single particular hunting or fishing issue. Its purpose is to assure that Georgians, urban and rural, will have the opportunity to share family traditions with their children and grandchildren.

SportsBy Jim Low - Venison donations channel hundreds of tons of lean red meat to charitable groups through the Share the Harvest Program.

Jefferson City, Mo. - infoZine - Missouri's deer hunting season began Sept. 15 with the opening of archery season, and food banks around the state already are receiving a trickle of venison contributions. In a matter of weeks, that trickle will swell to a flood, until shelves are piled with tons of lean ground venison. The Conservation Federation of Missouri (CFM) reminds hunters that their generosity makes the difference between hunger and abundance for thousands of families.

By Susan Guynn
News-Post Staff
Preparing for hunting season should include more than checking your gear and scouting for deer activity. Hunters need to be physically ready, too.

"You can't be a couch potato most of the year and all of a sudden decide you're going to the Rocky Mountains to hunt," said Ben Kelkye, a Maryland hunter safety and education instructor and chief instructor of the program at the Frederick Chapter of the Izaak Walton League on Reels Mill Road.

"Conditioning and being prepared for the outdoors becomes part of safety," he said, whether it's a western hunt at high altitude on steep terrain or here in the fields around the Catoctin Mountains.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Deer hunting will be permitted on Nov. 13-14 and Dec. 4-5, with hunters selected by random drawing from applications filed earlier this year.

Firearms hunting will be allowed at Brown County, Chain O' Lakes, Charlestown, Dunes, Harmonie, Lincoln, Ouabache, Pokagon, Potato Creek, Shades, Summit Lake, Tippecanoe River, Turkey Run, Versailles and Whitewater Memorial state parks and Twin Swamps Nature Preserves.

Archery hunting will be permitted at Clifty Falls and Fort Harrison.

By ETHAN BLOUGH
The Tribune-Democrat

BY ETHAN BLOUGH

EBLOUGH@TRIBDEM.COM

Pennsylvania provides opportunities aplenty for hunters this time of year.

Small game season started Oct. 14 and runs through Nov. 27, turkey season starts Saturday and inland duck season is under way with Lake Erie season starting tomorrow.

Hunters have opportunities to hunt ducks throughout the Commonwealth, but the Cambria-Somerset County area is only known to support populations of puddle ducks, or dabbling ducks. Puddle ducks are confined to small ponds, lakes or rivers, while their diving cousins frequent the bigger waters, such as large, deep lakes (Lake Erie), rivers, coastal bays and inlets.