Recently in Hunting Category

In April, my youngest son Nick and my friend Scott departed Utah for Oklahoma City, OK. Final destination was a small town to the SW (about an hours drive) called: Gracemont. Final destination was: No Mercy Hunting.

Nick got the first kill from a tree stand, followed shortly by me from a stalk, then Scott. The final pig was the largest of the entire hunt, a sau on the run. My weapon of choice: Henry .45-70 with Hornaday 335gr ballistic tip.

A few photos:

All told, I shipped back 150 pounds of processed pork: Chops, ground pork, roasts, etc. Delta unfortunately didn't have a clear policy on how to check-in coolers with frozen meat and the check-in process was a total cluster.

Again this year, Nick and I got Early season tags for Turkey. We decided we'd head out 2 days in advance of opening day to the same spot we hunted last year: Marysvale, Utah.

We setup camp at Lizzie & Charlies RV park, then took the dually out to scout for sign of Turkey. Sadly, for two days, we saw nothing. No prints, no feathers, no calls - nothing. We thought that perhaps the early Spring had caused the turkey to migrate elsewhere. We were undeterred. Come opening day, we still geared up and went out in the dawn's light. It was snowing pretty heavy, but we still climbed through the oak to try to call in any gobblers that may have been around. Nothing!

On day 2 of the hunt, one of the RV park employees told us he had spotted turkey less than 1/4 mile from camp. We loaded into the truck and found the turkey. After trying to determine where the toms & hens had come into town from, we were promptly informed that they were all domesticated turkey and belonged to a local farmer. Yikes!

A few photos from Marysvale & Fillmore:

We saw more deer and elk on our turkey hunt than we've seen EVER while on the mountain. I'm guessing that come the deer hunt, we'll probably only see turkey!

If you are not a National Rifle Association (NRA) member, now is the time to sign up since the first year is free.

Anyway, the NRA's primary focus continues to be firearm and hunting safety. Just about every person who owns a handgun has taken a course from a NRA instructor, and many states require hunter safety training by NRA instructors.

Of course, the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action stays on top of all state and federal legislative efforts that erode 2nd Amendment rights. They do an excellent job of staying on top of legislatures who like to quietly change laws that restrict hunting, access to public land, and restrict American's ability to defend themselves.

So, let's get right down to it and get you signed up for the NRA. Sure, you'll get some additional e-mail in your box and additional mail in your regular mail box too, but you also get some benefits including a monthly eNewsletter and discounts on hotels, rental cars and more.

Click here to sign up for the free one year trial membership. You can also get a two year full membership for $25 which is a great deal since regular yearly memberships are about $35 each.

Utah:

_Protect more than 250,000 acres of wilderness in and near Zion National Park.

The Omnibus Public Lands Management Act, which cleared the Senate last week, was approved by a margin of 285 to 140 and has been sent to President Obama for his signature.

The bill would officially designate land in California, Colorado, Idaho, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia as wilderness. That means no logging, mining, drilling, or even vehicles.

The Associated Press details the provisions by state. They include setting aside more than 450,00 acres of wilderness near Santa Clarita, Calif., and along the California-Nevada border, nearly 250,000 acres of Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park, 517,000 acres in Idaho's Owyhee Canyonlands, and more than 250,000 acres of wilderness in and near Utah's Zion National Park.

Environmentalists are hailing the measure. Upon passage of the bill, this blogger's email inbox was flooded with press releases.

William H. Meadows, president of The Wilderness Society was quoted as saying:

"This is a monumental day for wilderness and for all Americans who enjoy the great outdoors. With passage of this bill, Congress has made a great gift to present and future generations of Americans. These special places make our communities better places to live, clean our air and water for free, and provide ecological resilience in the face of climate change. They're also great places to hike and camp and fish with family and friends, of course."

And here's Dave Jenkins, director of government affairs for Republicans for Environmental Protection:

"This bill is the most important conservation legislation that Congress has passed in many years. We are especially pleased that 38 Republicans from all parts of the country supported this bill. It's a powerful demonstration of the good that can be accomplished for our country when Republicans return to their roots as the party of conservation."

Of course, not all were thrilled about the bill. The AP notes that opponents of the measure, mostly Republicans, called the bill a "land grab."

The news agency quotes Rep. Doc Hastings, a Washington Republican who argued that the bill would deprive the US of much-needed energy development.

"Our nation can't afford to shut down the creation of jobs for jobless Americans, and we can't afford to become even more dependent on foreign sources of energy," Hastings said.

The bill "even locks up federal lands from renewable energy production, including wind and solar," he said.

And a parady in respone:

What the hell is wrong with these people?