The Rub Line - News, Notes, and Hunt Reports from the Deer & Deer Hunting Staff

Wisconsin Hunters Tell of Perilous Canada Trip

2009-01-05T14:52:03.1241036-05:00

KENORA, Ontario — Two central Wisconsin hunters say they were harassed, shot at and feared for their lives while pursuing trophy bucks in the Canadian wilderness.

"We were scared," said Rick Koenig, 60, of Wausau. "I've never had anything like that happen to me before. I won't go back. That was a little too much for me."

Koenig, along with his son, Brad, 31, of Wausau, son-law Chris Laska, 28, of Dale in Outagamie County, and Dennis Webb of Edgar, traveled to the Kenora area in northwestern Ontario at the end of October.

Deer hunters from the United States have traveled to portions of Manitoba and Saskatchewan in search of trophy whitetail bucks for several decades, but in recent years, northwestern Ontario has become popular. Wisconsin hunters are attracted to the region because it is within relatively easy driving distance.

"I shot a really nice buck in the Kenora area two years ago, and my cousin went to the same area last year and got a nice buck," Rick said. "We didn't have any problems."

The quartet spent their first day in Ontario this year scouting public "crown lands" for likely hunting spots, he said.

"We had parked along the road and when we got back to the truck, a car pulled up in front of us and another pulled up in back. They parked us in. A guy got out, shook his finger at us and said we couldn't park there.

"We said 'OK' and the next day — we had another vehicle — we parked way off the road in a ditch about a quarter mile away. When we got back to the car we found a note on it that read, 'Get this (expletive) car out of here.' "

Wanting to avoid conflict, Koenig said his group opted to move their hunting efforts nearer the Manitoba border about 50 miles from their motel.

"We had a four-wheel ATV along and took it about 3-4 miles down a trail we found," he said. "It looked like an old logging road or trapper's trail. We came to a beaver pond with fingers of land between rocky cliffs and water. There were buck rubbings, on trees, the size of your thighs. We split up and took stands.

"All of a sudden, there was a round of shots — bing, bing, bing, bing, bing. It was a .22 rifle. At first, we didn't think anything of it. We hadn't seen anyone and we were dressed in blaze orange. Then one of the shots whizzed over our heads ... and we said, 'Let's get out of here.'

"I moved as we started to leave and a shot hit right where I had been sitting. That really shook us up. There would be a round of shots, then silence as the guy apparently reloaded. Then the shooting would start again."

Koenig wanted to fire a round from his deer rifle into the air to let the hidden shooter know he was firing in the direction of people but Laska quickly talked him out of it.

"He'll think we're shooting back at him," Laska pointed out.

In all, 40-50 shots were probably fired, the two men said, with bullets "hitting the ground, rocks and trees all around us."

"In blaze orange, it's pretty hard to hide," Laska said. "I hollered, 'Hey, there are hunters in here! Quit shooting!' But the shots kept getting closer. Finally, I yelled, 'Please stop shooting at us. We'll get out of here.'

"I was laying on the ground with my GPS trying to figure out the closest way to get back to our ATV. We took off running. The guy didn't shoot again."

The two men reported the incidents to local officials of the Ontario Provincial Police. Koenig said they later heard reports of other incidents where hunters had been physically chased from the woods or had tires slashed.

"I think it's important that people know it's not the wonderful place it used to be," Laska said. "I don't know if people don't want foreign hunters in their hunting areas ... or what the problem is."

Colleen Ross, owner of the Kenora Inn Motel where the Wisconsin hunters stayed, said this is the first year hunters have complained of problems gaining access to public hunting lands.

"I think some (local) people have this idea that if you are from out of the country you ought to have a guide or tourist outfitter with you," she said. "If you don't, they feel it's taking money out of their pocket."

Laska said a police official suggested the shooting incident may have been an encounter with a hermit who didn't want anyone in his neighborhood.

Constable David Lovell of the Ontario Provincial Police said there have been minor incidents involving other hunters "but Americans are not being harassed more than anyone else."

He said the most common disputes involve hunters from outside the area hunting on land that is not open to public hunting or hunting public land where other hunters "feel the area is theirs."

Joan Hubay, enforcement supervisor of the Kenora Ministry of Natural Resources enforcement unit, said there has been an increase in complaints caused by "conflict between hunters and hunter ethics.

"In general, it's hunters targeting the rut and being concentrated in a short period of time. They're all trying to get the best areas to hunt and they're stepping on each other's toes."

Problems have grown in recent years as deer hunting's popularity has increased, she said, adding that the conflict involves residents versus residents as well as non-residents. Although there is plenty of public land, the favorite areas for hunting typically have relatively easy access, she noted.

Laska said he's not ready to abandon Ontario deer hunting.

"I'd love to go back," he said, "but I probably won't go to the same area."

Youngsters Turn Out in Droves for New NY License

2009-01-02T14:58:56.9585327-05:00

Source: www.newsday.com

ALBANY, N.Y. - Conservation officials say more than 15,000 youngsters got licenses this year to hunt deer and bear in New York.

New York's new law, meant to help reverse a decline in the numbers of hunters and increasing numbers of deer, allows teens ages 14 and 15 to hunt big game with a firearm when supervised by an experienced adult hunter. Previously, children 12 to 16 could hunt small game with a gun or longbow, and 14- and 15-year-olds could shoot big game with a bow.

Preliminary Department of Environmental Conservation reports show the new licensees killed almost 3,700 deer in 2008.

The agency says hunters took more than 217,000 deer in 2008, approaching the 219,000 killed last year. They killed almost 1,150 bears this year, compared with about 1,100 in 2007 and almost 800 in 2006.

"Scruffy" Deer Decoy Nabs Roadkill Poacher

2008-12-23T10:49:00.4969057-05:00

Source: Oregon Mail Tribune

Police say a Wasco County man tried to reap his own personal bumper crop of mule deer, but instead ended up sowing the latest set of misdemeanor charges for targeting a decoy deer.

Brian LaFaver allegedly rammed "Scruffy," Oregon State Police's decoy deer, with his pickup off a Forest Service road during a Wildlife Enforcement Decoy operation Dec. 7 in southern Wasco County.

The impact sent the decoy flying 12 feet, severely damaging the decoy named for its bullet-tattered hide from past poaching cases, police said.

LaFaver, 34, of Tygh Valley, was cited on charges of unlawful take of a deer in closed season and second-degree criminal mischief for damaging the decoy, police said.

LaFaver, who had his wife and two small children in the pickup, also was cited for driving without a valid operator's license.

Investigators believe it was the second time someone has tried to turn Scruffy into roadkill, but ended up in court.

"I think we charged the guy with criminal mischief in that one, too," says Lt. David Cleary, who supervises wildlife enforcement for OSP's Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Division.

"It's not real common, that's for sure," Cleary says.

Troopers were in the Rock Creek/Wamic area of the northeast Oregon county on Dec. 7 after several large bucks had been poached there recently, with only their heads or antlers removed and the carcasses left to rot, OSP said.

The decoy was placed about 30 feet off a Forest Service roadway in a clearing that included some trees, police said.

LaFaver, who told police he was Christmas tree hunting, allegedly drove the pickup off the road and through a ditch before ramming the decoy, OSP Senior Trooper Swede Pearson says.

"Sitting there watching it, I'm thinking, 'Is he going to do it? I think he is. Yep, there he goes,' " Pearson says.

The impact knocked Scruffy's antlers off and broke two of its legs, Pearson says.

Pearson says LaFaver told him at the scene that he was not trying to hit the decoy. LaFaver claimed he thought it was a real deer and wanted his kids to get a closer look at it, Pearson says.

Reached by telephone at his home, LaFaver said he had no comment this week about the case and hung up.

LaFaver was set to appear Monday in Wasco County Circuit Circuit Court on the misdemeanor charges, records show.

Source: Oregon Mail Tribune

Dual Bond sabot slug review

2008-12-22T12:22:09.6090000-05:00

Submitted by Jim Schlender, publisher

This nasty-looking thing is Winchester Ammunition’s latest entry in the lighter/faster sabot slug wars: the Dual Bond. I got a sneak peek at it during a recent hunt in Alabama but, alas, missed my opportunity to try it out on a deer. The Dual Bond will be offered in time for next deer season as part of the company’s Supreme Elite line. It will be available in 23/4- and 3-inch versions in both 12 and 20 gauge. The 12-gauge slug weighs 375 grains and the 20 weighs 260 grains.

Think of the “Dual Bond” design as a bullet within a bullet; it’s a basic hollow point design but with a heavy outer jacket to protect the inner bullet as it penetrates hide and bone. As the slug penetrates, both parts expand, creating 12 petals instead of six and, presumably, creating an indescribable mess of any deer’s insides.

This slug is so new that I don’t have official velocity numbers from the factory, but I believe it will be around 1,900 fps in the 3-inch, 12-gauge version.
The Dual Bond bullet will also be available in large-bore handgun calibers. The 260-grain slug will be used in the 454 Casull and 460 S&W Mag, while the 375-grain bullet is used in the 500 S&W Mag.

Jonathan Harling, who handles public relations for Winchester, introduced me to the new slugs, and we went to the range together to sight them in using a Knight KP1 with the 12-gauge slug barrel.

Harling only had a precious handful of the new shells, which I’m sure he had to wrestle away from an engineer at Winchester headquarters. So I got on the paper using Winchester RackMaster slugs, then switched over to our small supply of Dual Bond shells. I put three shots into a 2-inch group at 100 yards, which is outstanding accuracy for any combination of shotgun barrel and slug. The impact difference between the two types of slugs was negligible, so I was ready to hunt.

I wish I had a pretty picture of a slug recovered from a deer, but the mature doe I missed in the waning light of my last evening in Alabama is still running around somewhere unscathed. She was at about 120 yards, and I think I subconsciously held a little high and sent the slug right over her back. I was hoping for a shoulder hit so I could see how the slug performed. Guess it’s hard for me to get used to slugs that fly more like centerfire bullets than big, heavy chunks of lead.

Oh well, for now all I can say is that it looks great on paper. By this time next year we’ll all know how the new Dual Bond products are performing for the legions of deer hunters who use shotguns.

A New Way to Rattle

2008-12-22T12:15:49.5220000-05:00

Submitted by Jim Schlender, publisher

Honestly, how do you come up with a new way to rattle? More than 25 years ago when rattling a set of antlers together to call deer caught on, we used the real thing. Then we graduated to synthetic “rattling horns.” Then came the still-popular rattle boxes and rattling bags. Done, right? Well, not so fast.

On a recent hunt in Alabama, Knight & Hale Game Calls’ engineering manager Greg Burcham told me he wanted to show me a new rattling system he’d patented. I was prepared to be underwhelmed, but after playing around with the company’s new-for-2009 Pack Rack for couple minutes, all I could say was this: Cool!

The Rack Pack comprises two pieces of a super-tough polymer. With the halves nested together, the Rack Pack is completely silent and takes up no more space in your pack than a softball. Pull the two halves apart, grab the handles and you’re ready to rattle. Look at the pictures and you’ll get the idea.

What’s really neat about the Rack Pack is how easy it is to change the tone and volume. Grip the halves tightly with cupped hands and crack them together to produce the sounds of large, heavy antlers. Loosen your grip and gently clink the ridged half against the rounded half and you can imitate the sounds of light sparring.

Burcham said it took a lot of trial and error to come up with the consistency of polymer that would make the most realistic sounds, but finally he was satisfied. I think it’s safe to say that if you like to rattle, you too will be pleased with his effort.

"Ironic" Hunt Yields Success

2008-12-22T12:12:20.1200000-05:00

Submitted by Jim Schlender, publisher

I had to laugh at the irony. The last time I’d hunted with a Knight KP1 muzzleloader it was 26 degrees with 25 mph winds and a steady rain that froze everything it touched, including me. That was in Iowa. Now, a year later, I was sitting comfortably in a shooting house in southwestern Alabama, watching a food plot. Temp: a balmy 60. Wind: none. Sunshine: bright. Ah, yes, I thought. I could get used to this.

I was enjoying my low-stress hunt on property leased by The Shed Hunting Lodge (www.shedhuntinglodge.com). Shed owners Larry Norton (of champion turkey calling fame), Gray Mosley and Henri Billiot have 10,000 acres of great deer and turkey habitat available for their guests. I’d come to The Shed along with several industry writers and photographers to review new products from Knight and its sister companies Knight & Hale Game Calls and Summit Treestands, along with some new ammunition designs from Winchester.

We liked the forecast for the next day even thought it meant an end to our personal comfort. A powerful cold front was coming through, and we hoped it would boost deer activity. Sure enough, that’s what we got. That night we hung four bucks on the camp meatpole.

I shot this bruiser a half-hour before dark. The buck acted like he owned the place, hooking branches as he walked the field edge, and then stopping to paw at a scrape. I was wondering if I would have to try a shot at 180 yards, but finally he started meandering up the hill toward me. When he turned quartering to me at 130 yards, I sent a 285-grain Knight Ultimate Slam bullet on its way. The Barnes-designed Spitzer Boattail hit just high and behind the shoulder and went all the way through, dropping the buck in his tracks. Norton later aged the 190-pound, goofy-racked deer at 41/2 years old.

I was really excited to finally take a buck with the KP1. In the past year I’ve experimented with its 12-gauge slug barrel, the muzzleloader barrel and the .30-06 barrel, all with good results, but hadn’t had many chances to actually hunt with it. This spring I plan to outfit it with the 12-gauge smoothbore barrel and take it turkey hunting.

I’ll have more product news from this hunt in upcoming posts.

Deer Trapped on Ice

2008-12-18T17:32:56.2445529-05:00

Source: WRCB TV

Deer Stuck in Jar

2008-12-18T13:31:41.7444622-05:00

From a Dec. 17 article in Cleveland's Plain Dealer comes this story and its rather lengthy, obvious headline, "Doomed Parma deer can't eat or drink with head stuck in bucket." The photo paints a pretty good picture of what's going on. The article follows.

PARMA — A deer living behind a York Road home near Sprague Road has gotten its head stuck in a plastic container.

Parma officials called the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which has no plans to help the deer.

"It is very difficult to try to tranquilize a free-ranging deer," wildlife officer supervisor Doug Miller said. "And our policy is, if we do tranquilize a deer, it must be euthanized."

Wildlife officers fatally shoot the deer they tranquilize because the drug taints the meat that could be consumed by people if the deer were killed by a hunter or motorist.

Miller said spraying a spot of brightly colored paint on the deer to show that it had been tranquilized is not an option, because the paint might wear off before the drug fully leaves the deer's body.

A deer was spotted last month in Broadview Heights with a plastic pumpkin stuck on its head. No one has reported seeing the deer lately, Miller said.

He recommends that people never leave food containers where wildlife can reach them.

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer

An A+ Atypical

2008-12-18T13:20:10.5230000-05:00

Rare? Check. Unique? Check.

Details surrounding this harvest are sketchy, but here's the gist of it. Vince Castellano was hunting Dec. 6 in Baltimore County, Maryland when he put this buck in his sights. While not the mythical "30-point point buck," Castellano's atypical trophy came in at 26 points. The crown sat upon a burly king weighing in at 254 lbs. dressed.

Way to go Vince! That's a happy hunter right there.

Harper Scores in Texas

2008-12-16T14:30:35.3165365-05:00

D&DH Field Editor Matt Harper recently returned from a successful bow-hunt
in Texas. Matt writes, "I think he will score between 125 and 130 which is
pretty good for the year they are having. It was very dry and they have
seen a decrease in antler score by about 10% to 15% because of the drought.
Shot the deer with my bow out of a ground blind."

Congrats, Matt!

Deer Breaks Into Pennsylvania Tax Collector Office

2008-12-16T14:24:34.6510000-05:00

Waynesboro, Pennsylvania tax collector Delmos Oldham joked about upsetting Santa Claus when a deer crashed through the window of his office.

"Maybe I upset one of his elves," Oldham was reported as saying. The debacle went down just after 4 in the afternoon, as the panicked deer ransacked Oldham's workspace.

At home with his wife at the time, Oldham recieved a call from police and drove to the office. Once there, police — acting on erroneous eye-witness reports — told him the deer had escaped. But when he walked into the office he found a surprise:

“I turned the light on and saw her. She raised up, denting the filing cabinet. I headed out. We were taken by surprise."

The deer jumped up on a nearby table, knocking a copy machine to the floor and then became trapped in the men’s bathroom, according to Oldham.

"The police went in — I saw them standing on the table — and couldn’t find her. The door to the bathroom was closed ... somehow she pushed it shut. She was in there,” reported the Record Herald.

Police used a Taser to subdue the deer and later destroyed her.

Operation Texas Shuffle Takes Down Illegal Deer Trade

2008-12-15T14:04:24.9427012-05:00

AUSTIN, Texas — Game wardens in the Special Operations Unit of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Law Enforcement Division have arrested six men and executed two search warrants as part of Operation Texas Shuffle, a year-long investigation into the black market deer trade in Texas.

"Our focus here is stopping two main areas of criminal activity: deer being brought illegally across state lines, and wild deer being illegally laundered into deer breeding facilities," said Col. Pete Flores, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department law enforcement director.

Five of the men were arrested yesterday, including William Kornegay, 42, of Eden in Concho County; James Johnson, 60, of Florence in Williamson County; and Jeff Arbogust, 48, of Austin in Travis County, Chris Sharp, 33, of Marble Falls in Burnet County; and Ronald Rogers, 39, of San Saba in San Saba County. The sixth suspect, Lance Clawson, 40, of Regency in Mills County, turned himself in this morning.

All six are alleged to have trapped, purchased or sold wild native whitetail deer. In addition, Rogers, Clawson and Kornegay are involved with permitted deer breeding facilities and are believed to have laundered wild deer into the permitted facilities. Kornegay serves as an agent for multiple licensed deer breeders. In one case, Clawson, a permitted deer breeding facility operator, allegedly darted wild deer and put them illegally into his facility.

Deer breeding is a legal and growing business in Texas, estimated by one breeder organization to be worth about $650 million per year for the state economy. It is illegal to capture or obtain wild deer and place them into breeding facilities. Breeders must obtain captive, pen-raised deer from other permitted breeders. There are currently 1,099 permitted deer breeders in Texas, holding 86,989 deer in 1,161 facilities. The vast majority of these are whitetail deer, and the rest are mule deer, the two native species in Texas.

"Money is driving the illegal trade in wild native deer," said Capt. Greg Williford with TPWD Law Enforcement Division’s Special Operations Unit. "A captive-raised breeder buck can sell for tens of thousands of dollars. So, catching deer in the wild seems a lot less expensive, until you get caught."

TPWD regulates deer breeding, issuing permits and conducting periodic facility inspections as warranted. A particular concern is monitoring breeding facilities for diseases such as Chronic Wasting Disease. CWD has not been detected in Texas, but it has cost tens of millions of dollars in other states. Texas borders essentially remain closed to the importation of whitetail and mule deer because of disease concerns.

Clawson and Rogers were previously apprehended Oct. 16 by Texas game wardens and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agents for smuggling eight deer into Texas from Oklahoma. Such interstate smuggling is not only illegal but also poses a disease threat to native whitetail deer.

Numerous Class B misdemeanors (fines up to $2,000 and up to 180 days confinement) have been filed on all six men for violating state Trap, Transport, and Transplant regulations relating to whitetail deer. As the investigation continues, additional charges and arrests are anticipated, including possible felony charges of tampering with a government document, and possible illegal possession of tranquilizer drugs, also a felony.

Based on where the alleged offenses occurred, county attorneys in Mills, Bell, Lampasas and Concho Counties will be prosecuting the misdemeanor charges.

Anyone who observes illegal deer trapping, sale or purchase in Texas should call Operation Game Thief toll-free at (800) 792-GAME. OGT is Texas’ privately funded wildlife crime stoppers hotline, operating 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week. Rewards of up to $1,000 may be paid to callers (who may remain anonymous). Game wardens recommend making the call immediately when illegal activity is observed, and say it is helpful to have a description of the activity, location of the violation, physical descriptions of alleged violators, description of any vehicles and the direction of travel.

Source: Texas Parks & Wildlife Division

Hard to Beat the Mass On This Base

2008-12-15T10:36:09.0220000-05:00

Strange deer photos continue to abound on the Internet. Today's winner is this one-base monstrosity that seems to have had its bases fuse together into one giant base. Now that's what we call "mass." The photo was reported to have been shot at a taxidermist's shop, somewhere in Maryland.

Kansas Yields Huge Triple Drop-Tine Buck

2008-12-15T10:06:46.2277581-05:00

No other details were available on this enormous triple drop-tine buck, or the fortunate hunter, other than it was purportedly shot in Kansas.

Snowstorm Still-Hunt Pays Off

2008-12-15T10:01:43.6241932-05:00

This 7-point buck was taken during Wisconsin's first big snowstorm of the season on December 9, 2008, with a muzzleloader. The deer was shot by Ray Smith, just north of Waupaca, as it chased a group of does through a stand of spruce trees. Smith, who was still-hunting through the snowstorm late in the afternoon, yelled at the buck to stop it and that provided a broadside shot.

The buck weighed 190 pounds and had an unusually long body. Smith wondered whether it was the second rut, the snowstorm, or both that compelled deer to move during the winter white-out conditions.

Michigan Pro Staff Report: 9-Point Buck Shot

2008-12-12T17:54:45.8702181-05:00

Submitted by Jerry Ciuk
Michigan Web Pro Staff

I shot this 9 point on 11/16/08 around 4 pm in Michigan’s UP. The day started off with a spike coming along and rubbing on a stump. Shortly after, a 3 point came out and the two bucks started to fight in front of me. This was very cool as I have never witnessed this before. After the fight, the two started to stare in one direction, they then ran in that direction. I’m guessing a doe was in the area and they went after her, as 10 minutes later the spike came back. He was rubbing on the same stump for awhile before heading back into the swamp. Right at dark this guy came out and I double lunged him at 41 yards.

Birthday Surprises: Muenster Gets a Canadian Monster

2008-12-12T10:17:37.5330000-05:00

Terry Muenster is the happy hunter who took this big Canadian whitetail, which was reportedly shot on his birthday. The buck had 12 points (1-inch stickers off of the base of each beam that are hard to see), green scored 162 inches and field dressed at about 260 pounds.

Web Pro Staff Field Report: Doe Bleating

2008-12-11T17:35:18.7526098-05:00

Submitted by Chris Kleist, D&DH Web Pro Staffer

I was bow-hunting tonight and on four occasions had does cruise past my stand bleating their heads off. I think there were at least three different deer, although one of the sightings was possibly the same doe twice. Two of them I could only hear in the brush; I couldn't actually see them. But one of them was a very young deer, and I could tell by the tone of the bleat that it was a young deer. The other one that I could actually see was a bigger, more mature doe, and just by her bleat she sounded more mature. They sounded just like that heat bleat call that's on the market the last couple of years. I bought one last year and watched the little DVD that came with it: The footage was of some does actually making that bleat. Anyway, these does tonight all sounded just like that, so if indeed what I heard was some sort of "heat bleat," they must be in that second rut now.

— Chris Kleist

Iowa: Details On the Chris Wood Buck

2008-12-11T15:56:51.1916456-05:00

The e-mail accompanying the photo of the Chris Wood buck, reportedly taken in Iowa, states:

Attached is a picture of a buck my buddy Chris Wood from Des Moines shot this Saturday, December 6th with a shotgun during the 1st shotgun season.

He was hunting with a group of guys from Perficut Lawn Care, they were hunting in Taylor county by Bedford, IA. It was Woody's turn to post on this push. He was standing just inside the timber when a group of does came running by. This buck just walked by trailing the does, he was about 60 yards away when Woody shot. He only ran about 40 before piling up.

We scored the deer Sunday night and came up with a green score of 264-0/8", it has 33 scorable points and it has one drop tine. If the score holds close, it will be the 2nd largest buck harvested in Iowa; next to the Albia Buck.

"Honey, Is It Getting Hot in Here?"

2008-12-11T15:44:24.1740000-05:00

According to an e-mail circulating around today, a senior citizen couple in North Carolina got quite a surprise when they pulled off the highway and stopped at a fast food restaurant to grab a bite to eat. The e-mail says:

"...these two old people (man and his wife) were on the way to Greenville, NC and stop to McDonalds in Farmville just off of 264 East bypass last Sat. and did not know they had hit this deer !! Someone in McDonalds had to tell them ... the old man said he noticed the car was starting to run a little hot the last few miles !!!!!"