Source: Wall Street Journal

'I think people are stressed out about the economy and just want to go out and shoot something."

So said Lee Lightsey of Outwest Farms in Okeechobee, Fla., who pretty much summed up the sentiments at this year's Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show, one of the biggest -- and best -- hunting and fishing expos in the U.S.

If there's a sharp downturn in the U.S. economy, it wasn't evident here when the show opened (it ran Feb. 7-15). Traffic was backed up and long lines snaked around the 25-acre, eight-building State Farm Show Complex. According to show organizer Ed Several of Reed Exhibitions, advance ticket sales were about equal to last year, while they were down 4% at his PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando.

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There is a distinct difference between hunting and culling. The following from the Star Tribune newspaper in Minneapolis is an example of culling.

Source: Startribune.com

A cross-country ski trail was nearby. But rain had fallen all day and washed away any hopes skiers might have had of kicking and gliding atop the icy paths.

This was Tuesday night, and the Twin Cities park in which I was hiding was closed.

Peering through a night-vision scope, I shouldered a 12-gauge shotgun with a 7-foot-long barrel.

In the scope, amid the darkness, I saw a pile of corn about 20 paces distant. The corn was bait I hoped would lure deer close enough to shoot.

A swirling, bone-chilling wind wound through the thick stand of trees surrounding me.

If a deer did appear, I would target him -- or her -- just behind a shoulder, hoping to drop the animal in its tracks.

No one would be the wiser. Not neighbors nearby. Not interloping park visitors, if there were any.

The reason?

When triggered, the gun I used was virtually silent.

• • •

Welcome to Twin Cities deer culling, circa 2009.

Little known to Minneapolis and St. Paul residents, and those of surrounding suburbs, when the sun goes down, the guns in many communities come out.

Not all belong to gangs. Or police.

Some are wielded by sharpshooters employed by cities, park districts and various regulatory authorities, such as the Metropolitan Airports Commission.

Professional contract deer killers also are sometimes hired.

The intent is to reduce the metro's overpopulation of whitetails.

Continue reading here.

Just Sheds

It's finally shed antler season and the shed heads are out in full force. If
you fit this category and can't get enough, here's a blog that deals
specifically with shed antler hunting from former D&DH editorial staff
member Joe Shead: www.goshedhunting.com/blog/

It is rare enough to see one albino deer, but what about seven? A herd of the ghostly deer visited a home in Boulder Junction, Wis. Click here to see the video.

Source: Cleveland Plain Dealer

Two University of Toledo students who illegally killed a trophy white-tailed deer have been ordered to pay $13,278 in restitution to the Ohio Division of Wildlife.

Justin Angles, 20, of Fostoria, and Dave Mahoney, 20, of Akron killed the deer on Oct. 9, 2008, in a park in the Toledo area. Visitors to Side Cut Metro Park in Maumee were so familiar with the 15-point buck that they had named it "Big Boy" and "Stickers."

The deer was estimated to be about 9 years old, a senior citizen of any Ohio deer herd.

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This. Game. Is. Addicting. The Versus Country Bag A Monster Buck game is the potato chip of online entertainment: you can't play for just one hunt. Best to play this when you've got some time, because you won't want to stop.

Click here to begin.

Source: Charlotte Observer

No injuries were reported when a passenger jet hit a deer Wednesday evening while taxiing at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport.

An airport official described the incident as a "freak incident."

It happened shortly after 7:30 p.m., when US Airways Flight 3215 arrived from Nashville and was taxiing on Runway 36C, according to the FAA. The pilot was directing the craft to a gate when it hit the deer.

The plane, an Embraer 175, was carrying 53 passengers and a crew of three.

The only casualty was to the deer, which did not survive.

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These photos were forwarded in an e-mail to the DDH staff. Talk about being in a tough spot. No word on how things turned out for the beleaguered buck.

By Brian Lovett



I’ll admit it: I was praying for cold weather the final week of January.
Now, before my fellow Northerners jump through their monitor screens to
strangle me, let me explain. Like you, I’m sick of the brutal winter of
2008-2009 in my home state of Wisconsin. But during the last week of
January, I was in southern Alabama to hunt deer with the good folks at the
Whitetail Institute of North America. So in that case, “cold” meant lows in
the 30s or 40s and highs in the 50s or 60s; conditions that get rutting
Alabama deer on their feet yet provide a nice break for winter-weary
Yankees.

For once, the weatherman actually obliged, and the deer followed suit.
Hunting over lush Imperial Whitetail Clover fields for five days, my friends
and I saw loads of feeding does and cruising bucks. Double-digit deer
sightings were common during mornings and evenings, and one member of our
group even saw a true Alabama monster cruising through thick pines 200-some
steps from his stand.

Apparently, I drew the horseshoe stand the first morning, as a high-racked
8-pointer appeared from over a hill at about 9:30 a.m. to check my food plot
for does. I had to wait a few tense moments to get a clear shot, but when
the buck turned broadside at about 150 steps, I took a deep breath, exhaled
slowly and ended the hunt.

The next morning, I watched another shooter buck make a scrape 100 steps
away and then check the field for does. Meanwhile, a friend hunting just
across the road watched two bucks chase a doe full-bore through his food
plot.

Though we never shot another buck, the hot action continued through our
final morning. And when we left for the airport that afternoon, the mercury
read 76 degrees. I think everyone agreed that we could rearrange our
schedules to stay a few more days.

Reality hit hard when I arrived home: 9 degrees. Sigh. Well, as I struggle
through the remaining months of this winter, I can always think back to
Alabama … and the memory of deer that weren’t buried up to their necks in
snow.

-- Brian Lovett is the editor of Turkey & Turkey Hunting.

Source: The Suburbanite

Green, Ohio -

On Dec. 23, when children are anxiously awaiting the sound of reindeer hooves on the roof, Tonya and Dave Vincent of Green had a terrifying visit of the four-legged kind.

Tonya remembered her father’s telephone call to her office, “He said, ‘You need to get home. A deer just came through the window.’ I couldn’t believe it.”

Tonya’s mother, Carol, was babysitting the Vincent’s two sons, Brett and Brandon. “She’s a hero,” Tonya said.

“I was just coming up from the laundry and I saw glass flying,” Carol said.

A buck, which had nearly been hit on State Route 619, dashed across the snowy front yard. “We don’t know how he dodged the Christmas decorations,” said Tonya. “But he came right through the window.”

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Google Maps offers real-world ground views of just about everywhere nowadays. This is achieved by attaching cameras to willing vehicles. The cameras take photos as the vehicle drives.

Inevitably, this going to happen:

Source: Michigan Messenger

Google Maps captures EVERYTHING going on within range of its camera as it scans at street level for its “street view” service — including a deer-vehicle accident at close range. The driver of the scanning van was unable to avoid a fawn; the scan captured enough detail of the event that one can even see the spots on the fawn’s coat.

Apparently the fawn was able to get up and run off after the incident; you don’t need to get all sniffly about this poor little Bambi.

Read the rest here.