The economic downward trend claims its first hunting industry victims

© By Othmar Vohringer

The world wide economic decline has claimed many victims. Businesses went belly up and the multinational industry begs the governments for huge bailout sums, and unemployment figures are at an all time high.

It was only a matter of time until we would hear rumors and news of hunting industry bankrupts. Rumor has it that Horton Crossbows is in financial trouble and as of this writing is negotiating a takeover by a multinational company to save the company. Should the deal fall through Horton will have to close the doors.

Another hunting industry giant, the Sportsman’s Warehouse, had been in the rumor mill about financial difficulties for quite some time. The rumor has now become fact with the company filing for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection. The good news is that despite the financial problems some Sportsman’s warehouse stores are still open for the time being with no closures scheduled. The bad news is that 22 locations in 17 states have been closed, leaving 1’700 employees without a job.

Read the full story here.

So far the hunting industry has done remarkably well compared to other industries. Especially firearm and ammunition factories. I hope that the global economists and politicians get the economy back on track before it claims too many more victims.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Unexpected news

© By Othmar Vohringer

Yesterday morning when I checked my email there was a message from Bryan to many of you better known as “DeerPhD”. For those of you who do not know whom I am talking about let me explain.

Bryan wrote in my opinion one of the best outdoors blogs on the whole Internet. At the time Bryan studied for his degree in psychology, hence the blogs name DeerPhD, but he also is an avid hunter and fisher. Bryan had a very interesting slant to his outdoor writing, covering hunting from a psychological viewpoint that was both highly interesting and educational to read.

After his last post on February 29, 2008 Bryan disappeared from his blog without a warning. He was just gone from the blogsphere. Over time Bryan and I developed a sort of fairly close blogger friendship that it not uncommon among outdoor bloggers, hence the founding of the Outdoor Bloggers Summit (OBS).

When a person I know just vanishes into thin air I start to worry and it was no different with Bryan. I wondered if he is okay and hoped nothing serious happened to him. I started to worry a little more when two emails to him remained unanswered. Imagine my joy when I received his email yesterday.

Bryan is doing fine but has been extremely busy with his study and preparing for the exams. Currently Bryan and his wife live in Kansas City, MO for his internship and in August the couple will return to northeast OH where Bryan begin his career as a faculty member in a Psychology Department (College of Wooster, Wooster, OH).

Bryan wrote; “I'm really looking forward to having an established residence and career so that I can further pursue my passions in the outdoors!” I also hope that this will give Bryan time to return to his blog because I surly miss reading it.

It is usually not my custom to relate personal emails sent to me on this blog. I made a rare exception in this case because I happen to know that many fellow outdoor bloggers have been wondering and worrying about Bryan’s sudden departure from his blog. I am glad that he is alright and that his hard work finally pays off. If he returns to his blog remains to be seen but what ever happens to DeerPhd I wish Bryan and his wife nothing but the best of everything in his profession, life and family.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

HS Strut ® Ring Zone™ Turkey Calls

© By Othmar Vohringer

There is no question about it that good calling is an essential part of turkey hunting success. The emphasis in the former sentence is on “good calling” as in getting the right sound and perfect pitch. Turkeys have been called to a great deal by hunters. They have learned to distinguish between a real turkey sound and almost real turkey sounds. This ability has saved many a toms life.

Game call companies go to great length to provide hunters with calls that that sound perfect and are easy to use. One such company is Hunter Specialties ® and I recently ha d a chance to field-test tow of their new friction pot-calls. The package information of the new HS Strut Ring Zone™ Starfire Crystal™ and the Ring Zone™ Ceramic reads, “Scientific testing shows that the Ring Zone™ produces remarkably consistent sounds, more so than other commercial calls. With more accurate and authentic yelps, hunters can call in more turkeys. You can ‘get in their head’ because you can make the same sounds they hear and produce.”

For comparison HS Strut ® provides two oscilloscope frequency charts, one of a real live turkey yelp and the other of the Ring Zone™ call. The similarity of the two charts is remarkable which leads the company to the conclusion. “Turkeys will hear the difference with the Ring Zone™ and you’ll be convinced that all turkey calls are not created equal.”

Am I convinced that the HS Strut ® Ring Zone™ Starfire Crystal™ and the Ring Zone™ Ceramic can make the difference the manufacturer promises? Lets find out.

The moment I looked at the call I noticed that the new calls had a new feature that will greatly enhance the sound of the call. The outer ring on the call is separated with spacers from the mainframe that holds the play surface. This invention serves in my opinion two important purposes. First it will keep your fingers of the calling surface, a mistake many novice turkey hunters make. Second, even if you hold the call wrong by cupping the hand around the bottom of the call you still will be able to get the volume needed. Both, touching the play surface and cupping the hand around the bottom of the call will muffle the sound.

Seeing this new invention was very pleasing, especially knowing from my turkey hunting seminars and working with novice hunters that this is a very common problem with many turkey hunters and HS Strut™ has solved it is great.

Inspecting the calls carefully for manufacturing faults convinced me that the Ring Zone™ is manufactured with great care to detail and the components fitted perfectly together, which is no small feat by mass production standards.

Satisfied that I held a quality turkey call in my hands I was eager to hear how the Ring Zone™ calls sounded. Having hunted turkeys for many years and having specialized in turkey vocalization I pride myself on knowing the difference between a real turkey sound and something that almost sounds like a turkey. Time to find out.


Since I have never used a ceramic call I tried the Ring Zone™ Ceramic first. By the first yelp I produced with the supplied rosewood striker peg I was surprised about the clarity of the sound, the perfect pitch with just the right amount of raspy undertone common to older turkey hens. Yelping is one thing but clucks, cackle and purrs are quite a different story. In the past I have found that most calls can produce a passable yelp but are often fail a bit when producing a purr. Not the so the Ring Zone™ Ceramic, I was able with little effort to produce the perfect purr sound that experienced turkey hunter look for in every quality call.

After I was satisfied that the Ring Zone™ is everything it promised to be I focused my attention on the Ring Zone ™ Starfire Crystal (Image on the left). As expected form a class call, the sound was not as raspy and bit brighter but still at the perfect pitch needed to convince a gobbler to come closer. For me the glass call is the favourite to call a tom form a long distance and the Ring Zone™ Starfire has the power and volume needed to reach that extra distance without sacrificing tone quality.

Conclusion:
With the Ring Zone™ calls Hunter Specialties definitely has given turkey hunters a welcome and in some cases a much needed addition the their bag of tricks to call in even the weariest of toms. I can say with confidence that from now on the HS Strut ® Ring Zone™ calls will have a permanent place in my turkey hunting vest when I am heading out in pursuit of big mature toms.

Images courtesy of: HS Strut ®

For more information on Hunter Specialties game calls and other products visit their website.

Related articles:
Music to a tom’s ears
Turkey calls


Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Tags: Turkey Calls, H.S. Strut, Hunter Specialties, Ring Zone Turkey Calls

Turkey seminar is a huge hit

...and still a few more to go!!!

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Taking Action

© By Othmar Vohringer

Currently an anti hunting organization here in British Columbia called the Pacific Wild appears on TV channels all over the province in a effort to promote their bear hunting ban agenda.

As can be expected, the information contains a lot of junk science, heavily skewed and manipulated data and outright lies about bear hunting and conservation. In short anti hunting groups will say whatever they deem necessary to improve their financial bottom line and press the emotional buttons of the masses in the hope that they donate money to the organization.

As hunters we need to respond to such propaganda stunts that are solely aimed at maligning hunters for financial benefits. Here I leave you with the letter I wrote to the organization with carbon copies to the TV station that aired the diatribe and to our provincial government.

To: PacificWild.org
info@pacificwild.org

Date: March 16, 2009

Re: Stop bear hunting in British Columbia

To Whom It May Concern:

Once again representatives of your organization have managed to go public with what best could be described as junk science and outright lies about the bear conservation, hunting and bear population numbers. Furthermore on your website you imply that hunters are lawbreakers by stating that bears are shot in Provincial and State Parks where hunting is not permitted.

As an interesting side note, your organization aligns itself with Coastal First Nations animal protection and conservation groups. This is very interesting because it is the First Nations that demanded special rights to hunt wherever, whenever and whatever they want without any regard to the regulations by which real hunters have to comply.

Through personal inside experience with animal rights and anti hunting groups I am fully aware that your organization is not overly concerned about real bear facts and conservation issues. Your main concern is the financial bottom line and to that end you will say whatever suits your political agenda and pushes the emotional buttons of a vastly ignorant people in the hope they will donate money to your extreme political cause.

Still I would like to provide you with the facts as they stand.

British Columbia has the most diverse and largest wildlife population in North America. BC is among the world leaders in wildlife and habitat conservation. The reason for our wildlife and habitat conservation success is a direct result of the close relationship between government and hunters. It was the hunters that first noticed a sharp decline in bear populations in the early 70's and demanded that the government stopped all bear hunting and not environmental groups. Environmental groups weren’t invented back then.

Since then, thanks to hunters working closely with wildlife biologists and the government of British Columbia, black bears and grizzly bears have bounced back to sustainable populations. Today the grizzly bear population is a conservatively estimated 14,000 strong and the black bear population is estimated at 160,000 strong (it's the largest grizzly and balck bear population anywhere in North America). These numbers are far from “an endangered species” as you erroneously but willfully claim.

To people with knowledge and real facts this does not come as a surprise because hunters are and always have been among the biggest wildlife conservationists. Long before it became a political agenda and money spin for extreme political groups.

Hunters only cull the surplus animals that need to be taken out of the population to ensure a healthy natural balance. Hunters cull less then 3% of the grizzly bear population. What animals and in what region the animals need to be culled is established by wildlife biologists that then in turn advice the government to allocate the necessary permits to hunters. Hunting is not as you imply random killing of animals, at least it is not for law-abiding hunters. Poachers are not hunters they are criminals.

Hunters contribute the lion share of finances needed for wildlife conservation through the purchase of hunting licenses. Hunters are also active in wildlife conservation organizations such as the hunter founded BC Wildlife Federation (BCWF), the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Ducks Unlimited (DU), the Wild Sheep Society and the list goes on, providing further billions of dollars to benefit directly wildlife and habitat conservation. In other words, it is the hunters that put their money and personal effort where their mouth is to ensure a healthy and thriving wildlife population that can be equally enjoyed by all, including eco-tourists and those that want to outlaw hunting.

When was the last time your organization, or any other anti hunting organization for that matter, spent billions plus personal effort on wildlife conservation? The few known cases where wildlife conservation had been turned over to anti hunters ended in a complete conservation disaster causing diseases, starvation and habitat destruction.

Banning hunting would have a devastating effect on wildlife and environment. Who would pay the billions needed to keep wildlife conservation at the current high level? Who, if not hunters, would donate thousands of man hours dedicated to wildlife and habitat enhancement. Would your organization pay for it or should we leave it to the already overburdened taxpayers? Wildlife conservation certainly can’t be paid with eco-tourism (bear watching). On that note, have you ever bothered to read any data what eco-tourism does to wildlife and habitat? Look no further than Africa and the Yellow Stone National Park where wildlife has become habituated to people to the point where they become dangerous. Each year we learn of accidents where animals attack, injure and kill eco-tourists.Not to mention the damage caused to habitat and environment.

As an animal behaviorist I know how dangerous habituated wild animals can become to humans. Wildlife biologists in Africa view eco-tourism as a “huge problem” because once habituated animals tend to loose not only their natural respect of humans but also stop to behave and interact naturally with each other. In other words they behave like zoo animals, nature is turned into a drive through safari park.

In your publications you complain that the government doesn’t jump on your bandwagon. Here is the reason. Fortunately the government of British Columbia sees through the smoke screen you put up. Minister Penner knows the facts of hunting and wildlife conservation and that is why he turns your proposal down and for that alone he will get my vote in the upcoming election.

Sincerely
Othmar Vohringer

CC to Honorable Barry Penner, B.C. Minister of Environment
CC to Honorable Gordon Campbell, Premier of British Columbia
CC to CBC TV
CC to Global TV

Carrie Underwood supports the notorious HSUS

© By Othmar Vohringer

As a country music lover I always enjoyed listening to Carrie Underwood. I admired her for the success she has, starting as hopeful on American Idol and then becoming one of country music biggest stars. I also like her down to earth attitude.

Imagine how shocked I was when I found out this morning that Carrie Underwood, who had grown up in rural Oklahoma among hunters and farmers, has decided to support the notorious animal right activist organization, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) with part of the revenue generated from her new release “Home Sweet Home”. Carrie states on her website that the money will be donated “To support a cause very dear to Carrie's heart, she, 19 Recordings, and Sony Music Nashville will donate a portion of the sales proceeds from ‘Home Sweet Home’ to The Humane Society of the United State”.

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance writes in their “Action Alert” letter; “Sportsmen can make a difference. Companies such as Iams, General Mills, Accor Hotels, Pet Safe, Sears, Meijer Inc, and Ace Hardware ended relationships with HSUS after thousands of sportsmen levied strong protest.”

You bet we can and we will stop Carrie Underwood from kicking some of her most loyal fans and rural folks she grew up with in the teeth. Sometimes when people become famous they forget their roots and upbringing. From a cooment on her blog it appears that Carrie Underwood already got a taste of what can happen if a star upsets her loyal graas roots supporters. On a concert in a rural communiy, so it is said, more than half of her audience got up and left after Carrie anounced her support for the HSUS. The comment does not say if the people who left demanded their ticket money back. I hope they did.

Take Action! Sportsmen are urged to contact key personnel at American Idol’s parent company, Fox Broadcasting and demand that Underwood’s song not be given a stage to raise money for HSUS.

Please take a few minutes and write a comment on Carrie’s blog to let her know how you feel. Also contact the following people:

Mr. Peter Liguori
Fox Broadcasting Company
Chairman of Entertainment
10201 West Pico Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90064-2606
Fax: 310-369-1283
Phone: 310-369-3553

American Idol at: idol.web@fox.com. (The song will be used as farewell pice to contestants of American Idol.)

Feel free to copy this post and put it on your blog or link to the post herei. We have to make sure that as many hunters know about this and take action as we can reach and our blogs are a great way to reach millions of hunters. Thank You.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit


Tags:Carrie Underwood, Country Music Star, Animal Rights

Winter returns with a vengeance

© By Othmar Vohringer

The spring goose hunting season came and went. In my last post I mentioned how exited I am to go on a Canada goose hunt with a few good friends.

The weather looked promising, it felt almost like spring but then Friday came and when I got up at 4 am and looked out the kitchen window to check the thermometer it showed 15 C below freezing, that’s -5 F for my American readers, still I was hopeful that some geese will fly.

At 6 am I met up with my friends and we all were in agreement that it probably would be wiser to return home and go back to bed. But since we’re all dressed up and ready to hunt we might just as well try our luck. You know how the saying goes. “You never know until you try.”

Arriving at the farmers field, were we previously obtained permission to hunt, we went about to set out the decoy spread and then got comfortable in the blinds. As comfortable as one could get in this cold weather. Just after we set out the decoys my friend Richard walked the short way down to the lake where he previously had seen geese and came back with the encouraging news that he had seen about 30 geese on the sandy beach. We were hopeful that ones the sun came out and warmed the air up a bit the geese would get hungry and fly up to the field to feed.

We waited, and waited, and waited some more and finally two hours had passed when three big Canadian geese few high in the sky toward us. Quickly I pulled the goose flute from under my jacket but it was so clod that the call froze up instantly the moment I blew it. What should have been a series of enticing welcoming honks for the geese sounded like a crow with a severely sore throat? Surprisingly, the three geese changed direction and came closer to investigate the decoy spread but stayed high in the sky out f shooting range.

Since the frozen call was useless the geese quickly realized that something is not quite right and turned away. We sat in the blind for another hour or so and then decided that it just too cold and we either go home to defrost our fingers and toes or try a different approach. We decided that three of us line up along the willows that borders a big swamp and that Richard with his dog would walk down to the lake to flush the geese resting on the beach. The idea was that we would catch the spooked geese when they took off and flew over the willows. That was the idea but fifteen minutes into the waiting game nothing happened. Then Richard and his faithful dog returned form the lake to tell us that the geese must have sneaked out the backdoor because they were all gone when he went down to the lake.

That wrapped up the day. On the way out we passed the farmer and he told us that he would call us when the weather warmed up and he sees the geese are flying again. Well, the call never came and today is Tuesday, the last day of the ten-day spring geese hunting season. The weather has not warmed up. In fact over the weekend it got considerably colder, with the lowest temperatures today reaching minus 30C (-22 F). The coldest day on record in March since the mid-seventies. The winter has come back with a vengeance and it looks like it is going to be with us for a while yet. We even had few days of heavy snowfall, that much for Global warming.

I just hope the winter is not for too long with us because spring turkey and spring black bear hunting season opens in early April. Turkeys are not much of a problem in the cold but the bears are still in hibernation and if they don’t wake up soon the spring bear hunting can get really though.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Tags: Spring Geese Hunting Season, Goose Decoys, Spring Bear Hunt, Turkey Hunting Season, Winter Weather, Winter Returns With A Vengeance

Spring Geese Hunting Season

© By Othmar Vohringer

Here in British Columbia the short spring geese hunting season has opened for ten days. Having spent the past two months indoors with writing and preparations for the upcoming seminar tour I am itching to get out and do some hunting.

This afternoon I brushed up on my calling skills, such as they are, and now I am getting all the stuff ready for tomorrow morning. Looking across the desk at all the equipment piled up in the corner I can’t help but feel a little bewildered about the mountain of stuff. Rally how much does it take to go hunting? Apparently, quite a lot, looking at my stuff in the corner.

There are two pairs of insulated winter boots, a set of ASAT insulated camouflage (parka and bib-coverall), a woolen hat with facemask. Two pairs woolen socks, a set of thick thermal underwear and insulated gloves. On the side table are two boxes of 12 gauge, 3 inch BB Federal Premium shell boxes. The goose calls lay next to it and the Mossberg 535 ATS shotgun is still safely looked away in the gun safe. Just by the office door are two full sets, that’s 24, Flambeau Canada geese decoys.

It looks like I am ready to go geese hunting.

On Monday I’ll be back here and tell you all about it. If I fill my quota I'll brag about it, if not I will come up with excuses. A valued excuse that might occur is that the weatherman has predicted cold windy weather and around here that is not what waterfowl hunters want. We will see, whatever happens it will be good to get out with friends and get some fresh air into the lungs.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

A note about outdoor blog links

© By Othmar Vohringer

When I started blogging about the outdoors in January of 2006 there were only a handful of us. It was easy to visit all blogs within an hour or two and leave a comment.

How things have changed since then. In just a little over three years there are now hundreds of blogs on the Internet, covering just about every imaginable aspect and interest of hunting and fishing. This is a wonderful thing and most likely does more to promot our outdoor heritage to the average person on the street than anything else.

I even would go as far as to say that it is due to the outdoors bloggers and the wealth of first hand reporting they do that has taken a huge bite out of the animal rights and anti hunting community. For the first time people have easy access to the truth about hunting and fishing.

On the downside it has become impossible for me to visit every blog. If I were to do that I easily would spend 24 hours doing just that.

This brings me to the point of this short note. It occurred to me on several occasions when I visit new blogs that the writer has linked to one of my blog(s). If I see that I will return the favor and link to that blog too. However, there might be any number of blogs out there that have linked to me and I do not know about it.

I am happy that many of you think enough of my blog(s) that you want to link to it. However, I am very much a person who believes in “one hand washes the other”.

With that said I would ask you all to help me out a bit. If you link to my blog(s) please drop me a quick note and let me know so I can return the favor by linking my blog to yours. My contact is available in the panel to the right in my profile and also further down above the blogroll where it says “Submit your Blog.”

Thanks!

Entrepreneur helps the future of hunting

© By Othmar Vohringer

Last week a parcel arrived at our home in Merritt, in it was a shirt Chad Rodevold, owner of the Field Dress
Company and writer of the Wild Side blog, had sent me. With that kind gesture Chad wanted to show me his new design line of unique hunting and fishing themed t-shirts he came up with.

I was impressed with the first designs and made that abundantly clear in an earlier product review “Dress in Style” on this blog. If I had been impressed with the first designs I was awed by the new design. Even my wife, a photographer and graphic designer, was impressed with the flawless design, clear lines and life like depiction of the trout jumping out of the water.

This is clearly the work of a man committed to quality and a great appreciation of the outdoors and the sportsman heritage. Just how deep Chad’s commit for the outdoor heritage runs I found out a few days ago when I learned that the Field Dress Company donates a portions of every shirt sold to the Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors organization to help financing their various admirable programs to introduce children to hunting and fishing.

How often can you say that a product does so much good in so many ways? The stylish and tasteful designs are a perfect way to advertise our outdoor heritage to the public. Made in North America these shirts contribute to our economy and provide work here at home and finally the donations made form the sales of the product help to pass our heritage on to the next generation and with that guarantee the future of the hunting and fishing heritage.


To view or purchase the Field Dress products visit their webite.
To learn more about Pass It On –Outdoor Mentors Inc click here.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Tags: Field Dress Apparel , Outdoor Mentor, Outdoor Motive T-Shirts