Is this for real?

© By Othmar Vohringer


This image is making the rounds on the Internet for quite some time now. It was only a matter of time until it would end up in my email inbox. Yesterday someone sent me this picture titled: Best bowkill on camera. But is it real or is the image made up in photoshop or some other photo-manipulating program?

Whenever I cam across this image on the Internet I discovered that it unleashed a hot discussion of real versus fake. Lucky me I am married to a photographer and graphic design artist. My wife knows a thing or two about manipulating images so I asked her to take a look at it.

Here verdict after close examination. This image is one hundred percent fake.

The buck looks dead as in laying on the ground and then has been cut out and placed into a background that might be taken my a game cam. Notice the pile of corn at the bottom right corner of the image.
The blood splatters have been painted in. I had no clue but I am told by my wife that photo draw programs come with a variety of “brushes” that let you paint anything from a house to a tree and mountain, or in this case, blood into an image.

Knowing an animal’s anatomy I paid close attention to the muscles. If a buck jumps up in the air, as this one appears to be doing, you wpuld see the hind leg muscles bulging from the strain and force needed to leap that high. But I can’t see any muscle strain. In fact all the muscles are relaxed as they would appear on a dead deer.

There seems to be also something wrong with the buck’s eyes. Usually the color of the eye is black when you take a picture of a life deer but will reproduce white on a dead deer. These eyes are white.

Then there are the other factors to consider. When a deer jumps up like that it happens very fast so fast in fact that the camera cannot capture the movement without blur unless the photographer uses what’s called a fast lens with a wide aperture and the camera is set at around 800 to 1000 ISO. No game camera is capable of "freezing" fast movement not even with a flash.

With all these observations and my wife’s professional opinion I came to the conclusion that this image is as fake as a water turtle in the Sahara.

What’s your take on it?

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance News -The good and the bad

© By Othmar Vohringer

I am glad to see that sportsman take action against the governments continued efforts to infringe upon our rights. We all need to get more involved like these gun owners in New York.

New York Sportsmen Have a “Gun Day” in Albany
Sportsmen in New York rallied on Wednesday, April 29, at the state capital in order to raise awareness and demonstrate their opposition to a litany of anti-gun bills being pushed through the state Assembly.
Empire State sportsmen and gun enthusiasts flocked to the “Gun Day” rally organized by the New York based, Shooters Committee on Political Education (SCOPE, Inc.). The rally was coordinated in response to a wave of anti-gun bills making their way through the New York Assembly.
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It looks like that Michigan finally decides to use common sense in the wolf management but as things progress in a positive way the antis lay in waiting ready to pounce.

Anti’s Lurk as Michigan Delists Wolves from Endangered Species List
The long, winding path to delisting the gray wolf from the endangered species list in Michigan is moving closer to an end, at least for the moment. However, animal rights groups are already waiting to swoop in from the wings and slam the brakes on the effort.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has determined the number of gray wolves in the Upper Peninsula have made a tremendous recovery. Consequently, the state announced on April 27 that the gray wolf was removed from its endangered species list.
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I am really concerned about the sanity of PETA founder and president, Ingrid Newkerk. I guess the self admitted “media slut” will do what ever it takes to stay in the media no matter how insane it may be.

No “CloFu” for PETA
George Clooney declined to sweat for PETA when he rebuffed an offer by the group to use his perspiration to spice up tofu, or, more accurately, “CloFu.”
After receiving a towel claiming to have some of George Clooney’s sweat on it, PETA President and founder, Ingrid Newkirk fired off a letter to the actor asking for permission to use his sweat to make Clooney flavored tofu. The letter stated, “The technology actually exists to take your perspiration and make it into George Clooney–flavored tofu (CloFu).”
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Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Secret memo announces cutbacks for conservation services

© By Othmar Vohringer

If you live in British Columbia and contact the conservation services because you have bears in your back yard, or trying to break into your home, good luck to you if you get a response.

A secret memo leaked two week ago announces further financial cuts to the Wildlife Service. This is not the first time that budget cuts have been made but rather the last in a series over the last two to three years.

With the latest cutbacks there is serious concern that the Conservation Officers (Game Wardens for my American readers) will no longer be able to do their jobs. While the money has been steadily cut back over the years, the duties of the conservation officers have increased.

At one time the conservation officers were in charge of enforcing the hunting and fishing laws and responding to nuisance wildlife calls. That was a long time ago, now conservation officers are also in charge of enforcing environment pollution laws and a host of other duties pertaining to the environment, hunting, fishing and other outdoor recreational activates including vehicle/wildlife accidents.

Just how bad the current situation is has become evident when a memo was leaked to the public that among other things recommended. Conservation officers should not answer anymore phone calls from public made to the local office or the CO’s home, thus forcing the caller to call the central hotline from where the call will be assessed and forwarded to the conservation officer. Provided if the dispatcher deems the call urgent or not this could take from several hours to days.

Here is how this is intended to work. In the past if I encountered a wildlife act or environmental violation in progress I could just phone up the local conservation officer and inform him of my observation. The officer could make the decision based on his knowledge of the area and the people living there and if needed act upon my call within minutes.

With the new system I would have to phone the hotline in a faraway city where a bureaucrat will make the decision if the call is urgent or not and then, at his/her discretion, passes the message on to the local conservation officer. In the case of poaching or environment pollution minutes can make all the difference in apprehending an offender. The same is true if a bear creates havoc in my backyard or threatens my family. I want the problem to be dealt with in a timely, speak swift, fashion. I do not want to waist time talking to a bureaucrat somewhere far away that most likely has no clue of the area, or probably doesn’t even know it existed until now.

But it gets worse. In the leaked memo conservation officers are asked to hitch a ride with the RCMP when ever possible (That is police or sheriff for my American readers). Yep you read that right. The conservation service has no money to fuel up the patrol vehicles. In fact the conservation service is 500,000 dollars short of what is needed to maintain a basic service according to acting-chief conservation officer Lance Sundquist. British Columbia is a huge province. About three times the size of California, but only about 10% of California’s population, the rest is semi to total wilderness. Yet there are only 64 conservation officers in this province. That means that these officers have to drive hundreds of miles each day to patrol their territory and respond to calls, but with 500,000 dollars in the hole the vehicles stay in the parking lots with empty gas tanks.

Shan Simpson, NDP, said that with the latest cutbacks front-line officers would no longer be able to do their jobs. No kidding. Some of the conservation officers were so disgusted with this latest cutbacks that they left the service because they felt that they could not continue to uphold their oath any longer under the current conditions. The remaining officers struggle on as best as they can and a few, so I heard, even pay out of their own pocket to maintain some mobility. Imagine that! Pay so you can work!

All this comes on the back of BC Premier Gordon Campell’s, time and again, voiced commitment to environment, hunting and fishing. Looking at the facts this commitment seems nothing more than cheap lip service. As I said before this is not the first time the conservation service budget was cut back. In that same timeframe the government awarded itself, not once but twice, with a salary increase amounting to more that a 130% increase plus many other financial incentives and benefits. I am not even going into the millions that have been squandered or got “lost” in the 2010 Winter Olympics fiasco.

If we have to make cutbacks on the budget because of the economic situation, according to Gordon Campell, may I suggest to start on the over the top salaries and benefits of our government officials. I am sure with that alone a million or so could be saved. Clapping down on the 2010 Winter Olympics money squandering, fraud and corruption surely would save a few millions too. All that saved money could then be given to the conservation service, education department and health care department where the money is badly needed to keep up with the publics demand and needs.

A life lived for the outdoors

© By Othmar Vohringer

With sadness I report today the passing of Frank (Len) Rich, one of Canada’s most active outdoor enthusiasts and conservationist. Unfortunately, I was not able to get to know Len all that well before he passed away. Before I joined the Outdoor Writers of Canada (OWC) we exchanged a few emails and a couple of phone calls. It had been his enthusiasm about everything to do with fishing, the outdoors and writing, plus his tireless commitment to recruiting new outdoor writers that made me join the OWC.

Below I copied the official obituary released by the OWC. My heartfelt condolences go to Lens family and many friends in the outdoor community to whom he has given so richly and never asked for anything in return. The legacy he left behind will be carried on in his memory. May you rest in peace Len.

OBITUARY Len Rich 1938-2009

We regret to announce the death of Leonard Frank (Len) Rich on April 13, 2009, in North Bay, ON following a brief courageous battle with cancer. He was 71.

Len was born and raised in the small Upstate New York town of Whitehall. After eight years of US military service he settled in Newfoundland in 1966. His careers spanned more than four decades, from sales rep and sales manager to automotive dealer and entrepreneur in the field of tourism.

His greatest passions were fly fishing and writing and as a columnist, author and advocate for responsible stewardship he left a profound legacy, touching the lives of many throughout the writing and fly fishing worlds.

Len discovered and later developed a fly-in sportfishing lodge in Labrador he named Awesome Lake Lodge. He operated that business for 10 years before semi-retirement.

He authored several books, including Newfoundland Salmon Flies and how to tie them, Best of In The Woods, Fly Fishing Tips and Tactics, Rivers and Woods, So you want to be an outfitter, Memoirs of a fly fisher, Tales of Christmas (Editor), and his latest Bill Bennett: Pioneer Bush Pilot and Outfitter. He also wrote hundreds of magazine articles for various national and International publications.

During his careers he was employed by the Newfoundland government as Hunting & Fishing Development Officer and by the Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) as manager of Special Events. Len was also employed by Corona College in Grand Falls-Windsor as Director of Communications and Tourism Training. He and his late wife Ruby developed and operated businesses in Clarenville, NL, known as Whitehall Country Inn and The Grapevine. He was predeceased by Ruby in 2004.

He served three terms as President of the Labrador Outfitters Association and three terms as Eastern Director of the Outdoor Writers of Canada (OWC). An award winning writer, he was recognized by the New England Outdoor Writers Association and the Outdoor Writers of Canada for his books and articles and in 1991 received the coveted Canada Recreational Fisheries Award for “writing that influenced a generation of recreational fishers.” In 2007 he was selected to receive the OWC’s Jack Davis Mentorship Award for his work with up and coming writers. He led the OWC Mentorship Program and for a decade he hosted the Creative Writing forum on the Sympatico Internet site.

Throughout his adult life he made Newfoundland his home, but recently lived in Orangeville and North Bay, sharing his life and love with his partner Susan Buckle. He is survived by brothers Wayne, Shrewsbury, Vermont; Keith, Hoosick, NY; sister Dawn in Massachusetts; Susan and her children Cameron and Lianne Honeyborne; sons Len Jr. (Chantel) of Lewisporte, NL and Ken of Summerside, NL; daughters Lori (Tony) of Fort Nelson, BC, and Tammy of Summerside, NL; stepson Tony Blackmore and stepdaughter Roxane Bailey (Chris) of St. John’s, NL; and grandchildren Cassidy, Alicia, Evan, Tyson, Tyler, Mallory, Morgan, Rebecca, Daniel, Kennedy, and Andrew.

Funeral will be held in Clarenville, NL Saturday April 25 at Fewers Funeral Home, Clarenville. 709-467-2468. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Margaree Salmon Museum, NS. Margaree Centre, NS B0E 1Z0 or the charity of your choice.

Images courtesy of Outdoor Writers of Canada.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Outdoors with Othmar Vohringer Reviewed

© Othmar Vohringer

Actually I wanted to write about the fantastic weekend my wife and I had on our trip to eastern British Columbia and share some pictures with you from that trip. But then something happened this morning that changed my mind. I still will tell you all about that weekend but first this!

To say I was surprised when I checked my email this morning is an understatement when I read the email Dayne Shuda, editor of Hunting Business Marketing sent me.

Dayne wrote me to let me know that he has reviewed my column A muzzleloader by any name is still a muzzleloader. However, I had no idea that Dayne would use that particular column as an example of good article writing. He writes, “Othmar’s remarkable post covers a situation he encountered with someone where they discussed the issue of muzzleloaders. There are a few reasons I think this blog post became remarkable.” And then goes on explaining why he thinks that my column deserves to be a good example.

I am very humbled by this review because I never expected such a favourable response to any of my blog posts, or the blog as a whole. Neither did I ever expect a comment such as left on Dayne’s blog by one of my favourite blog writers Albert Rash who wrote, “… Othmar’s OwOV is one of my favorite hunting blogs. He is a great educator and is involved with many activities that benefit all outdoorsmen.
I’m glad you picked that article in particular. I myself have used it and linked to it several times.” I am still blushing.

I had honestly no idea that my blog is that popular. From the moment I started this blog all I wanted is a place where I can speak my mind and how I truly feel about the issues within our hunting community while trying to remain as unbiased and fair as possible. Or to put it in other words. I regard my writing as Othmar Vohringer straight talk and opinions shaped by a lifelong of hunting and observations but still keep an open mind.

That my blog/s have become so popular with my readers, and as it seems with the hunting industry, is more then I ever hoped to achieve. That my writing helps and encourages others is humbling and yet at the same time is a commitment for me to do better and continue on this path.

All I can say is a simple but heartfelt thank you to all my readers, supporters and to Dayne Shuda.

Read Dayne Shuda's review.
Read "A muzlleloader by any name is still a muzzleloader".

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

April Fools Day Shoot – Where modern times meet with history

© By Othmar Vohringer
(Originally published in the Merritt Herald, April 14, 2009)

Over the Easter weekend the Nicola Valley Charcoal Burners held their 15th annual April Fool’s Shoot at the Nicola Valley Fish & Game Club (NVFGC) range. In the 15 years of its existence this event has become one of the major gatherings for traditional muzzleloader and traditional archery enthusiasts from all over British Columbia. The April Fool’s Shoot celebrates an important part of the founding history of Canada when brave men and women ventured west in the pursuit of new territory, adventure and trade opportunities.

A big part of this event is to dress in traditional clothing and reenact the lifestyle of the settlers coming to this part of Canada in the mid1600’s to early 1800’s.
Right at the entrance to the event the “settlers” built a large canvas ridgepole tent camp, as the first settlers would have had. An 18-foot high teepee as a visual landmark was set up at the entrance. The tent village was abuzz with activity of people setting up one of the many “trading posts” that offered their goods and wares. Other “mountain men” and “colonials” arriving were greeted warmly like long lost friends or relatives and quickly started to exchange news and gossip from other parts of the country. I couldn’t help but think that this was how it must have happened in the “good old days” when settlers first arrived in this country. There was a good vibe and excitement all around in anticipation of trading, celebrating and the friendly muzzleloader shooting completion that would ensue over the next three days.

As an interesting side note, I got a few history lessons at the event. I learned that the mountain men and trappers of the time made their own clothing. Typically the footwear consisted of moccasins as worn by the Indigenous people, the leggings were made of buckskin and the coats, called “Capots” or “Capotes” were tailored from Hudson Bay Company blankets. Not only the clothing but most of what was needed for daily life such as tools, ridge pole tents, saddles and harnesses among an array of other items were handcrafted in those days and the re-enactors still do this today and proudly display their crafts at the event.

At one of British Columbia’s longest muzzleloader shooting trails over 200 men, women and youth pitted their shooting skills against each other with original and replica flintlock muzzleloader rifles and pistols. If that alone was not enough fun there was also a knife and tomahawk throwing and archery target trail. One of the highlights of the April Fool’s Shoot was the shooting demonstration of two replica Howitzer cannons as used in the protection and defense in many fortresses and frontier posts that were established in British Columbia during the colonial expansion.

Jim George, the organizer of the event for the Nicola Valley Fish & Game Club, told me, “When we started 15 years ago it was a one day event with about ten people attending. Today this is one of the largest muzzleloader shooting events in this province with over 250 people attending.” I thought it was kind of fitting having such an event here in a district that is partly named after David Thomson, one of the great explores of British Columbia that lived during the time reenacted by the Nicola Valley Charcoal Burners.

During our conversation Jim also told me that the Nicola Valley Charcoal Burners meet every first Sunday of the months at the NVFGC range for a friendly traditional muzzleloader shooting contest. “We welcome new members interested in the muzzleloader shooting sport.” Jim said, and from all the fun and friendship I have witnessed over the weekend I would encourage muzzleloader enthusiasts to join the Nicola Valley Charcoal Burners. For more information about the club or any of the many events and wildlife conservation programs of the Nicola Valley Fish & Game Club, visit their website at www.nvfishandgameclub.ca

Images Copyright by Othmar Vohringer Outdoors Stock Photography

Read what my wife has written about the Easter weekend.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Follow me on Twitter

© Othmar Vohringer

Finally I had to find out what Twitter is all about. I have heard so much about it that my curiosity didn’t permit me to ignore it any longer. So here it is. You can officially follow me on Twitter.

I am still new to this Twitter thing and considering the fact that modern technology and I sometimes do not get along with each other please be patient while I try (struggle) to figure it all out. I am also thankful for any hints and tips Twitter veterans could pass along.

Dramatic Deer Rescue

© By Othmar Vohringer

“In a dramatic effort anglers rescued a young black tail deer from certain death by drowning on stormy Harrison Lake.”

Little did Sacha Szymczak, a local fishing guide and hunter from the Fraser Valley, know when he woke up that morning that he would end up saving the life of a young deer in a dramatic rescue operation. On that fateful morning Sacha and his friends Dave Donaldson, Dave Henry and Tom Gould, all avid anglers and hunters, decided that they would go fishing on the Lillooett River via Harrison Lake despite the windy conditions. Was it an intuition that led to the decision to go fishing on that miserable day?

Szymczak had this to say about the conditions on the lake: “The ride up Harrison Lake left something to be desired. Rather choppy on the back half, and I may need to have a few fillings repaired from all the jostling around. Even with the suspension seats in my boat, it was rough.” Despite choppy water the fishing was quite good; Sacha reports that they managed to catch a few trout with their fly rods before they headed back across a now even stormier lake with wind gusts strongly blowing.

The fishing party of four was about half way across the lake when one of the two Dave’s suddenly asked “What’s that up ahead of us in the water?” It could have been a wooden log or any other object that had been blown by the wind onto the lake. But as they got closer it was apparent that the object in the water was moving – in circles. This could be an animal and so Szymczak steered the boat closer to the moving object and it soon became oblivious that it was a deer trying to swim across Harrison Lake.

Sacha said that this was not uncommon, he had observed on numerous occasions deer swimming across the lake but this was different. This deer wasn’t swimming - it was struggling to keep its head above the water’s surface. This young deer was at the end of its strength and only seconds away from death by drowning.

The four fishermen knew they had to act quickly. Sacha carefully steered the boat alongside the deer, which was treading water and listing heavily to one side. The four fishermen decided that they would attempt to rescue the deer rather than letting it die by drowning.

“I was a bit nervous about bringing a live deer into my boat, so I had my buddies ready with some rope to hobble the deer, but in the end it wasn't needed, as she had no energy left.” said Sacha. Once the deer was in the boat it just laid there panting heavily and unable to move from exhaustion. On the way to the lakeshore the men took turns in massaging the little deer and drying it off with their own shirts in order to keep the blood in the tiny body circulating. The men chose to bring the deer to the opposite side of the lake to where they had to go because that is where the deer presumably had come from. Arriving at the shore the men proceeded to lift the deer out of the boat and bring it a ways up the bank into the bushes to a dry and wind sheltered spot.

The men stayed with the deer for a bit watching it from a distance to make sure it recovered fully from its near death ordeal. Szymczak said “I would have liked to make sure she was able to get up and walk away under her own power but I thought that the stress of us big fellas hanging around her for the time that we did was enough for this little girl.” The four fishermen also had to get back and across the lake before the storm got heavier and with that perhaps jeopardize their own safety. About half way back across the wind suddenly died down completely making the lake surface appear like a mirror. “This was perhaps the calmest ride I have had on the lake in recent history. I like to think it was Karma.”

It may come as a surprise to some people that hunters, often portrayed as heartless killers by those with a political agenda to end hunting, go out of their way to rescue an animal. However this does not come as a surprise to hunters themselves or to wildlife conservation officers. Hunters are known for their deep-rooted conservation tradition and have been very active in wildlife rescue and habitat protection for centuries.

Images by Sacha Szymczak. Exclusive publishing rights by Othmar Vohringer

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Bringing new hunters into our ranks

© Othmar Vohringer

The biggest challenge we face in the hunting community is to retain and improve our numbers. With urbanization and the aging baby boomers retiring we lose more hunters then we currently gain. However, there is a silver lining on the horizon and that became clearly visible to me this weekend.

During the past week we held our annual mandatory hunter education course at the Nicola Valley Fish and game Club and as always, I was proud to be part of the education team made up of four instructors and two wildlife officers. (I am a provincially licensed hunter education instructor in British Columbia.)
Here in British Columbia the course is held over four days with lessons of about five hours each. The first two lessons take place in a classroom setting where we instruct students about game laws and hunting regulations, hunter safety, conservation, firearms safety, hunting ethics and survival among other things such as mammal and bird identification.

The only difference between a normal school classroom and ours is that we have lots of hands-on illustration such as fur, feathers, antlers, images and videos that make for interesting and entertaining learning. The C.O.R.E. course devotes an entire lesson, the third, on proper firearms handing, firearm law and firearm identification. For this we use disabled firearms of every imaginable type and configuration that are given to us by the government for the purpose of teaching. The students have to learn the difference between the different calibers and ammunition using dummy ammo.

On day four of the course, the last day before the examination, we take the students out on the shooting range where many of them are confronted with real guns and live ammunition. Before the students are able to shoot a variety of guns the shooting range master explains all the rules of the range as well as range etiquette. After this each student is assigned an instructor who will closely monitor and aid the student at the range.

The things we look for are proper firearm handling and ammunition identification. For me personally this is always the highlight of the course. I can’t begin to explain the feeling I have when I see the students excitement when, many of them for the first time, hold a firearm in their hands, aim carefully as instructed and then send a bullet on its way hitting the target smack in the middle.

Today (Sunday, April 5) was a perfect day for this in-the-field lesson. The sun came out for the first time after a long and cold winter and with that we quickly had a happy spring camp atmosphere going. After the shooting lesson we all gathered around the campfire to cook hot dogs on the open campfire and answered student’s questions and discussed the upcoming spring bear and turkey hunts.

It should be mentioned that we had an interesting and humorous encounter on the range. About a half hour into the shooting one of the students shouted “Ceasefire”. As they had been instructed everybody quit shooting and looked around to see what was going on. The student who called ceasefire pointed up the range toward the targets and said, “There are a few deer out there.”

Sure enough, there were two deer standing in the middle of the firing lane and two at the edge of the woods. One of the deer stood right next to the 200-yard target that just seconds before had been struck by a bullet. Another deer walked without a shred of concern back and forth between the 100-yard and 200-yard targets looking for the first tender shoots of tasty grass. The third and fourth deer stayed close to the woodland edge observing the shooting lanes.

It was quite astonishing to see these deer without any signs of alertness staying out in the shooting lane enjoying the warming rays of the sun before they slowly meandered back into the woods. Yet there was no doubt that these deer had seen us and most certainly they had heard the shooting from more than ten firearms yet all that commotion didn’t faze them one bit. Amazingly they remained on the range for nearly 10 minutes allowing for my wife to shoot them - with her camera!

This year’s student group consisted of ten people between the ages of 12 and 45. I noticed that there were more women present than on previous C.O.R.E. courses. In fact this year the ladies outnumbered the men. That is an encouraging trend and I hope it continues. Those that know me also know that I am an avid supporter of getting more women involved in hunting and fishing. My thinking is that if we get more women into hunting it truly will become a family affair and that is exactly what we need if our hunting heritage is to survive and progress. Besides that, women are much better at getting children to do something than men and we need to get more children involved too.

Speaking of women: due to my wife having expressed an interest in taking up shooting I decided a few months ago that my newest rifle would be a novice-friendly Savage Mark II .22 LR; a perfect firearm for small game and target practice.

It turned out that my wife had a natural talent for shooting. After a short introduction on how a firearm functions and a brief lesson on firearm safety and pointing out the features on the rifle it was time to for her to shoot. The very first shot hit just shy of the bulls-eye but the second shot hit smack-dab in the center. Of about twenty shots she missed only two or three and that made my day too.

Today has been a truly great day for me. I was fortunate to welcome new hunters into our ranks, spend a pleasant day in the company of like-minded people in beautiful spring weather and then topped it all by watching my wife thoroughly enjoying herself shooting a “real” gun. What a great day to be a hunter.

Edit: Yesterday evening was the final exams and I am proud to say that all ten students passed the tests with flying colors. Congratulations to all.

To find more information on the C.O.R.E. and other courses available through Othmar Vohringer – Smart Hunting Strategies go here.

Images in this post have been provided by Artemis Graphic & Design Stock Photography and Othmar Vohringer Outdoors Stock Photography


Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit


Tags: Hunter Education Course, Firearm Safety, British Columbia, Hunter Education Instructor, Shooting Range, Savage Mark II .22 LR

A new home for the OBS

© Othmar Vohringer

After weeks of hard work Kristine finally created a new home for the Outdoor Bloggers Summit. Today was official moving day and so I went and had a look at the new OBS blog. Wow is all I can say. The new OBS blog looks really good, coordinated in my favorite colors from brown to tan. Unlike the old blog where everything had to be crammed into the side panel – a bit like on this blog – the new blog features several independent pages. This makes for easy and quick access to relevant information.

If you haven’t seen the new home of the OBS go and check it out.

On my side of things I have been busy too with web design. Over the past few weeks I redesigned my website among other projects of which I will elaborate more in the coming days. Yesterday was the launch of the new improved website Othmar Vohringer Outdoors. I am confident that the new layout is easier to navigate and provides more information at a glance.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Tags: Outdoor Bloggers Summit, Blog, Website Design, Othmar Vohringer Outdoors