NC - Handgun Permit Required For Crossbows

© By Othmar Vohringer

Yesterday the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission issued a press release, stating that the use of crossbows is now legal during the regular bowhunting season of that state. I welcome this news and congratulate North Carolina for using commonsense and put crossbow hunting where it belongs, in the bowhunting season.

In a future column I will write more about crossbows and why they belong in my opinion in the bowhunting season and not the firearm season. As a bowhunter using traditional, compound and crossbow I will provide you with the unbiased information and the truth about crossbows.

As much as I welcome the addition of the crossbow in North Carolina I am dismayed about the following statement.

State law requires that anyone buying or otherwise receiving a crossbow in North Carolina first obtain a pistol permit from the sheriff’s office in their county of residence or hold a valid concealed handgun permit.
Questions about obtaining pistol permits and issuance of concealed handgun permits should be directed to the local sheriff’s department.

Am I the only one wondering why anyone wishing to purchase and own a crossbow would need to apply for a concealed weapons permit in NC? I’ve searched the Internet for a reason but couldn’t find any explanations that make sense. To me it just seems very strange to classify a crossbow in the same category as a handgun. If any of my North Carolina readers know why this weird law exists please let me know. Are there any other states with similar crossbow laws?

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Tags: North Carolina, Crossbow Hunting

Are you fit to hunt?

© By Othmar Vohringer

As an outdoor writer I am supplied with a lot of statistics from Canada and even more from America. One of the statistics that I look forward to every year is the Recreational Accident Statistic.

I am pleased to see that hunting ranks very low in the overall accident statistic, lower then rollerblading and even basketball. What I am not pleased about is that the number one hunter accident is still connected to treestand hunting. I would have thought that by now every hunter uses a safety harness (supplied with every treestand) when hunting from a stand or climbing in and out of one.

The next most common hunter accident is guess what? It's not firearm related. It's heart attacks. Heart attacks not only affect the aging hunter population but more often the younger hunters aged between 30 and 40. The reason, so the statistic, is poor physical condition. What's the main cause for heart attacks during hunting? Dragging a downed deer out of the bush. Number two, setting up treestands. After a hunter shoots a deer, especially a big buck, ranks on place three.

Hunting, like any sport, requires physical fitness unless you're road hunter and even then you have to load the downed animal onto your truck.

To keep fit I hike a lot and as hunting season approaches I hike even more, mostly in full hunting gear, loading my backpack with stones to add weight.

What are you doing to stay in physical hunting shape? Do you hike? Lift weights? Hit the gym?

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The Most Popular Destinations For U.S. Hunters

© By Othmar Vohringer

Today I read in the Cabela’s Outfitter Journal that, according to HunterSurvey.com, Canada ranks with 46.9 percent of America’s 500,000 traveling hunters as the number one foreign hunting destination. Africa ranks second with 23 percent followed by Mexico, South America, Europe and Australia in that order.

The traveling U.S. hunter spends on average $6,718 per person. This amounts to a total of 3.6 billion dollars in the past three years. Here in British Columbia hunting and fishing is a big part of our economy, generating in the neighborhood of 46 million dollars annually. In addition resident hunters bring in annually 70 million dollars revenue, amounting to a total of 116 million dollars. Now, just for the heck of it, lets add British Columbia’s annual sport-angling revenue of 480 million dollars to the 116 million and it becomes very clear, hunting and fishing are a huge economic factor for our province.

Besides the revenue, hunting and fishing tourism provide an estimated 9,300 workplaces in our province alone. This provides additional revenue of 65 million dollars in provincial taxes and 80 million in federal taxes. These figures are only for British Columbia. Other Canadian provinces provide similar hunting and fishing revenue statistics, proving that Canada indeed is the number one hunter and angler destination in the world and not only for the American sportsman/women.

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Tags: Hunting Destinations, Canada Hunting Economy, British Columbia, Hunting In Canada

British Columbia – New Campfire Regulations

© By Othmar Vohringer

Summer has finally come to British Columbia and for many that means sitting around campfires. If you, like me, enjoy campfires you may want to pay attention to new regulations effective on Canada Day (July 1) or it could get very expensive for you.

The new regulation is shrinking the size of campfires from one metre across (39 inches) to half metre (19 inches). The reason, according to Forest Minister Pat Bell, is to reduce the risk of wildfires caused by careless people.

In addition to this new regulation it is also required, and that makes a lot more sense to me, that some sort of fireguard has to be built around the fires, such as stones or a dirt mound. It’s also required to scrape the area free of all flammable debris, such as twigs, leaves and pine needles. A shovel and at least eight litres (2 gallons) of water must be stored at all times nearby to extinguish the fire.

Failure to comply with these new rules will result in a fine of $ 345 and additional $ 345 will be charged if a fire is lit during a campfire ban. Should a person be found guilty of starting a forest fire the punishment will be very severe. The new law states that a person starting a forest fire can be charged with paying a fee exceeding more than a million dollar and, or imprisonment.

In British Columbia every year are over 350 wildfires reported. The sizes of the fires vary from a few acres to thousands of hectares that destroy entire forests and surrounding homes. The annual damage of wildfires is estimated in excess of 300 million dollars. New laws or not if you head out on a camping, hiking, fishing or hunting trip and make a campfire use commonsense around campfires. Observe the BC fire warnings posted on highways and at park entrances.


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Tags: British Columbia, Camp Fire,Wildfire