Writing for Hunters – The Lighter Side

(Originally published in the Merritt News – Othmar Vohringer The Outdoorsman)

© By Othmar Vohringer

Back in March of this year I had reason to really think about hunting stories as told with humour and laughter. I was at the BC Boat & Sportsmen Show giving hunting seminars and Mike Mitchell, Chief Editor of the BC Outdoors magazine, was there to promote the magazine.

Mike and I spent an enjoyable time chatting and getting personally acquainted with each other. He was a bit surprised to hear me talk with a German accent. I was secretly pleased that my ‘im-grunt’ (as certain people like to say) origins were not coming through in my writings. I had been worried for nothing that my written words had somehow carried over a German accent! But then Mike surprised me by asking out of the blue if I would like to write “The Last Light” column for the magazine’s hunting and shooting editions which had recently opened up due to the previous writer moving on. Without thinking I said; “Sure, it would be an honour for me.”

Antler Addiction

© By Othmar Vohringer

I’ve been holding off with this column for a while now. Why? For two reasons. First I was not sure if the hunting community would perceive it as a slander and second I wanted to get it right. So why write it now? Well I thought about it and in the end found it’s just wrong to worry about what other might think or if I get it right. So here it goes.

For the past several years I’ve received a considerable amount of emails and calls from readers of my blogs, newspaper columns and hunting magazines articles, that are dismayed by the amount of “antler addiction” that is going on. Or, as one email writer said it. “No matter what magazine I read or hunting TV show I watch, it’s always about big antlered deer and bigger antlered deer and I am getting tired of it.” That hunter is not alone. There are many others that feel the same way. The simple fact is that big antlers sell magazine and increase viewers for hunting TV shows. But does that make it right?

Canadian Government Disagrees With UN Global Gun Control Measures

© By Othmar Vohringer

According to a story in Ottawa Citizen the Harper government has “thrown a wrench into negotiations toward a United Nations arms trade treaty”. The “wrench” is that Canada opposes the inclusion of hunting, sports rifles and related ammunition from the inclusion of the UN’s proposal of a strict international gun control law, camouflaged as the Arms Trade Treaty. According to that law hunting and sporting rifles would be summarily classified as “assault rifles”. Furthermore the UN Arms Trade Treaty would like to see strict control and registration network of conventional arms. A little published fact of the treaty also would be that it would become unlawful for people to use firearms to defend themselves against violent criminals.

Animal Rights Extremist Pleads Guilty To Arson Charges

© By Othmar Vohringer

Walter "Lone Wolf" Bond, 35, pleaded guilty last week to federal charges of arson and violence involving animal enterprises. The notorious animal rights activist has a long rap sheet of criminal activity ha has previously been sentenced to five years in prison in Colorado for arson and could face another 20 years for the Utah fires.

Prosecutor John Huber said the government will argue to make the Colorado and Utah sentences consecutive to one another. "He is unapologetic. He is an unrepentant serial arsonist," Huber said, adding in the eyes of the federal government, people who commit crimes in the name of animal rights are considered "domestic terrorists."

Googling the name of this terrorist will bring up a long list of his criminal activity, but also things like “Free Walter Bond” and “Freedom for Walter Bond”. It does tell you something about organizations that profess compassion for all living things in public but at the same time give hero status to terrorists.

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Brothers Busted In Biggest Trophy Deer Poaching Case in Kansas

© By Othmar Vohringer

Marlin and James Butler, two Texas brothers, where sentenced to a total of 5 years in prison and fined 70,000 dollars after pleading guilty to poaching a total of 160 trophy whitetail deer bucks. The U.S. Wildlife officials say that this is the largest trophy deer poaching case in Kansas, if not in U.S., history. The prosecutors argued that the two brothers guided up to 60 clients to illegally kill about 160 deer. The brothers participated in jacklighting deer, shooting deer in the wrong management unit, trespassing and guiding hunters without hunting licenses.

The deer were transported over state lines, which means the brothers could also be successfully prosecuted on felonies for violating the Lacey Act. The act makes it illegal to knowingly transport or sell in interstate commerce any wildlife taken or possessed in violation of state law or regulation.

Steve Oberholtzer, a special agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said. “This is the largest case in the history of wildlife law enforcement in Kansas. Trophy deer are an important resource for the state from both wildlife and economic standpoints.” The butlers sold deer hunts for between 2,500 and 5,000 dollars and guided their clients to some true trophy areas. The USFWS was able to confiscate more than 100 mounts from the brothers, with bucks ranging in the 120-inch class to over 200 inches.

You can read the full article here in the Wichita Eagle News.

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Crocodile Pulls Angler Out Of His Boat

© By Othmar Vohringer

The most I have to fear when I go fishing here in British Columbia is getting attacked by swarms of mosquitoes or a hungry black bear that wants to steal my catch. In Australia it’s different. There, you might want to watch out for crocodiles that specialized in hunting anglers.

That is exactly what happened to the 59 year old Kevin Eccles. He was fishing with a friend in the Northern Territory a few weeks ago. They had anchored the boat to sleep overnight. Just after Eccles awoke in the morning and leaned over the side of the boat a huge over 8 feet long croc launched out of the water and grabbed the angler and tried to pull him into the water. Eccles said; “The next minute I’m getting dragged, it’s dragging me over the gunwale.”

The angler held on to the boat with all his strength, fully knowing if the monster managed to drag him under water he never would see another day alive. Somehow Eccles managed to free himself from the crocs deadly jaws and climb back into the boat. Amazingly, his friend never woke up during the attack and the struggle to get free. Eccles had to wake his buddy up in order to make the seven-hour trip to the nearest hospital where Eccles was treated for bite wounds to his arms and shoulders. The name of the place, South Alligator River, where the two were fishing could have given the two men a clue that perhaps this is not the safest place to catch fish.

You can read the full story here.

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Prois Hunting and Field Apparel for Women

© By Othmar Vohringer

There was a time when women hunters had no choice but to wear men’s hunting clothing. Thankfully, these days are gone and the growing number of women hunters can now wear performance outdoor clothing for hunting that has been especially designed for them. One of the leading companies specializing in women hunting apparel is Prois.

Prois prides itself creating the highest quality, performance hunting and shooting gear for women. Excellence is what sets Prois apart and they justifiably proud to find companies that create gear for the serious female hunter. The newest product in the Prois line-up of top quality products are Zamberlan hunting boots.

Zamberlan Boots was founded in Europe 82 years ago and the company remains family owned and operated to this day. The company offers a broad base of boot choices and Prois has found their line of women's backpacking footwear to be top of the line. The boots in this category are specifically designed to provide the comfort and support needed for long treks, backpacking trips, hunting and snowshoeing. They are tough and suitable to cope with all kinds of terrain and weather conditions. They feature high performance midsoles, which are stiff enough to ensure excellent stability and torsional rigidity on rough terrain, combined with high traction and high grip soles with cushioning systems for added comfort.

Visit the Prois website to view entire product catalogue.

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Man Helps Rattlesnake Across Road And Gets Bitten

© By Othmar Vohringer

The New Jersey On-Line published an article that has to be read to be believed. According to the newspaper a rare timber rattlesnake bit a 24-year old man. The unbelievable part of the story is that the man wanted to help the snake cross the road. As a self-described “snake lover” wouldn’t it be reasonable to assume that he must have known that rattlesnakes are poisons and bite when they are touched? I guess not!

The man was driving on Rt. 679 near West Stage Road in Tuckerton about 6:30 p.m. when he saw the snake. He later told authorities that he used a stick to pin the snake’s body down, and then tried to grab its head and move it off the road.
But the rattlesnake, described as an adult, squirmed free, wrapped itself around the man’s arm, and bit his hand.

The mother of the young man who witnessed the snakebite said, that almost immediately the venom made his hand and mouth feel like pins and needles. His tongue began to swell. She said she was terrified when she saw the whites of her son’s eyes and was scared he was going to suffer a seizure. She immediately drove him to a nearby ranger station at Bass River State Park, where medical help was summoned. He was airlifted to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center, Mainland Campus in Galloway Township, where he received multiple antivenin treatments and remained under care for three days before he was released.

After the painful ordeal, the man says he has an increased respect for venomous snakes and he’ll give them more respect in future encounters. As far as helping rattlers to cross roads in the future, the man says he’ll use an extremely long stick. How about taking the advice of a park ranger who said, "We feel badly for the man, but we would advise people not to try to handle rattlesnakes."

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Legislation Removing Pennsylvania’s Sunday Hunting Ban Introduced

© By Othmar Vohringer

Finally it happens, just when you think that some U.S. states, and Canadian provinces for that matter, are stuck forever in old laws that where introduced to accommodate the power of the church you get surprised again. A bill introduced by Representative John Evans (R- Edinboro) would remove Pennsylvania’s long standing prohibition on Sunday hunting. The measure, House Bill 1760, will transfer the authority to regulate Sunday hunting from the Legislature to the Game Commission.

Pennsylvania is one of only 11 states that continue to restrict or prohibit hunting on Sundays. Currently, only crows, coyotes and foxes are permitted to be hunted on Sundays in the state. Pennsylvania’s prohibition dates back to 1873 and serves as a barrier to recruiting new hunters and retaining existing hunters.

Limiting hunters to one weekend day afield limits the economic impact that could be realized. According to a National Shooting Sports Foundation study, removing the Sunday hunting restrictions would result in an estimated 8,190 new Pennsylvania jobs paying more than $245 million in wages. It would also generate three-quarters of a billion dollars in economic impact each year for Pennsylvania.

To read the full article and a list of political representatives and read the resolution visit this website.

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