(This column has previously been published in the Merritt Herald)
© Othmar Vohringer
With all the news in the media about youth drug addiction and crime it is refreshing to see that there are still young people working hard to achieve success in life.
I met Sunshine and Dakota O’Donovan for the first time five years ago when they took part in the youth archery that the Nicola Valley Fish & Game Club organized. The siblings enjoyed the bow shooting lessons and eagerly absorbed the knowledge provided. Outside of the program they practiced often and soon became proficient at shooting bows accurately. Two years later they enrolled in the club’s small caliber rifle shooting program under the knowledgeable tutelage of Bruce Merkely, and this has lead Dakota and Sunshine to the point in the shooting sport they are now. With dedication, endurance and many hours of practice at the shooting range Dakota just recently scored another gold medal for his air pistol shooting and is hopeful to reach the necessary points to join the BC shooting sports team that will represent our province in the Canadian Winter Games in February of 2015.
Dakota is training every week three times in Kamloops plus physical conditioning here in Merritt. Sunshine, Dakota’s sister, shows the same dedication with air rifle and is only a few points short of joining the air rifle team to represent British Columbia at the North American Indigenous Games. She too trains hard- in spite of a hectic schedule promoting the film “Shana– The Wolf’s Music” which was filmed last year here in the Nicola Valley and in which she played the lead.
When I spoke to the two teenagers in preparation of this column I could not help but to be amazed at the two. It is indeed rare to find young people in this age of entitlement that still believe in hard work and dedication to achieve their set goals. Throughout the conversation it became apparent that they both enjoy what they are doing and are fully prepared to work for it. Dakota, for example, proudly explained that he delivered newspapers for eight years without missing a single day. The money he earned from that was spent on a compound bow and his biggest pride, his own truck. Sunshine, with all the fame she garnered with her role as “Shana” is still the quiet, modest person that she always has been. With a movie role under her belt she now concentrates on her other goals in life, like joining the team for the North American Indigenous Games.
With that kind of commitment it is hard to believe that the two youngsters still find time to do other things, yet they do. Dakota is, among other things, an accomplished kayaker and a member of the Merritt Search and Rescue Team. Both believe that it is their civic duty to give back to the community by getting involved through sports and charitable activities. During our conversation there were a few times were I had to remind myself that these two are still teenagers 13 and 17 years of age and not adults, such was the wisdom and common sense approach to life the two exuded. As I said, in a time when most teenagers sit around and wait for others to give them things it is refreshing to meet two young people of Dakota’s and Sunshine’s calibre. I wish them both the best of luck in the shooting sport and in life, whatever their achievements will be; they have worked hard for it and that counts for much in today’s world.
Showing posts with label Promoting Hunting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Promoting Hunting. Show all posts
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Monday, October 29, 2012
New Hampshire: New Way to “Make a Hunter”
© By Othmar Vohringer
New Hampshire has a new opportunity this year for participating in the hunting experience. The Apprentice Hunting License allows people to hunt, under the guidance of an experienced hunter age 18 or older, without first having to take a Hunter Education course. In instituting the program, New Hampshire followed the lead of thirty states that have established apprentice hunting programs over the past five years.
For New Hampshire it is the first year of having this the new license and so far it looks promising as a tool to recruit more hunters. During the spring turkey hunting season, 93 new hunters bought Apprentice Hunting Licenses. Of these, more than half were women, and many were in the 16-25 age group. Some 23% of these hunters (21 in all) were successful – better than the overall success rate for spring turkey hunters the previous year. No safety incidents were reported.
For New Hampshire it is the first year of having this the new license and so far it looks promising as a tool to recruit more hunters. During the spring turkey hunting season, 93 new hunters bought Apprentice Hunting Licenses. Of these, more than half were women, and many were in the 16-25 age group. Some 23% of these hunters (21 in all) were successful – better than the overall success rate for spring turkey hunters the previous year. No safety incidents were reported.
Monday, October 15, 2012
95-Year-Old Nova Scotia Woman Bags Her First Moose With 1 Shot
© By Othmar Vohringer
The following news item is the kind of hunting stories that inspire me.
Laura Wood, a 95-year-old woman from Yarmouth Nova Scotia, fulfilled her lifelong dream of going on a moose hunt. It was the last day of her hunt, just when daylight broke when Laura’s dream materialized in form of a 600-pound moose appearing. Laura brought the critter down with a single shot form her rifle. The Sandy Point Lodge, which hosted Laura’s hunting trip, said it's the first time they can remember a 95-year-old hunter in camp.
Now that Laura Woods has fulfilled her dream she won’t go moose hunting next year, because "I'm getting too old." She said “but I still plan on deer hunting." Wood said she has been hunting rabbits and deer since she was 16 years old. And to the one shot kill on the moose she said modestly, "Well I used to be a good shot. Well it must have been pretty good if I got that one...it's in my freezer now."
Laura Woods made headlines in the Canadian newspapers but that doesn’t faze her one bit. “Since I’ve been back people have been so good to me. The phone’s been ringing off the hook. I don’t know why they call me. I’m not worth it.” Well Laura you may think you’re not worth the media attention, but as far as I am concerned you are. There are not many hunters around that still hunt at that age let alone planning on continuing hunting.
(Photo courtesy of Sandy Point Lodge)
Laura Wood, a 95-year-old woman from Yarmouth Nova Scotia, fulfilled her lifelong dream of going on a moose hunt. It was the last day of her hunt, just when daylight broke when Laura’s dream materialized in form of a 600-pound moose appearing. Laura brought the critter down with a single shot form her rifle. The Sandy Point Lodge, which hosted Laura’s hunting trip, said it's the first time they can remember a 95-year-old hunter in camp.
Now that Laura Woods has fulfilled her dream she won’t go moose hunting next year, because "I'm getting too old." She said “but I still plan on deer hunting." Wood said she has been hunting rabbits and deer since she was 16 years old. And to the one shot kill on the moose she said modestly, "Well I used to be a good shot. Well it must have been pretty good if I got that one...it's in my freezer now."
Laura Woods made headlines in the Canadian newspapers but that doesn’t faze her one bit. “Since I’ve been back people have been so good to me. The phone’s been ringing off the hook. I don’t know why they call me. I’m not worth it.” Well Laura you may think you’re not worth the media attention, but as far as I am concerned you are. There are not many hunters around that still hunt at that age let alone planning on continuing hunting.
(Photo courtesy of Sandy Point Lodge)
Monday, October 08, 2012
Are Trophy Records Destroying Hunting As We Know It?
© By Othmar Vohringer
For years I have been saying that the “trophy” aspect of hunting perpetrated in every magazine and hunting TV show eventually will backfire on our hunting heritage. It is my contention that if trophy record books would only give credit to the animal without the name of the hunter they would go quickly out of business. The reason hunters enter trophy’s in these books is for the sole reason to see their name in print. In magazines and hunting TV shows trophy animals are used solely for the purpose to sell products and to give “testimony” that the writer or TV show presenter is an “expert”.
Now don’t get me wrong. I like to kill a trophy animal as much as the next guy but to me it is not a contest and I certainly never would enter one in a record book. I am not a trophy hunter and I am not a meat hunter either. I am just a hunter. While I fully respect that some hunters may only hunt for a trophy animal to please their own ego or their own sense of achievement it needs to be mentioned that the trophy hype does affect new and young hunters in a very negative way. How so? I lost count of how many times I heard a young or new hunter say something like; “I will not waste a bullet on a lesser animal.” Or “I want to be a trophy hunter.” These are all people that may go many years without killing a deer waiting for that big trophy buck. They do so because they want not to be ridiculed by their peers for shooting a lesser animal.
For years I have been saying that the “trophy” aspect of hunting perpetrated in every magazine and hunting TV show eventually will backfire on our hunting heritage. It is my contention that if trophy record books would only give credit to the animal without the name of the hunter they would go quickly out of business. The reason hunters enter trophy’s in these books is for the sole reason to see their name in print. In magazines and hunting TV shows trophy animals are used solely for the purpose to sell products and to give “testimony” that the writer or TV show presenter is an “expert”.
Now don’t get me wrong. I like to kill a trophy animal as much as the next guy but to me it is not a contest and I certainly never would enter one in a record book. I am not a trophy hunter and I am not a meat hunter either. I am just a hunter. While I fully respect that some hunters may only hunt for a trophy animal to please their own ego or their own sense of achievement it needs to be mentioned that the trophy hype does affect new and young hunters in a very negative way. How so? I lost count of how many times I heard a young or new hunter say something like; “I will not waste a bullet on a lesser animal.” Or “I want to be a trophy hunter.” These are all people that may go many years without killing a deer waiting for that big trophy buck. They do so because they want not to be ridiculed by their peers for shooting a lesser animal.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Hunting Tactics: Read All About It
© Othmar Vohringer
Common belief has it that outdoor writers are the lucky ones because they can spend all their time in the great outdoors. While I admit that I call myself “lucky” I do not spend all my time outdoors. A good part of my time as an outdoor writer is used up in my office writing about the outdoors. Proof of that are my new articles published this fall in the BC Outdoors and western Sportsman magazine, available on the newsstands now.
Western Sportsman magazine. September/October 2012: Beat Them To It. On page 69 I reveal seven of my favourite early season deer hunting tactics that may help you too to get an early season buck this year. Here is a teaser.
Western Sportsman magazine. September/October 2012: Beat Them To It. On page 69 I reveal seven of my favourite early season deer hunting tactics that may help you too to get an early season buck this year. Here is a teaser.
Hunt Escape Routes.
For most hunters there is nothing worse than having to share the same area with hordes of other hunters. In fact, dealing with all the other hunters used to be the reason why I rarely went out in the early season. Not anymore! I learned how to use the other hunters as my involuntary deer drivers. When hunting highly pressured areas I forget about scouting for deer sign. Instead, I scout for other hunters and the sign they leave behind. Given the habitual human nature the hunters will do the same things again this season. Try to find trail markers hunters have left behind (they always do), stand locations and easy walking and driving access routes to the area.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Impressions From The Wild TV Huntfest In Chilliwack, BC
© By Othmar Vohringer
On Saturday, June 23rd, Heidi and I drove to Chilliwack to visit the Wild TV Huntfest. It was the first time that this event was held in British Columbia. The first time I heard about the Huntfest was last year when they had a series of events in Alberta and Ontario. Naturally I was very curious to visit this new kid on the block as far as hunting trade shows go when I learned that they would come to my home province.
From what I had heard so far about Huntfest I had quite high expectations. There were not as many exhibitors in attendance as I had hoped for but I had expected that given that this was their first event in British Columbia. The atmosphere was friendly throughout and it started right at the entrance to the building: a polite event staff attended to the visitors and everybody we talked to- both visitors and exhibitors alike- seemed to be having a good time.
From what I had heard so far about Huntfest I had quite high expectations. There were not as many exhibitors in attendance as I had hoped for but I had expected that given that this was their first event in British Columbia. The atmosphere was friendly throughout and it started right at the entrance to the building: a polite event staff attended to the visitors and everybody we talked to- both visitors and exhibitors alike- seemed to be having a good time.
Monday, June 25, 2012
New World Record Mountain Goat Taken In British Columbia
© By Othmar Vohringer
According to the Boone & Crockett Club hunter Troy M. Sheldon of Alexandria, Ky. Has bagged the new mountain goat world record. After the required drying period the official Boone & Crockett judges panel verified the goats official entry as the new world record. It surpasses the old world record by a substantial 6/8 of an inch.
Troy Sheldon took the animal in the Stikine River area while hunting with Heidi Gutfrucht of Northwest Ranching and Outfitting. As an interesting side note; Sheldon used a Tikka T3 .270 (my personal favourite calibre) to make a perfect 319-yard shot across a ravine.
Troy Sheldon took the animal in the Stikine River area while hunting with Heidi Gutfrucht of Northwest Ranching and Outfitting. As an interesting side note; Sheldon used a Tikka T3 .270 (my personal favourite calibre) to make a perfect 319-yard shot across a ravine.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
BCWF Outdoor Passport Program Only Looks Like Good Idea
© By Othmar Vohringer
A friend phoned me up a few days ago to tell me about a new program offered by the BC Wildlife Federation. The program is called “Outdoor Passport” and its intended to provide hunters easy access to private land provided the landowner participates in the program. Naturally, I wanted to learn more about it and asked my friend how it works. “Well, Othmar, it’s easy,” he said. “You take a course, and when you successfully graduate the exams, you get the Outdoor Passport.”
“How much does it cost?” I asked.
“Thirty dollars,” replied my friend.
That sounds like a good idea, I thought, and I checked the BCWF website for more information. After reading through all the information however, it didn’t sound like a good idea anymore. The BCWF Outdoor Passport program is basically a course that will cost you $30, and after the completion of the exam, you’re given an outdoor passport card. While everyone can take the course, only BCWF members are privileged to receive the card. The idea is that, as a hunter, you can take this card and show it to a participating landowner and you may get lucky and be able to hunt on his property. I say “may get lucky” because the landowner is not bound to any agreement and quite rightly so. Just because somebody takes a two-hour course does not guarantee that the cardholder is a respectful person.
After reading all the information about this program, I came to the conclusion that it is nothing more then a money-generating scheme, and I don’t like that for several reasons.
The initial course costs $30, and if for some reason the exam can’t be taken within a month’s time, you have to take the course again and pay the full amount again. The card is only valued for one year and then it needs to be renewed to the tune of $15.
This program does not entitle the cardholder to anything: you still have to knock on the landowner’s doors to ask for permission and risk being turned down. In short, you spend $30 for virtually nothing in return.
The bigger problem I see is that the BCWF eventually might get the bright idea to lobby the government to make this a mandatory course for every hunter, especially if there are not enough hunters enrolling in the program and, therefore, the hoped-for cash doesn’t roll in. I saw this happen in America years ago where organizations offered similar private land access programs on a volunteer basis, and after a few years it became mandatory for every hunter. After thinking it over, I have decided to stick to my way of gaining hunting access to private land, which I achieve by knocking on doors and politely asking the landowner(s) for permission to hunt. Once I gain access, I obey the landowner’s rules and behave in a responsible manner as his guest. This has worked very well for me in the past without having to show an “Outdoor Passport” as proof of some dubious course that doesn’t prove anything about my character.
A friend phoned me up a few days ago to tell me about a new program offered by the BC Wildlife Federation. The program is called “Outdoor Passport” and its intended to provide hunters easy access to private land provided the landowner participates in the program. Naturally, I wanted to learn more about it and asked my friend how it works. “Well, Othmar, it’s easy,” he said. “You take a course, and when you successfully graduate the exams, you get the Outdoor Passport.”
“How much does it cost?” I asked.
“Thirty dollars,” replied my friend.
That sounds like a good idea, I thought, and I checked the BCWF website for more information. After reading through all the information however, it didn’t sound like a good idea anymore. The BCWF Outdoor Passport program is basically a course that will cost you $30, and after the completion of the exam, you’re given an outdoor passport card. While everyone can take the course, only BCWF members are privileged to receive the card. The idea is that, as a hunter, you can take this card and show it to a participating landowner and you may get lucky and be able to hunt on his property. I say “may get lucky” because the landowner is not bound to any agreement and quite rightly so. Just because somebody takes a two-hour course does not guarantee that the cardholder is a respectful person.
After reading all the information about this program, I came to the conclusion that it is nothing more then a money-generating scheme, and I don’t like that for several reasons.
The initial course costs $30, and if for some reason the exam can’t be taken within a month’s time, you have to take the course again and pay the full amount again. The card is only valued for one year and then it needs to be renewed to the tune of $15.
This program does not entitle the cardholder to anything: you still have to knock on the landowner’s doors to ask for permission and risk being turned down. In short, you spend $30 for virtually nothing in return.
The bigger problem I see is that the BCWF eventually might get the bright idea to lobby the government to make this a mandatory course for every hunter, especially if there are not enough hunters enrolling in the program and, therefore, the hoped-for cash doesn’t roll in. I saw this happen in America years ago where organizations offered similar private land access programs on a volunteer basis, and after a few years it became mandatory for every hunter. After thinking it over, I have decided to stick to my way of gaining hunting access to private land, which I achieve by knocking on doors and politely asking the landowner(s) for permission to hunt. Once I gain access, I obey the landowner’s rules and behave in a responsible manner as his guest. This has worked very well for me in the past without having to show an “Outdoor Passport” as proof of some dubious course that doesn’t prove anything about my character.
Monday, April 30, 2012
The List Of The 10 Outdoor Blogger That Been Doing It Since The Beginning
© By Othmar Vohringer
Steve Remington from the OutdoorBlogger.Org has compiled a list of the top ten outdoor bloggers that have been doing it since beginning of the “bloger age”.
I am humbled to be included in that list. Sure it is not an official ranking but nonetheless it is nice and encouraging to be recognized by a fellow blogger as one "of the first hour". Back then in 2005 when I published my first blog post only a small handful of outdoor blogs doted the Internet landscape. Times have changed since then and there are now more outdoor blogs on the Internet then you can shake a stick at.
With that said my thanks go to my longtime and new readers of Outdoors with Othmar Vohringer. Without you this recognition would not have been possible. My thanks also goes to Steve Remington for remembering and recognizing the “old brigade” of the outdoor blogging world. In many ways we were the pioneers of this communication medium.
Here are the other members of this list and I encourage you to visit their blogs too.
Steve Remington from the OutdoorBlogger.Org has compiled a list of the top ten outdoor bloggers that have been doing it since beginning of the “bloger age”.
I am humbled to be included in that list. Sure it is not an official ranking but nonetheless it is nice and encouraging to be recognized by a fellow blogger as one "of the first hour". Back then in 2005 when I published my first blog post only a small handful of outdoor blogs doted the Internet landscape. Times have changed since then and there are now more outdoor blogs on the Internet then you can shake a stick at.
With that said my thanks go to my longtime and new readers of Outdoors with Othmar Vohringer. Without you this recognition would not have been possible. My thanks also goes to Steve Remington for remembering and recognizing the “old brigade” of the outdoor blogging world. In many ways we were the pioneers of this communication medium.
Here are the other members of this list and I encourage you to visit their blogs too.
Monday, December 27, 2010
What Is The Appropriate Age To Introduce A Child To Hunting?
Originally published in the Merritt News– Othmar Vohringer The Outdoorsman
© By Othmar Vohringer
The above is a question I am asked quite often by parents who wish to introduce their children to hunting. The answer is not cut and dried. In my opinion the introduction of a child to hunting is dependent on the child’s maturity, which is not necessary measured by age.
When I was a child I never was pushed to become a hunter and neither can I remember that it ever came up in a conversation. My father never said: “Now you’re old enough to learn about hunting.” I grew up seeing game mounts hanging on the wall. I was used to eating meals consisting of game meat and I knew that it meant taking the life of an animal. I grew up listening to my father and his friends hunting stories. In other words it was natural for me. I do remember that at about the age of eight asking my father if I could go with him to the range and shoot a gun. Of course he was pleased to take me along. About a year later I followed my dad on a scouting trip where he told me what signs to look for and explained them to me.
© By Othmar Vohringer
The above is a question I am asked quite often by parents who wish to introduce their children to hunting. The answer is not cut and dried. In my opinion the introduction of a child to hunting is dependent on the child’s maturity, which is not necessary measured by age.
When I was a child I never was pushed to become a hunter and neither can I remember that it ever came up in a conversation. My father never said: “Now you’re old enough to learn about hunting.” I grew up seeing game mounts hanging on the wall. I was used to eating meals consisting of game meat and I knew that it meant taking the life of an animal. I grew up listening to my father and his friends hunting stories. In other words it was natural for me. I do remember that at about the age of eight asking my father if I could go with him to the range and shoot a gun. Of course he was pleased to take me along. About a year later I followed my dad on a scouting trip where he told me what signs to look for and explained them to me.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Popularity of hunting decreases across nation
© By Othmar Vohringer
In an Associated Press article by Todd Richmond, I read that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that hunting license sales in 33 states have declined. There is considerable concern that if this ongoing trend keeps up hunting as we know it and enjoy it might soon be a thing of the past.
There are many reasons why hunting is in decline. The loss of access to hunting land due to urban sprawl is listed as one of the major factors. There are other factors too such as the aging baby boomers that retire from hunting but most of concern are youth that rather spend all their time indoors playing computer games and on the internet than go outdoors.
In an Associated Press article by Todd Richmond, I read that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that hunting license sales in 33 states have declined. There is considerable concern that if this ongoing trend keeps up hunting as we know it and enjoy it might soon be a thing of the past.
There are many reasons why hunting is in decline. The loss of access to hunting land due to urban sprawl is listed as one of the major factors. There are other factors too such as the aging baby boomers that retire from hunting but most of concern are youth that rather spend all their time indoors playing computer games and on the internet than go outdoors.
Saturday, June 19, 2010
British Columbia Internet Hunting and Fishing Camp
© By Othmar Vohringer
BC Outdoors, British Columbia’s premier hunting and fishing magazine, has a brand new website. Some of the new features added are hunting and fishing blogs and a forum for BC hunters and others interested in our rich hunting and angling opportunities to gather, meet, discuss and share stories, news, tips or simply chat.
The website is divided into an angling and a hunting section. By simply clicking on the appropriate link on the entrance page you will get to the part of the website catering to your interest.
In the hunting section BC Outdoors features blogs by Greg Blackburn, a hunter and wildlife biologist, and I write another blog. We both offer general information, tips and news pertaining to Britisch Columbia hunting and answer any questions readers may have in this regard .
In the fishing section blogs by BC angling experts Brian Chan, Phil Rowely, Jenna McRae and Trevor Welton provide a wealth of knowledge for anglers of every skill level.
If you’re a hunter or angler from British Columbia, or if you’re thinking of visiting our province for our legendary hunting or fishing opportunities then the new BC Outdoors website, blogs and the forum are the places that will provide you with all the important information from the experts.
Join us at, what soon will become British Columbia’s premier Internet hunting and angling campfire, the BC Outdoors Forum. On the forum I go by the handle “Huntwriter” and I look forward to welcome you and engage with you in conversations about our rich hunting and angling heritage.
Talking about me for a moment, you might also want to purchase the newest issue of BC Outdoors Magazine now available on the newsstands. It’s the pre-hunting season issue and features my article “The Four Factors Of Deer Movement – Scouting for Early Season Bowhunting Success”. The article will provide the reader with all the information to get your bowhunting season off to a good start.
Visit the BC Outdoors Website
Read the BC Outdoors Hunting Blogs.
Read my BC Outdoors Blog.
Read the BC Outdoors Fishing Blogs.
Join me and other BC hunters and anglers on the BC Outdoors Forum.
This blog post has been brought to you by Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Read my bi-weekly newspaper column online.
Tags: Othmar Vohringer, British Columbia, BC Outdoors Magazine, BC Hunting and Fishing, Hunting Blog, BC Hunting Forum
BC Outdoors, British Columbia’s premier hunting and fishing magazine, has a brand new website. Some of the new features added are hunting and fishing blogs and a forum for BC hunters and others interested in our rich hunting and angling opportunities to gather, meet, discuss and share stories, news, tips or simply chat.
The website is divided into an angling and a hunting section. By simply clicking on the appropriate link on the entrance page you will get to the part of the website catering to your interest.
In the hunting section BC Outdoors features blogs by Greg Blackburn, a hunter and wildlife biologist, and I write another blog. We both offer general information, tips and news pertaining to Britisch Columbia hunting and answer any questions readers may have in this regard .
In the fishing section blogs by BC angling experts Brian Chan, Phil Rowely, Jenna McRae and Trevor Welton provide a wealth of knowledge for anglers of every skill level.
If you’re a hunter or angler from British Columbia, or if you’re thinking of visiting our province for our legendary hunting or fishing opportunities then the new BC Outdoors website, blogs and the forum are the places that will provide you with all the important information from the experts.
Join us at, what soon will become British Columbia’s premier Internet hunting and angling campfire, the BC Outdoors Forum. On the forum I go by the handle “Huntwriter” and I look forward to welcome you and engage with you in conversations about our rich hunting and angling heritage.
Talking about me for a moment, you might also want to purchase the newest issue of BC Outdoors Magazine now available on the newsstands. It’s the pre-hunting season issue and features my article “The Four Factors Of Deer Movement – Scouting for Early Season Bowhunting Success”. The article will provide the reader with all the information to get your bowhunting season off to a good start.Visit the BC Outdoors Website
Read the BC Outdoors Hunting Blogs.
Read my BC Outdoors Blog.
Read the BC Outdoors Fishing Blogs.
Join me and other BC hunters and anglers on the BC Outdoors Forum.
This blog post has been brought to you by Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Read my bi-weekly newspaper column online.
Tags: Othmar Vohringer, British Columbia, BC Outdoors Magazine, BC Hunting and Fishing, Hunting Blog, BC Hunting Forum
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Taking the hunting agenda to the people
© By Othmar Vohringer
Every Sunday begins for me with watching the Canada in the Rough hunting show. I usually do not watch hunting shows on TV but I would have to have a very good reason to miss this particular one.
There are a number of reasons why I like Canada in the Rough. First would have to be that this show is an all Canadian production. The producer and host Thomas Pigeon is a Canadian and so is his crew. Plus all hunts take part in Canada. But there has to be more to a show then just national pride to make it my favorite and that is where Thomas Pigeon comes in to play.
Besides being a down to earth guy, as in a hunter like you and me, and showing hunts as they happen even if that means that no trophy, or no game at all, is taken, he is also a tireless advocate of all legal hunting methods. Each show segment Pigeon is shown hunting with a compound bow, or a crossbow, perhaps with a rifle, shotgun or a muzzleloader. He does not favor or promote one hunting method or game animal over another one. To him it’s all about hunting regardless of what legal choice the hunter uses to pursue his or her passion. I like that attitude because that is exactly how I feel too.
In each show he will go out of his way to explain how important it is that all hunters unite and the good hunting does for wildlife and habitat conservation. “Okay” you may say, “so do other TV hunting shows”. Yes that is true but the difference here is that Canada in the Rough does not air on a hunting or outdoor channel where it is save by preaching to the congregation. Canada in the Rough is aired on Global TV, which is the public channel watched not only by hunters but by everybody. With this public platform Canada in the Rough takes the hunting agenda to the very people that need to hear our message – the non-hunters.
Thomas Pigeon has a solid track record of being one of Canada’s most avid amd vocal hunting promoters in public. Pigeon is the founder and chairman of the Canadian Outdoor Heritage Alliance (COHA). This is Canada’s first and as of this writing still only organization with the sole purpose of promoting and lobbying hunting, fishing and trapping to the public as a viable and important Canadian heritage.
This past Sunday found me as usual in front of the TV in anticipation of another exiting Canada in the Rough show taking the viewer to another of Canada’s many stunningly beautiful places on a hunt for our rich and diverse wildlife. But instead of a hunt Thomas Pigeon, sitting on a campfire, announced that this show, named “Politics of Hunting”, would be dedicated solely to the important role the Canadian hunting heritage plays in the wildlife/environment conservation sector and the economy of Ontario and Canada.
For this Thomas invited a special guest. The guest it turns out was a high profile politician. To say I was surprised is an understatement when I heard Frank Klees, the Progressive Conservative MPP (Members of Provincial Parliament) for Ontario, speak openly and positive about hunting. It does not happen often, or make that never, that a politician is brave enough in these politically correct times to go on public record with a full endorsement statement for hunting, fishing and trapping. But that is exactly what Klees did. For a full half hour he talked about how important it is to support this Canadian heritage not only as a important wildlife management and conservation tool, but also as an important multi million dollar part of Ontario's economy.
Ontario's hunters, fishers and trappers contribute millions of dollars in license sales alone plus further millions and employment through guide / outfitters and sporting goods stores. I couldn't find the exact figures but the talk is of around 45 million dollars overall. Yet the current Ontario government is ragley ignorant of this important contribution by flirting with animal rights to gain city folks votes they try to cut back on that economy and with that ultimately on wildlife and habitat conservation too.
In these politically correct times where for the most part politicians are more concerned with what a largely ignorant city people think it takes courage for a politician like Frank Klees, running for Premier in the election, to speak out publicly on behalf of hunters, anglers and trappers. Klees was also brave enough to say very clearly what he thinks of the animal rights and anti hunter movement. It’s an opinion that surely won’t go down well with the city folks in Toronto that have for the most part been brainwashed with the lies of animal rights, but it is a message that needed to be told and needs to be told many times more. If hunting is to survive into the future we have to carry our message to the people on the street and that is exactly what Pigeon and Klees did masterfully on "Politics of Hunting" last Sunday.
Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Tags Canada in the Rough, Thomas Pigeon, Global TV, Canadian Outdoor Heritage Alliance, Frank Klees, Progressive Conservative Party, Politics of Hunting
Every Sunday begins for me with watching the Canada in the Rough hunting show. I usually do not watch hunting shows on TV but I would have to have a very good reason to miss this particular one.
There are a number of reasons why I like Canada in the Rough. First would have to be that this show is an all Canadian production. The producer and host Thomas Pigeon is a Canadian and so is his crew. Plus all hunts take part in Canada. But there has to be more to a show then just national pride to make it my favorite and that is where Thomas Pigeon comes in to play.
Besides being a down to earth guy, as in a hunter like you and me, and showing hunts as they happen even if that means that no trophy, or no game at all, is taken, he is also a tireless advocate of all legal hunting methods. Each show segment Pigeon is shown hunting with a compound bow, or a crossbow, perhaps with a rifle, shotgun or a muzzleloader. He does not favor or promote one hunting method or game animal over another one. To him it’s all about hunting regardless of what legal choice the hunter uses to pursue his or her passion. I like that attitude because that is exactly how I feel too.
In each show he will go out of his way to explain how important it is that all hunters unite and the good hunting does for wildlife and habitat conservation. “Okay” you may say, “so do other TV hunting shows”. Yes that is true but the difference here is that Canada in the Rough does not air on a hunting or outdoor channel where it is save by preaching to the congregation. Canada in the Rough is aired on Global TV, which is the public channel watched not only by hunters but by everybody. With this public platform Canada in the Rough takes the hunting agenda to the very people that need to hear our message – the non-hunters.
Thomas Pigeon has a solid track record of being one of Canada’s most avid amd vocal hunting promoters in public. Pigeon is the founder and chairman of the Canadian Outdoor Heritage Alliance (COHA). This is Canada’s first and as of this writing still only organization with the sole purpose of promoting and lobbying hunting, fishing and trapping to the public as a viable and important Canadian heritage.
This past Sunday found me as usual in front of the TV in anticipation of another exiting Canada in the Rough show taking the viewer to another of Canada’s many stunningly beautiful places on a hunt for our rich and diverse wildlife. But instead of a hunt Thomas Pigeon, sitting on a campfire, announced that this show, named “Politics of Hunting”, would be dedicated solely to the important role the Canadian hunting heritage plays in the wildlife/environment conservation sector and the economy of Ontario and Canada.
For this Thomas invited a special guest. The guest it turns out was a high profile politician. To say I was surprised is an understatement when I heard Frank Klees, the Progressive Conservative MPP (Members of Provincial Parliament) for Ontario, speak openly and positive about hunting. It does not happen often, or make that never, that a politician is brave enough in these politically correct times to go on public record with a full endorsement statement for hunting, fishing and trapping. But that is exactly what Klees did. For a full half hour he talked about how important it is to support this Canadian heritage not only as a important wildlife management and conservation tool, but also as an important multi million dollar part of Ontario's economy.
Ontario's hunters, fishers and trappers contribute millions of dollars in license sales alone plus further millions and employment through guide / outfitters and sporting goods stores. I couldn't find the exact figures but the talk is of around 45 million dollars overall. Yet the current Ontario government is ragley ignorant of this important contribution by flirting with animal rights to gain city folks votes they try to cut back on that economy and with that ultimately on wildlife and habitat conservation too.
In these politically correct times where for the most part politicians are more concerned with what a largely ignorant city people think it takes courage for a politician like Frank Klees, running for Premier in the election, to speak out publicly on behalf of hunters, anglers and trappers. Klees was also brave enough to say very clearly what he thinks of the animal rights and anti hunter movement. It’s an opinion that surely won’t go down well with the city folks in Toronto that have for the most part been brainwashed with the lies of animal rights, but it is a message that needed to be told and needs to be told many times more. If hunting is to survive into the future we have to carry our message to the people on the street and that is exactly what Pigeon and Klees did masterfully on "Politics of Hunting" last Sunday.
Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Tags Canada in the Rough, Thomas Pigeon, Global TV, Canadian Outdoor Heritage Alliance, Frank Klees, Progressive Conservative Party, Politics of Hunting
Thursday, April 09, 2009
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
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
Sunday, September 07, 2008
More Women in British Columbia owning guns
© By Othmar Vohringer
“Annie Get Your Gun” has become an appropriate theme for British Columbia women. According to a recently published article in the “Times Colonist” gun sales have gone up throughout the province of British Columbia. Gun storeowners say that firearm sales to women have drastically increased. One of the reasons for this new surge may have to do with the provinces recent hunter recruitment program directed specifically at women and children.
Gun clubs throughout the province and the B.C. Wildlife Federation were quick to respond to the hunter recruitment program by introducing special family and women in the outdoors programs. It is in part because of these and similar programs, targeted specifically at women and children, that the access for women to hunting and the shooting sport has become easier. In addition hunting clubs began to offer family shooting programs and introduced family memberships. Such benefits make it financially lees straining, especially for families with young children.
Over the course of the last two years I have seen the number of women on shooting ranges rise sharply. Not so long ago a women or an entire family was rare site at a firearm range. Not anymore, it is quite common now to see couples and families enjoying the shooting sport together. Even in the field the presence of women is noticed. Each year I seem to encounter more women or couples dressed in camouflage hunting as a team. Here in British Columbia hunting and the shooting sport have truly become a family activity and I couldn’t be more pleased about the current trend.
As hunter education instructor and dedicated in the recruitment of new and young hunters I welcome the BC governments move to make hunting more accessible for beginners by waiving the mandatory hunter education course for the first year. I always believed that the mandatory hunter education course is one of the biggest obstacles in the recruitment of new hunters. With the new law young and new hunters are permitted to purchase a hunting license and go hunting with a veteran hunter in procession of the mandatory hunter number. This gives new and young hunters the opportunity to try hunting out for one year and if they like it they can enroll in the mandatory hunter education course to obtain their own hunter number and can purchase their own hunting license.
Tags: Shooting Sport, Hunting, Hunter Recruitment, More Women Buy Guns, British Columbia, News
“Annie Get Your Gun” has become an appropriate theme for British Columbia women. According to a recently published article in the “Times Colonist” gun sales have gone up throughout the province of British Columbia. Gun storeowners say that firearm sales to women have drastically increased. One of the reasons for this new surge may have to do with the provinces recent hunter recruitment program directed specifically at women and children.
Gun clubs throughout the province and the B.C. Wildlife Federation were quick to respond to the hunter recruitment program by introducing special family and women in the outdoors programs. It is in part because of these and similar programs, targeted specifically at women and children, that the access for women to hunting and the shooting sport has become easier. In addition hunting clubs began to offer family shooting programs and introduced family memberships. Such benefits make it financially lees straining, especially for families with young children.
Over the course of the last two years I have seen the number of women on shooting ranges rise sharply. Not so long ago a women or an entire family was rare site at a firearm range. Not anymore, it is quite common now to see couples and families enjoying the shooting sport together. Even in the field the presence of women is noticed. Each year I seem to encounter more women or couples dressed in camouflage hunting as a team. Here in British Columbia hunting and the shooting sport have truly become a family activity and I couldn’t be more pleased about the current trend.
As hunter education instructor and dedicated in the recruitment of new and young hunters I welcome the BC governments move to make hunting more accessible for beginners by waiving the mandatory hunter education course for the first year. I always believed that the mandatory hunter education course is one of the biggest obstacles in the recruitment of new hunters. With the new law young and new hunters are permitted to purchase a hunting license and go hunting with a veteran hunter in procession of the mandatory hunter number. This gives new and young hunters the opportunity to try hunting out for one year and if they like it they can enroll in the mandatory hunter education course to obtain their own hunter number and can purchase their own hunting license.
Tags: Shooting Sport, Hunting, Hunter Recruitment, More Women Buy Guns, British Columbia, News
Monday, August 04, 2008
Join the Club
© By Othmar Vohringer
When we moved to Merritt one of the first things I did was to join the Nicloa Valley Fish & Game Club. Previously, when we lived in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, I was a member of the Mission & District Rod and Gun Club. With the move to Merritt it seemed only appropriate to join the local hunting club.
On a Sunday two weeks ago I visited the Nicloa Valley Fish & Game Club grounds, set into a beautiful 160-acre forested landscape. The moment you arrive you feel like in a hunting camp. The club features a wide variety of shooting ranges for big bore rifles, rifles, pistols, trap shooting, black powder, small caliber firearms and archery. In addition there are two trails, one for traditional black powder and the other for traditional archery, with targets set at different ranges. All the stationary ranges and the trails are wheelchair accessible.
Jim George, the clubs black powder officer, invited me to a Sunday morning black powder shoot and although I haven’t shot a traditional smoke pole in many years I thought it would give me a good opportunity to learn a bit more about the club and the activates provided to the members. On my arrival at the range Bill was busy unloading a small arsenal of black powder rifles from his car. In short order he lined up several traditional cap lock and flintlock rifles explaining each and every single one to me with little background history. Most of the muzzleloaders shown to me are handmade or refurbished by Bill. Bill is much more than a black powder aficionado, for him muzzleloaders are part of his life and after a bit of friendly prodding I agreed to shoot a .50 caliber flintlock.
I had so much fun shooting this rifle that I finished the complete course. The very first shot - the lucky shot - hit the target smack in the middle and from their on it went downhill. Despite my lack of hitting targets, after that initial first shot, I had great fun. It also set a little spark in me on fire for black powder shooting. Many years ago when I came to America I started hunting with black powder rifles and bows. My first smoke pole was a Thomson Center Renegade .50 caliber, using round lead balls and conical bullets in front of 120 grains Goex FFg black powder. Shortly after I purchased a Knight Wolverine .50 caliber in-line-muzzleloader shooting modern saboted bullets pushed by 150 grains of Pyrotex RS pellets.
Sadly when I moved to Canada I had to sell all my firearms, including the black powder rifles. It was just too much hassle and red tape to get through to import them all over the border into Canada. While I can’t see myself taking part in black powder tournaments, or any tournament for that matter, I sure would like to own - and will in the near future – one or two muzzleloaders. As a hunter I have always enjoyed to use a variety of different weapons from the bow to the high powered center fire rifle, and everything in between, in the pursuit of wild game. I enjoy the different challenges each weapon provides, and off course in America with all the different segments of hunting season it also meat that I could take part in all of them.
Back to the shooting range at the Nicola Valley Fish and Game Club.
Besides having fun shooting muzzleloaders the visit gave me a chance to meet and talk to some of the executives and learn more about the activities the club offers for the members. There are so many of them throughout the year that it is hard to list them all here. Besides the monthly meeting there are fishing, archery, muzzleloader and sporting clay tournaments to name a few. Other activities include the annual club award night, kids ice fishing derby, hunter education courses and the list goes on. The club also takes part in community activities such as “Adopt a Street”, lake and river cleanups and other environmental and humanitarian programs.
This brings me back to the title of this article “Join a Club”.
One of the complaints I heard is that the club has problems mobilizing volunteers for the various club and community events. This is not a single case, it’s a common concern I hear many times all across North America. No matter where you live the chances are there is a fish and game or hunting club in your community. These local organizations are important to our hunting heritage and in our effort to portray hunters and hunting in a positive light to the community. Join your local club and become an active participant, give a little of your time and become a volunteer. A club is a good way to get your family and friends involved in hunting and at the same time you actively do something to preserve our hunting heritage and promote a positive hunter image in your community.
(Photo: standing in front of the target ready to fire his percussion cap lock gun is the 1st. Vice president Jack Madryga and leaning against the tree watching with an expert eye is Jim George, the clubs black powder officer.)
Tags: Nicola Valley Fish and Game Club, Muzzleloader, Black Powder, Hunting Clubs, Hunting Heritage
When we moved to Merritt one of the first things I did was to join the Nicloa Valley Fish & Game Club. Previously, when we lived in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, I was a member of the Mission & District Rod and Gun Club. With the move to Merritt it seemed only appropriate to join the local hunting club.
On a Sunday two weeks ago I visited the Nicloa Valley Fish & Game Club grounds, set into a beautiful 160-acre forested landscape. The moment you arrive you feel like in a hunting camp. The club features a wide variety of shooting ranges for big bore rifles, rifles, pistols, trap shooting, black powder, small caliber firearms and archery. In addition there are two trails, one for traditional black powder and the other for traditional archery, with targets set at different ranges. All the stationary ranges and the trails are wheelchair accessible.
Jim George, the clubs black powder officer, invited me to a Sunday morning black powder shoot and although I haven’t shot a traditional smoke pole in many years I thought it would give me a good opportunity to learn a bit more about the club and the activates provided to the members. On my arrival at the range Bill was busy unloading a small arsenal of black powder rifles from his car. In short order he lined up several traditional cap lock and flintlock rifles explaining each and every single one to me with little background history. Most of the muzzleloaders shown to me are handmade or refurbished by Bill. Bill is much more than a black powder aficionado, for him muzzleloaders are part of his life and after a bit of friendly prodding I agreed to shoot a .50 caliber flintlock. I had so much fun shooting this rifle that I finished the complete course. The very first shot - the lucky shot - hit the target smack in the middle and from their on it went downhill. Despite my lack of hitting targets, after that initial first shot, I had great fun. It also set a little spark in me on fire for black powder shooting. Many years ago when I came to America I started hunting with black powder rifles and bows. My first smoke pole was a Thomson Center Renegade .50 caliber, using round lead balls and conical bullets in front of 120 grains Goex FFg black powder. Shortly after I purchased a Knight Wolverine .50 caliber in-line-muzzleloader shooting modern saboted bullets pushed by 150 grains of Pyrotex RS pellets.
Sadly when I moved to Canada I had to sell all my firearms, including the black powder rifles. It was just too much hassle and red tape to get through to import them all over the border into Canada. While I can’t see myself taking part in black powder tournaments, or any tournament for that matter, I sure would like to own - and will in the near future – one or two muzzleloaders. As a hunter I have always enjoyed to use a variety of different weapons from the bow to the high powered center fire rifle, and everything in between, in the pursuit of wild game. I enjoy the different challenges each weapon provides, and off course in America with all the different segments of hunting season it also meat that I could take part in all of them.
Back to the shooting range at the Nicola Valley Fish and Game Club.
Besides having fun shooting muzzleloaders the visit gave me a chance to meet and talk to some of the executives and learn more about the activities the club offers for the members. There are so many of them throughout the year that it is hard to list them all here. Besides the monthly meeting there are fishing, archery, muzzleloader and sporting clay tournaments to name a few. Other activities include the annual club award night, kids ice fishing derby, hunter education courses and the list goes on. The club also takes part in community activities such as “Adopt a Street”, lake and river cleanups and other environmental and humanitarian programs.
This brings me back to the title of this article “Join a Club”.
One of the complaints I heard is that the club has problems mobilizing volunteers for the various club and community events. This is not a single case, it’s a common concern I hear many times all across North America. No matter where you live the chances are there is a fish and game or hunting club in your community. These local organizations are important to our hunting heritage and in our effort to portray hunters and hunting in a positive light to the community. Join your local club and become an active participant, give a little of your time and become a volunteer. A club is a good way to get your family and friends involved in hunting and at the same time you actively do something to preserve our hunting heritage and promote a positive hunter image in your community.
(Photo: standing in front of the target ready to fire his percussion cap lock gun is the 1st. Vice president Jack Madryga and leaning against the tree watching with an expert eye is Jim George, the clubs black powder officer.)
Tags: Nicola Valley Fish and Game Club, Muzzleloader, Black Powder, Hunting Clubs, Hunting Heritage
Monday, May 26, 2008
Exposing the Animal Rights Agenda and Setting the Record Straight
© By Othmar Vohringer
On the Outdoor Bloggers Summit blog Kristine published a challenge in two parts for the members; part one of the challenge was what can we do to educate the average person about the truth of the animal rights agenda and at the same time explain to society what hunting is really all about. The second part of that challenge was to think of ways how we could get the hunting organizations to unite and promote hunting to the public rather than preaching to the choir and then hoping that they will pass the message on to the public.
With the rampant and unfounded attacks on hunters and hunting by animal rights organizations like the notorious PETA and the equally offensive HSUS, it is a timely challenge. As hunters we should not tolerate this situation and the way animal rights groups portray our image in the public. Sadly though, a rather large part of the population never hears our side of the story and thus has come to believe what the anti’s say about us.
Some time ago I talked to a lawyer about the animal rights activists and their campaign against hunters. At the end of this conversation the lawyer told me that the hunting community would have good legal grounds to file a class action law suit against the animal rights organizations that easily could be won by us.
You see, that beautiful and often terribly abused phrase “freedom of speech” means that people can say what they want only to a point. When freedom of speech turns into hate mongering, character assassination and the ridicule of individuals then it becomes a crime. Not so sure about that? Okay lets see!
If a person or group would portray, lets say an African American, a Native Indian, a member of a religious group or a gay person in such a derogatory and demeaning manner as the animal rights do with hunters, how long do you think it would it take for this person or group to have to answer to a judge in a court of law? Not long! Why? Because it is against the law to discriminate against a person or group by spreading purposely false and misleading information with the sole intent of ostracizing that person’s way of life- one that he or she carries out within the given framework of the law and the constitution.
What the animal rights groups do is in fact not that different from what the Hitler regime did to systematically bring down the Jewish people in German society. The propaganda was repeated almost daily until society viewed Jews as “undesirables”. It was that willful spread of hatred, ignorance, lies and blame for social problems that made the Holocaust possible. Don’t get me wrong. Far be it for me to compare the plight of the Jews in Nazi Germany to hunters- but the tactics used to discriminate against a group of people is very much the same.
The really bad news about these character assassinations is that they are all done for the money. There is no doubt about it: animal rights groups care as little for animals as they do for people. The sole purpose of their existence is to make money off of gullible people- and they make BILLIONS of dollars annually. Very little , around 2% is used in some form for animals. The bulk of the money is used for advertising and paying legal fees. The largest amount of the money disappears into the bank accounts of the organization’s leaders. Yes, well-meaning people thinking that their donations will help animals have made Ingrid Newkirk a multi-millionaire.
So what can we, the individual hunters and the organization that represent us, do to swing the tide of public opinion in our favor? Right now the times are good because animal rights organizations have lost a lot of sympathy in the public’s opinion. PETA recently complained that it’s member numbers are shrinking and that it is having some difficulty generating donations. The mighty HSUS is still very strong and has taken up some slack from PETA, but they too feel the anti animal rights mood in society growing. That might be one reason why these organizations have become louder, meaner and more aggressive in recent weeks and months with their attacks on us.
Rather than revisit point by point a subject that I have written about quite extensively in the past, and no doubt will do so in the future, I will simply link to articles on my blogs. The articles express my opinion on what should be done and how we might best achieve our goal of telling the public at large the truth about hunters, hunting and the good things that hunters and their organization’s do for all.
The most important fact we hunters MUST learn if we intend to make a difference in the fight against animal rights and educating society is to have UNITY among us. Without unity we will not have a glimmer of hope in getting anything done. Unity is the single most important aspect of everything we do as a group or family. Without unity we are weak and can’t focus on the task at hand. Where I Stand on Crossbows (link opens new window) I illustrate what the lack of unity means for our future.
Explaining to non-hunters what hunting does for wildlife and habitat conservation for the benefit of all, not only hunters, is illustrated in The Economics of Hunting (link opens new window). I also suggest reading Hunting and Wildlife Conservation (link opens new window)
If we explain hunting to others it can’t hurt to add a personal touch as to what motivates us personally to hunt our own food. While statistics will go a long way to support irrefutable facts people generally have a hard time relating to cold facts but can relate to personal convictions and motivations. A good example of such a hunting promotion idea can be read in my article, Why Do We Hunt
(link opens new window). How we can get the message to the people is explained in Get Active In The Protection of our Rights.
This leaves us with the second part of the challenge of what our organizations could do to promote hunting in society. The basic rule here is the same as with hunters. Unity! Unity is the vital instrument in putting up a strong front and speaking with one voice.
Here in Canada we are a step ahead of our American friends. For the past year or so it has become common for several organizations to get together and release press communiqués and broadcast television and radio infomercials that promote hunting and fishing to society. Such united efforts have already shown results in more than one way. For starters Canadians have become much more critical of animal rights groups. It is not unusual these days to read several letters on the opinion pages of newspapers that show a not-so-favorable response to animal rights oriented letters. Secondly, the public has largely changed its negative opinion on hunters to a positive one or at least, a neutral opinion. And lastly, hunter numbers are slowly climbing a bit.
The U.S. Sportsman Alliance sent me an email in which they advised me of a letter they sent to the USDA explaining that the Humane Society of the United States’ “primary purpose is to advocate for sensible public policies and not provide direct services to shelter, rescue or provide any direct services for animals in need. “ because the USDA website has inaccurately portrayed the Humane Society of the United States (not to be confused with the American Humane Association which deals with animal welfare – NOT rights ) as a “shelter, rescue and welfare organization”. You can read the letter sent to the USDA here (pdf. file).
The U.S. Sportsmen Alliance is the only organization in America primarily concerned with the protection of our rights. That, as you can imagine, costs a small fortune in publishing press releases, lobbying politicians and so on. Now how much better, financially speaking and for clout would it be if the USSA could collaborate with other organizations and with that show unity and a force to be reckoned with?
I have often said this and will keep on saying it: If we hunters and our organizations would stand up as a united force, the animal rights groups wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. In fact they would disappear practically over night. That’s how much power and strength we, as a unified community, could generate. We would be so influential that no politician could afford to ignore us. Animal rights activists are a dwindling minority. Compared to hunter numbers they are not even a speck of dust. Yet what makes them strong is unity, they speak as one and adhere to one agenda. Unlike hunters where it seems that each segment has its own agenda and at the drop of hat will be ready to bash another hunter segment if it suits their agenda.
As blogging becomes more popular I see an opportunity that we bloggers can- and should- take advantage of to play our part in spreading and promoting hunting. The way blogs are viewed by search engines gives us a likelier chance of been read by non-hunters than a hunting forum or hunting website. When I check my statistics I regularly see visitors that came to my blogs that didn’t specifically search for hunting. I wrote an article about one such visitor and how I was able to follow him back where he came from and what happened. It is interesting reading and shows perfectly how we can influence opinions. In that particular case it was an animal rights activist and I am happy that my blog made him think and abandon the animal rights cause.
It seems that hunting organizations have not yet discovered the merits of blogs. Enter the outdoor bloggers. Many of us are often hit with what we refer to as “writers block”. One solution: how about contacting hunting organizations and asking them to provide you with material, or simply subscribe to e-newsletters from different organizations and you will regularly be updated with information you can write about on your blog.
There are also other avenues a blogger can pursue that are much closer to home. You could contact your local hunting organizations and clubs and offer to write about them in your local newspaper. Of course you also can contact your local newspaper and inquire about an outdoor column that you could write for them. There are many ways we can reach out to society and set the record about hunting and hunters straight.
Tags: Promote Hunting, Outdoor Bloggers Summit, Exposing Animal Rights, Hunting Organizations
On the Outdoor Bloggers Summit blog Kristine published a challenge in two parts for the members; part one of the challenge was what can we do to educate the average person about the truth of the animal rights agenda and at the same time explain to society what hunting is really all about. The second part of that challenge was to think of ways how we could get the hunting organizations to unite and promote hunting to the public rather than preaching to the choir and then hoping that they will pass the message on to the public.
With the rampant and unfounded attacks on hunters and hunting by animal rights organizations like the notorious PETA and the equally offensive HSUS, it is a timely challenge. As hunters we should not tolerate this situation and the way animal rights groups portray our image in the public. Sadly though, a rather large part of the population never hears our side of the story and thus has come to believe what the anti’s say about us.
Some time ago I talked to a lawyer about the animal rights activists and their campaign against hunters. At the end of this conversation the lawyer told me that the hunting community would have good legal grounds to file a class action law suit against the animal rights organizations that easily could be won by us.
You see, that beautiful and often terribly abused phrase “freedom of speech” means that people can say what they want only to a point. When freedom of speech turns into hate mongering, character assassination and the ridicule of individuals then it becomes a crime. Not so sure about that? Okay lets see!
If a person or group would portray, lets say an African American, a Native Indian, a member of a religious group or a gay person in such a derogatory and demeaning manner as the animal rights do with hunters, how long do you think it would it take for this person or group to have to answer to a judge in a court of law? Not long! Why? Because it is against the law to discriminate against a person or group by spreading purposely false and misleading information with the sole intent of ostracizing that person’s way of life- one that he or she carries out within the given framework of the law and the constitution.
What the animal rights groups do is in fact not that different from what the Hitler regime did to systematically bring down the Jewish people in German society. The propaganda was repeated almost daily until society viewed Jews as “undesirables”. It was that willful spread of hatred, ignorance, lies and blame for social problems that made the Holocaust possible. Don’t get me wrong. Far be it for me to compare the plight of the Jews in Nazi Germany to hunters- but the tactics used to discriminate against a group of people is very much the same.
The really bad news about these character assassinations is that they are all done for the money. There is no doubt about it: animal rights groups care as little for animals as they do for people. The sole purpose of their existence is to make money off of gullible people- and they make BILLIONS of dollars annually. Very little , around 2% is used in some form for animals. The bulk of the money is used for advertising and paying legal fees. The largest amount of the money disappears into the bank accounts of the organization’s leaders. Yes, well-meaning people thinking that their donations will help animals have made Ingrid Newkirk a multi-millionaire.
So what can we, the individual hunters and the organization that represent us, do to swing the tide of public opinion in our favor? Right now the times are good because animal rights organizations have lost a lot of sympathy in the public’s opinion. PETA recently complained that it’s member numbers are shrinking and that it is having some difficulty generating donations. The mighty HSUS is still very strong and has taken up some slack from PETA, but they too feel the anti animal rights mood in society growing. That might be one reason why these organizations have become louder, meaner and more aggressive in recent weeks and months with their attacks on us.
Rather than revisit point by point a subject that I have written about quite extensively in the past, and no doubt will do so in the future, I will simply link to articles on my blogs. The articles express my opinion on what should be done and how we might best achieve our goal of telling the public at large the truth about hunters, hunting and the good things that hunters and their organization’s do for all.
The most important fact we hunters MUST learn if we intend to make a difference in the fight against animal rights and educating society is to have UNITY among us. Without unity we will not have a glimmer of hope in getting anything done. Unity is the single most important aspect of everything we do as a group or family. Without unity we are weak and can’t focus on the task at hand. Where I Stand on Crossbows (link opens new window) I illustrate what the lack of unity means for our future.
Explaining to non-hunters what hunting does for wildlife and habitat conservation for the benefit of all, not only hunters, is illustrated in The Economics of Hunting (link opens new window). I also suggest reading Hunting and Wildlife Conservation (link opens new window)
If we explain hunting to others it can’t hurt to add a personal touch as to what motivates us personally to hunt our own food. While statistics will go a long way to support irrefutable facts people generally have a hard time relating to cold facts but can relate to personal convictions and motivations. A good example of such a hunting promotion idea can be read in my article, Why Do We Hunt
(link opens new window). How we can get the message to the people is explained in Get Active In The Protection of our Rights.
This leaves us with the second part of the challenge of what our organizations could do to promote hunting in society. The basic rule here is the same as with hunters. Unity! Unity is the vital instrument in putting up a strong front and speaking with one voice.
Here in Canada we are a step ahead of our American friends. For the past year or so it has become common for several organizations to get together and release press communiqués and broadcast television and radio infomercials that promote hunting and fishing to society. Such united efforts have already shown results in more than one way. For starters Canadians have become much more critical of animal rights groups. It is not unusual these days to read several letters on the opinion pages of newspapers that show a not-so-favorable response to animal rights oriented letters. Secondly, the public has largely changed its negative opinion on hunters to a positive one or at least, a neutral opinion. And lastly, hunter numbers are slowly climbing a bit.
The U.S. Sportsman Alliance sent me an email in which they advised me of a letter they sent to the USDA explaining that the Humane Society of the United States’ “primary purpose is to advocate for sensible public policies and not provide direct services to shelter, rescue or provide any direct services for animals in need. “ because the USDA website has inaccurately portrayed the Humane Society of the United States (not to be confused with the American Humane Association which deals with animal welfare – NOT rights ) as a “shelter, rescue and welfare organization”. You can read the letter sent to the USDA here (pdf. file).
The U.S. Sportsmen Alliance is the only organization in America primarily concerned with the protection of our rights. That, as you can imagine, costs a small fortune in publishing press releases, lobbying politicians and so on. Now how much better, financially speaking and for clout would it be if the USSA could collaborate with other organizations and with that show unity and a force to be reckoned with?
I have often said this and will keep on saying it: If we hunters and our organizations would stand up as a united force, the animal rights groups wouldn’t have a leg to stand on. In fact they would disappear practically over night. That’s how much power and strength we, as a unified community, could generate. We would be so influential that no politician could afford to ignore us. Animal rights activists are a dwindling minority. Compared to hunter numbers they are not even a speck of dust. Yet what makes them strong is unity, they speak as one and adhere to one agenda. Unlike hunters where it seems that each segment has its own agenda and at the drop of hat will be ready to bash another hunter segment if it suits their agenda.
As blogging becomes more popular I see an opportunity that we bloggers can- and should- take advantage of to play our part in spreading and promoting hunting. The way blogs are viewed by search engines gives us a likelier chance of been read by non-hunters than a hunting forum or hunting website. When I check my statistics I regularly see visitors that came to my blogs that didn’t specifically search for hunting. I wrote an article about one such visitor and how I was able to follow him back where he came from and what happened. It is interesting reading and shows perfectly how we can influence opinions. In that particular case it was an animal rights activist and I am happy that my blog made him think and abandon the animal rights cause.
It seems that hunting organizations have not yet discovered the merits of blogs. Enter the outdoor bloggers. Many of us are often hit with what we refer to as “writers block”. One solution: how about contacting hunting organizations and asking them to provide you with material, or simply subscribe to e-newsletters from different organizations and you will regularly be updated with information you can write about on your blog.
There are also other avenues a blogger can pursue that are much closer to home. You could contact your local hunting organizations and clubs and offer to write about them in your local newspaper. Of course you also can contact your local newspaper and inquire about an outdoor column that you could write for them. There are many ways we can reach out to society and set the record about hunting and hunters straight.
Tags: Promote Hunting, Outdoor Bloggers Summit, Exposing Animal Rights, Hunting Organizations
Thursday, May 01, 2008
Why do we hunt?
© By Othmar Vohringer
Arthur from the Simply Outdoors blog posted an interesting article about promoting hunting. The idea came from an article written by Shane Mahoney, Head of Research for the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador.
In his article Mahoney outlines the agendas of hunters and anti hunters and how they represent them to the public. He summarizes that while the animal rights put a human perspective on the issue, the hunters seem to miss this part of their argument completely. While it is important to state that hunting does have many benefits to wildlife conservation, society and the economy, it is also, if not more so, important to explain why we engage in hunting. What do we get personally out of hunting?
This is an important point with which I have to fully agree with Mahoney and Arthur. In fact I have often written about the human aspect of hunting. It is my belief that by just stating the obvious and cold facts of hunting doesn’t do us a great service. I even would go as far as to say that doing only this lets us appear as emotionless, perhaps even cold blooded to a point.
On the other hand if we explain to people why it is that we hunt and what our feelings are we appear as humans and thus sound believable because people can relate to us personally. It is very likely that the lack of the human factor, feelings and motivations, in our explanations makes it so difficult to explain to a non-hunter what hunting is all about and why we hunt. “I hunt because it contributes to the community and is a proven method to wildlife control” does sound rather impersonal and removed to a non-hunter. It’s also an explanation that leaves more questions than answers.
On the other hand, if I let a non-hunter know my personal motivations and benefits then he might understand and realize that I am a caring person and not the uneducated trigger-happy imbecile that the animal rights and anti hunters portray to be a hunter.
On that note I will leave you with the personal reasons of why I hunt.
Tags: Why Do We Hunt, Simply Outdoors, Promoting The Hunting Heritage
Arthur from the Simply Outdoors blog posted an interesting article about promoting hunting. The idea came from an article written by Shane Mahoney, Head of Research for the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador.
In his article Mahoney outlines the agendas of hunters and anti hunters and how they represent them to the public. He summarizes that while the animal rights put a human perspective on the issue, the hunters seem to miss this part of their argument completely. While it is important to state that hunting does have many benefits to wildlife conservation, society and the economy, it is also, if not more so, important to explain why we engage in hunting. What do we get personally out of hunting?
This is an important point with which I have to fully agree with Mahoney and Arthur. In fact I have often written about the human aspect of hunting. It is my belief that by just stating the obvious and cold facts of hunting doesn’t do us a great service. I even would go as far as to say that doing only this lets us appear as emotionless, perhaps even cold blooded to a point.
On the other hand if we explain to people why it is that we hunt and what our feelings are we appear as humans and thus sound believable because people can relate to us personally. It is very likely that the lack of the human factor, feelings and motivations, in our explanations makes it so difficult to explain to a non-hunter what hunting is all about and why we hunt. “I hunt because it contributes to the community and is a proven method to wildlife control” does sound rather impersonal and removed to a non-hunter. It’s also an explanation that leaves more questions than answers.
On the other hand, if I let a non-hunter know my personal motivations and benefits then he might understand and realize that I am a caring person and not the uneducated trigger-happy imbecile that the animal rights and anti hunters portray to be a hunter.
On that note I will leave you with the personal reasons of why I hunt.
- For me hunting is a way of life. I have grown up in a family of hunters and anglers and do not know any different. To me hunting is not a sport, it is part of who I am as a person and denying that would be to deny part of me and to live a lie.
- Hunting is an important part of our human nature. People are hunters; even the ones that do not hunt animals still have that instinct in them. Recognizing and endorsing this part of our natural make up has made me a more balanced and happier person.
- Although in the modern world there is no requirement to provide food by means of hunting and gathering it still gives me great satisfaction to do so and it brings me closer to my natural roots. Providing food and nourishment through hunting is a skill that needs disciple, patience, endurance and knowledge. Such characteristics also serve a person well in everyday life.
- As a hunter I have learned the skills that once were common to all humans and it gave me a greater understanding of what my place in nature is. I have realized that we are not a separate entity but rather just one small part of nature. This in turn has made me more aware of just how small our earth is and how short our time here is. The realization of this resulted in more respect for what some call God’s creation and others Evolution.
- While shooting an animal is the intended goal of every hunt it is not necessarily the driving force that makes me to go hunting. Being able to forget the chores of everyday life and becoming one with nature, absorbing every intricate detail around me, if only for a few hours, has an overall relaxing and healing effect on me.
- Above all hunting has taught me respect for nature, animals and other humans. And finally hunting has given me enjoyable experiences, camaraderie and memories that I will treasure for the rest of my life.
Tags: Why Do We Hunt, Simply Outdoors, Promoting The Hunting Heritage
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Sierra Club Wants To Be Pro-Hunting
© By Othmar Vohringer
Just recently I got an email from the Sierra Club. It basically states that they are now pro-hunting and to that end have launched a new website called the “Sierra Sportsmen Network”. In celebration of the launch the Sierra Club is holding a hunting and fishing photo contest. The winner of the contest will receive a $500 gift certificate for products from Patagonia or Bass Pro Shop. The panel of judges is made up of representatives from Boone & Crockett Club, Field & Stream Magazine, National Geographic, Sierra Club, the Orion Institute, the National Wildlife Federation, Save our Wild Salmon, and the Federation of Fly Fishers.
Carolyn Mansfield from the Sierra Club, the writer of the email, wrote, “It may surprise you that Sierra Club is reaching out to anglers and hunters…”
Carolyn was right; the message did surprise me. So much so that I had to read it twice to make sure I understood it. Being of a cautious nature I also got highly suspicious about the Sierra Club’s newly found commitment and support of the hunting heritage. Some folks say that I have a memory like an elephant. While this may be a bit of an overstatement I do vividly remember that the Sierra Club not so long ago was one of the forerunners of anti-hunting sentiments.
Here in British Columbia the Sierra Club in cooperation with other anti-hunting and environmental groups, has been instrumental in efforts to curb hunting. In one particular case the Sierra Club was part of several anti hunting groups that purchased several thousand square miles of prime hunting land from the BC government with the sole intent of closing it to hunting. It was not until the last minute, due to hunter pressure, that the provincial government made a special clause stating that the land has to stay open to management hunting.
With that background information of the Sierra Club’s active anti-hunting efforts and close association with anti-hunting organizations such as the notorious Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and the David Suzuki Foundation I had every reason to be highly suspicious about the motives behind the change of heart of the Sierra Club.
The least I wanted to do before I wrote on my blog about it was to investigate for myself and not just take the situation as written in an email. To many times in the past anti-hunting organizations have engaged in setting traps for hunters by pretending that they support hunting or fishing.
Over the last several days I investigated as well as I could. I started by picking the Sierra Sportsmen Network’s website apart looking for any anti hunting agenda obvious or hidden. The first link “take action” lead me to what I thought must be an anti-hunting message. “Help to Save the Polar Bears” banner is featured right at the top of that page. Fortunately it turned out to be a petition in support of the Markey Bill (H.R. 5058) and the Kerry Bill (S. 2568) that would stop the oil drilling in the artic.
Further investigation of the Sierra Sportsmen Network website and the Sierra Club website (once full with anti hunting sentiments) showed that there isn’t anything that could be construed as anti-hunting. The Sierra Club seems to have had a genuine change of heart and now fully endorses the hunting heritage.
What made them change?
My guess is as good as yours, but this is what I think happened: The Sierra Club perhaps had a big change at the helm. At least that is what I gather from reading an article written by Captain Paul Watson, the head honcho of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, who recently has been arrested by Canadian Police. He and his crew had attempted to ram his ship into the seal hunters. Among other violations of international law at sea he has also attempted ramming his ship purposely into another ship with the intent to sink it and is also accused of assault and threatening to kill people.
In the article, which is filled with the usual diatribe of calling hunters perverted killers equal to rapists and child molesters, he also bemoans the fact that the Sierra Club now endorses “Killers over Advocates for Life and Nature” and that this is the reason why he resigned from the Sierra Club making the following statement.
I welcome the Sierra Club as ally and voice for the hunters. Having an organization on our side of the reputation the Sierra Club enjoys in society is a big bonus for us. Since the Sierra Club is not a hunter organization per say their support of us could carry more credibility in public and at government levels.
Here is what I would like to see done by the Sierra Club in celebration of this new coalition with hunters and anglers: that the Sierra Club puts its best foot forward in future in an effort to undo the hunting restrictions of which they were instrumental in placing on the hunters of British Columbia and elsewhere in North America.
Help us to open the land it lobbied to be closed to hunting. Publicly renounce its former anti-hunting sentiments and distance itself from all anti-hunting organizations that it previously endorsed or that endorsed the Sierra club.
If the Sierra Club can do that then I am fully satisfied that they are a full supporter of the hunting heritage, and I just might sign up as a member of the Sierra Club to show them my active support in return. I have taken the first step of trust and submitted a few pictures to the Sierra Sportsmen Network photo contest .
There are other fine articles about the new agenda of the Sierra Club written by fellow outdoor bloggers. Phillip at the Hog Blog wrote An Unlikely Ally Appears - or An Old Friend Returns? and Jeff from theLow Country Hunting blog wrote Sierra Club Reaches Out to Hunters with new Website; Should we Support Them?
I am looking forward to reading the comments and opinions readers of this blog have about the Sierra Club’s evident endorsement of our cherished hunting heritage.
Tags: Sierra Club, Sierra Sportsmen Network, Hunting and Conservation, Sea Shepard, Hunting and Nature Stewardship, Sierra Club Endorses Hunitng
Just recently I got an email from the Sierra Club. It basically states that they are now pro-hunting and to that end have launched a new website called the “Sierra Sportsmen Network”. In celebration of the launch the Sierra Club is holding a hunting and fishing photo contest. The winner of the contest will receive a $500 gift certificate for products from Patagonia or Bass Pro Shop. The panel of judges is made up of representatives from Boone & Crockett Club, Field & Stream Magazine, National Geographic, Sierra Club, the Orion Institute, the National Wildlife Federation, Save our Wild Salmon, and the Federation of Fly Fishers.Carolyn Mansfield from the Sierra Club, the writer of the email, wrote, “It may surprise you that Sierra Club is reaching out to anglers and hunters…”
Carolyn was right; the message did surprise me. So much so that I had to read it twice to make sure I understood it. Being of a cautious nature I also got highly suspicious about the Sierra Club’s newly found commitment and support of the hunting heritage. Some folks say that I have a memory like an elephant. While this may be a bit of an overstatement I do vividly remember that the Sierra Club not so long ago was one of the forerunners of anti-hunting sentiments.
Here in British Columbia the Sierra Club in cooperation with other anti-hunting and environmental groups, has been instrumental in efforts to curb hunting. In one particular case the Sierra Club was part of several anti hunting groups that purchased several thousand square miles of prime hunting land from the BC government with the sole intent of closing it to hunting. It was not until the last minute, due to hunter pressure, that the provincial government made a special clause stating that the land has to stay open to management hunting.
With that background information of the Sierra Club’s active anti-hunting efforts and close association with anti-hunting organizations such as the notorious Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and the David Suzuki Foundation I had every reason to be highly suspicious about the motives behind the change of heart of the Sierra Club.
The least I wanted to do before I wrote on my blog about it was to investigate for myself and not just take the situation as written in an email. To many times in the past anti-hunting organizations have engaged in setting traps for hunters by pretending that they support hunting or fishing.
Over the last several days I investigated as well as I could. I started by picking the Sierra Sportsmen Network’s website apart looking for any anti hunting agenda obvious or hidden. The first link “take action” lead me to what I thought must be an anti-hunting message. “Help to Save the Polar Bears” banner is featured right at the top of that page. Fortunately it turned out to be a petition in support of the Markey Bill (H.R. 5058) and the Kerry Bill (S. 2568) that would stop the oil drilling in the artic.
Further investigation of the Sierra Sportsmen Network website and the Sierra Club website (once full with anti hunting sentiments) showed that there isn’t anything that could be construed as anti-hunting. The Sierra Club seems to have had a genuine change of heart and now fully endorses the hunting heritage.
What made them change?
My guess is as good as yours, but this is what I think happened: The Sierra Club perhaps had a big change at the helm. At least that is what I gather from reading an article written by Captain Paul Watson, the head honcho of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, who recently has been arrested by Canadian Police. He and his crew had attempted to ram his ship into the seal hunters. Among other violations of international law at sea he has also attempted ramming his ship purposely into another ship with the intent to sink it and is also accused of assault and threatening to kill people.
In the article, which is filled with the usual diatribe of calling hunters perverted killers equal to rapists and child molesters, he also bemoans the fact that the Sierra Club now endorses “Killers over Advocates for Life and Nature” and that this is the reason why he resigned from the Sierra Club making the following statement.
“Of the few who were critical of my anti-hunting position, they reportedly took offence to my remarks as being anti-hunting (of course they were) and they insisted that hunters were a strong conservation lobby and thus essential to protecting wildlife and wildlife habitats. I probably should have been more definitive of my position. Instead of stating that I was anti-hunting or opposed to hunters, I should have said that I am anti-killing and opposed to killers.”If a man like Captain Paul Watson, possessed with a hatred for everyone that does not share his views and who does not shy back from committing crime to achieve his twisted political agenda, turns his back on the Sierra Club and writes such a hateful and dehumanizing article against hunters and the Sierra Club, satisfies me that the Sierra Club indeed had a change of heart. Finally they have realized that hunters are the true conservationists that, unlike many others, put their money where their mouth is.
I welcome the Sierra Club as ally and voice for the hunters. Having an organization on our side of the reputation the Sierra Club enjoys in society is a big bonus for us. Since the Sierra Club is not a hunter organization per say their support of us could carry more credibility in public and at government levels.
Here is what I would like to see done by the Sierra Club in celebration of this new coalition with hunters and anglers: that the Sierra Club puts its best foot forward in future in an effort to undo the hunting restrictions of which they were instrumental in placing on the hunters of British Columbia and elsewhere in North America.
Help us to open the land it lobbied to be closed to hunting. Publicly renounce its former anti-hunting sentiments and distance itself from all anti-hunting organizations that it previously endorsed or that endorsed the Sierra club.
If the Sierra Club can do that then I am fully satisfied that they are a full supporter of the hunting heritage, and I just might sign up as a member of the Sierra Club to show them my active support in return. I have taken the first step of trust and submitted a few pictures to the Sierra Sportsmen Network photo contest .
There are other fine articles about the new agenda of the Sierra Club written by fellow outdoor bloggers. Phillip at the Hog Blog wrote An Unlikely Ally Appears - or An Old Friend Returns? and Jeff from theLow Country Hunting blog wrote Sierra Club Reaches Out to Hunters with new Website; Should we Support Them?
I am looking forward to reading the comments and opinions readers of this blog have about the Sierra Club’s evident endorsement of our cherished hunting heritage.
Tags: Sierra Club, Sierra Sportsmen Network, Hunting and Conservation, Sea Shepard, Hunting and Nature Stewardship, Sierra Club Endorses Hunitng
Friday, September 28, 2007
Explaining hunting to non-hunters
Today I found the following article that I want to share with you all. It is a very well written piece, explaining what hunting means to most of us. Enjoy!
Explaining hunting to non-hunters
By Ball Gary
Read the full article here>
Explaining hunting to non-hunters
By Ball Gary
A man I admire very much, a passionate hunter, wildlife scientist, scholar and teacher perhaps sums it all up best in a line which ends virtually all of his correspondence, e-mail or snail-mail.
He writes: "For those who understand, no explanation is necessary and for those who do not, none is possible."
This is a pretty blunt encapsulation of the thinking hunter's dilemma. How do we explain hunting to non-hunters?
I've spent a lot of time in my life trying to explain the gap which divides those of us who hunt and those who do not hunt. I'm not sure that I have had any success at all, despite all that I have written. Almost invariably, those who don't like hunting focus on killing, on taking the life of a living creature. When I try to explain hunting, I focus on almost everything but the actual killing. To kill or not to kill is the question which divides us, and one which will likely continue to divide us.
I am the descendant of generation upon generation of successful hunters. When I hunt, I connect in a deliberate and conscious way with my ancestors, my heritage and my environment. I am the only creature in the planet's food chain capable of making a reasoned decision to take or to spare the life of another creature. I am the only predator in the ecosystem with a rational understanding of my impact upon that system. I am the only predator capable of deliberately choosing to assist in the survival of another species. I make those choices because I am a hunter, because I am connected with my ecosystem in the most intimate way, through the cycle of life, death and rebirth.
I know first hand where the meat on my table comes from.
I am not isolated from the food chain by an assembly line of hired hands: producers, slaughterhouse workers, butchers, packers, truckers and supermarket owners. I am aware of how and why wild things die.
Read the full article here>
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