Obama On Second Amendment. Let The Communities Decide

Obama continues his effort to convince voters that he believes that the Second Amendment gives an individual the right to keep and bear arms but when he further explains in detail what that means, it becomes clear he doesn’t believe an individual or anyone for that matter, has a right to arm themselves.

In an interview with the Chicago Sun Times last week Obama was answering questions more specifically directed at the rising gun violence in Chicago. This is what he had to say about the pending case before the U.S. Supreme Court - Washington, D.C. versus Heller. Read more

“Bastardizing The Hunting Heritage”

Roger Kaseman heads up a group of elitist hunters in North Dakota who believe they are the only ones on earth who understand what hunting and hunting heritage is and should be. As such they are attempting to get a citizen’s initiative on this coming November’s ballot that would outlaw preserve hunting.

There have been debates ongoing in North Dakota over this measure and recently Kasemen was quoted in the In-Forum News saying that hunting in any enclosure for any game animal is unethical and is “bastardizing the hunting heritage”. Read more

Who Wants To Promote Hunting And Fishing Anyway?

I might be a rarity when it comes to the hunting and fishing industry, at least from the perspective of the “consumer”. Hey, I’ll cut right to the chase and come out and say that some? many? most? anglers and hunters aren’t that interested in sharing their fishing holes and highly productive hunting grounds with “outsiders”. Just pretend for the duration of this article that you actually did care and see if you can get beyond your personal feelings long enough to understand some odd reasoning. At least my form of reasoning is having trouble with this. Read more

Buck To Doe Ratios

“There must be at least 100 does for every buck I see in the woods now!” How many times have you heard that exclamation? If you’re like me, more than you care to. Hey, look! We all do our share of complaining, of which the vast majority of it is just complaining out of lack of success or basic knowledge of what you’re seeing, or better yet, what you’re not seeing.

Is it biologically possible to have 100 doe deer for every one buck? Er, um, well……I guess it could be done but I think it would have to be under controlled circumstances with a deliberate intent to skew the ratio far out of balance. I might even be wrong on this and would wager a guess it wouldn’t be a very healthy population of deer if it did exist. Read more

A Supreme Court Ruling On Heller Must Be Quick, Decisive And Specific

Perhaps it’s in anticipation that the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in the District of Columbia vs. Heller case that gun ownership is an individual right and so there is a rush across the country to try to enact stricter gun laws before that happens. This seems to be happening all across the country, from big cities to small towns and in some cases candidates for political office don’t give Americans much promise for a secure future. Read more

Maine And Vermont Right Next Door, Yet Worlds Apart With Deer Management

Maine is tucked up into the far northeast corner of the United States. On its southern boarder is the Atlantic Ocean. Her eastern boarder touches with New Brunswick, Canada and to the north and northwest, Quebec, Canada. About the only boarder of the state that mimics a straight line of any kind is the western boarder that looks over into the state of New Hampshire.

Vermont is not very far away at all. At its farthest reaches of the Northeast Kingdom, the state is separated from Maine by perhaps only 25 miles of New Hampshire. Down south, the distance between Maine and Vermont at its widest point might stretch to 85 miles. Read more

Maine Proposes License Fee Increases

Maine, like a lot of states, is having trouble funding its Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Maine, not necessarily like a lot of states, loves to tax its citizens. Maine is one of the most heavily taxed states in the Union. Maine is coming off one of the most severe winters in history and in parts of the state, the deer herd has been hit very hard. Needless to say, the state has its troubles financially and is faced with decisions on how it is going to fund programs.

The MDIFW is facing a shortage this year in its budget and they are scrambling to find funding. Sen. Bruce Bryant, Committee Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, is proposing an increase in hunting, trapping and fishing license fees by $2.00 per year for residents and $4.00 per year for nonresidents. Read more

Maine Deer Task Force Report

Essentially, it was LD823 of the Maine Legislature that created the Northern and Eastern Maine Deer Task Force. Their mission was to find out why there are very few deer left in Northern and Eastern Maine and make recommendations as to what to do about it. Before anything else is said, the 11 members of this task force where given a commission that others before them had yet to accomplish and the time put into this effort is to be commended. Thank you!

Having said that, brings me back to the main question I have had since I heard of the Deer Task Force’s commission and the task given to them. What can they do that nobody or entity before them has been able to accomplish? Read more

For Sportsmen, Clean Water Restoration Act Goes Too Far

Peyton Knight of the National Center for Public Policy Research is warning sportsmen that the proposed Clean Water Restoration Act sponsored by Representative James Oberstar (D-MN), “would do more to threaten the cherished pastimes of hunters, fishermen and other outdoor enthusiasts than it would to ensure the cleanliness of our nation’s water.”

I’ve written a couple times over the past few months about the CWRA (here and here) but Knight brings to the attention of American sportsmen what could await us should this act be approved. Read more

Obama Very Much Anti-Gun

Talk is cheap and in an election year candidates are famous for promising the world and delivering on nothing promised. Ever since the debate began on the landmark case of District of Columbia vs. Heller, the candidates have, for the most part, avoided much discussion about the case, only to say they support an individual’s right to own a gun.

Heading down the stretch in Pennsylvania’s democratic primary, the issue of guns might have a significant role. While Philadelphia is trying to create similar gun laws, like those in Washington, D.C., the Keystone state has over one million licensed hunters and far more gun owners. Where the candidates stack up on gun issues could determine the outcome of the primary and perhaps even the presidency, as history has shown us. Read more

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