The day finally came, we were taking my Mom hunting for her first time. When morning came she was the first one up. She told us to get up before she changed her mind and decide to crawl back in bed for more sleep.

She was ready to go.  Dad had her suited up to keep her warm, because it was very cold outside.  We got in the truck and headed out.  She said she really wanted to harvest a turkey first before a deer, but if the Big One steps out, it was hers.

We walked in the woods and found a great spot next to a tree.  Dad made sure Mom had the best seat.  He brought her a small folding chair to sit on so she could lean back on the tree and be comfortable.  She sat in the middle and Dad and I sat on each side.  We explained to her not to make quick movements if we heard something.  As the sun was coming up, Dad and I did some turkey calls trying to call in a turkey for her.  She heard something moving, but it was only a squirrel playing around.  She was getting excited!

Large majorities of hunters and anglers say they are more likely to buy products from companies that support wildlife and fisheries conservation efforts, according to a recent survey. Hunters and anglers also perceive specific firms as being particularly strong in their support for conservation. 

In separate November 2008 surveys (one for hunters and the other for anglers), respondents were asked if they would be more or less likely to buy from companies that support conservation of wildlife and fisheries resources. A significant 67% of hunters and 52% of anglers stated that they are “much more likely” to buy products from conservation-supporting companies. A further 22% of hunters and 29% of anglers describe themselves as “slightly more likely” to buy products from such companies.
 
Only 7% of hunters and 14% of anglers stated that companies’ support for conservation had no influence either way on their purchasing decisions.

READ MORE...

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Farley Hicks of Elko, Nev., was recently elected the Mule Deer Foundation’s (MDF) Chairman of the Board at their December meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah. Hicks was first elected to the Board in 2007. He has been involved with MDF since the 1990’s as a committee member with the Great Basin Chapter in Elko and later served as banquet co-chair and chapter chairman. Hicks was elected as Nevada’s first State Volunteer Chair and also filled in as acting Regional Field Director for Nevada.

Farley and his wife Linda moved to Nevada in 1988 where he expanded his career in the mining industry. Employed by Barrick Gold Mining, Hicks commented, “I am very fortunate to work for an environmentally friendly and responsible company that strongly supports habitat conservation.”

READ MORE...

EDGEFIELD, S.C. - Tom Rodgers, founder of the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF), passed away Dec. 25 at the Edgefield County Hospital after a long battle with cancer. Rodgers, 64, was survived by his mother, his son Mark and two sisters.

As the NWTF ends its 35th anniversary celebration, it also remembers the man who started it all in Fredericksburg, Va.

"Tom is the reason the Federation is here, working daily to promote wildlife conservation and preserve North America's hunting heritage", said James Earl Kennamer, Ph.D., the NWTF's chief conservation officer."The organization is reflecting on its rich history and honoring the man who started it all. He was a great friend personally, a great asset for wildlife and he'll be greatly missed."

READ MORE....

Hunting big game in America has changed over the last 30 years.  When I did my first big game hunt for Mule Deer in California the area we hunted was X-9 on the Eastern side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.  X-9 at that time was a huge unit and the tag was an over the counter tag that anyone could get.  Today, that unit is a hard to draw lottery tag and the unit is broken into several sub units that if you are lucky, you can get drawn for every 5 to 6 years as a resident and every 7 to 10 years as a non-resident.

The reality is that if you want to get drawn in a Western state where you will have high opportunity at a trophy tag or you are looking to hunt a species like sheep, Mountain Goat or Moose you have to put in for the draw and build up preference points.  Even states like Iowa and Kansas are getting tough to draw in prime whitetail areas.  Elk and Deer in areas of certain states where the animals are big and known to be trophy units are almost impossible to draw without several years of preference points.

Every state has different rules and the application process is complex.  There are several agencies out there though that can help you navigate the Western application process. The reality is that if you want to hunt you have to apply

Garth and Jason Carter the entire team are some of the best  and their service is a breeze to use.  For the past 12 years Carter's Application Service and the team have put out The Huntin Fool magazine and provided advice to tens of 1000' of customers.  For the last several years, I have been a member of The Huntin Fool and I have used their team to apply for all of my Western big game draws.  Because of those preference points, during 2010 I am going to be able to have a real opportunity to start applying for some fantastic units to hunt Mule deer, Elk and Antelope and in the next several years, I might have a good shot at some Moose tags as well as Mountain Goat and Sheep.

The Truest Statement you will ever hear: 

If you want to hunt these units you MUST, APPLY, APPLY, APPLY!!!!

The Huntin Fool membership provides you with a one year magazine which in an of itself is worth every penny that you pay, coupled with that the magazine is filled Fantastic hunting stories, Great gear reviews.  Your membership provides you access to the application service and the costs are very reasonable for the work they do to ensure that your application is accurate and submitted on time.  Your membership also gets you a access to a drawing for some pretty great hunts and some nice gear.

Over the past serveral years the team at Huntin Fool has been very communicative with me, honest, open and extremely professional in working with me and I have been happy knowing that they are taking care of my applications with that same professionalism.  I have been happy to get their magazine and i read it every month......

I Fully Endorse....Huntin Fool

If you choose to use them to handle your Western Big Game Applications or just to get there magazine every year then please let them know that I sent you.  You will get a ticket into their drawing for a big game hunt and I will get a ticket as well.  I appreciate the ticket because any hunts I get the chance to win or any gear that I get to use is just more opportunity for me to write and share knowledge with all of you.  That being said, I am certainly not going to endorse someone just because they give me a raffle ticket, I endorse this service because after all of the research that I have done, THEY ARE THE BEST, Period.

Click on the link below and you can send a solider songs for their MP3 player.  It only takes a minute of your time and you can send more than one.

As you sit warm and safe by the fire this Christmas, give a soldier in Afghanistan or Iraq a small gift at no cost to you and a short message of thanks!!!  

http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/specials/soldier/sendasong.shtml

SUPPORT OUR TROOPS AND SHOW THEM WE CARE!!!!

Cody, Wyoming USA - December 22, 2008
   
Wild Sheep Need Your Help!For more than 30 years the Wild Sheep Foundation has been engaged in federal land policy issues that promote restoration of wild sheep and to their native habitats.

The most important piece of policy that could ensure the future existence of wild sheep on federally managed lands is being considered in Idaho. The U.S. Forest Service, through the Payette National Forest Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS), is considering reducing domestic sheep grazing in wild sheep habitats – to further enhance the recovery of wild sheep. However, new policy will not be decided until the public comment period has ended, which has been extended to March 3, 2009.

It is extremely important that you let the Payette National Forest know about your support for bighorn sheep. Your comments are needed – this is your chance to help “Put & Keep Wild Sheep on the Mountain!”

Helena, Mont. – December 22, 2008 – Starting in March 2009, Montana Pheasants Forever (PF) will be giving away 52 guns – one per week for an entire year – in an effort to increase funding for the organization's upland habitat work in the state. Tickets for the raffle, which is being supported by Sportsman's Warehouse stores, are on sale now for $50 each. Only 1,200 tickets will be sold, or one gun for every 23 tickets sold!

The impressive gun list includes firearms by Weatherby, Benelli and Browning retailing in the $700 to $1,500 range. Winning ticket numbers will be placed back into the pool of tickets, so by purchasing just one ticket, you'll have a chance to win every week! To purchase tickets for the Montana PF 52-gun raffle, contact Dan Hare, PF Regional Wildlife Biologist in the state, at (406)465-8126 or via e-mail at dhare@pheasantsforever.org or Jon Lee, President of the Five Valleys Chapter of Pheasants Forever in Missoula, Montana, at (406)396-1800 or Jon@MontanaPF.org. For more information and a complete gun list, log onto www.MontanaPF.org.

One of the nation's leading outdoor magazines has for the second straight year identified 25 exceptional individuals as nominees for their prestigious Conservationist of the Year Award.

This year, Shane Mahoney, B&C Professional member and one of the voice talents for the Boone and Crockett Club’s television series, Leupold Big Game Profiles has the honor of being one of the nominees. Not only has Shane's voice talent enhanced the show, but his input as a man of science and conservation has added greatly to the show’s overall success.

Through his professional life as a biologist, researcher, and lecturer, Shane’s contributions to conservation are unique in that his teachings emphasize the importance of hunting in shaping our essence as human beings and that the issue of conservation should be on par with that of justice, civil rights, poverty, and education.

Click here to read Shane Mahoney's bio as well as the bios of the other nominees, and vote for your favorite.

It has long been known that we at HuntingLife.com are huge fans of Shane Mahoney and we encourage you all to get out there and vote for him.  I know he is the not the most popular in this great list of people but he has done a tremendous amount of work for conservation and for teaching the North American Conservation Model