Merry Christmas from Team HuntingLife!

MISSOULA, Mont.—Pennsylvania has broken into a Top 10 list of places to find monster elk, an historic indicator of successful habitat and management efforts. Keeping that conservation momentum going, both at home and across the U.S., is the goal of a newly launched Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation chapter in Bloomsburg/Danville, Pa.

“Elk have roamed the Keystone State since 1913 after a successful restoration effort led by a young Pennsylvania Game Commission, but this is Pennsylvania’s first-ever Top 10 appearance in Boone and Crockett Club records, and that’s a big deal,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO.

The Boone and Crockett Club has kept trophy records of North American game since 1830. In the 169 years preceding 2000, Pennsylvania produced zero record-class elk.

In 2001, Pennsylvania held its first elk hunt in over seven decades. Between then and now, the club’s prestigious records book has gained four bulls from the commonwealth, which ties it with California as America’s 10th most productive trophy elk state in the new millennium. See full lists of Top 10 Boone and Crockett elk states below.

Bogart, Ga. - During a press conference on January 20 at the SHOT Show, QDMA will present the newest edition of the Whitetail Report, a comprehensive look at the status of whitetail populations and whitetail hunting in North America.

Highlighting data collected during the past year, the report focuses on the threats, concerns, successes and challenges that will shape the white-tailed deer's immediate and long-term future-and in turn, that of the entire hunting industry. QDMA's staff of professional wildlife biologists compiled the information as a useful resource for communicators, media members, industry leaders, deer managers, and hunters.

The 2010 Whitetail Report will include current issues and trends in deer management, specifically license sales, hunter effort, state agency budgets, the immunocontraceptive recently licensed for use on free-ranging white-tailed deer, fawn recruitment rates, fawn breeding rates, buck fawn harvest rates, CWD, whitetail predators, and more. The report will also contain a comprehensive analysis of state agency deer management programs.

Often times I am asked what in my opinion is one of the key ingredients to my shooting ability.  Is it good equipment?  Well, partially since I use the very latest recurve bows Hoyt builds and shoot the best Easton arrows I can get.  Is it my bow mechanic?  Partially.  My father sets up every stage bow I have and he's forgotten more about bow tuning than most would ever know.  Practice?  Maybe, I've been shooting a bow since 1971. 
 
My response?  I feel that each of the above factors plays a role but one of the single most important aspects of any style of shooting is "target acquisition."  I don't care how good or bad your vision is, what your method  of shooting is, or how long you have been an archer.  If you aren't effective at target acquisition, you won't be successful in the long run.  Whether you are a 3-D champ, a bowhunter, backyard archer, or someone that enjoys days afield stump shooting, you cannot hit what you cannot see.  And you must be able to do this consistently.
 
This single thing allows me to hit objects as small as a baby aspirin in mid air with an arrow.  I have tuned my eyes, mind and body through years of practice to immediately acquire the target. In the old days they called it, "picking a spot."  It is simple in theory yet hard to master.  I myself am guilty of occasionally staring at a huge set of horns and the whole animal instead of a particular spot.  I miss when I do this and I bet you do too.  You have to be able to shut out everything but where you want your arrow to land.  I think this is a mental and physical exercise.  I cannot rule out the mental side, after all, you have to be able to concentrate. 

Track Em Blood Finding Agent is chemical agent that allows you to see blood on all wild game when out in the field.  It comes with seperate tablets that you mix with window washer fluid in a spray bottle and then head out on our evening track.  The agent works really well and glows blue everytime you find blood.  It is a great back up for hunters to check areas where they think they hit a deer and once you find a blood trail it allows you to see the trail easier and quickly in the dark.

I found the product to be easy to use and simple in design.  i keep a spray bottle in my car and the tablets in my glove box.  I mix the solution after I know I have hit a deer or even think I have hit an animal and need to find the trail.  As a back up agent, it helps knowing that I have that extra little option to find the game I am looking for.

if you do a lot of evening hunting and find tracking in your area to be tough, this may be a great product to add to your arsenal.

http://trackem.co.nr/

 African Indaba Volume 7 Issue 6

Download the Conservation and Hunting Newsletter put together 6 times per year by Gerhard Damm.  If you are interested in hunting Africa or  conservation in Africa you need to subscribe to this great free newsletter.

Through this deer hunting season, I was able to test some great deer scents made by Mastin's Deer Scents.  These scents are top of the line.  They offer cover scents, deer scents, and predator scents.  All of their scents are made with real glands and/or urine.  Just for a little background, Mastin's is based out of New Castle, Indiana.  The owner, Faron Mastin, is a dedicated outdoorsman who spends as much time as possible in the woods every year testing out his products.  Let me tell you, he has had some very evident success!  I was able to test their "Smell Like a Deer" cover scent and their brand new "Buck Reaper" scent.  They are a deadly combination!

The "Smell Like a Deer" helped conceal me many times and works as an attractant as well.  I had numerous deer come in downwind of me and smell the air and start running in!   I used it on my boots on the walk in and sprayed it around my treestand before I climbed up.  It worked the first week of the season and it continues to work through the remainder of the late season.

The "Buck Reaper" is great for using to bring in that dominant buck.  It uses five different glands from a buck.  I used this in scrapes and in combination with the "Smell Like a Deer."  I loved rattling and grunting while using this scent, and we had good luck with it, including having one 10 pointer come in and come right over one of the mock scrapes I made and stop to smell it.  The hairs on his back flared like you wouldn't believe! 

Both of these scents come in a very handy and portable spray bottle, which made it very easy to disperse the scent anywhere I wanted to.  Mastin's offers many easy and clean options with there scents, including scent candles and gel scents. 

If you are looking to add a new weapon to your hunting arsenal, check out Mastin's Deer Scents.  You can find their great products, along with other testimonials and information, online at www.mastinsdeerscents.com.

Washington, DC – TheSafari Club International Foundation (SCIF) is joining with renowned lion expert Dr. Philippe Chardonnet of the International Foundation for Conservation of Wildlife (IFCW)to begin one of the largest national lion conservation projects ever undertaken.
 
The project will include collecting current lion population data in Tanzania, supporting a national lion workshop to be hosted by the Tanzania government, and producing a science-based national lion management plan. Lions are an important component of the African ecosystem. Data from this project will aid in regional management, which is an essential component of ensuring long-term survival of the species across the continent.  
 
“Conservation of the African lion is a major focus of my efforts with SCIF this year,” said SCIF President Dr. Larry Rudolph. “Our hope is that this project applies much needed science to the debate on lion status and management, as opposed to the rhetorical arguments that are often heard from anti-hunting organizations.”

As a young boy growing up in the mountains of Western North Carolina, some of my fondest memories are the times I spent in the woods hunting with my father and grandfather.  Now grown with children of my own, I find the time I get to spend with my children even more precious and truly a gift from God.

My oldest, Trevor, is not almost seventeen and has been hunting with me since he was old enough to walk.  He has grown up before my very eyes and has become a fine young man as well as a very experienced hunter.

Our hunts together this year became even more special as we both became Prostaff with the HuntingLife team and were able to film one of our hunts in November 2009.  This hunt was at one of our favorite places, with Butch and Connie McElwain at Whitetail Creek Outfitters in Cadiz, Kentucky.  Cadiz is in Trigg County and is known for its world class whitetail deer.  It is also the home of David Hale and Harold Knight of Knight & Hale Game Calls and Knight & Hale Ultimate Hunting.