At the recent 25th annual Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Convention held in Fort Worth, Texas, David and Carman Forbes, co-owners of Hunter's Specialties, were honored as the Conservationists of the Year.

"The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Conservationist of the Year Award recognizes individuals who we believe have made a difference for wildlife on a national scale - people who are making the world a better place for future generations," said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO.

"We couldn't be more honored and excited," said the Forbes' upon hearing the news. "Supporting conservation and hunting is simply the right thing to do. Without industry support and the tireless efforts of organizations such as the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, sportsmen will find fewer and fewer opportunities to hunt. We must all work together to protect our heritage."

David and Carman's personal and corporate support for RMEF and other conservation organizations and efforts include donating over $250,000 to the Elk Foundation through their sponsorships of the annual 'Volunteer Appreciation Night' at Elk Camp, 'Great Elk Tour,' and a co-marketing elk call royalty program as a licensee of the Elk Foundation. They have achieved the Platinum Medallion recognition status in the Business Partners in Conservation program and are a consistent advertiser in BUGLE magazine.

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- The National Shooting Sports Foundation has stepped up in a big way to help save a portion of the nation's most important waterfowl breeding grounds by contributing $285,200 to Ducks Unlimited's "Rescue the Duck Factory" campaign.

Approved by the NSSF's Board of Governors at its annual meeting, the grant will help stop native prairie grassland from being turned into cropland, a process that destroys habitat that ducks and other wildlife depend on to breed and thrive. These grasslands are being threatened because of record-high commodity prices driven by the global demand for food and corn-based ethanol production.

"Ducks Unlimited and the National Shooting Sports Foundation are natural partners -- after all, hunters are the original conservationists," said Don Young, executive vice president for Ducks Unlimited. "This grant to 'Rescue the Duck Factory' will go a long way to protecting the most important waterfowl breeding area in the world, and will continue the proud waterfowling and conservation traditions that our organizations embody."

Al Morris, a member of the Hunter's Specialties Pro Staff, emerged from a pack of professional callers at the 25th Anniversary Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation World Elk Calling Championships with the first place crown in the Professional Division.

"This is an awesome feeling," said Morris. "I have had several second and third place finishes at the World Championships over the years, so to finally win first place is a dream come true. As always, there was another tough field of competitors this year. All my years of hunting, guiding and entering calling contests have really paid off."

Contestants in the professional division are required to make specific calls such as cow and calf calls, barks, whistles, growls and screaming bugles before a panel of judges. Each contestant is then given 60 seconds for free-style cow and bull calls.

"The new Infinity Latex that we're using in our Wayne Carlton's Calls has really helped me to make quality elk sounds," said Morris. "It's so consistent and durable that I don't have to worry about the sound of my calls changing in the middle of a competition."  

"We're excited for Al," said Hunter's Specialties co-owners David and Carman Forbes. "We've been a big supporter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation over the years and the great conservation work they do. It's special to see one of our own do so well in the competition."

The World Elk Calling Championships are held to help raise awareness of elk habitat and conservation initiatives of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. To date, the RMEF has helped to protect or enhance more than 5.5 million acres. Winners receive prizes ranging from $500.00 up to $2500.00 for first place.

For more information, log onto the Hunter's Specialties website at www.hunterspec.com.

By: Taylor Rather

It was February 28th and we were headed to the Fisherville Sportsmen Show. A friend of ours went last year and said it was an EXCELLENT show. We packed the gear for our upcoming interviews and headed out the door early that day.

While driving down the road, we saw many turkeys in the fields. In one field, there were at least 15 turkeys and the majority were Jakes and gobbler’s. I can’t wait for spring gobbler season!

Finally, after a few hours, we arrived to find a HUGE line of waiting people. After waiting, we finally got in and we quickly located the Hunters Helping Kids booth. While talking to Dennis Campbell, a very special person walked by that I had been dying to meet. It was Ronnie "Cuz" Strickland! Dennis quickly approached him, introduced me, and we asked if I could interview him for HuntingLife.com. He was excited to hear that I was involved with HuntingLife.com and Hunters Helping Kids and he delightfully replied yes.

We setup in front=2 0of the Hunters Helping Kids booth and prepared for the interview. It was the first interview that day and I was pretty nervous! He told me that I should just be myself and pretend that the camera is not there. During the interview he told me about  when his father took him hunting and that some of his most memorable hunts were when his children took their first turkeys.

Saint Paul, Minn. – The Mississippi Longtails Chapter of Pheasants Forever (PF)  will host the 2nd Annual Randall L. Johnson Memorial Build a Wildlife Area Sporting Clays Shoot on Saturday, March 28th at the South St Paul Rod & Gun Club. The event is open to all interested shooters, and all proceeds will go to Minnesota's Build a Wildlife Area campaign, which helps acquire land for public hunting and outdoor recreation activities.

This year, the Mississippi Longtails chapter will make its Build a Wildlife Area campaign contribution in honor of Mike "The Admiral" Kennedy, chapter member and a champion of conservation who passed away last year. The Randall L. Johnson Memorial Build a Wildlife Area Sporting Clays Shoot is named after Randall Johnson, a longtime PF supporter who passed away in 2007.

The Build a Wildlife Area campaign is unique in that all donations are tripled through matching grants from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Once matched, those dollars will be used by Pheasants Forever to acquire land critical as wildlife habitat. The land will then be turned over to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources or U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for management, and opened to the public.

Lincoln, Kan. – Pheasants Forever (PF) and Quail Forever (QF) announce Devon Walter of Lincoln, Kansas, as the organization's new regional representative for western Kansas. Walter's primary duties with PF/QF will include starting and servicing chapters and members in the region to enhance the organization's wildlife habitat mission.

Walter will advise chapters in raising and expending funds on wildlife habitat and conservation education. He will also work with local, state, and federal natural resource agencies on behalf of PF/QF chapters in western Kansas. "You won't have to be around Devon for very long to realize that his passion for wildlife and the mission of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever runs very deep," said Rick Young, PF/QF VP of Field Operations, "That passion will help engage more people in our mission in an area where there is a great deal of potential for habitat projects, particularly those that benefit quail."

Walter joins PF/QF after most recently serving as the Academic Dean at the St. John's Military School in Salina, Kansas. In addition to his career in education and his leadership experience in coaching and capital fundraising, Walter's diverse background includes involvement in his family's farm near Lincoln. He also recently worked for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks assisting with fish and wildlife habitat work.

Jim Moss, the man who developed the new Hunter's Specialties Ring Zone call, was recently interviewed  about how the call was developed.
 
Q: "Jim, I understand there is some solid scientific research behind the development of the Ring Zone call. What gave you the idea to look into how a turkey hears?"
 
A: "I'm a surgeon by trade and a turkey hunter at heart", said Moss. "I guess it's natural for me to want to know how things work. I was hunting in south-central Missouri a few years ago, when I had to quickly set up to try and call in a bird that popped over a hill in front of me. The turkey got away, and afterwards I realized I had a real "death grip" on the slate call I was using because I was so excited. That got me started looking at how pressure on a call influences the sound, as well as how changes in the call itself could effect the quality of the sounds being produced."
 
Q: "How did you go about gathering your information?"
 
A: "I looked at the actual sound a hen makes in a couple of ways. The first is with oscilloscope and the other was using a technique called frequency spectrum analysis. Both methods produce a graph of the sound that you can see. The research shows that turkeys hear best in the 750-2100 Hz range. At the high frequencies produced by some calls in the 15,000 Hz range, turkeys are virtually deaf. Once I had this data, it was a matter of finding a way to make the call closely match the frequency produced by the real hen turkey."
 
Q: "What were some of the things you tried?"
 
A: "I experimented with different friction surfaces, the sounding board, wall thickness and the sound holes. It seemed thin walls produced a truer sound, but I was still not where I wanted to be. It was apparent that the pressure of holding the call in your hand was having a bad effect on the sound. When I came up with the idea of adding a ring around the call, the quality increased dramatically."
 
Q: "Once you had the call tuned to your satisfaction, what did you do?"
 
A: "I had several prototypes produced for my friends to try and the response was overwhelmingly positive. I decided to apply for a patent and look for someone to produce the call. After making several inquiries, the advice I heard the most was to take it to Hunter's Specialties. They were able to fine tune the design and produce the call in a slate, ceramic and Starfire Crystal version. The Hunter's Specialties Pro Staff used the calls all last year during the spring turkey season and the results proved we had a winner."  
 
For more information, log onto the Hunter's Specialties website at www.hunterspec.com, write to 6000 Huntington Court NE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52402, or call a Consumer Service Specialist at 319-395-0321

Loudoun County, Virginia- A joint illegal hunting investigation between the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office and the Virginia Department of Game & Inland Fisheries has led to two more arrests. Items seized in the investigation include: numerous deer carcasses, 78 sets of deer antlers, 72 turkey beards, three firearms and the claws of two federally protected birds.  

Jason Andrew Austin, 28, and Josh Dean Pratt, 23, both of Leesburg, were charged this month in connection with a suspected poaching ring. Austin ischarged with three counts of unlawful possession of a wild animal, four counts of unlawfully killing a deer, three counts of discharging a weapon in or across a road, two counts of taking game during the closed season, and hunting deer with sights after dark. Austin also faces federal game violations for possession of hawk claws. Pratt is charged with three counts of unlawfully killing a deer, three counts of unlawful possession of wildlife, conspiracy to kill wild game, and two counts of discharging a weapon in or across a road, and taking game during the closed season.     

Back on November 29, 2008, Loudoun Deputies responded to a hunting complaint in the area of Rosefinch Circle in the Lucketts, VA area around 9:50 p.m. A resident reported several subjects were shooting deer. The resident confronted the men who left the scene in a dark colored truck.   

Shortly before 11 p.m. a Sheriff's Deputy located a vehicle matching the description of the vehicle in the hunting complaint. A traffic stop was initiated in the area of Loyalty Road and Hannah Drive. Inside the cab and the bed of the vehicle were signs of recent hunting activity. The driver of the vehicle, Joseph A. Hobbie, 35, of Martinsburg, WV, was charged with DUI,unlawful possession of wildlife, and obtaining a hunting license under false pretenses (held a VA resident license).  

A Virginia Conservation Police Officer was called to assist in the investigation. During the course of the investigation nine deer carcasses possibly connected to the case were located at a residence in the 41800 block of Stumptown Road in Leesburg. The deer were all in the process of being prepared. 

The investigation continued and in December 2008 a search warrant was conducted on a home on Barnhouse Place in Leesburg, VA. Items located in the home included 78 sets of deer antlers, 71 turkey beards, two firearms, pictures and documents, three hawk claws and four partially-white deer hides. A second search warrant was conducted on a home on Spinks Ferry Road.Items located in the home included packaged venison and other deer parts from at least seven different deer, pictures and documents and two picturecell phones.  

The venison recovered from the homes on Stumptown Road and Spinks Ferry Roadwere taken to a private butcher shop and turned over to Hunters for theHungry.

Following House’s failure to pass bill, Senate vote furthers conservation of landscapes treasured by sportsmen and crucial to fish and wildlife

WASHINGTON – The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership today welcomed a U.S. Senate vote meant to ensure final passage of a public-lands bill that includes numerous measures of importance to fish and wildlife habitat and hunting and fishing. The Senate this afternoon voted 77-20 in favor of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act, a package of more than 150 public lands, water and resources bills.

Initially passed by the Senate in January in a 74-21 vote following months of wrangling, the omnibus bill was rejected by the U.S. House last week in a closely contested vote. Senate Democrats subsequently reintroduced the measure in an effort to facilitate its passage and streamline the House approval process. Today’s Senate vote enables the House to approve the legislation with only a simple majority vote. The House could reconsider it as early as next week.

Measures in the bill of particular significance to hunters and anglers include the Wyoming Range Legacy Act and National Landscape Conservation System, both of which enable citizens’ continued enjoyment of sporting opportunities on public lands in the American West. Passage of the Wyoming Range Legacy Act would prohibit further energy leasing on 1.2 million acres of prime big-game habitat and native trout waters and permit conservation groups to buy and retire existing energy leases.

The Men's Journal did an amazing job of covering the Bristol Bay and Pebble Mine situation...

Endangered Alaska, by Daniel Duane

If you want to contribute to this amazing cause to protect Bristol Bay and have a chance to go to Bristol Bay on a 10 day Moose Hunt please support the Sportsman's Alliance for Alaska.

Bristol Bay Hunt Promotion