This season I was lucky enough to test out Primos new Stake Out Ground Blind, an easy to use, lightweight, space convenient blind that fits easily into your turkey vest. The exclusive Bricaid material is water, UV, mold, and mildew resistant and is die-cut for an extremely realistic 3D camo effect. It has many different shades of woodland colors that match your surroundings. Five collapsible fiberglass poles push easily into the ground and hold the material tight and upright. Another great quality is that the blind can be set up at different angles, allowing you to squeez into those hard to get to places, and still have sufficient cover. The blind stands at 27 inches in height, which I feel is plenty for ground hunters.

What I like best about this blind is its ease, set up and take down are a breeze, it is quiet and light, the whole deal. The fiberglass rods collapse in half and then you simply roll the blind up and slide it into its bag. It fits into your back vest pocket easily, allowing for an extra hand, which is extremely important for the mobile hunter. In the end this blind is hard to beat for the mobile hunter who needs a space convenient, light, quiet, and quick blind. And even for those who have the luxury of taking time to set up big bulky blinds, I urge you to try the Primos Stake Out Ground Blind.

It was a cold crisp morning and I was up and getting ready to go Turkey hunting. I couldn’t believe it when Mom got out of the bed and started getting reading too. My Dad and I got my sister’s shotgun ready for her to carry; I believe my Dad was more excited than either mom or myself he wanted to go too but was leaving for work. We headed out on our little adventure, all I could think of was,  I hope I can call a turkey in for my Mom. How cool would that be to call in my first bird and have Mom take it.

We headed down the road and mom couldn’t stop talking about how excited she was.  I was nervous; I had never called a turkey into shooting range.  We finally made it to the piece of property that my dad and I knew very well.  We have hunted this place for several years but we’d had little luck when it came to calling turkeys in, every time we went hunting there we heard five or six each morning.  As my mom and I walked down the road to the field we heard a turkey gobble, my mom looked at me and I said we need to hurry. 

We still had to go about 300 yards to the spot I had set up for us.  We finally made it to the spot;   the turkey was still gobbling his head off.  I told my mom to sit and I walked 20 yards out in front of our spot and set up the decoys.  I quickly went back to the row of trees were she was sitting in and sat down next to her.  Little did I know I had made a grave mistake, I sat us in a little row of trees in the middle of the field.  I though the turkey would come out in front us because that’s the direction he was gobbling from.  I told my mom to sit still and started calling.

MISSOULA, Mont.—Wildlife conservation projects in 12 Wyoming counties have been selected to receive grants from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation in 2010.

The new RMEF funding, totaling $335,500, will affect Albany, Big Horn, Carbon, Converse, Fremont, Hot Springs, Lincoln, Natrona, Park, Sheridan, Sublette and Teton counties.

“These grants are possible because of the successful banquets and fundraisers staged over the past year by our Wyoming volunteers—most of whom are elk hunters as well as devoted conservationists,” said David Allen, RMEF president and CEO. “Since 1984, our annual grants have helped complete 408 different projects in Wyoming with a combined value of more than $40 million.”

This past Friday I got an opportunity that most hunters would die for. I got to watch the unfolding, harvesting, and all the emotion that comes with a best friend harvesting his first Gobbler.  After 8 hard years of turkey hunting my best friend Caleb finally took his first Gobbler at 8 steps. The amazement doesn’t stop there he did it all with his grandpa’s old side-by-side 12 gauge. Plus, add a medical walking boot for a high ankle sprain this was truly a hunt for the story books.

After roosting the bird Thursday night I called my old friend up too see if he‘d like to hunt the Friday morning. An hour later and we where unpacking his bags in my bed room floor making sure he had brought everything. We discussed where we would go, what time we were getting up, and the plan of attack for trying to harvest this bird on film. Once all plans were set we drifted off to sleep, only to be woken up 5 hours later to a buzzing alarm clock that started the countdown for our hunt.

Lincoln, Neb. – April 27, 2010 – Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever announce Jerry McDonald of Lincoln, Nebraska, as the organization's new Regional Representative for eastern Nebraska. McDonald's 25-plus years of marketing experience will help strengthen "The Habitat Organization's" Cornhusker conservation mission. 

McDonald will work to start new Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever chapters in eastern Nebraska and assist existing chapters with raising and expending funds on wildlife habitat and conservation education. He will also work with local, state, and federal natural resource agencies on wildlife habitat initiatives. In addition to serving as a point person for local Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever chapters, McDonald will assist in Pheasants Forever's "Reload Nebraska" campaign, created last year to raise $20 million to establish and improve 1.1 million acres of wildlife habitat on private and public land in the state.

"The most important ingredient conservation requires is people with a burning passion for wildlife and the outdoors, and Jerry McDonald has that," said Pete Berthelsen, Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever Senior Field Coordinator and an Elba, Nebraska, resident. "That passion will help engage more people in our mission in an area where there is a great deal of potential for habitat projects."

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- Emphasizing projects designed to reactivate lapsed hunters, introduce more youngsters to hunting and evaluate previously funded efforts, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has awarded Hunting Heritage Partnership grants to seven state wildlife agencies and, for the first time, the regional Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. NSSF is the trade association for the firearms, hunting and shooting sports industry.

A total of $419,150 in grants will be distributed, with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation and the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies each receiving two grants. Now in its eighth year, NSSF’s Hunting Heritage Partnership program has contributed more than $3.7 million in support of projects managed by state natural resource agencies.

“These grants will support effective, pro-hunting projects by state agencies that otherwise may not have been launched because of lack of funding during these challenging times for state economies,” said Steve Sanetti, president of NSSF. “These projects address hunting’s biggest challenges, including access, mentoring and using new media tools to communicate with young hunters.”

Well, it was the end of the second week of Virginia turkey season before I stepped foot in the woods, but I finally got to go to the farm on Saturday morning to chase the eluded long beard. I had worked for three weeks without a day off and the anticipation of this day had been building for weeks.

I had planned on driving up on Friday night after work, but decided to wait until Saturday morning because of all I needed to do at home before heading out. As luck would have it, I slept right through the 4:00 am alarm and got a late start on my two hour drive. By the time I arrived it was already daylight and just before I made it to my farm, a big tom was strutting with a hen only thirty yards from the road. I knew at this point I was behind the eight ball!

I quickly grabbed my vest and gear along with my gun and headed across the hill to where my son had told me the birds had been roosting last week when he was up hunting. About mid-way up the hill I decided to use a call just to see if I could get a response and boy did I ever! A huge tom was already out in the field just on the other side of the knoll and he saw me at the exact time I saw him. Needless to say, he didn't stick around long and I was not equipped to take a 150yrd shot!

My name is Brent Jones and I am from a small town in southern Indiana. I was introduced to hunting at a very young age. My biggest influence into hunting was my grandpa. He was always willing to hunt and fish with me nearly everyday. We spent countless hours in the woods together with the friends that I still am fortunate enough to hunt with today. But after getting some bad news in late December 1996, that my grandpa had cancer, I was totally devastated. I felt that my hunting days would never be the same again. I spent every minute with him from that day until he passed away in February 1997. Then the spring came and fishing season was upon me and I went a few times and I was determined that I would never hunt or fish again. But just knowing that he would not accept that, I struggled and made it through a couple hunting seasons and things started getting easier. Then I made a decision that would have made him proud. I was gonna hunt something, somewhere besides in Jackson County, Indiana. After researching and looking into different species, I decided that I wanted a Rocky Mountain Elk.

ALEXANDRIA, Minn., April 26, 2010 – Ducks Unlimited has begun work enhancing Jennie Lake in Douglas County. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency declared Jennie Lake legally impaired in 2008 because of exceedingly high nutrient levels. A secondary benefit of the enhancement project will be to significantly improve water quality and decrease the nutrient load.
 
The Jennie Lake project is the fifth of eight shallow-lake enhancement projects DU now has under way in Minnesota. These projects are partially funded by a 2009 Outdoor Heritage Fund grant as recommended by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council.

To enhance the 316-acre lake, DU engineered and is installing a water-control structure and electric pump which will allow the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to better manage water levels and improve lake conditions.

“With the warm weather and removal of weight limits on the roads, our contractor, Duininck Brothers Inc., of Willmar, was able to begin work, and we should be able to complete the project ahead of schedule,” said Matt Olson, DU construction manager. “We’ll be working with Runestone Electric in May to run power to the site for the pump, so we should have it running later this summer.”

New Berlin, Wisconsin - Sportsman Channel announced today the launch of their Sportsman App, an innovative iPhone application designed specifically for the American Sportsmen who makes hunting, shooting and fishing an integral part of their lives. This free app is now available at the iPhone App Store and is the first-of-its-kind in the sportsman media space. Users are able to view video clips of previously aired and currently airing Sportsman shows right on their iPhone. Additionally, they can view review information, consult full TV schedules, and email or tweet their favorite content to their friends.

The Sportsman App is compatible with any iPhone or iPod touch with operating system version 3.1.3. The application was designed and developed by Sportsman Channel in cooperation with Brightcove. Sportsman will be launching the app for the iPad very soon, and future apps and new versions will continue to be produced and released.

Visit the iTunes App Store to download and review today! http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sportsman-app/id367832821?mt=8