So, I was scanning through the news online this morning like I always do.  At some point, I caught myself reading some stupid entertainment industry gossip column.  I revile that crap, and was shocked and a little puzzled at how the hell I came to be there.  I clicked back to the parent page, and there was my answer… in great big, bold font, serifs and all, was that three-letter word…  SEX.  There were some other words with it, but I knew as soon as I saw the headline why I’d clicked on the article. 

I did a quick review of the articles I’d read, and pretty much had to laugh at the browsing history.  Besides the “real”, current news stories, there were three keywords common to almost every article I read:

1. Sex
2. Guns
3. Hunting

Is that revelatory or what? 

Of course, this kicked off a little introspection (not always a bad thing, but not always particularly constructive either).  Was it just me?  Am I simply a fixated hedonist, drawn in by seductive intimations of pleasure and satisfaction on the inside pages of electronic newspapers and magazines?  Or is there something bigger than me going on here?

I think I know the answer, of course.  It’s not just me.  

The Marketing industry has the human psyche nailed, and they manipulate us like marionettes.  We’re pretty complicated creatures, but we’ve been studying ourselves and our selves for so long now that there just aren’t that many mysteries left… especially when it comes to why we do the things we do.  Our motivations, by and large, are pretty transparent.

Sex sells.  Of course it’s become an insidious cliché, but it’s the truth and everyone who wants to capture your attention knows it.  Stick a little sex on a billboard, and folks will practically crash their cars to see what they might be missing.  Antiperspirant sells because it might make you more attractive (or less repulsive) to a potential sex partner.  And “sex” in a headline will make people read the most banal piece of fluff. 

I guess none of this really has anything to do with hunting… or does it? 

I mean, of course there’s no question that the shooting sports industry will use sex as a marketing tool at every opportunity.  Have a look at the “booth babes” at the SHOT Show, or the “booby girls” selling raffle tickets at your local DU banquet.  Has anyone seen the Martin Archery ads? 

This is pretty blatant, and it’s also pretty clearly targeted at men, who are the biggest consumers of these products (and also, I’ll note, most prone to visual stimulation). 

Hell, for that matter I’m sure most of you have noticed that the women in hunting TV are primarily knock-outs (while very few of the guys are exactly pin-up material, as Kat points out repeatedly).  Is the idea really to get more women hunting, or is it to add a further incentive for the guys to watch?  Murky territory there, and I’ll leave it at that…just something to ponder.

And pondering, really, is what this post is all about… pondering and experimentation.  I’m curious to see what happens to the hit count on this post, as well as the search criteria that bring the hits here.  I expect my SPAM filter to go off the hook.  But I just have to know how many people will come here, lured by the title of this piece and despite the incongruous union of “Sex” and “Wild Boar hunting”.

Maybe that’s not the best way to market this, but hey… it is what it is. 

Looks like I’m gonna expand my blogging efforts to join up with my friend, T. Michael Riddle as he cranks up a new blog for his Native Hunt operations. 

Don’t worry… I don’t plan to drop off my entries here on the HogBlog.  Instead, I’ll be helping Michael out with his own posts, and creating some new ones of my own.  I don’t expect this is going to be a mirror of the HogBlog either, as I expect we’ll tackle a handful of new topics that I just don’t get to on this site.  Of course, there will be some crossover, as one of the main pursuits that Mr. Riddle and I both share is hog hunting!  

Anyway, if you get half a chance, head on over and check it out!  It’s still getting started, but nothing helps get this kind of thing moving more than the participation of you guys… the readers!

I’ve been getting emails and photos from my friend Matt, who I’ve proclaimed to be the “hog shootinest gent’man”.  With this recent little communication, he shows that not only is he completely deserving of the title, but he’s raising a new generation to follow along in his big boot steps! 

Matt writes in a pretty informal style, so I’ve added a little punctuation and such just to clean things up a bit.  But the message sure comes through!  Check it out!

Well boys…. as some of you know, I have identical triplet boys. 

Mommy took big sister and 1 boy down to a girlfriends house this weekend..and 2 boys stayed with me.  Well after about an hour of puttzing around the house…I blew.  I put the guys in the truck and headed north…we had a great weekend of special dad and son time.. we brought the bow…rifle….410…and .22. Basically ..if it was legal..it was going down!!

Which left us with 4 choices..pigs ,cottontails,jacks and coyotes…well. we mananged to hammer 2 out of the 4 species… we had hogs around us every morning and night..with saturday morning being an unforgetable hunt!! I glassed up a “bomber ” of a boar at first light walking back to the bedding grounds..well. after trying to get two 8 year olds in sinc…by the time we got over there …he was moving fast and made the brush line…DAMN!! i had a shot and decided to walk him as the boys were not in position yet to view the final.  Well, We hiked around a bit and decided to head back down to the truck..on our way down we ran into 3 “neopolitans”headind back up the canyon.

I deployed the bipod and we sat in wait..the first one passed at about 100yds.. I asked the boys what they wanted to do?? They both replied, “lets hammer them!”

Well, the safety came off and at the report of the rifle the first icecream boar was down!!! The other 2 ran up the draw and stopped to look back…bam!! #2
is rolling down the hill, as the 3rd made its way up the thick chamise the boys are yelling shoot…shoot…{blood thirsty little guys}i tell them boys..we gotta leave some seed…that went right over thier heads.

We went to assess our harvest..2 nice dry sows in the bag… after many high 5,s and money shots daddy started the process of boning them out..damn I can’t wait til they get older and do the dirty work for thier old man.

This morning it was time to pull out the mdl.24 savage 22/410 the rabbits were gonna be in trouble..the boys only managed to pull one out of the brush…but man what an adventure!!! that jack is the talk of the trip!!!

Enjoy the money shots boys…and there really is nothing like taking the kids out for some time in the field!

 And here’s a little photographic taste of the adventure!

I received this press release from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) the other day, and meant to get it online sooner.  The weekend intervened, though, so here it is now.  I’ll simply run it in its entirety, and let’s see what some of you think about it. 

Personally, I was “cautiously pleased” to see some vocal challenges to the near panic that the lead ban proponents have initiated.  To me, as I’ve said before, there’s a good question in here somewhere.  Let’s let science and fact rule on the answer before we run off all twitterpated and such.

Here’s the release:

Firearms Industry Applauds Senators’ Initiative in Fight to Preserve Use of Traditional Ammunition in National Parks

NEWTOWN, Conn – A letter signed by numerous United States senators to Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar raising important questions about actions by the National Park Service (NPS) to ban the use of traditional ammunition in parks that allow hunting has drawn praise from the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry.

In the letter to Secretary Salazar, 13 senators detailed their concerns about the impact a ban on traditional ammunition would have on hunters, the economy and wildlife populations.

“At this time, the motives behind NPS actions addressing lead issues are very unclear. Especially in these difficult economic times, this action will discourage people from hunting and fishing and decrease revenue into the Pittman-Robertson fund that funds state conservation efforts,” read the letter.

The NPS continues to pursue a ban on traditional ammunition that it announced earlier in the year would apply to park personnel involved with culling sick and wounded animals, and indicated it would consider widening the ban to all hunters. The firearms industry, sportsmen’s groups and multiple conservation organizations criticized the ban in a press release, calling it “arbitrary, over-reactive and not based on science.”

“The move by members of the United States Senate to step in and raise concerns about the NPS making any unilateral actions concerning traditional ammunition is welcomed by conservation and sportsmen’s groups throughout the country and the entire firearms industry,” said NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane. “This process needs to be as transparent as possible and Congress’ involvement will help to ensure that this is the case.”

The NSSF has clearly stated in communications to the NPS that any decision made about federal lands with regard to ammunition products be based on thorough scientific study of wildlife population impacts. Currently, no scientific evidence indicates that wildlife populations are being negatively impacted by hunters utilizing traditional ammunition.

The NSSF has clearly stated in communications to the NPS that any decision made about federal lands with regard to ammunition products be based on thorough scientific study of wildlife population impacts. Currently, no scientific evidence indicates that wildlife populations are being negatively impacted by hunters utilizing traditional ammunition.

In concluding their letter to Secretary Salazar, the senators were very clear as to what they wanted to see: “We request that NPS cease all actions to prohibit the use of lead products on NPS lands by private citizens and NPS personnel.”

Signatories on the letter include:

Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY)
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Sen. James E. Risch(R-ID)
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY)
Sen. Roger F. Wicker (R-MS)
Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC)
Sen. Michael B. Enzi (R-WY)
Sen. Robert F. Bennett(R-UT)
Sen. John Thune (R-SD)
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC)
Sen. Mike Johanns (R-NE)
Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK)
Sen. David Vitter (R-LA)

 

About NSSF

The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 4,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org.

Saw this the other day on fellow blogger, Moose’s site, Moose Droppings.  It’s not significant news or anything, I guess, but I did find it somewhat entertaining… particularly because it’s back home in NC, where feral hogs are making a serious comeback.   Figured I’d share it with you all when nothing else was going on.

Anyway, hope you enjoy.  I don’t expect any kind of follow-up on this one, but if something pops up, I’ll be sure to let ya’ll know.

Many years ago, like many other hunters I discovered the benefits of using a head lamp instead of a regular flashlight.   The hands-free operation was the ticket for early morning hikes to the tree stand or the duck blind.  It was also handy for most tasks after dark, since it freed up my hands to handle the work. 

The problem with those early headlights was that they were usually big and bulky, with huge battery packs and traditional bulbs.  Wearing one for any amount of time was guaranteed to give you headache.  But they were powerful and bright.

Technology moves fast and seems like everything gets smaller and smaller (have you seen cell phones these days?), and headlights are no exception.  The arrival of the “micro” bulbs and halogen meant that flashlight and headlight bodies could get smaller and smaller.  To keep things small, tiny batteries were implemented.  Unfortunately, the bulbs in use still burned through the juice pretty fast. 

Then somebody figured out that LED lights could be just about as good as traditional bulbs, were much smaller, and they barely drew any juice.  I’ve got a couple of old LED headlights right now that are several years old and still going strong on the same AAA batteries! 

Smaller headlights certainly made it nicer to use them for all the standard tasks, but one limitation always bugged me.  These little lights are cool, but they simply don’t work so well for blood-trailing and tracking.  I made it a mission to look for a small headlight that provided enough light to follow a tough blood trail and pick out tracks on a dark night. 

So far, I’m still looking, although I saw a couple at the 2009 SHOT Show that were promising.  Unfortunately, getting test samples didn’t pan out in the months following the SHOT Show, and I sort of put it off for the time being.  I simply don’t have the funds to go out and buy all of these things myself, so I’ve been making due with my Princeton Tek Aurora, and a couple of others I’ve acquired over the past couple of years.  When I need to trail, I break out the big MagLight just like I’ve always done.

Well, a couple weeks ago I got an email from Steve Remington, the fellow who pays the bills to keep this blog running as part of the Skinny Moose network.  The folks from Energizer wanted to know if a few of us bloggers would be willing to try out their new, 4-LED headlight and provide a little write-up.  Well, heck yeah!  (more…)

There’s a discussion going on right now over at Holly’s NorCal Cazadora blog regarding the near-passage of Assembly Bill 962.  You should definitely head on over and read what she’s said, and get involved in the discussion.  Me, I’m not trying to horn in, but just think it’s important to spread this around as much as possible.

In short, this bill is designed to curb handgun violence by requiring anyone purchasing handgun ammo in CA to submit a thumbprint and other identifying data.  It also restricts mail-order handgun ammunition sales (e.g. Cabelas, MidwayUSA) by requiring ammo to be shipped to a dealer so that the appropriate registration process can be performed. 

I’ve been quiet on this one, and maybe by doing so I’ve done all of you readers a serious disservice.  Maybe I should have been up on the rooftops yelling about it, in the same way I did about the lead ban.  I could have done more, perhaps, to mobilize hunters and gun owners to get their voices heard early and often as this thing went through the process. 

I’d beg pardon on the excuse that I honestly never thought the bill would get through the Assembly, much less through the Senate.  But it did, and now, as you know if you ever watched Schoolhouse Rock, it’s on the Governor’s desk to either be signed into law or vetoed and sent back down.

I also tend to stay away from the general fray of the gun rights fight.  There are other sites much more adept at this battle, and individuals who are much more deeply involved at all the levels.  I throw my support their way, both in the way of membership in certain gun rights organizations, and by making my voice heard to my legislators and the Governor.  But I seldom use this blog to echo the messages sent to my by the NSSF, NRA, CRPA, or others.

But after some thought, I felt that maybe I should feel more “duty bound” to step up on the stump and yell about this one, in particular.  The implications of AB962 go so much further than some folks seem to recognize, not to mention the pure senseless nature of the legislation. 

Here are some thoughts that I’ve been thinking…  (more…)

So, the other day when he shipped the meat from my NC doe, my brother mentioned he was shipping me something else too.  He was kinda secretive about it, but I didn’t think too hard on it, figuring I must’ve left some of my gear behind.  He sent the second package by ground, because the overnight service we used for the meat was a little too pricey, so it took a couple of extra days for my package to arrive.  I’d almost forgotten about it. 

Today, I noticed a big ol’ box in the doorway with my name on the label.  “Hmm,” thinks I, “what the heck is this?”

I have a short memory sometimes, and the rest of the time I have no memory at all…

I sliced open the tape and started digging through the cellulose peanuts (no one uses styrofoam anymore).  I felt a board… and on lifting it from the packing I saw the coolest frickin’ thing I’ve seen in a long time!

So ya’ll may remember that I mentioned in the story from my NC hunt, that, when I was feeling pretty sure I’d lost another animal to the bow, I broke the offending arrow on the running board of my brother’s truck? 

In frustration, I took the unlucky arrow, laid it across the running board of Scott’s truck, then stomped it in half.

Well, when I broke it, I tossed it in the back floorboard of my brother’s truck (don’t litter, it’s rude).  Well, the sneaky, and thoughtful, little devil saved if for me and made me a gift I’ll treasure for a very long time…

It’s better than any set of horns or skin!  I don’t know if you can read it (click it to see a larger image), but it says the date, and “The Jinx is Broke!” 

That’s just downright cool. 

I hope to put a lot more animals behind this bow in my hunting career, but no trophy will ever be as important to me as this one right here.  Many, many thanks to my little brother, Scott!

Mother, mother… there’s too many of you cryin’…

Oh wait, not the Marvin Gaye song! 

Just kinda catching up with myself and realizing that, wow, I don’t have any hunts or outings planned for almost two weeks!  What the heck am I gonna do with myself?  Even more, what the heck am I gonna write about?  What’s goin’ on?

Well, really, not a lot.  Now that I’m back in the land of the cube-dweller, and spending way too much time staring at a computer instead of glassing the hillsides, I’m starting to feel the pressure.  Ahhh, life is too much with us…

Trying to find something cool, interesting, or important to write about lately, but the motivation is just running a little short.  Holly sent me a link to an article about another National Wildlife Refuge banning lead shot for all hunting, but I’ve already misplaced the link.  Figures, doesn’t it?  I’ll have to track it down later.

Point is, this is coming all over the place, good science or not.  It’s up to hunters to stay vigilant and to step up to challenge every expansion of the lead ammo ban.  The National Park Service backed off once, but have no doubt that they’ll continue to incrementally work toward a ban.  As mentioned in previous posts, Grand Teton National Park is already asking hunters to voluntarily switch to non-lead ammo. 

The NWRs present even more of a challenge, as they can pretty much set their own rules locally.  Keep an eye on the NWRs near you, and remember, even if you don’t agree with the law, you do have to obey it. 

In other stuff, deer seasons are beginning to get underway across the country as fall officially falls!  The months-long wait is over for anxious hunters, as bows, muzzleloaders, and rifles are coming out of storage and hitting the range and the woods.  As my old friend, Reverend Roy Steward used to call it, this is the beginning of the ”High Holy Season” for hunters. 

Of course, here in CA we’ve been at it all along, although the majority of rifle deer hunting seasons are open or opening this week.  It’s a good time to be a hunter, but maybe not such a great time to be a deer. 

Am I gonna partake some more?  I hope to, and have a trip out to my “Kokopelli Valley” scheduled in October with Hank and Holly.  Right now that’s about all I have on tap, which is kind of a drag since the season will come and go by the end of October. 

I head up to Coon Camp the last week of October to start our guided hunts up there for the season, and as much as I look forward to spending a couple of weeks up there in camp, I’d like to have squeezed in a little more hunting for myself this year.  Where does the time go? 

Looking forward, I booked my room for the 2010 SHOT Show already.  If you’re planning to attend, check out the SHOT Show Travel Desk for some kick-butt deals on rooms!  Rooms fill up pretty quick, so you’ll want to get it while the getting is good!  Also, remember, the show is during the week this year, Tuesday (01/19) through Friday (01/22), so if you play it right, you can make it home in time for the waterfowl closer! 

So I guess that, while I’m not really doing a lot of hunting right now, I’m laying the groundwork for the upcoming months.  There’s actually something goin’ on, even if it doesn’t seem that way.  So stay tuned!

Here’s a peeve I haven’t petted in a little while…

I got my new issue of Outdoor Life the other day, and as usual, I glanced eagerly at the cover in hopes of seeing my smiling face and/or a byline.  I mean, heck, they’ve dropped Patrick McManus and Jim Carmichel.  Certainly their standards are low enough to welcome me aboard by now.

But since I haven’t actually submitted so much as a query to that magazine in over a decade, and I haven’t shot a world-record cervid (or ovid, or hominid, or iPod, or anything else), odds of seeing myself on the cover or even the back pages are pretty danged slim.  So I satisfied myself checking out the articles for the month.  And there it was… glaring at me with a smug and self-satisfied look… another article about long-distance shooting, complete with a tag line that explains that, “sometimes it’s the only shot you’ll get!” 

What is it Charlie Brown says when he’s utterly exasperated by Lucy or Snoopy?  “AUUGGGGHHH!!!”

Once again, here’s the magazine that is arguably one of the most widely read hunting and outdoors publications in the country, if not the world, telling an entire landscape of readers that it’s OK to take shots clear across the county if there’s a “trophy” buck or bull on the receiving end.  God forbid you should miss this opportunity!  What kind of hunter would you be if you didn’t post up that Hail, Mary shot rather than trying to close the distance or, and here’s a thought, writing that one off and looking for a better opportunity?

Am I pushing it?  Maybe, but honestly… what the hell is with this obsession of killing animals from the next zip code? 

This is the thing.  I know that there are some people who are truly good, and practiced long-range marksmen.  They hone their skills constantly, know their equipment intimately, know the wind and how to read it, and have the patience and understanding to choose the perfect shot AND to pass on the imperfect.  (If nothing else, that last is most critical!)  If they enjoy long-range marksmanship and wish to practice it on game, then I can’t fault them because they can do it right and well.

Those individuals, though, are arguably in a single-digit percentage of the general hunting population.  The rest of us simply should not be slinging lead (or copper) at living things from long distances.  It’s irresponsible and, dare I say it, unethical.  Yeah, this is me, making an ethics call.    (more…)