People who take kids hunting are heroes and those who take kids that are battling a disease or overcoming a handicap or other major obstacles are even a cut above. Justin Ristine is one of those kids born missing an arm but a desire to get out there and hunt.

Justin is a very healthy boy who was just born without his right arm but no other medical conditions. Justin’s mom was so amazed because as Justin was growing up he did everything else that other kids his age were doing he just did them with one hand. Justin does not currently have the opportunity for a prosthetic arm because there is nothing to attach it to. Whether it’s tying his shoes or playing video games he is very competitive and very accomplished.

Youth Outdoors Unlimited Washington State

On his first hunting trip earlier this month, he fired one shot and bagged one deer. The buck died instantly.

The Marysville boy was born with only one arm, his left. He fired the shot from a rifle set on a tripod.

Justin went on his hunting trip near Colfax in Eastern Washington Oct. 16 courtesy of Youth Outdoors Unlimited, a Moses Lake-based organization.

The fledgling non-profit group’s mission is to help children with disabilities or life-threatening illnesses, who have an interest in outdoor sports, go on a hunting or fishing trip.

The trip was recorded by the Outdoor Channel and is scheduled to be aired in December or January, his parents said.

Herald Net

This story is out of Washington State but there are a number organizations and groups across the county that do similar things for young people who want a chance to get out and experience the great outdoors that could use our help. I’m sure any help we can give them would be greatly appreciated and heck seeing the smile on a kid after something like this is truly priceless.

I was surfing on Outdoor Life and came across this video of the Rack Man
The Rackman appears to be a pretty phenomenal moose hunter having seen a number of his videos in the past but this one takes the cake. This is just crazy and what a rush it must of been.

ALASKA/YUKON MOOSE
Score: 249 1/8
Location: EARN LAKE, YUKON
Hunter: REAL LANGLOIS
Year Taken: 2008
P&Y

National Geographic Wild America channel is a new channel in the satellite lineup that is in my book a great channel. Tonight they are exploring the Grand Canyon which is one of my favorite places to visit.

America’s Wild Spaces: Grand Canyon

NGC joins a scientific expedition to explore the Grand Canyon’s entire 277- mile lenght. We’ll trace its geological history, study its colonies of vegetation and examine its unique creatures to unlock the mysteries of this wonder.

Nat Geo Wild

This is a pretty good show tracing wildlife and human impact on the canyon. They covered a story I reported on a few years back on the accidental death of wildlife biologist Eric York

They also covered the restoration of the Condor and the impact of hunting on them. Many believe that Condors are being poisoned by ingesting lead from gut piles of hunter killed game animals. There has been an effort to get hunters to use lead free ammunition to reduce the possibility of poisoning the birds.
A very good show and worth watching if you have any interest in the Grand Canyon, wildlife, and the natural world. I’m sure they’ll rebroadcast this show in the future so check the listings and DVR it you won’t be disappointed.

Turkey season is winding down here in North Carolina I’m blessed to be tagged out after last year not getting one. For those of you that still have tags to fill don’t panic still some time left in the season. The hens should be nesting pretty well now so there should be lots of lonely gobblers wandering the fields and forests.

This weekend is the State Youth Hunter Education Skills Teams Competition where youth from across the state compete in Archery, Rifle Marksmanship, orienteering, and other outdoor skills to see who the best is. I know a few of the young people participating in this and I wish them the best.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s 33rd annual Youth Hunter Education Skills Tournament will be held April 30 at Millstone 4-H Center near Ellerbe, to determine team and individual state championships.
Last year, 54 teams – more than 900 competitors – participated on senior (high school) and junior (middle and elementary schools) divisional levels, with overall team and overall individual awards based on aggregate scores in all events.

The Youth Hunter Education Skills Tournaments are an incentive component of North Carolina’s Hunter Education Program, provided as an opportunity to showcase outdoor skills and demonstrate safety, with events in rifle, shotgun and archery marksmanship, as well as an orienteering challenge and a wildlife knowledge test. Teams are organized within public and private schools, while home-schooled students and teams representing organizations such as 4-H or FFA also can compete, provided they meet eligibility requirements.

NRA Annual Convention is in Pittsburgh this weekend I really wish I could of made it to that event. I attended my first one last year and was blown away by the event and the impressive line of speakers they had. If you are anywhere near Pittsburgh this weekend I urge you to check it out you won’t be disappointed. Next year is St. Louis hopefully things will work out and I’ll get to that event.

Gun show is in Raleigh this weekend as well always a good time to stock up on things or find that perfect gun you’ve been looking for. Weather is great the fish are biting no reason to not get out and enjoy the great outdoors. Have a great weekend and take a kid hunting or fishing .

Seminars and guests speakers have always been a big part of the Dixie Deer Classic well at least all the ones I’ve gone to. This year they had return visits by Michael Waddell and Lee & Tiffany some great hunting personalities.
I decided this year to really make an effort to see some of the local presenters given that I know a number of them or at least converse with them on line from time to time. So I missed the main stage and focused on the smaller presentations but the information was great. They offered topics on GPS usage, videoing your hunt, treestand safety & tactics, processing your deer, use of blood trailing dogs, food plots, coyote trapping, to name a few.
On Saturday one of the seminars I attended was Blood Trailing Dogs presented by Sian Kwa a breeder of teckles here in North Carolina. I had met her at a blood tracking workshop she and her husband had sponsored about a year ago. She presented some great information on how to use dogs to blood track wounded game. Currently in NC there is a mix bagged of rules that makes tracking with a dog legal some places and illegal others. Currently a bill is making its way through the state that if becomes law will make the use of blood tracking dogs legal throughout the state.

Friday I went to the Food Plot Seminar presented by H.R. Carver of Bioplots. H.R. I met at last year’s show and we both frequent NCH&F. H.R is always helpful when someone has a question about food plots and his presentation didn’t disappoint. Whether you want to plant a number of acres or a small honey hole he covered it. The crowd was small so he was able to answer many questions from the audience which was a real bonus.
Overall the seminars were great and it is obvious we have some local folks that have a lot of knowledge. While Lee & Tiffany and Michael Waddell draw a lot of crowds the local presenters did a bang up job. So the next show you go to don’t overlook the smaller seminars who knows maybe the next big national headliner maybe paying his or her dues at the local level.

During the 2009 muzzle loader season I shot a buck chasing a doe by my stand rolling him. He then proceeded to stand up and walk away after two days of searching I couldn’t find him. Jump ahead to the 2010 turkey season and I stumble across the remains of the buck while turkey hunting.

While to some hunters this would be a scrub buck and they might just move on to me it was a trophy. I wanted to do something special with it so I contacted Mason & Harold Dorsett with Rac Plaques to get a euro mount done. Harold worked on the skull cleaning it and staining the antlers that had been bleached out by the sun. Of course they then mounted it for me on a Rac Plaque, it turned out excellent with the antlers looking like they did on that day in November in 2009.
Euro Mounts are a great way to display a trophy and the Plaques the Dorsett’s make really show your trophy off.

I’m glad my euro mount was ready when I stopped by their booth at the Dixie Deer Classic. So that is one of the stories from the Classic this past weekend and I’ll link the Dorsett’s with my next story when I talk about B&C bear that they mounted. So check back for that story soon.

The Dixie Deer Classic weekend has sadly come to an end but what a fun weekend it was. It was great to see some old friends meet some new ones and to see some great deer taken by hunters across the state. I’m going to break the week down into a number of posts over the next few days because there is just too much to cover.

My overall view is that the Wake County Wildlife Club put on a fantastic show they brought back Lee & Tiffany and Michael Waddell for a second year in a row. They had some great activities for the young folks including a scavenger hunt to learn more about nature and wildlife.

It will be interesting to see what the final attendance for the show was, Saturday morning I’d of guessed it was going to be record breaking however by lunch time the crowds eased up. While it was a pretty well attended show I don’t think it was record breaking it will be interesting to hear the numbers.

Over the next few days look for stories about people and businesses I interacted with, organizations that were there that impressed me, and who knows what else. I was there for all three days so you know there are some stories to tell. So hang on and I’ll get to them.

The 31st Dixie Deer Classic is this weekend out at the fairgrounds and you know that is where I’ll be most of the weekend. Ten Bucks will get ya through the gate for the whole weekend and there is plenty to see and do. Headlining the Classic this year is a return appearance by Mike Waddell as well as Lee & Tiffany. They were here last year and the demand for their lectures were so overwhelming many missed out because you couldn’t get through the door to the room where they had them. That should not be an issue this year because I understand The Wake County Wildlife Club has moved them into Dorton Arena but you better still be early if you want to be close to the stage.
Another crowd pleasing draw is Jase Robertson from the Duck Commander who also be giving some talks on waterfowl hunting. There is many lectures and demonstrations to see so check out the detailed schedule. I guess that is a good Segway into the fact that despite the name this is more an outdoor show about many aspects of hunting not just deer.
So if you got some time this weekend pack up the family and head out to the fairgrounds and check out the show.

North Carolina is once again ground zero for the hunt for the ever elusive Bigfoot. Animal Planet has sent a film team here to document the hunt as reports of the Bigfoot roaming these woods continue to circulate. There are many things that are rumored to roam the lands of North Carolina some I believe do others I don’t;
Cougars, or mountain lions… yup I believe there are some however I’m not convinced that NCWRC released them.
Red Wolves….nope we got a souped up coyote with red wolf traits that US Fish and Wildlife released on us but no pure red wolves.
Chupacabra the blood sucking creature I don’t know … maybe how they got here I can’t speculate.
Big Foot ain’t no way in heck we got one of them running around some redneck would of mounted that thing on the front of his pick up and paraded him through town. Trust me they are not going to find big foot.

We’ll continue to follow as this story develops cause we know it will.

Don’t let the threat of a little winter weather scare you away head out to the NC State Fairgrounds for the 21st Bass and Saltwater Fishing Expo.

The 21st Annual Bass & Saltwater Fishing Expo opens this year with more tackle and fishing products than this show has ever offered. Over 160 booths offering everything from the latest lures, plastics, jigs, custom rods, apparel, knives, product sample booths, hard-tops, saltwater charters, fresh water guides, cast nets, gaffs…..by far the best show of its kind in the Carolina’s and Virginia.

They have a pretty good lineup for speakers and seminars as well as plenty of exhibitors to outfit your next fishing adventure. Check out their website to save a buck on admission to the show.