Hunting Fun

SannaBlue asked:

TVClarksville.com’s Ted Alexander from Clarksville Outdoors hunts quail in Montgomery County Tennessee. Great Dog Action!

Everett Sizemore asked:


With all of the buzz around Al Gore’s Nobel Prize winning efforts, many are hoping the heightened awareness of global warming will turn some attention to the plight of the polar bears. It would be utterly heartbreaking if this incredible predator was relegated to zoos or worse, especially after hundreds of years of adaptation to the hostile Arctic environment. I was once lucky enough to see a family of bears in the wild in the high arctic, a mother and two cubs – it was a powerfully moving site, considering this wasn’t a refuge but actually ice flows viewed from a Russian Icebreaker. What a great many people were not aware of until recently is that polar bears need the sea ice to freeze over. This gives the polar bears ideal hunting grounds for the seals that build dens and breathing holes in on the floes. Polar bears are classified as marine mammals and are surprisingly deficient in skills for catching prey on land.

There have been several reports of polar bear migrating into the northern boreal forests of Alaska and mating with grizzly bears, resulting in a hybrid bear: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizzly%E2%80%93polar_bear_hybrid . While this phenomenon is not entirely new, the frequency of the polar bear’s forays into southern lands is bound to increase. A bear has gotta do what it’s gotta do, afterall. Biologists fear the interbreeding could dilute some of the polar bears greatest (and least understood) adaptations, such as the ability to navigate incredible distances in a dynamic environment with few landmarks, their aquatic skills and the instinct to catch seals under sea ice.

Arctic studies have shown that over the years, the sea ice grows and recedes with somewhat normal consistency but the last few years have shown a massive recession, along with the retreat of hundreds of Arctic glaciers. Call it global warming or whatever you like, but I think the time to start “thinking green” is now-if nothing else, so the great white north stays north. We may never encounter the polar bear in our normal lives and very few people will get to visit them, but that’s exactly why we need to act now – to keep those wild places wild.

Writing and/or reading an article about polar bears isn’t going to do much good without a soliciting a reaction. With that in mind, here are A Few Resources to Help Our Polar Pals in the Arctic…

Update on Polar Bear Status: From the Humane Society: http://www.hsus.org/marine_mammals/a_closer_look_at_marine_mammals/polar_bears/saving_acts_for_the_polar.html

Track Real Polar Bears: From the WWF http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/europe/what_we_do/arctic/polar_bear/index.cfm

Visit Polar Bears in Their Own Habitat: From Natural Habitat Adventures

http://www.nathab.com/north

Other Actions You Can Take: From Defenders of Wildlife

http://www.defenders.org/programs_and_policy/wildlife_conservation/imperiled_species/polar_bear/index.php

Aside from the resources above, the best thing you can do for polar bears is to reduce the effect your lifestyle has on global warming. Whether that means taking a bike to work or school, installing solar panels on your home, or just turning out the lights when you leave a room – every little bit helps.

Archery Country asked:


Over the last few years the popularity of the ground blind has exploded. They are easy to setup, very safe (no chance of falling out of tree), can be put in open areas with little cover, and they conceal movement well.   Blinds are great alternatives to tree stands and a tool that should not be overlooked, but to have consistent success with ground blinds some things must be done.

 When hunting deer from a ground blind, you must brush it into cover such as bushes, tree limbs, grass, cattails, hay bales, corn stalks or whatever is available blend it in. Deer often will not tolerate just the blind sitting alone. Take your time covering the blind up and make it look as natural as possible. Put brush over the top as well as on the sides to help take down the shine on your blind and camouflage it as well. A few extra minutes brushing your blind in can make all the difference in having deer walk by unalarmed or having a deer sit there for an hour blowing and stomping.   Ruining the hunt for the night and educating the deer for making future hunts less productive.

 Another tip that will help deer move by your blind unalarmed is to keep screens up in front of you. These screens’ help conceal your movement better giving you more of a chance to draw and also can make it a good tool to help take out a young hunter or child. Open windows without screens give a black hole appearance to deer. For some reason deer find those holes to be very unnerving.   Most blinds these days have mesh like screens that can cover the windows to aleve this black hole problem. You can still see through these screens and even shoot through them. Just make sure that you practice through them a couple of times to make sure that the broad heads are not affected by the screen.

Keeping blinds as dark as possible inside helps greatly with concealing movement. By keeping all windows behind you shut, you will not get silhouetted by the light behind you. Keeping a minimal amount of windows open will help conceal you and keep you invisible to passing deer.

Camo clothing isn’t necessarily the best option for clothing; instead wear black clothes when you are hunting out of a blind. Most blind interiors are black inside making black clothing the choice for blind hunting.   By wearing black clothes inside the blind you blend in to the black interior.   This allows you to draw your bow and make movement when necessary without the worry of being busted by game.    Wear your camo clothes to and from blind but have black cover-ups ready to help achieve complete concealment in the blind. Some people even go as far as having completely black bows for greater concealment on the draw.

Blinds can be very effective if a few rules are followed and the extra time is taken to do them right.   They are a great tool to have in your arsenal and something that should be utilized in certain situations. Keep in mind that brushing the blind in is the most important thing you can do, you can never brush it in enough. Make sure to practice blind setups and shoot out of the blind before the woods to make the transition to hunting out of a ground blind a success.

David Cowley asked:


Emerald

As with most gemstones the emerald can be created as the result of volcanic activity, where the extreme pressure and heat creates the gemstones.  Another process knows as hydrothermal circulation, which in the most general sense is the circulation of hot water containing dissolved minerals passing through pockets in the underlying bedrock, evaporate caused the stones to cool as large crystals.

Emeralds belong to the beryl family of gemstones.  This family also contains aquamarine, goshenite, morganite, heliodor, quartz, ruby and red beryl to name a few.  The emerald has a hardness of 7.5 to 8 and is composed of chromium and vanadium.  When iron sulfate pyrite is entered into the mix the result is the rich green color traditionally associated with the emerald.

Trapiche Emerald

The very rare Trapiche emerald displays a pattern of dark lines radiation from the center of the crystal like the spokes of a wheel.  The term trapiche is derived from the miners belief that the spoke design reminded them of the processing wheel that is commonly used in Colombia that is used to extract the juice form the sugar cane.

Energy healers believe the emerald can heal relationships of the heart, health, clear vision, faith, intelligence, memory, inspiration, love, romance, cleansing and clairvoyance.  It is believed to have more metaphysical properties than any other gemstone.

Emeralds can be found in Hiddenite County in North Carolina.  The Emerald Hallow Mine will allow treasure hunters a verity of techniques when searching for this precious gemstone which is more valuable per carat than diamonds.  The fees vary based on the type of hunting you plan to do.

Creeking:

Prospect by collecting sand and gravel from the creek bed, and then using a screen to wash the loose dirt away from the gravel and gemstones.  Be sure to look at the material left in the screen from all angles including from underneath.

Picking:

Take a shovel, pick ax and a 5 gallon plastic bucket to the mine area and pick your area.  Fill the bucked with loose dirt and gravel.  You could then use the screening method or you could take the bucket to the stream or the sluicing area and then wash the material collected and look for your treasures.

Sluicing:

You can purchase pre-loaded buckets of gemstone bearing material from the mine operators and simply sit down at the sluicing area and wash the loose dirt away.  Roll around the remaining material looking for the elusive green color.

Screening:

Loose dirt is shoveled onto a screen and the screen is then shaken to remove small particles and sand.  Watch the screen while shaking it, emeralds will often flash as they roll around.  Always examining the screening area with the sun facing you.  The sunlight will reflect through the emeralds making them easier to spot.  Examine the screenings from various angles and roll the gravel around while doing so.  Before discarding the screenings always look from underneath the screen with the sun at your back.  Many dusty stones can be missed until you see the light pass through them.

Tools are available for rent at the Emerald Hallow Mine, but should you decide to bring your own be sure to include, shovel, pick, screen, gloves, bucket, and safety glasses.

Happy Treasure Hunting.

Jael Soutter asked:


Theodore Roosevelt was the inspiration behind the first teddy bears, all due to a comic strip. When he refused to shoot a bear cub on his hunting travel word got out and a cartoonist drew a picture of him and the bear, this inspired a store owner. Mooris Mitchom had his wife create a teddy bear and this began the journey of the teddy bears.

1906 Americans used the word “teddy bear” instead of “Teddy’s Bears” in an advertisement, after that it just stuck.

In 1912 the very first black teddy bear was introduced by Steiff in honor of those that died on the Titanic. She manufactured 500 of these teddy bears to pass out to the families mourning their loved ones.

Walt Disney produces first teddy bear cartoon in 1924, “Alice and the Three Bears.” This would begin a whole collection of Alice and her many adventures. In 1926 the first edition of “Winnie the Pooh” by A. A. Milne come out, later Disney would buy the rights. 

Winnie the Pooh was originally a girl bear named, “Winnipeg.” The bear that inspired Milne to write all his stories was a gift that came from J.K. Farnell & Company that he’d given his son on his first birthday. Farnell was the first British manufacturer to make teddy bears.

Almost all teddy bear companies would close their doors in 1929, some would reopen while others never saw the light again.

In 1944, Smokey the Bear became a National symbol for putting out forest fires. Every year he goes to schools to talk to children about fire safety, during the summer you can find him at campsites giving lessons on the forest.

Wendy Boston made the first lock-in eyes and later would create the first washable teddy bear in 1954.

Teddy bears have come a long way from what was once a wooden toy to the soft, delightful things we cuddle up with at night. Teddy bears continue to expand in the market and will continue for years to come.

Jael Soutter asked:


Teddy bears all started because Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot a bear, which in the end got him the nickname “Teddy.” Yes, it is true there were toys that had bears on them, but they did not actually have stuffed teddy bears before 1902. There are a few different stories to what actually happened, but it sounds like Theodore Roosevelt went out hunting and never ended up shooting anything. The men he was with wanted him to take something back for his troubles and found a small bear cub and told him to shoot it. I’m not sure if he didn’t want to shoot it because it had no mother, was injured, and tied to a tree or just because of its size. When he refused to shoot the bear they all joked about it, one man even drew a cartoon of “Teddy” with a bear cub. 

The interest in teddy bears would become very popular in society. A small shopkeeper, Morris Michtom, recognized the potential income and displayed them in his store window. Mooris sent the president one of the bears his wife made and asked the president if he could name them “Teddy’s Bears.” The bears were unlike any toy bears that had been made; this one was cute and didn’t frighten away children. Once accepted, he started designing the teddy bears in a new shop called the, “Ideal Toy Company. It is not known who actually created the very first teddy bear, but we do know that it was Mooris that asked permission.

Clear over in Germany was another company making teddy bears. “Steiff Company” was creating bears that actually looked like the real thing. The owner, Margarete Steiff had a nephew that would sketch pictures of bears at the Stuttgart Zoo and show them to her, this inspired her to create her own. Her creations wouldn’t be discovered by the Americans until 1903 at a toy fair, which had them ordering over 3000 bears.

One can see why teddy bears became so famous, if it wasn’t for their cute expressions and cuddliness I think they would’ve gone extinct. Today, you might see teddy bears in a bedroom, store window, commercials, cartoons or even in books. Teddy bears are everywhere and it’s all because of one man refusing to shoot an innocent bear.

Mitch Johnson asked:


It s always valuable to pay heeds to the advice of the experts or a person who know the place better. And especially the older and more experienced woodsman. They are always valuable.

Once while hunting, I disagreed with an older, more experienced woodsman, who was a resident of the section and, as it turned out, I was right, but it was a very- brash thing to do. Three of us were hunting together that day. Our leader was prospecting for fur while we were looking over the country for bears or any other game which might be there. The section was mountainous and near the timberline. On the way home we crossed a peak above the timberline. From this vantage point, the lake, where our leader’s cabin was located, was visible and, before entering the timber, I checked the approximate location of this cabin and fixed this in my mind as we descended. About a half-mile from the lake we came to a trail which had been made by a man who had trapped the territory in previous years. We knew that this trail passed in back of our destination and was, at its nearest point, about two hundred yards from the camp. When we came to this trail, our leader wanted to turn to the left and I wanted to turn to the right. Both of us were sure that we were right, and, both being rather stubborn characters, neither would yield to the other. As a result, we started in opposite directions while the third man, who had voiced no opinion, sat on a rock and waited, saying, “You can’t both be right and one of you will be back here.” I was at the camp and had a fire started before they arrived. I was right in my directions, but wrong in disputing the knowledge of an older, more experienced man in a country with which I was unfamiliar.

One time I was fishing on a fairly large lake and two fishermen came along in a rowboat. When they came abreast, one of them asked the directions of a certain landing. I told them and pointed out the direction which they should take. They never slackened their speed or changed their direction, and if they continued on their course they would have reached the shore at a point about four miles to the south of their destination. It was nearly dark and I don’t know why they should ask directions and then fail to follow them, unless they were lost and slightly panicked by the possibility of spending the night on the lake. They must have reached the shore without mishap, but they could have saved themselves a lot of rowing if they had taken the time to stop and talk to me and to listen to my directions then proceed as advised. Sometimes some natural configuration of an area will cause a person to become confused.

Another man and I became turned around in the goat-raising region of Texas, while returning to our camp one night. We had a short two-mile hike and we anticipated no trouble. We were supposed to follow a trail that would lead us up to a plateau where the trail became practically nonexistent until, at the end of a point, it lead to a break in the rimrock which it followed to the valley where our tent was located. We crossed the plateau in an easterly direction until we came to the edge. From there the valley was on our left so that we must have been on the north side of the point of land where the trail was located; and if we followed the rim, we should come to the break where the trail left the plateau. We walked for a longer time than we felt was necessary and then, deciding that we had made a mistake somewhere, we sat down and waited for the moon to rise. We knew that we would have about a two-hour wait so we built a small fire and spent the time in idle conversation.

There is nothing harm in listening to the valuable advices. The most important thing is that when you are advice to do things, you should do them, so that you don’t have to suffer for not doing it. This is also correct with hunting deer. Don’t be confused when you are clearly informed and follow the leaders always if you are younger.

Matthew Kepnes asked:


Have you always dreamed about hunting in the wild but you can’t do so because you don’t have a hunting dog as a companion? This shouldn’t mean that you should give up on hunting. It’s better to focus your energies in finding a good hunting dog. Hunting dogs usually locate prey or collect it after it has been shot down. They can also terrify other animals when they are used in a group, especially when they are used to hunt down foxes.

Finding the ideal hunting dog requires a fine combination of patience and skill. First, you need to decide what type of hunting dog you are interested in. If you’ll spend your time hunting birds, then pick out a hunting dog accordingly.

Hunting dogs are available in various training levels. There are some hunting dogs that have severe lack of training. Also there are many available young hunting dogs with little amount of training. Of course, there are hunting dogs that have been given the complete training by their trainers.

If you don’t want to waste your time or effort, pick out highly trained dogs. For example, if you are interested in hunting for a particular type of bird, choose the best hunting dog for the job. You have to get a hunting dog that has been trained to look for the type of bird you plan to hunt. Choose a hunting dog which has been bred and trained in hunting activities at the regional and national championship level. It will be easy to spot the difference when you buy such a hunting dog for your hunting activities.

You also have the option of buying a small hunting puppy and training it yourself. This is only going to work well if you love training dogs and have the right experience. You’ll need to have all the qualities which are required of a hunting dog trainer. It can be easy to train a hunting dog if you are passionate about training one. Follow all the guidelines that every dog trainer uses while training a hunting dog.

Look out for the following two things which should stand out in every hunting dog – a very good nose for sniffing out any kind of prey, and the ability to not be scared by the sound of a fired gun.

It’s time to go over the dog breeds that make good hunting dogs. Retrievers can be seen as very suited to hunting birds. They are also useful when you need a hunting dog for retrieving the prey after it has been shot down. Hounds and Bloodhounds are very good at tracking the prey. Their noses are sensitive and they remain focused even if they are given the task of tracking multiple preys. They do fabulously well when they are sent down to track other animals like foxes, deer and bears. Labrador retrievers are able to move across water and retrieve a duck when it has been shot. On the other hand Spaniels are good pointers. They are experts in leading you towards the place where birds are present.

Now that you are aware of all the points that comes with picking a good hunting dog, don’t hesitate to get one for yourself.

Neal Hamou asked:


According to most evidence gathered by researchers and scientists everywhere, the phenomenon known as global warming is quickly killing off most polar bears. This is not some shaky sort of story either, something built upon an edifice of stilts and other various things and not supportable like objects.

No, according to The Wall Street Journal, these bears are in fact drowning in their own native oceans because of this menace known as global warming. Polar bear drowning used to be so rare that it was rarely at all observed and almost never at all reported. Government agencies are not quick to comment on what might be the cause of the growing climatic and ecological changes.

One does not really need to see much more than the floating dead bodies of polar bears to gain a keen insight into the effect that climatic change is having upon the environment as a whole. Environmentalists who have studied the problem have indicated that government policies towards oil and energy resources have instigated or at least contributed to the deaths of polar bears. Since polar bears have evolved to the point of only hunting on ice and other cold regions, scientists predict that they will go extinct within the next one hundred years, if not sooner.

With less ground to hunt on, they have a smaller source of food to support their populations and thus they will soon die out. There have been so many tragic photographs taken of polar bears clinging desperately to little ice floes that they must call home, that many people desire to do something.

Since the polar bear is designed by nature with not only one but two layers of fur, it is able to survive extremely cold conditions. In fact, they can survive conditions nearing fifty below Fahrenheit – which is exactly why global warming will have such a terrible effect on this beloved species. Their entire body, from their ears to their tails to their manner of hunting is entirely dependent on cold climatic conditions. If everything continues on in the manner predicted by most scientists, then the polar bears may hold no hope. Government agencies are as of now debating heatedly to discuss whether or not to put polar bears on the endangered species list.

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Jake Saab asked:


The excite of chasing down a twelve-spit rear or bagging a prize-winning washout sends millions of hunters into the wood every year in pursuit of that prize destroy. Hunting is exciting, but it can also be risky and even deadly if hunters are not educated and religiously train good hunting wellbeing techniques.

The Basics

Before goodbye on your hunting jaunt, plan manually well. Never go to an unplanned situation or take off on a spontaneous hunting spree. Let others know where you are planning to pursuit and when you will be habitual. If essential, entrust full directions to your hunting proof with contacts or family that will be staying home in argument an emergency arises and they require to supervise health personnel to your arrange. Try to gain home as close to your planned time as liable. If you are minute glance in, your exchange part can then know to set out with your directions to see if you indigence assistance.

Take the time to cook your stick. If with a rifle or shotgun, vacuum and inspect the mace after every use and after any time the stick has tired in storeroom. Prepare a small first aid kit to contain with you while you are hunting. Consider bringing your group call. You can forever keep it turned off while you are hunting, and a call can be the difference between life and downfall in a checkup emergency. Always be primed to give detailed directions to your squeeze setting as you move through the wood.

In The Woods

Once arriving at your preferred hunting spot, be surely to don your wellbeing gear along with carroty-painted clothing on your supervise and/or chest to help other hunters in the spot clarify you from the match. While camouflaged gear is great to help you remain undetected by the animals, it can also mystify other hunters if they see group from a space lacking recognizing the carroty influence. If you are hunting in a group, try to keep the location of those around you in your focus as you change positions to help precluding accidents.

If you are using a lure such as a doe bait, be assured to use carroty security fasten around the outside the field you will be in, to help other hunters know your decoy. You can also remark the sphere from a prominent position to extend safeguarding manually from any stray shots directed at your decoy.

During The Hunt

If you are hunting deer and find manually tracking an injured animal, forever use severe caution. Other animals in the area may become panicked at the smell of one of their own running injured near them. An injured animal is very unpredictable and may likely be worried to get away if it senses that you are pursuing. Never attitude a hurt animal advance-on. Never tolerate yourself to be corned between a frozen object and a hurt animal. Always have a way of outflow in brains should the animal confront. If attacked, try to shield your move and chest as much as possible to ceiling wound to your crucial organs and mushroom your prospect of survival.

It is also important to be informed of, and on the sentry for other animals like bears and snakes that may be encountered while hunting. Being sentient of your surroundings is an important pace in staying anodyne while hunting. Use some caution and everyday sense to ensure many more existence of joyful hunting yet to come.