Deer Hunting: Hunting Humor & Whitetail Deer

Hunting ethics is a term which defines the true standards, conduct and moral judgement of a sportsman. Some say that people’s hunting ethics are also a mirror image of the rest of their personal lives.

Ethics for the hunter can be broken down into personal and public ethics. The personal ethics of a sportsman deal with the way he treats his sport, the animals and other hunters. Though often distasteful, personal ethics do not usually entail illegal activity. On the other hand, public ethics deal with issues such as breaking game laws, trespassing on private property, poaching, etc.

Personal Ethics

Every ethical hunter should practice personal ethics as a way of showing respect for his fellow sportsmen and the animals. Instead of fighting over a particular hunting area, it is considered ethical to share the area or invite the other hunter to hunt it one day and then you hunt it the next day.

Personal disregard for another hunter’s right to be in the woods should also be avoided, such as making noise to chase away game because someone beat you to your favorite spot, or putting on a drive where other hunters are stand hunting.

One of the most ethically irresponsible things a hunter can do is not follow up his shot. Always do everything possible to retrieve a wounded animal, including spending the entire day looking for it.

Public Ethics

Party hunting, shooting an animal for another hunter, poaching, or leaving a deer in the woods because it is “just” a doe or small buck are not only grossly unethical, but also illegal. If the sportsman is supposed to be in the deer woods to commune with nature and enjoy the animals we love so much, it is reasonable that an ethical hunter would not even consider some of the above mentioned ethical and legal violations.

Today, hunters are waging a battle against anti-hunters. We’re also waging a more discouraging battle against adverse publicity from those few unethical sportsmen who’s actions give the majority of ethical, law abiding hunters a black eye.

Ultimately, public opinion will decide whether hunting as we know it will continue. It is our duty to do everything possible to win this war. Sportsmanship

If I were to ask you what you thought America’s deadliest big game animal was, what would you say? This animal kills or injures more people every year than any other animal. Would you say the grizzly bear or maybe the mountain lion? You would probably be very surprised when I told you that the white-tailed deer not only causes more human deaths and injuries but also causes more damage and destruction than any other big game animal.

Over 120 people are killed in the United States each year in deer-related car crashes, and hundreds more are injured. This far surpasses the few deaths and injuries caused by mountain lions and grizzly bears.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, average cost of damage to each of the 300,000 vehicles involved in collisions with deer each year is over $600, totaling more than $180 million.

Deer cause enormous damage to farm crops and suburban landscaping as well. Biologists studying declining bird populations, including woodcock, believe there is a link to the consumption of habitat by deer.

Another growing problem caused by deer is Lyme disease and two new diseases, Ehrlichiosis and Babesiosis, all three carried by deer ticks. About 14,000 new cases of Lyme disease alone are reported in the United States annually. These tick bites are not just coming from the deep woods but from people’s backyards in their urban neighborhoods.

Sixty-five years ago it would have been laughable to imagine too many deer in North America. There was even concern at that time that they would soon be extinct. Today there are more than 25 million white-tailed deer and 5 million mule deer in the United States, and the populations continue to climb.

The cause of the deer population explosion is multifaceted. Foremost, state conservation departments have for decades been successfully managing deer for hunting by providing the animals with food, cover and protection. Additionally the 65 million people who feed birds in their backyards have also successfully managed deer by unwittingly providing optimum habitat.
Nature has also had a hand in the success. Prior to the 1980s, winter kill was a part of the deer management formula. But the mild winters in the past decade have resulted in very little mortality.

The only effective way to reduce deer populations is to cull them, preferably by hunting. Many conservation departments have dramatically increased their deer permits for both residents and non-residents.

This can help, but more controversial is how to control deer in urban and suburban areas and people’s backyards where public hunting is either not permitted or is impractical. Numerous methods of control have been attempted, from trapping to contraceptives, but except for shooting the deer outright, nothing has proven effective.

Urban deer task forces consisting of cross sections of community interests continue to grapple with the problem of what to do with America’s deadliest and most destructive big game animal

Armadillos are an amazing group of animals that originated in South America. Armadillos are mammals and their closest relatives are sloths and anteaters. Armadillos are built to dig. They have short, strong legs that are well suited to rapid digging, either for food or for shelter. Like their cousins, the sloth and anteater, armadillos have strong claws.

On top of all these amazing facts, Armadillos taste great. There are numerous recipes for Armadillo including Armadillo in Cream Sauce, Armadillo and Rice and of course my favorite

Armadillo Casserole:

Two lbs. armadillo meat
8 ounces of butter
Lemon juice
Dash onion salt
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Lemon pepper to taste

Season with salt, pepper, lemon pepper, lemon juice, and rub with butter. Wrap in foil and bake at 325 degrees F. for approximately 45 minutes. Remove foil, add more butter and brown. For barbecued armadillo, baste with barbecue sauce over grill after removing foil

I was browsing the internet when I came across this amazing site The Traveling Hunter from Anthony Acerrano . This article answers the question “What’s the best way to defend yourself if you run into a grizzly while hunting–or if a grizzly tries to run into you?”

Nearly all authorities on the subject agree that the first two words to memorize in this regard are “pepper spray.” I’m fully aware that some hunters associate pepper spray with politically correct, granola-eating, New Age, tree-hugger crapola. “Just give me my gun,” these guys brag, “and I’ll drop any charging griz like a sack of rocks.”

Other hunters are less fanatical on the subject, but simply have serious (and understandable) doubts about the efficacy of a spray can to stop one of the largest and most dangerous animals in North America. Doesn’t it just make sense that a high-caliber bullet is more potent, and more effective in a life-or-death situation?

It’s a reasonable question, and by no means should hunters dismiss the power and value of their firearms, as we’ll discuss later. But as is so often the case when it comes to bears, the answer is more complex than it might first appear.

Studies by biologist Stephen Herrero and others indicate that pepper spray works on charging bears about 90 to 96 percent of the time. Mark Matheny, a hunter who was seriously mauled by a grizzly several years ago while deer hunting north of Yellowstone Park, and who subsequently began a career devoted to bear self-defense and the manufacture of UDAP pepper spray, explains how a mere blast of cayenne aerosol can stop an angry griz:

“First, with a charging bear the loud hissing and billowing cloud startles them, lessening or turning their aggressive intentions into a state of surprise or even defensive evasion. When a bear hits the wall of fog and breathes it in, his sense of smell is instantly shut down, which confuses any animal. Chemically, pepper spray is an inflammatory agent, an irritant, that gets into the bear’s mucus membranes, causing temporary blindness, choking, and difficulty breathing. In many cases, they go off hacking and coughing.”

For those who believe a gun is still a better bet to stop a bear, Matheny adds:

“Some people think a .44 magnum or large-caliber rifle is going to have the ‘power’ to stop a bear. But you’re talking about a bullet not much wider than a writing pen hitting a vital area. That’s assuming you even get a bullet off. Most times when someone with a firearm is attacked, they don’t get a shot off. You’ve got to get the gun up, aim, and fire. With pepper spray, you can fire right from the holster, putting up a wide stream, even a fog, of deterrent. You can respond instantly and the likelihood of hitting the bear is much greater.”

Another compelling reason for the use of pepper spray instead of bullets is that many grizzly charges are not full “attacks,” but are only attempts by the bear to discourage and intimidate human intruders. For instance, if you surprise a grizzly feeding on an elk carcass (possibly your elk carcass), the bear might charge without intending actual contact, its purpose being to simply drive you away.

Of course, for those who aren’t expert at reading bear behavior, it’s fair to ask, “How am I supposed to know whether the bear means business or is just bluffing?” Which is precisely why pepper spray is a better alternative to a bullet in most situations. With the spray, you can very likely discourage the bear without worsening the situation or elevating it to an irreversibly deadlier level. If the bear breaks through the spray blast, and you’re an armed hunter, you still have your gun as a last resort. But if a sprayed bear veers off, the encounter is over. No one is hurt. Conversely, if your first line of defense is a gunshot, and you shoot at the bear, the results will almost always be more severe. If the bear was only bluffing, you’ve now either killed or wounded a bear unnecessarily. Also possible is that by wounding it you’ve turned a bluffing bear into a seriously enraged one, intent on killing you. Another scenario: You shoot at an attacking bear and–because they come so fast, unbelievably fast if you’ve never experienced it, often catching you in utter surprise–you simply miss. The bear is on you. What you missed with bullets you could have easily hit with deterrent spray.

But aren’t there times when you should shoot, or perhaps must shoot? While pepper spray is generally considered the best primary, first-choice bear defense, you wouldn’t want to make the same mistake as the hunter in Wyoming’s Bridger-Teton National Forest who, when charged by a sow grizzly with three yearling cubs, allegedly threw his high-powered rifle at the bear and pulled out a can of pepper spray, which by that time failed to stop the attack. The hunter was mauled until his partner shot and killed the 475-pound animal. Later, from his hospital bed, the hunter said he didn’t want to shoot the bear because he feared going to jail (for killing an endangered species) and losing his hunting privileges.

The reality is, if a grizzly attacks, sometimes you have to shoot, and, further, you would be foolish not to. That is why I think of pepper spray as “the first line of defense, when feasible.” If there’s no time to hit the spray button (and with the canister mounted pistol-fashion on your belt, you can aim and fire from the hip in mere seconds), or if you spray and the bear keeps coming, you have little choice but to shoot. With a grizzly still far enough away to dissuade, you can try a shot into the air or into the ground near the animal, hoping the muzzle blast or bullet noise will stop or turn the charge. But with a close, fast-incoming bear, don’t waste time with a warning shot. Aim for the deadliest point you can find. On a close-in, charging bear, this will probably be the face or upper chest. Often full-attack grizzlies lower their heads as they come in, so that’s about all you have to aim at. More than one Alaskan guide of my acquaintance suggests aiming for the snout–a high shot goes into the upper skull or even over the top, into the neck or spine; and if the bear hops or you shoot low, you have a chance at the throat, chest, or even a shoulder or leg, all of which can stop the animal, if only long enough for you to aim and shoot again.

Although this is legitimate self-defense, it clearly is not a desirable outcome. That is why Mark Matheny likes to tell hunters, “Spray ‘em, don’t slay ‘em.” He points out that too many close-encounter grizzlies are killed unnecessarily; which is not only bad for the bears, but also for hunting’s already precarious social image. Long-time bear biologist Chris Servheen agrees, calling the unnecessary killing of grizzlies by sportsmen nothing less than “a threat to hunting.”

In the end, the ideal is to protect yourself while sparing the bears, whenever that’s possible. –Anthony Acerrano

Source Sport Afield

Outdoor enthusiasts are familiar with the phrase “Hunting Beard”, but much like telling camp stories of Sasquatch, no one knows when the tradition started. Through out history, hunters and mountain men have always grown and maintained flowing manes of facial hair. Fundamentally, the purpose of a hunting beard was to provide warmth and protection for the hunter. Today, a beard directly connects the hunter to their primal roots.

The evolutionary history of bearded hunting clans can be traced back for some 4 million years, as one of the oldest of all surviving mammal groups. Most paleontologists consider that these “clans” share a common ancestor with early primates and probably lived during the late Cretaceous together with the last dinosaurs. It was during this time that the oldest known Big Game Hunting Clans flourished in North America, but they were also widespread in Eurasia and Africa.

During the tropical conditions of the Paleocene and Eocene, things looked bleak for the Clans, as heat exhaustion and chaffing were major concerns. With the beginning of modern climates, marked by the formation of the first North American ice, many primates went extinct but the bearded clans survived and are known today as…THE DEERBEARDS

What is a DeerBeard?
“Deer Beards” are special for these are the beards grown by otherwise cleanly shaved men, solely for the hunting season. Unlike our bearded ancestors, modern day hunters spend far less time engaged in their favorite past-time. Scientists blame Mans transformation from “Hunter/Gatherer” to “Sitter/Sleeper” on a steady food supply, but some experts blame the invention of the “Drive Thru window”, cable and the term “WIFE”. Today, the typical hunter gathers only once a year to relive the glory of eons past.

Growing a Deer Beard affords these domesticated coach potatoes an opportunity to achieve the special bond that starvation and scurvy created in our forefathers. Shedding most modern conveniences, these hunters return to their original state of MEN! Men of the woods, men who eat jerky, cold chili and say things like “If it’s Brown, It’s Down” and “If growing a beards wrong, I don’t want to be right.”

A Deer Beard affords the common man an opportunity to connect to something special. It is the membership card into the Club of Men. It says “I take my coffee black, change my own oil and can drop a deer from 200 yards.”

Happy Hunting,

Off Argentina and the Crozet Islands, Orcas feed on South American sea lion and elephant seal pups in shallow water; even beaching themselves temporarily. Beaching, usually fatal to whales, is not an instinctive behaviour. Adult Orcas have been observed to teach the younger whales the skills of hunting in shallow water. Off Argentina, adults pull seals off the shoreline for younger whales to recapture. Off the Crozet Islands, mothers have been seen pushing their calves onto the beach, waiting to pull the youngster back if needed.

Another technique for capturing seals is known as wave-hunting: Orcas spy-hop to locate seals resting on ice floes, and then create waves by swimming together in groups to wash over the floe. This causes the seal to be thrown into the water where another Orca waits to kill it. This behaviour has only been recorded a few times and it is not known how often it occurs. The most recent recorded instance in April 2006 ended with the group of Orcas actually returning the seal to the ice floe after they had shown the younger animals how to properly perform the technique.

In Prince William Sound, killer whales feed primarily on Dall’s porpoise and harbor seals. When hunting seals, the whales separate and slide along shorelines or through tight, rock-strewn channels. They also forage near tidewater glaciers in search of seals that haul out on the ice floes in late spring. In open water, where Dall’s porpoise are found, the whales of this region spread out across a passage, breathing quietly, milling at the surface, silently awaiting prey. The whales of this region do not eat fish.

Killer whales off New Zealand toss venomous stingrays back and forth with their teeth. As reported in the New Scientist, a whale will pluck a ray off the ocean floor. When the whale resurfaces, the ray is still alive, flapping in the whale’s mouth. What happens next can best be described as a marine version of a game of frisbee: one whale tosses the ray to a second, which then either tosses the ray back or forwards it to a third. Researchers believe the action is an attempt to position the ray so that it can be eaten safely. Another possibility is that tossing stingrays is one way adult killer whales teach their offspring to catch dangerous prey.

Facing a lion in the African savanna is an experience that is not quickly forgotten. Hunting a lion will change your life forever. Watch as a guided lion hunt in the African savanna almost turns deadly as the hunters become the hunted.

LION - Panthera Leo

Of all Africa’s animals none are better known than the mighty “King of the Beasts” immortalised in many Hollywood movies and adventure hunting novels. The lion exudes majesty and power, always a breathtaking sight to any hunter and rightly so.

No hunter can ever forget the gaze of intent yellow eyes calculating from within dense thorn scrub, the earth shattering roar or the crunching of bones in the darkness. Try hunting a hungry lion that has no fear of man, on foot, in dense vegetation…if you survive you’ll come away with a new perspective on life.

In all my years spent whitetail deer hunting, I have come across some mighty strange things. During the mating season, or Rut as it is called, Whitetail deer go a little nuts. I guess “Nuts” might be a little weak….The Deer Lose their Minds!!

What would Ann Coulter say about this

Simply put, squirrels are typically peaceful animals. Though somewhat territorial, squirrels will most often live in harmony with other animals. In this video, a whitetail deer moves in on the squirrels turf and WHAM…the squirrels kicks butt.

It is interesting to note that the average gray squirrel can jump 3 to 4 feet straight up and can leap horizontally around 10 to 12 feet.