Tuesday, April 05, 2011

HuntingLife Site

Our site can and always will be fully functioning at:
http://www.huntinglife.com

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Plan Now for Berry Picking Family Fun in Warm Weather by J. Wayne Fears

12/29/2010 - With snow on the ground and winter winds blowing, few families are thinking about picking wild blackberries, dewberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries - all high in antioxidants - or any other wild fruit. However, if you wait until you start seeing the berries or fruit, you won't be able to pick as many big berries and fruit in the spring and summer as easily as you will, if you plan now.

Youngsters enjoy the adventure of picking berries and wild plums, but they don't like to wade through thorns, weeds and bushes, where many types of wild berries, particularly blackberries and dewberries, grow. If you know where there's a patch of wild blackberries, dewberries, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries (the wild strawberry, Fragaria Virginiana, has a delicious flavor) or plums, go there now in the winter with your Woodman's Pal Long Reach and your Pro Tool Utility Pole Saw and/or Pro Tool Lopping Shears, and cut paths through these areas. Then in the warm weather when these regions produce berries and/or plums, you and your children can navigate through these places, picking berries or plums without nearly as many thorns to stick you or grab your clothes and take twice as much fruit quickly.

Once you have paths cut-through the berry patches or plum thickets, just before green-up in the early spring, take 10-10-10 fertilizer, and scatter it throughout the berry patches and plum thickets. By putting-out fertilizer then, the spring rains will carry that fertilizer down to the roots of the wild fruit bushes and trees and help those plants produce more and bigger fruit than they will have if you haven't cut paths and fertilized them.

Picking wild berries is a fun family outing in which all ages can participate. Nothing's more delicious or enjoyable for the whole family than making berry pie and berry and wild plum jelly. Visit www.protoolindustries.net to learn more about made-in-the-USA, top-quality hand tools with lifetime warranties from Pro Tool Industries to cut paths and to get more recipes for preparing wild berries and fruit.

Here's one of our family's favorite recipes.
Fresh Berry Pie
You can make this pie with any kind of fresh berries, including wild or commercial blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries or dewberries or commercial loganberries or boysenberries.

Filling for 9-inch pie:
1- to 1-1/2-cups sugar
1/3-cup flour
1/2-teaspoon cinnamon
4 cups fresh berries
1-1/2-tablespoons butter

Filling for 8-inch pie:
2/3- to 1-cup sugar
1/4-cup flour
1/2-teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups fresh berries
1 tablespoon butter

Preparation:
Heat oven to 425 degrees. After gently cleaning and washing the berries, mix sugar, flour and cinnamon. Then mix that combination of ingredients lightly through berries. Pour into pastry-lined pie pan. Dot with butter. Cover with top crust with slits with a 1-1/2-inch strip of aluminum foil around the top of the crust to prevent excessive browning. Bake 35-45 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned, and the juice bubbles through slits in crust. Serve slightly warm, not hot.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Pebble Mine Update

The battle for Bristol Bay and the protection of that amazing ecosystem continues on and we are going to continue to do everything we can to get the message out to as many folks as we can.

Our partnership with The Sportsman's Alliance for Alaska continues with our Moose Promotion and I would like to encourage each and everyone of you to log on and make a donation of $50.00 so that you can have an opportunity to win one of the best packages I have seen put together. The package includes a Kimber Rifle, A Leupold scope, A set of Sitka Gear and 10 day moose hunt in Alaska. All of this for a donation of $50.00 to protect one of the greatest ecosystems in America.

Sportsman's Alliance of Alaska Moose Promotion
Stop Pebble Mine

Thursday, July 31, 2008

State Conservation and Fish and Game Organizations

ALABAMA

ALASKA

ARIZONA

ARKANSAS

CALIFORNIA

COLORADO

CONNECTICUT

DELAWARE

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Offices in the District of Columbia

FLORIDA

GEORGIA

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Offices in Georgia

HAWAII

IDAHO

ILLINOIS

INDIANA

IOWA

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Offices in Iowa

KANSAS

KENTUCKY

LOUISIANA

MAINE

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Offices in Maine

MARYLAND

MASSACHUSETTS

MICHIGAN

MINNESOTA

MISSISSIPPI

MISSOURI

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Offices in Missouri

MONTANA

NEBRASKA

NEVADA

NEW HAMPSHIRE

NEW JERSEY

NEW MEXICO

NEW YORK

NORTH DAKOTA

OHIO

OKLAHOMA

OREGON

PENNSYLVANIA

RHODE ISLAND

SOUTH CAROLINA

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Offices in South Carolina

SOUTH DAKOTA

TENNESSEE

TEXAS

UTAH

VERMONT

VIRGINIA

WASHINGTON

WEST VIRGINIA

WISCONSIN

WYOMING

Save Bristol Bay Win a Moose Hunt

Bristol Bay is in trouble and the war for Alaska's Natural Resources is raging on daily in the newspapers and coffee shops of Alaska. The choice is between an open pit mine for copper and gold and the protection of Bristol Bay, Natural Salmon Runs, Trout, Moose and the breeding ground for a Caribou herd.

For me the choice is easy and Bristol Bay must win out. Do we really really need more copper and gold?

Here is an article that talks all about this issue in far more detail then I can and really talks about the issue at hand. There is article after article in almost every outdoor magazine in the country.

Dallas Safari Club Game Trails Bristol Bay Article

Over the next several weeks we will be grabbing these articles and I encourage you all to do your own research.

Here are a couple of links to get you started:

http://www.sportsmansalliance4ak.org/BristolBayHunt_details.html

http://www.renewableresourcescoalition.org/pebble_mine.htm

http://www.stoppebblemine.com/

The website of those that want the mine to succeed is here....

http://www.pebblepartnership.com/

There are thousands of people who are working on this and some really great partners across the world.

www.polartec.com

Leupold Optics
www.leupold.com

Kimber
www.kimberamerica.com

Sitka
www.sitkagear.com

Alaska Wilderness Trips, Inc.

www.wild-alaska.com

And there are many many more..

How can you help you ask?

Log on and buy a raffle ticket.. $50.00 is all we ask for a full donation. I know that times are tough and gas prices are high and every nickel in our lives is important but all I am asking is go to one less night out this month and make a donation to this wonderful promotion and you might even be a lucky winner and get to head out to the Bristol Bay area and go on a Moose hunt.

The sooner the better as there are only 500 tickets total.

http://www.sportsmansalliance4ak.org/BristolBayHunt_details.html

Thursday, July 10, 2008

HuntingLife.com and Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska Team up for Conservation

Press Release:

For Immediate Release
July 11, 2008

Kevin Paulson (202)744-5806
Kevin@HuntingLife.com
Scott Hed (605) 336-6738
Scott@SportsmansAlliance4AK.org

HuntingLife.com and Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska Team up for Conservation
Effort Launched to Raise Awareness of the Growing Threat in Alaska’s Bristol Bay Region

Today marks the launch of a special campaign aimed at raising awareness among America’s hunters about a very serious threat facing one of the world’s most iconic sporting destinations: Alaska’s famed Bristol Bay region. While the world of sportfishing has been more aware of the plans to turn this area in southwest Alaska, which is home to the world’s most productive wild salmon fishery and tremendous angling and hunting opportunities, into a massive mining district, the time has come for hunters and the hunting community to further engage in this monumental conservation battle.

“HuntingLife.com has been committed to conservation from day one so it was a natural partnership to work with the Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska to protect such amazing resources like Bristol Bay and the Tongass National Forest. Bristol Bay is one of those areas in America where sportsmen from all walks of life dream of hunting moose, caribou and bears or wetting a line pursuing the mighty salmon and trout. Partnering with the Sportman’s Alliance for Alaska on this wonderful project was a no-brainer for Team HuntingLife,” said HuntingLife.com founder Kevin C. Paulson.

For anyone not familiar with the debate raging in Bristol Bay, here is a brief primer. Bristol Bay is home to the largest runs of wild salmon left on the planet, with tens of millions of fish returning every year. The salmon form the cornerstone of an incredibly rich and complex ecosystem which also supports some of the finest trophy wild rainbow trout fishing found in the world, and additional angling opportunities for Dolly Varden, arctic char, lake trout, arctic grayling, and northern pike. Of course the salmon also feed the large population of brown and black bears found in the region. Hunters have traveled to the Bristol Bay area for decades to pursue not only bear, but also trophy moose and caribou from the famed Mulchatna herd in a wild and remote setting. This sporting mecca is located in southwest Alaska, approximately 250 miles from Anchorage, and is only accessible by plane or boat. In the midst of this rich fish and game habitat, a foreign partnership (one British company and one Canadian company) have plans to develop the largest open-pit copper/gold/molybdenum mine in North America. If approved, the Pebble Mine could include a massive open pit mine, an adjacent underground mine, 5 huge earthen dams (including two of the largest on the planet – one being 4.3 miles long and over 740 feet tall), and a tailings lake covering as much as 15 square miles to hold back the toxic byproducts of the mining process. Even more alarming, the Pebble Mine could become the centerpiece of what the mining industry has referred to as a world-class mining district. Over 1,000 square miles of state lands are already staked with mining claims in the region and the federal Bureau of Land Management has proposed lifting the mining restrictions on over 1 million acres of lands under its management in the Bristol Bay region. It’s not hard to imagine that such development in one of the world’s premier hunting and angling destinations would have an impact on fish and game and sportsperson’s opportunities to pursue them.

Scott Hed serves as the Director of the Sportsman’s Alliance for Alaska (SAA), whose goal is to engage sportspersons in the battle for Bristol Bay’s future. “The need is urgent right now to engage hunters in this fight. Hunters and anglers both have a lot at stake in the future of Bristol Bay. While Bristol Bay is most well-known as one of the top sportfishing destinations on the planet, it’s also a premier place for big game hunting. Hunters travel from across the globe to pursue trophy moose, caribou, and bear in this region,” said Hed. In the past year, the Dallas Safari Club, Wildlife Forever, and Izaak Walton League of America have expressed their opposition to the plans to turn Bristol Bay into an industrial mining zone.

Today the SAA is launching a new page on its website to help raise awareness among hunters about this critical issue. At www.SportsmansAlliance4AK.org/BristolBayHunt.html visitors will learn more about hunting in Bristol Bay, view an upcoming advertisement to be placed in Black’s Wing, Clay, and Waterfowl 2009 Guide, and be able to make a donation to the Bristol Bay conservation campaign. Perhaps most exciting is the drawing in which donors will be entered.

Hed added “Through the tremendous support and leadership of conservation-minded companies like HuntingLife.com, Kimber, Leupold, Sitka Gear and Polartec, I’m thrilled that hunters will now be able to learn more about the Bristol Bay region and how they can get involved in the fight to protect an iconic sporting destination. The participation of the Whitney family and Alaska Wilderness Trips, Inc. really put the icing on the cake as we were developing this promotion.”

For a suggested donation of $50, donors will be entered in a drawing for the following prize package:
• 10-day fully guided Alaska moose hunt for 1 hunter in 2009 with Alaska Wilderness Trips, Inc.
• Kimber Model 84M or 8400 Montana rifle in winner’s choice of caliber
• Leupold VX-II 3-9x40mm scope
• 90% Jacket, Ascent pant, and base layer system from Sitka Gear and Polartec
The retail value of the package is approximately $11,700.

“Putting together such an amazing package has been a blast, this is a hunt that any hunter would be more then excited to be a part of,” said HuntingLife.com’s Paulson. The hunt fundraiser will be limited to the first 500 qualifying donations and early responses from hunters aware of the upcoming opportunity to participate indicate that it will be very popular.

When asked why his company chose to support this project, Patrick Mundy, Leupold’s Marketing Communications Supervisor stated simply “As members of the hunting and shooting industry, we are in full support of protecting places like Bristol Bay to preserve hunting lands for future generations for several reasons. Not only is the natural environment critical to conserve, but without hunting lands to access, we lose hunters---which we can ill afford in this day and age.”

Jonathan Hart, Founder and co-owner of Sitka Gear echoed those sentiments. “As a company involved in the hunting industry, Sitka fully supports, and is extremely thankful for, the hard work that the Sportsman¹s Alliance of Alaska is doing to protect the Bristol Bay Region. The bottom line is that the mining proposals would forever compromise the health of the area. The tundra, the big game, and the fisheries in Southwest Alaska are a sustainable resource. The long-term health of the area, both in an economic and an ecosystem sense, depends on those resources. If my kids and your kids can’t hunt and fish there when they’re older, we’ve screwed up big time.”

For Alaskan guide Clark Whitney, Jr. who will be guiding the moose hunt for the winner of the drawing, the matter is even more personal. “I shot my first trophy bull caribou right at the mouth of Talarik Creek (one of the creeks that would be drained to provide water for the mine) when I was 13 years old, and the mine footprint area is a traditional calving grounds for the Mulchatna caribou herd. If this mine is permitted, it will have a devastating effect on these animals and this region’s wild character will forever be lost.”

Contributions to this promotion will be designated for brochures and other informational materials, travel for staff and volunteers to make Bristol Bay conservation presentations to clubs and organizations, day-to-day expenses and other direct costs.

“For someone looking to lend support to an incredibly important conservation campaign and possibly end up on that Alaska hunting trip of a lifetime, this is a tremendous way to help make a difference. While we can’t match the dollars that the mining companies are throwing at this fight, sportspersons have always shown a passion and a willingness to fight for places they care about,” concluded SAA’s Hed.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

HuntingLife.com

COME SEE OUR NEW SITE AT:

WWW.HUNTINGLIFE.COM

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

HuntingLife.com Seeks to be the Community for Hunters Pursuing the Passions of Hunting, Conservation and a Well Lived Life

The growth of hunting across North America has fueled the need to provide high quality resources for hunters to find information, great outfitters and conservation resources, HuntingLife.com has stepped into that market to provide a best of class resource portal for hunters worldwide.

Fredericksburg, VA, October 13, 2007 --(PR.com)-- Huntinglife.com focuses on hunters who are interested in both high quality resources for finding quality outfitters across the country and keeping in touch with all of the news of conservation organizations across the country. HuntingLife.com provides a full scale directory for state fish and game resources, outdoor websites, equipment reviews and hunter submitted pictures.

HuntingLife.com was started by Kevin Paulson after a brief stint as an outfitter in Montana and Idaho. Kevin saw the need for a website dedicated to conservation where hunters could research new outfitters and have a national tool for all hunters to use to create reviews and hunting reports on outfitters across the country. “Our Outfitter review tool allows hunters researching trips across the country to separate the wheat from the chaff and make informed decisions about where best to spend their hard earned dollars”

Team HuntingLife pledges 10% of gross revenue to conservation habitat programs and youth hunting opportunities across the country and these donations are reported directly on the blog section of the website on a quarterly basis.

For information, visit www.HuntingLife.com and check out our national resources or contact Kevin Paulson at 202-744-5806 or Kevin@huntinglife.com.

About HuntingLife
HuntingLife.com is community for pursuing your passions of hunting, conservation and a well lived life. Visitors are what helps our community grow by posting hunting photos, reviews, and researching outfitters.

Sunday, September 09, 2007

African Hunting Safaris - TJSafari Blog Safari Hunting in South Africa Namibia

African Hunting Safaris - TJSafari Blog Safari Hunting in South Africa Namibia

A great little story about the increase in hunter and concession fees over in Tanzania.

Check out our new website at HuntingLife.com

Saturday, August 25, 2007

A Conversation with the RMEF about Real Estate Advertisements

Saturday, August 25, 2007
A conversation with the RMEF about Real Estate Advertising.

In the last couple of issues you may have noticed some advertising in the latest issue of Bugle magazine for real estate. I am not sure about you but on initial look these advertisements got my hackle up a bit. For an organization that is working so hard to protect land from development why would they be advertising for real estate companies. Well a couple of emails later and I now have the answers for you as follows:

The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation is one organization in which I donate a large amount of money and also an organization that I volunteer my relatively limited amount of time to on several committees. I am really happy that we had this conversation via email and I am really thankful that I was able to have Buddy's permission to publish this information here on our website for all of readers.

My hope is that the RMEF will continue to work with these real estate companies to create relationships with new land owners to increase our work with conservation easements to increase habitat for elk and other wildlife.
Our Exchange is as follows:

My Initial Email:

Buddy,

I just received my copy of the September/October issue of Bugle Magazine which in my opinion is still one of the finest publications in the hunting community. I usually take the first night to flip page to page and then the next night I devour it article by article and word by word. Tonight I saw something in the bugle that I can hardly believe. I saw an advertisement for United Country Real Estate selling off the west to the highest bidder.

Isn't this what we are working against as an organization? Why do we need the advertising revenue so badly as to sacrifice our integrity to sell out to the highest bidders? Is the RMEF in support of this? I remember a discussion with you across from our booth at elk camp in 2006 where you told me that if you had your way you would not allow real estate companies to be included in Elk Camp. Please do not allow this to continue, lets keep our integrity and continue to work for the protection of elk and the purchase and protection of habitat that will be open to elk hunters of all walks of life.

--

Kevin C. Paulson
CEO
HuntingLife.com
11005 North Lamont Court
Fredericksburg, VA 22407
202-744-5806
kevin@huntinglife.com

Http://www.HuntingLife.com

Response from Walker S. (Buddy) Smith:

Kevin,

Thanks for your email regarding real estate advertising in Bugle magazine. To your point, the Elk Foundation had a policy against any sort of real estate advertising in Bugle for its first 22 years. The increasing pace of land transactions in Elk Country is one of the primary challenges facing the Elk Foundation today and into the foreseeable future. With escalating land values and changing demographics, the pressure to sell large tracts of land for commercial and residential development is enormous. At the same time, there are emerging buyers, sellers and real estate professionals with a strong conservation ethic who would like to see many of these traditional ranch and farm lands remain intact and be preserved for wildlife and future generations. It is this changing landscape that led us to take another look at that policy and consider the potential benefits of working with appropriate real estate companies.

The Elk Foundation is uniquely qualified to participate in real estate transactions in elk country, and by doing so, further accomplish our mission to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife and their habitat. By becoming engaged in the real estate business, we create the opportunity to educate buyers, sellers and agents on the benefits of conservation and the tools available to accomplish conservation goals.

It is absolutely crucial to understand that most properties are marketed through a variety of resources. Properties suitable for development are well known to developers. Bugle is a resource for reaching conservation minded buyers. By becoming engaged in the real estate business, we have the opportunity to compete with developers for properties that are important for the future of Elk Country. It is highly unlikely that a property will ever be sold and developed simply because it was advertised in Bugle.

Simply put, we can become engaged in the real estate business, and if we place a single property with a conservation buyer or place a single conservation easement because of the dialog created, then we are accomplishing our mission. Properties that sell and get developed would have been sold and developed regardless of our participation in the process.

We now have a new policy in place that allows limited advertising in Bugle. Properties and agencies must meet specific criteria to be considered. We have already turned down several proposed ads. I’ve attached a copy of the policy for your review.

As always, I appreciate any and all input from you and any other member. At the same time, I know that it is unlikely that any decision we make is going to make everyone happy. Hopefully I have provided you with a better understanding of our thinking regarding real estate advertising. If you have any further questions, don’t hesitate to call.
By the way this is actually the second issue of this type of ad and this is the issue with ATV ads, from which I am sure to get some e-mails.

Happy trails,
Buddy Smith

The Official Policy on Real Estate Advertising from the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:
Real Estate Advertising Policy for Bugle

There is substantial interest in advertising real estate in Bugle magazine. With escalating land values and changing demographics, land transactions are expected to increase dramatically in the years ahead. As the pressure for commercial and residential development of land has increased, numerous real estate companies specializing in larger properties and promoting conservation ethics have emerged. By accepting appropriate real estate advertising in Bugle magazine, and developing an RMEF endorsed property program, the Elk Foundation will benefit by developing a new source of advertising revenue and by becoming more engaged in the business. Through greater involvement, we stand to develop more opportunities to promote conservation values, place conservation easements, and acquire critical properties or place them with suitable conservation minded buyers. Real estate advertising in Bugle must meet specific conservation oriented criteria to avoid conflict with our mission to protect habitat in elk country.

Properties listed in any advertisement in Bugle must meet the following criteria:

1. Located in Elk Country as defined by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
2. Minimum property size of 100 acres
3. Property possesses conservation value for elk and other wildlife
4. Current and future use is consistent with good habitat stewardship or has the potential to respond to good habitat stewardship
5. Is an appropriate candidate for a conservation easement
6. Advertising message is consistent with habitat protection (no development oriented ads)
7. Located in Elk Country as defined by the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
8. Minimum property size of 100 acres
9. Property possesses conservation value for elk and other wildlife
10. Current and future use is consistent with good habitat stewardship or has the potential to respond to good habitat stewardship
11. Is an appropriate candidate for a conservation easement
12. Advertising message is consistent with habitat protection (no development oriented ads)

Criteria for real estate companies/agents:

1. Commitment to conservation properties and ethics
2. Not oriented to subdivision/development of properties in elk country
3. Not associated wing, non-fair chase hunting, etc.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Lots and lots of blog links

The following is a list of outdoor blogs. Team Hunting Life came from the world of blogging first as an outfitter and then as a writer. We will always support the bloggers by trying to have the most complete list available to you. If your blog is listed please reciprocate with a link back to our website in your blog roll and if you are not listed in this group, please contact us and we will get your site up on our list within 48 hours.

Our Old HuntingLife Blog

www.alphatrilogy.com

The Deer Camp Blog

Backwoods Drifter

Upland Feathers

Black Bear Hunting Blog

Mane Hunting Today

Bolt Mountain, WV Blog

Bright Idea Outdoors

Gun Safety Innovations, LLC

Hunt Smart Think Safety Blog

Heartland Outdoors

Idaho Fishin' Times

Kings Outdoor World Blog

Marian's Hunting Stories

Mule Deer Fanatic

North Dakota Outdoors and Beyond

The Outdoor Odyssey

The Outdoor Pressroom

Outdoor U

Outdoors with Othmar Vohringer

Outdoor Bloggers Summit - Team Hunting Life is a Founding Member

Great Wild Outdoors Blog

Hunting Sense

Skinny Moose Media

South Jersey Outdoors

Hog Blog

The Shed Antler

Arizona Outdoorsman

Outdoor Life - Big Buck Zone

Outdoor Life - Newshound

Outdoor Life - GoneFishin

Outdoor Life - The Strut Zone

Riding in the Backcountry

The Sportsman's Blog

Pennsylvania Hunt. Fish. Shoot

Muskoka Outdoors Blog

Montana Outdoors

Goon's North Dakota Red Neck

Dave Richey's Weblog

Oregon Outdoor Journal

Jon Bryan Outdoor Blog

Simply Outdoors

TJSafari Blog Safari Hunting in South Africa Namibia

Walking in the Woods

Outdoor Resources for finding other websites or promised reciprocal links to grow readers of our site.

top 10 Hunting, Fishing and Camping Sites

Saturday, August 11, 2007

New Sites!!!!

OUR Great New website.. Call us Modest!!!!!!
HuntingLife.com

A Great new Blog that hopefully will become something really great!!!!
deerPhD: A Place to Call Home

Sunday, July 22, 2007

We are live!

WWW.HUNTINGLIFE.COM

Please come visit our new site and our new blog! It is the same writing, the same style, the same commitment to hunting and wildlife conservation with a more professional look and feel.

We are listening and growing while we rebuild to add to your enjoyment. We hope you will stick around and visit often.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Dennis is trying to get out the vote with Wolverine!

VOTE HERE FOR DENNIS!!!

Mixing business with pleasure on his annual family vacation, Dennis takes out a sign during his trip to Ocean City, MD. It's too bad the beach did not have wifi because everyone would of been excited to have the opportunity to win a 100 just to get Dennis some new boots.

Saturday, July 07, 2007

New Mexico Governors Tag FOR SALE here on www.huntinglife.com

Ladies & Gentlemen, I have the story of the year for this humble little blog and website called HuntingLife.com. Several months ago Ben Nicholson was looking for some information on the Valles Caldera Wildlife Management area in New Mexico and he ran a search on google and up popped my article on how to apply for tags for the opportunity to hunt elk there. About that same time we also had a post about the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation holding a raffle for the New Mexico Governors tag for elk. Ben followed the link to the Valles Caldera and learned that he had missed the deadline and on a whim came back to HuntingLife.com and decided to buy a raffle ticket for the that RMEF raffle for the tag.

HE WON!

I got a comment on that post just after the raffle was finished and Ben was looking to sell the tag. New Mexico is the only state that allows you to transfer the tag if you have purchased it and/or won the tag. He asked me if he should put it up on ebay and I thought about it for two seconds and decided that might not be the best way to sell such a valuable item like this tag.

I put Ben in touch with a couple of people I knew just might have the connections out there to sell this tag and he is working the phones and now we are working the phones on his behalf. In talking to Ben, I agreed to assist him in the sale of this tag if he would agree to donate 10% of the proceeds to Conservation. He has already agreed to buy a life membership in the RMEF and if we can assist him in selling the tag through HuntingLife.com then he will confirm with us once he has completed the sale where he is donating the 10% and we will bring the story here to all of you.

Of course we now have competitors who are also trying to sell the tag on his behalf but if they assist him, he is going to have to pay them 10% and the money will not be guaranteed to go to conservation.

I will not in any way take or receive a single dime to assist him in selling this tag. I just think this is the coolest story of the year for this fledgling website called HuntingLife.com.

A little bit about Ben Nicholson

Ben has been hunting since 1984 and is mostly a water fowler and upland game hunter but likes to forage into the world of whitetail deer and black bear. His father Tom and good friend Jim got Ben started in the world of hunting with a hunters safety course and many trips to the field together. Ben is married to a wife(Rachel) whom he describes as wonderful and for the last 8 years they have been quite happy together along with a German Wirehair named Clyde. Living in Iowa City, IA and working as a loan officer for a local bank, Ben has been able to balance a great family life with some great hunting time.

Ben said, "I've been wanting to go elk hunting for years and will be making my first elk hunting trip this fall."

I tried to convince Ben that this was the hunt of a lifetime and his comments were, "I can go on a lot of hunts with the proceeds from the sale of this tag. I would really like you to sell it so that 10% can go towards conservation" was his last comment on our phone call.

How this is going to work.

Team Hunting Life(which is currently only myself - Kevin Paulson) will be taking emails from perspective buyers for this tag. You will need to make a full offer and include your name, address, phone number and email and we will be in touch with each and every one of you. I will make an initial call to you to determine if you are serious and then put you in direct touch with Ben Nicholson and you will work out the deal directly with him. Once that deal is complete, Ben will donate his 10% to conservation and we will report the story to all of you along with the details. My email is kevin@huntinglife.com!

This tag is for
Species: One bull elk
Area: Hunt in any unit in the state on public land
or private land with permission
Dates: September 1- December 31, 2007
Weapon: Legal weapon of choice during any season.

The opportunity for a 400 class bull anywhere in the state of New Mexico is what your buying here. This will be the hunt of a lifetime. This tag is priceless to the right person so please be very serious in your offers.

Let the bidding begin!!!!!!!!

Proposed “Safety” Regulations Would Dry Up Ammunition Sales

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed new rules that would have a dramatic effect on the storage and transportation of ammunition and handloading components such as primers or black and smokeless powder. The proposed rule indiscriminately treats ammunition, powder and primers as “explosives.” Among many other provisions, the proposed rule would:

Prohibit possession of firearms in commercial “facilities containing explosives”—an obvious problem for your local gun store.
Require evacuation of all “facilities containing explosives”—even your local Wal-Mart—during any electrical storm.
Prohibit smoking within 50 feet of “facilities containing explosives.”

It’s important to remember this is only a proposed rule right now, so there’s still time for concerned citizens to speak out before OSHA issues its final rule. The National Rifle Association, National Shooting Sports Foundation, and Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute will all be commenting on these proposed regulations, based on the severe effect these regulations (if finalized) would have on the availability of ammunition and reloading supplies to safe and responsible shooters.

The public comment period ends July 12. To file your own comment, or to learn more about the OSHA proposal, click here or go to http://www.regulations.gov/ and search for Docket Number OSHA-2007-0032”; you can read OSHA’s proposal and learn how to submit comments electronically, or by fax or mail.

-----------------------------

OSHA Docket Office Docket No. OSHA-2007-0032 U.S. Department of Labor, Room N-2625 200 Constitution Ave., N.W. Washington, DC 20210

Re.: Docket No. OSHA-2007-0032 (Explosives—Proposed Rule)

Dear Sir or Madam:

I am writing in strong opposition to OSHA’s proposed rules on “explosives,” which go far beyond regulating true explosives. These proposed rules would impose severe restrictions on the transportation and storage of small arms ammunition—both complete cartridges and handloading components such as black and smokeless powder, primers, and percussion caps. These restrictions go far beyond existing transportation and fire protection regulations.

As a person who uses ammunition and components, I am very concerned that these regulations will have a serious effect on my ability to obtain these products. OSHA’s proposed rules would impose restrictions that very few gun stores, sporting goods stores, or ammunition dealers could comply with. (Prohibiting firearms in stores that sell ammunition, for example, is absurd—but would be required under the proposed rule.)

The proposed transportation regulations would also affect shooters’ ability to buy these components by mail or online, because shipping companies would also have great difficulty complying with the proposed rules.

There is absolutely no evidence of any new safety hazard from storage or transportation of small arms ammunition or components that would justify these new rules. I also understand that organizations with expertise in this field, such as the National Rifle Association, National Shooting Sports Foundation, and Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Association, will be submitting detailed comments on this issue. I hope OSHA will listen to these organizations’ comments as the agency develops a final rule on this issue.

Sincerely,

Courtesy of NRA-ILA

Missouri Governor Signs Castle Doctrine, Hunting Preservation Bills Into Law

Friday, July 06, 2007

In a recent fly-around tour across Missouri, NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox joined Governor Matt Blunt (R) at bill signing ceremonies for two of NRA-ILA's top legislative priorities. SB 62, Missouri's "Castle Doctrine" bill, removes the "duty to retreat" for victims of criminal attack; while SB 225, the "Hunting Heritage Protection Areas Act," preserves important wildlife habitat and hunting opportunities for future Missouri generations.

Blunt "Missouri now joins a group of 18 other 'Castle Doctrine' states, guaranteeing victims' right to protect themselves against a criminal attack," said Cox. "When you're confronted by a criminal, you don't have the luxury of time. This bill states that if victims choose to stand their ground and fight, their decision will not be second-guessed by the State of Missouri. The ability to protect yourself, your children, or your spouse from harm is critical, whether you're in your home or outside."

Also, in a historic set of votes, the "Hunting Heritage Protection Areas Act" passed unanimously out of both chambers of the General Assembly. The measure passed the State Senate, 32-0, and the State House, 158-0.

Commenting on the signing of the pro-hunting bill, Cox said, "Missouri provides some of the richest and most pristine wildlife habitats in the world. Hunters here continue to be leaders in ensuring sound wildlife management and conservation practices. The 'Hunting Heritage Protection Areas Act' will protect these diverse lands critical for wildlife species and preserve hunting opportunities into the future."

"On behalf of Missouri NRA members, hunters, and residents, I want to thank Governor Blunt for signing the 'Castle Doctrine' and 'Hunting Heritage Protection' bills into law," concluded Cox. "Missourians are fortunate to have a Governor and state legislators who respect and cherish their Second Amendment rights and hunting heritage."

Courtesy of NRA-ILA

Friday, July 06, 2007

Launch Date moves to Friday the 13th!

In the quest to provide you all with the best of the best, We have moved our Launch date to Friday the 13th, at 5pm!

We have gone from what could be the luckiest day in the world to a Friday the 13th!!!!

But I am more excited then ever because it will be a great site!!

Thursday, July 05, 2007

A listing of some great Outdoor Blogs

If you have any more that you think should be listed, please email me at Kevin@huntinglife.com. Thank you! I know there are many more, including many on Skinny Moose and I am trying to create a complete list of everything I can find specifically on hunting or at least 50% on hunting! Send me your links for inclusion on www.huntinglife.com which is going live this weekend.

www.alphatrilogy.com - A great site written by Darrell

The Deer Camp Blog - Rex is filled with wit and is a great writer