Outdoor Life’s Deer of the Year 2009. Entries due by January 15th.

Mountain Lions Feast On Deer Kill

Mountain Lions Caught on Film

Outdoor Life has the photos from a motion-sensitive camera spying on a trio of cats getting a late night snack in South Dakota.

Very cool, though the reader comment

It’s too bad that it’s a precious deer and not Tom Daschle

was just plain out of line and I won’t repeat it here.

Question: What’s up with the whole “catamount” thing, anyway? Is that truly the same thing as a mountain lion? I’ve always thought so, but I was just recently told that they weren’t quite the same.

Those watching things closely may have noticed a trend:

• Gun sales jump (Utah)
• Area gun sales spike (Alabama)
• Gun sales rise in Ohio, stay flat in Ross County (Ohio)
• Gun sales shoot up after Election Day (Colorado)
• Gun sales up, supplies down (Texas)
• S.D. gun shops see rise in sales (South Dakota)
• Gun, ammo sales increase in Churchill, Lyon counties (Nevada)
• Local gun sales increase since election (Arkansas)
• Gun sales shoot way up (Maine)
• Hawaii gun sales shooting up
• Fear Fuels Gun Sales Locally (West Virginia)
• Gun Sales Are Up Since Obama Election (Kentucky)
• Fear of ban increases gun sales (Mississippi)
• Finger on safety as gun sales shoot upward (Idaho)
• Gun sales rise as owners fear stricter controls (North Carolina)
• Gun Sales Boom Ahead of Obama Presidency (Tennessee)
• Gun Sales Booming Since Presidential Election (Nebraska)
• Gun sales, permits climb following election (North Dakota)
• Gun Sales Rise As Buyers Anticipate Political Change (Washington)
• Gun Sales Shoot Upward in Springfield (Missouri)
• Madison gun sales soar (Virginia)
• Some stores see surge in gun sales (Pennsylvania)
• Firearm sales surge following election (Wisconsin)

These are all from the past two or three days and aren’t simply re-runs of AP items in different papers. All of these have considerable, if not exclusively, local content. I could easily have included many, many more.

No doubt, the media coverage is feeding the flames a bit. As is the fact that hunting seasons are kicking off or underway in most states right now. But the trend is unmistakable.

It doesn’t seem to be localized to the bitter, clingy parts of the nation. Or to the red states.

Ride Fast to Bill Schneider, who took exception to the term “Fudds”:

Some, a small minority, may have jokingly called you Fudds, or maybe mocked you. Your guy, Zumbo, called me a terrorist. Who’s the nasty bastard now?

Like I said recently, the whole Fudd thing is pretty dumb. I don’t think it’s all that terrible (certainly not akin to “terrorist”) but it’s also pretty dumb and very unconstructive.

There’s nothing the Brady types like more than to see gun owners shooting at each other.

A game warden was driving down the road when he came upon a young boy carrying a wild turkey under his arm.

Rustmeister on the name-calling:

It’s a slur, like any other. Elmer Fudd is arguably the dumbest cartoon character ever conceived. Grouping a whole section of gun owners that way is stereotyping, plain and simple.

I understand where the sentiment comes from - the perception that hunters sold gunnies down the river over the assault weapons ban and other gun control measures. However accurate the perception is, it’s done now. Grow the hell up.

I’m not totally convinced on the “slur” position, but I will agree 100% that the recreational shooter vs. hunter vs. self-defender factions have got to put their petty differences aside. Infighting helps no one but the common enemy.

The Firearm Blog discusses this new round in Hornady’s Dangerous Game Series that will soon be available:

The round is basically a necked up .375 Ruger and offers performance comparable to the classic .416 Rigby in a standard length cartridge. The Ruger M77 Hawkeye bolt action will be available chambered in this cartridge.

From Hornady, who developed the cartridge with Ruger and will offer the finished product beginning next year:

The beltless design of the cartridge case provides smooth, flawless function which is very important for a dangerous game cartridge. And, the standard length action provides less chance of “short stroking” the bolt when things get hairy.

416 Ruger ammunition will be available in two offerings: a 400 grain DGX™ (Dangerous Game eXpanding), and a 400 grain DGS™ (Dangerous Game Solid). Both feature a copper clad steel jacket with a high antimony lead alloy core.

Yesterday I stopped by my local gun shop and, predictably, the place was absolutely PACKED. I was looking for a mil spec buffer tube for my AR and headed over to the tactical section. The guy in front of me was buying a Rock River .308, and he said it was going to be primarily for hunting deer.

How many black ARs are we seeing at deer camp?

Girls just want to have guns

The girls going hunting story isn’t limited to the United States:

Alarmed by the decline of hunting’s popularity across North America, hunting organizations in Canada are wooing new species of sportsman rarely encountered in the bush: kids, women and the elusive city slicker.

The recruitment effort surfaced in Quebec last week.

The province’s hunting and fishing federation has launched a $150,000 campaign to encourage urbanites to step out of their condos, pick up a weapon and head for the wilderness.

The story also talks about the marketing angle a bit, pointing out that the hunting sector hasn’t really done a whole lot to help itself in that regard. This isn’t surprising, as hunters and pro-gun types might think that since what they do is fun and makes sense, it should sell itself. The problem is that the anti-hunting and anti-gun groups spend an awful lot of time and money on marketing the anti storyline, and it has a very negative effect on the sport. I think this lopsided situation in the public perception is behind at least part of the hunting decline and it’s nice to see a bit of an effort to establish a bit of positive buzz.

Of course, not all Canadian women are enthusiastic about it. Here’s a comment on the story left by someone named Patricia:

This sickens me. We are possessed of a war mentality and here is the proof. We must hunt defenseless sentient beings for fun. People living in modern society, who are several centuries removed from being hunter-gatherers, have absolutely no reason for hunting other than to unconsciously feed the sadistic and cruel side of ourselves. Wilderness habitats are shrinking and species are going extinct all because of human activity. Until deer, bear and dove can shoot back with their own equally powerful guns, hunting should be banned except for those small and remote communities whose existence depends on it.

Blah blah blah. That sounds exactly like someone spouting anti-hunting talking points.

Meant to point this out the other day and didn’t get to it: First Look: Thompson-Center Renegade 2.

John Snow at the GunShots:

The T-C Renegade 2 can be thought of as the Icon’s little brother—it’s not as fancy and it isn’t as sophisticated but the family resemblance is unmistakable nonetheless.

And for those hunters for whom the Icon’s $1,000 price tag was difficult to justify the best news is that the Renegade 2 will cost about half as much. According to Gregg Ritz, the MSRP on the new rifle will be $500 and the street price should come in around $450.

I was lucky enough to be one of the first to shoot the new rifle this morning down at the legendary Gametrails hunting lodge in Western Kentucky and the initial impression it left is very good.

Available in .30-06, .270 Win, .243 Win, and 7mm Rem Mag to begin with.

Go read the whole thing.