COLUMBUS — The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife confirmed that 24 white-tailed deer taken during the 2024-25 hunting season tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease. A total of 5,783 deer were tested. Twenty-three deer were taken by hunters in Allen, Hardin, Marion and Wyandot counties. For the first time, a deer harvested by a hunter in Morrow County also tested positive for CWD.
CWD is a neurological disease that is fatal to white-tailed deer and other similar species, including mule deer, elk and moose. Once an animal is infected, there is no cure for CWD. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no strong evidence that CWD is transmissible to humans. Find more information on CWD at ohiodnr.gov/cwd.
More information. Up-to-date information on Chronic Wasting Disease in Ohio can be found on the new CWD dashboard. The dashboard includes location and harvest information for all CWD-positive wild white-tailed deer confirmed since 2020. In addition, the interactive site helps hunters monitor the status of deer they submitted for testing.
The Division of Wildlife has extensively monitored and tested deer in the disease surveillance area since CWD was discovered in the wild in 2020. The Division of Wildlife has conducted routine surveillance for CWD since 2002, with more than 40,000 deer tested. The disease was first discovered in the 1960s in the western U.S. More information about this disease is available at cwd-info.org.
I was recently involved in a test of more than ten AR15s for hunting, including a number of brands from both Europe and the USA. To fire guns with free ammo and let others know what you think about them is always great fun, and this occasion was no exception. The testing involved both shooting in an indoor cinema and outdoors. The good thing with the cinema was that due to the low light, it was difficult to see what kind of brand and rifle I was using, to avoid any bias to a particular brand.
Ruger, DAR Germany, Grand Power and LWRCI (left to right).
Think before you buy
In some countries, the Government restricts the number of guns you can own, but regardless here’s some general advice from my side. Don’t just buy the cheapest rifle to fill your gun safe. Take care of your hunting rifle collection and choose the right rifle—one that really suits you! Also, keep an open mind that the AR platform might not be the best solution for your specific needs. Bolt-actions can be quite nice as well, and in some hunting parties, the AR-15 might not be as welcome – or at all.
The Grand Power R15 – Freya with 18” barrel. Note the skeletonized magazine well, which is a feature I’d avoid on a rifle that’s to spend a lot of time in the dirt.
A good friend of mine rushed to buy an AR-15 as soon as he could, without seeking better advice (mine, for instance). Now he’s stuck with a rifle that’s extremely front-heavy and has the longest, non-adjustable stock on the market. Did I mention he’s rather short? Modifying his rifle to fit him properly is certainly possible, but it will cost him thousands. He’s in the middle of that process right now, and it’s not going that well. I guess one day, after all his rebuilds, he’ll know his rifle really well and have tons of AR furniture left to sell on the secondhand market.
The German take on an AR-15 for hunting, the Schmeisser Hunter Pro with an 18″ Lothar Walther barrel. This model has Schmeisser’s famous adjustable gas block, which is great to adjust for your ammunition and if you’re going to run it suppressed.
In many countries, especially in Europe, buying and selling firearms requires permits and involves a lot of bureaucracy. Do what you can to expand your budget and invest in something solid—something you will actually use and rely on. A hunting rifle you look forward to shooting. The gun(s) gathering dust in the back of your safe isn’t going to bring you any joy, or not as much joy anyway.
The Diamondback Firearms DB15 Hunter Edition, with an 18” barrel in .223 Rem. A budget-friendly example, which provided good accuracy. I zeroed another one at 310 meters on a 20 cm steel plate, and even with the cheapest ammunition in the store and a so-so optic I got about 80% hit rate which impressed me. With an improved trigger, this rifle would be even better.
A rare sight in the USA, if it even exists. The Hera Arms GmbH, from Germany. What do you think of the design of the lower?
A LWRCI M6IC in .223 Rem. I tried to blind-test the rifles as much as possible, and this was my favorite. No wonder it also cost the most, but the finish and feel were second to none. Also, the Geissele trigger is very good for hunting with its two-stage control.
Shooting in a tunnel to check the accuracy. There’s no wind to mess things up, but firearms with compensators are quite unpleasant to shoot here.
FILE – Two Makah Indian whalers stand atop the carcass of a dead gray whale moments after helping tow it close to shore in the harbor at Neah Bay, Wash., May 17, 1999. Earlier in the day, Makah Indians hunted and killed the whale in their first successful hunt since voluntarily quitting whaling over 70 years earlier. The United States on Thursday, June 13, 2024 granted the Makah Indian Tribe in Washington state a long-sought waiver that helps clear the way for its first sanctioned whale hunts since 1999. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)ListenComment
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WASHINGTON STATE — After more than a quarter century, the Makah Tribe in Neah Bay is looking to hunt gray whales in the coming months. The Tribe submitted an application on Tuesday to hunt the marine mammals from July to October.
For the Makah Tribe, hunting whales is tradition. The tribal council submitted an application for a hunt under the Marine Mammal Protection Act to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries. The federal regulator is seeking public comment on the Makah Tribe’s permit application for a limited hunt for eastern North Pacific gray whales for ceremonial and subsistence purposes.
“The Makah tribe, through the 1855 Treaty of Neah Bay, reserved rights of whaling and sealing. That’s been a practice that has gone on for millennia,” Timothy Greene, the Makah Tribal Council Chairman, said.
The Makah are the only tribe with a treaty with the U.S. that specifically mentioned the right to hunt whales.
The hunting permit submission comes after more than two decades of legal challenges. The 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act forbids harming marine mammals. In June 2024, the tribe cleared a major hurdle, the feds approving the tribe’s request for a waiver to hunt gray whales.
“There’s a whole generation that hasn’t been able to undertake this activity and participate in those ceremonies and celebrate their culture around our whaling tradition,” Greene said.
NOAA Fisheries is reviewing the submission. If approved, members can hunt two or three Eastern North Pacific Gray Whales a year, or 25 total over a decade.
“We understand that [some] people are opposed to those types of activities. We’re not a threat to this whale population. We want to make sure that it’s healthy and thriving just as they do,” Greene said.
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Animal rights advocates, who have long opposed whaling, could also challenge NOAA’s decision in court. DJ Schubert, a senior wildlife biologist with the Washington, D.C.-based Animal Welfare Institute, has previously told KOMO News his organization would object to the issuance of the hunting permit but likely wait until final approvals are given before deciding whether to sue.
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Exposing the Big Game 
