Exposing the Big Game

Forget Hunters' Feeble Rationalizations and Trust Your Gut Feelings: Making Sport of Killing Is Not Healthy Human Behavior

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Tag Archives: duck hunting

Hunter who received ‘nasty’ death threats is now an inspiration to female hunting community

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http://www.foxnews.com/great-outdoors/2017/12/07/hunter-who-received-nasty-death-threats-is-now-inspiration-to-female-hunting-community.html

By Alexandra Deabler | Fox News
Nikki Tate says she's flattered that some of her followers see her as a role model.

Nikki Tate says she’s flattered that some of her followers see her as a role model.  (Nikki Tate)

Hunter and advocate Nikki Tate has been feeling a little overwhelmed since an articleabout her love of duck and deer hunting went viral.

“It’s been crazy,” Tate told Fox News. “Both positive and negative, but mostly positive.”

The 27-year-old lawyer had been receiving death threats through her Instagram, which showcases her hunting lifestyle.

“People would send things like, ‘I wish I could do to you what you did to that deer,’ or ‘Karma is a b—-,’” she said.

nikki tate 5

Tate often posts pictures of herself and her hunting dogs posing with carcasses of deer, hogs and waterfowl.  (Nikki Tate)

But Tate, who promotes ethical hunting, says the death threats weren’t shocking.

HUNTER FORCED TO DEFEND HER LIFESTYLE AFTER RECEIVING DEATH THREATS

“People have strong opinions and hunting is a trigger for a lot of people,” Tate said.

“I know other female hunters who have received those kinds of comments, and once I started getting a larger audience [on Instagram], random negative comments would start to trickle in,” she added. “Around 10K followers I would start getting private messages, really nasty and threatening comments.”

nikki tate 1

Tate says she’s been sent “really nasty and threatening comments” due to her lifestyle.  (Nikki Tate)

However, the hostile messages have paled in comparison to the outpouring of support she has received from the hunting community — after the article, her Instagram gained more than 2,000 followers overnight.

“People have messaged me on Instagram saying I am a role model and inspiration, and thanking me for supporting conservation,” she said.

nikki tate 4

Tate tells Fox News she hunts because it lets her know “exactly where my food came from.”  (Nikki Tate)

Also outside of the death threats, her unexpected celebrity has started a respectful dialogue around hunting that she hopes will continue.

“People who don’t agree with me have messaged me and asked me questions about hunting and why I do it. We have had very intellectual conversations — it’s been so rewarding for me.”

HUNTER BAGS TWO ‘BUCKS OF A LIFETIME’ IN SAME WEEK

Now that she’s been pushed into the limelight, Tate says she wants to use the opportunity to further spread her message about conservation and hunting.

“When you kind of get in the public eye and you have an opportunity to spread a message about conservation, take it,” she said. “I’m involved and I love being involved. I want to do something positive with the attention.”

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“When you kind of get in the public eye and you have an opportunity to spread a message about conservation, take it,” says Tate.  (Nikki Tate)

More: http://www.foxnews.com/great-outdoors/2017/12/07/hunter-who-received-nasty-death-threats-is-now-inspiration-to-female-hunting-community.html

Person airlifted after hunting accident near Morganton

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By: Lauren Ratcliffe

Updated: 

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/person-airlifted-after-hunting-accident-near-morganton/657763163

MORGANTON, N.C. – A duck hunter was airlifted to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte after a hunting accident near Morganton Saturday morning, officials say.

A sergeant with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission said the accident happened between 8 and 8:15 a.m Saturday on the Johns River Game Land in Burke County.

The victim was a duck hunter out hunting with a permit. Officials said the victim was leaving his hunt when he was shot through the left shoulder from behind with a high-powered rifle.

Officials said the victim is lucky to be alive and expected to be OK. He will need reconstructive surgery to his shoulder.

Early investigations indicate that a deer hunter, who was also permitted, shot the victim accidentally. Officials said the deer hunter mistook the victim for a deer.

Charges are expected in this case, but officials say they are waiting to ensure the victim’s condition continues to improve.

Reporter Dave Faherty first broke the story on Twitter, saying the accident happened off of Duckworth Drive.

How to keep your tree stand from killing you

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http://www.delmarvanow.com/story/life/outdoors/2017/08/11/tree-stand-safety-inspection/560969001/

Dave Ciekot, DelmarvaNow CorrespondentPublished 5:36 p.m. ET Aug. 11, 2017

August is an odd month. It’s too hot to start most hunting chores, the actual hunting seasons are weeks away and even the fishing is stuck in the summer doldrums. Yet we’re so close, calendar-wise, to so many things that everyone is itching to start doing something. With the archery deer seasons being some of the first hunting in September one smart thing to do now is take care of those minor but important details on your tree stands.

Whether you use a climbing, hang-on, ladder or tripod stand while deer hunting, take this time to go over your stands and check for things like rusted metal, worn bolts and loose pins. Replace anything that looks questionable because it’s certain to break at the most critical time. With tree stands that will likely be when you’re 20 feet in the air, which is not the place you want an equipment malfunction.

Pay close attention to the strap that secures the stand to the tree. On many stands this is simply a heavy nylon belt and those have a tendency to wear and rot over the years. Look closely if your stand has a metal band or cable for the tree attachment, too, as even those can deteriorate over time. I use a climber for much of bow season and a few years ago I noticed the metal cable was beginning to show rust and corrosion. In the trash it went, replaced by a brand new cable from the factory. Don’t take any chances.

Duck Hunter Drowns in Columbia River

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http://keprtv.com/news/local/rescue-divers-pull-duck-hunter-from-the-columbia-river

by Alex Burch

Sunday, October 15th 2017

Rescue Divers pull duck hunter from the Columbia River

AA

SACAJAWEA STATE PARK, Wash. — Franklin County Sheriff Deputies say a 31 year-old man drowned while duck hunting on the Columbia River on Saturday afternoon.

Dive and rescue teams hurried, searching for a man they said went into the water after his drifting boat.

Officials said the man was duck hunting with a partner at the time he went into the water, and didn’t surface again.

At least two dive and rescue boats scoured the stream near Sacajawea State Park And found the man within the hour.

Action News saw divers giving CPR to the man, then rushing him to the hospital in an ambulance.

Authorities are not releasing the victim’s name.

Keeping it ‘Fair and Ethical’– Robotic hunting decoys will be legal in PA

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, mcrocenzi@ydr.comPublished 4:23 p.m. ET Sept. 26, 2017 | Updated 12:13 p.m. ET Sept. 27, 2017
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners is making four electronic devices lawful for hunting and has given preliminary approval to make state game land access easier for individuals with mobility challenges. 

Electronic decoys for hunting waterfowl and doves was approved at Tuesday’s board meeting.

Hunting devices for other game, including electronically heated scent or lure dispensers and those that distribute ozone gas for scent-control purposes, also were approved.

The four devices will be legal in six to eight weeks.

“Next year they will be written into the digest and publicized even more so than they are now,” Wildlife Conservation Officer Supervisor Bert Einodshofer said.

More: Semi-auto rifles approved for some Pa. hunting

More: Gun silencers: Safety device or marketing ploy?

More: How many deer were harvested in Pa.?

The Game Commission began considering the use of these devices when sportsmen’s interest grew. Many hunters use the them legally in other states, including Maryland.

Springfield Township Farmers’ and Sportsmen’s Association board member Nate Ehrhart says he has used the electronic decoys while hunting waterfowl in Maryland.

He describes the decoys as efficient and a better version of wind-driven or pull-string decoys.

 “They worked well,” he said. “They help decoy the geese and the ducks.”

Einodshofer said these devices have not had a negative impact in other states. He doesn’t see any negative impact to wildlife or for “fair ethical chase” in Pennsylvania.

—

The board also gave preliminary approval for several changes to state game land access for individuals with mobility challenges.

The proposal includes a free Disabled Person Access Permit that would allow individuals to use ATVs, golf carts and other devices on certain state game land routes.

If given final approval, hunters who use wheelchairs can travel anywhere on the game lands where individuals are able to travel on foot. Those hunters can also locate and flush game, and may carry loaded sporting arms, while on or in wheelchairs.

The board will vote on the proposal at the Jan. 28-30 quarterly meeting.

Teen hurt in MN hunting accident

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Posted: Mon 7:50 AM, Sep 25, 2017  | 
Updated: Mon 8:49 AM, Sep 25, 2017

http://www.valleynewslive.com/content/news/Teen-hurt-in-MN-hunting-accident-447646143.html

A 16-year-old boy is recovering from a duck hunting accident on the opening day of Minnesota’s waterfowl season.

Douglas County sheriff’s officials say the boy and a 17-year-old hunting partner were in a boat on North Union Lake when the accident happened Saturday.

Police say the 17-year-old believed his shotgun was empty and put it in a case, but it accidentally discharged when he leaned over the side of the boat to retrieve a duck.

The other boy was hit in the leg, but his injuries are not life-threatening.

Police: Son fatally shoots his father in hunting accident

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http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/11/25/police-son-fatally-shoots-his-father-in-hunting-accident.html

Published November 25, 2016

SANDY CREEK, N.Y. –  State police say a 24-year-old man mistook his father for a deer and fatally shot the older man while hunting near the family’s central New York home on Thanksgiving.

Troopers say Kristopher Paro was in a tree stand in the woods behind his home in the Oswego County town of Sandy Creek around 4:40 p.m. Thursday when he heard what he thought was a deer about 100 yards away.

Police say Paro fired a shot, unaware that his father, 58-year-old Kevin Paro, had gone into the woods a short time earlier to hunt. Troopers say the father was hit in the chest by a round from his son’s .270-caliber rifle.

The older man was taken to Oswego Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The son hasn’t been charged. Police say their investigation is continuing.

Back to Normal

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It’s nice to see by this morning’s news that everything is back to ‘normal,’ at least in terms of humans being shot at in Paris. You wouldn’t know the ‘act of war’ was over around here. I’m hearing just as many semi-automatic shotgun blasts out there as I did yesterday.

Maybe more, in fact. Being a Saturday during goose and duck hunting season, it sounds like every waterfowl hunter in the neighborhood has declared war on our aquatic avian friends.

Someone must have set up a duck blind nearby. Yesterday they were out blasting at birds all day, right through the torrential rainstorm that should have been a duck’s delight.

Yes, everything’s back to normal today, but If this killing of animals by the hundreds is ‘normal,’ why are we so shocked when humans go after each other?

Text and Wildlife Photography ©Jim Robertson, 2014. All Rights Reserved

What Fresh Hell Is This?

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What do you call a war waged on unarmed opponents?  Considering the rate and frequency of shooting I’m hearing out there now, there’s a massacre going on. If the victims being slain were human, it would be called mass murder. A pre-dawn ambush. All-out insanity. Evil incarnate.

But to the hunters on opening day annihilating ducks and geese, it’s tradition; harvesting nature; business as usual.

Text and Wildlife Photography ©Jim Robertson

Text and Wildlife Photography ©Jim Robertson

Someone must have signaled “charge” to an entire platoon waiting to attack at dawn, and a mindless barrage of semi-automatic shotgun fire shattered the morning air. Now it’s 7:30 a.m. and only the random explosions break the stillness. The blitzkrieg has been going on steadily for over forty-five minutes—since before first light (sunrise today is officially at 7:35, according to the NOAA weather radio).

I wasn’t sure if the “enemy,” no, “opponent,” no, victims were the elk herd who occasionally visit the neighbor’s hayfield, the stray black-tail deer who keep themselves mostly out of sight around here for fear of poachers, or the ducks and geese who are starting to gather on their customary wintering grounds. Judging by the constant rapid gun fire, the victims must be the “waterfowl” whose “season” started today.

What fresh hell is this? Armageddon for avian kind? Or just another opening day for sport hunters?