Outdoors With Othmar Vohringer

Maine Trappers 1 - Animal Rights 0

2009-11-11T14:49:00.000-08:00

© By Othmar Vohringer

Today I received a press release from the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation that I would like to share with my readers. Ones again sportsmen and the supporting organizations have proven that when we stick together and argue with facts we win against animal rights. Read on!

Trappers in Maine won a major victory as the state’s Federal District Court upheld the state’s trapping practices and blocked the establishment of a precedent that could be used by anti-hunting and anti-trapping groups nationwide.
In 2008, the Animal Welfare Institute and the Wildlife Alliance of Maine filed a lawsuit against the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (DIFW) seeking a permanent injunction that would have essentially prohibited trapping in the state. The lawsuit claimed that Maine’s trapping regulations violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) because Canada lynx, a threatened species under the ESA, could be incidentally caught in traps causing “irreparable harm” to the population.

Throughout the case, the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation (USSAF), along with the Maine Trappers’ Association, Fur Takers of America, National Trappers’ Association , and several individual sportsmen, argued that the anti-trapping plaintiffs had to show that Maine’s trapping practices were a threat to the Canada lynx population as a whole. The plaintiffs insisted that harm to one individual lynx was sufficient for the Court to prohibit trapping in the state.

On November 10th, Federal District Court Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. ruled that Maine’s trapping practices did not irreparably harm the Canada lynx and denied the injunction sought by the anti-trappers. Further, the Judge agreed with the state and the USSAF that “irreparable harm” is harm to a species as a whole and not simply one individual member.

“Although the plaintiffs may appeal the ruling, the Federal Court’s decision is a monumental victory for the trappers in Maine and sets an excellent precedent that will make it harder for the antis to misuse the ESA in their attempts to ban hunting and trapping in other states,” states USSAF Vice President for Government Affairs Rob Sexton.

“We knew the evidence was on our side and are thrilled with outcome,” said Skip Trask, executive director of the Maine Trappers Association. “The USSAF’s legal assistance was invaluable to the favorable outcome.”

Read full article here.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Tags: Maine Trappers, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, Trappers Win Court Case Against Anti Hunters, Press Release,

A happy day for Canadian gun owners

2009-11-08T15:57:00.000-08:00

© By Othmar Vohringer

I am a bit late with this news but thought that my American readers would like to know that Canada’s gun owners finally can sigh a breath of relieve. The Firearm Registry is finally to be killed off.

The Firearm Registry required that every gun owner had to register any firearm they owned or acquired. Failing to do so was a criminal offence and could lead to having the guns taken away by the police. Canadian firearm owners had to endure the firearm registry for over a decade. The registry was introduced as a cosmetic touch in response to the December 1989 massacre of 14 women at a Montreal college. True to Liberal party thinking (then still in power) and the anti gun lunatic fringe of society the guns were to blame for the bloodbath not the killer.

The idea, faulty as it was, was that ones all the guns are registered, including all personal information of the owner, illegal firearms would just simply vanish and gun violence would end. Initially this cosmetic touch should cost taxpayers no more than two million dollars. But what do you know it ended up costing the taxpayers over two billion dollars and counting.

Any sane person would understand that just registering the guns alone would not prevent crime or illegal gun traffic. Since when do criminals register firearms? Even the police had to admit that there was not a single case known where the registry could be used to trace an illegal firearm used in a crime. As I just said, criminals do not register guns. However, that simple fact did not jell with the Liberal government, they just keep pouring more money into it.

When the Conservative party took over the government, Harper promised that he would kill the useless gun registry but since he only had a minority it was not as easy as he thought but finally it has happened. The Harper government finally could convince some of the more reasonable Liberals to see commonsense and support him to bring and end to Canada’s most expensive cosmetic application in recent history. The 164-137 vote in favour of Bill C-391 is a big victory for the Tories, who have been fighting for years to end what they call a "wasteful, inefficient" registry.

There are only a few left that will not see common sense and one of them is Michael Ignatieff who joined the Liberal party as their new leader and hopes one day to run for Prime Minister. Not if Canadians can help it. Ignatieff said that his Liberal party, who brought the long-run registry in, still support the gun control registry and believes in its value to control gun crime. That anti gun fanatic, the Major of Toronto, blows the same hot pro registry air. He cries that gun violence will go up if the registry is scraped. Funny thing is that all these years when Canada had a gun registry, Toronto’s gun related crime just went up, and up, and up… Could it be that the gun registry has eaten up so much money (two billion) that there was nothing left to hire more police officers? It seems obvious to me.

Although the first and important step is taken in killing the gun registry with an overwhelming nod from the parliament, there are still several hurdles to jump until we see the final burial service of the gun registry. There are some that say that the registry might resurface in a different from but somehow I don’t think so. The majority of Canadians are outraged about the amount of money it has cost them and they got absolutely nothing in return for it. I think, any politician, other than Ignatieff (he will just return to America if he fails) and a few other diehard anti-gun-advocates, will be very foolish to keep beating away on a dead horse and upset taxpayers even more then they already are.

It’s a good day to be a legal Canadian firearm owner again without been treated like a potential criminal and liability to society. Somehow and throughout the years I always believed that in the end commonsense would prevail. As for Harper, he will get my vote anytime. Harper and his Tory party worked for many years against all obstacles to make good on the election promise to scrap the registry, and so they did. It’s nice to know that there are still a few politicians left with a backbone.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Tags: Canada, Gun Registry, Gun Control , Harper, Canada Abolishes Firearm Registry

Two new states are added to the concealed handgun reciprocity list

2009-11-01T10:59:00.000-08:00

© By Othmar Vohringer

The Sunday Gazette Mail reports that two more American states, Delaware and North Dakota, have added West Virginia to the concealed handgun reciprocity list. According to Managing Deputy Attorney General Tom Smith the signed agreement with Delaware should be back any day now.

Once the deal with Delaware is final, West Virginians with valid concealed weapons permits will be able to legally carry a hidden gun in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and Virginia under written agreements between West Virginia and those states.

While each day more American states recognize the inherent right of citizens to protect themselves against criminals and oppose the sweeping gun control plans of the federal government. Here in Canada, especially Ontario, legal gun owners have become the target of Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair and his rabbit anti gun boss, Toronto Mayor David Miller.

With broad sweeping statements and outright lies the pair blames legal gun owners for gun crimes. Since the day Harper became Canada’s Prime Minister he’s working on the abolition of the multi-million-dollar mess, called Firearm Registry. Miller and Blair, in an effort of scare mongering people, go public with statements that the Conservative government wants to abolish all gun control. Nothing could be further from the truth. Harper only wants to get rid of the gun registry that has terribly failed and costs taxpayers millions.

In a statement Police Chief Blair bragged that he assigned over 1,000 officers to the task of checking up on legal gun owners. In his mind that is how violent crime can be lowered. Of course we all know that the real problem of violent crime are the courts. The courts consistently refuse to punish criminals, often turning criminals back onto the streets before the ink on the police report is dry.

Having grown up in Switzerland I have learned at a very early age in life that when citizens are given the tools to make use of their God given right to defend themselves against criminal’s, crime will go down. Because as my father once said, “A criminal may not value your life but he sure as hell values his own. Knowing that he [the criminal] is likely to loose his life will make him think twice before committing a crime.” Which echoes a statement made by the late Swiss State President, “An armed society is a safe, free and polite society.”

Taking away the means of defense or even the tight to defend will not make for a safer society. Quite the opposite. There is nothing more appealing to a criminal then a defenseless victim. add to that the morally corrupt courts that seem to be more concerned with a criminals rights then that of the victim and it not difficult to figure out why crime is on the rise.

It seems that more and more American states understand that and begin to act upon, despite federal efforts to take guns away from legal gun owners.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Tags: Gun Control, Concealed Handgun Carry, Toronto, Concealed Handgun Reciprocity list

Wings over Canada – How ducks became a prominent feature of Canada

2009-10-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

(Originally published in the Merritt News)

By Othmar Vohringer

We take it for granted when we see large numbers of ducks of all shapes and sizes congregating in city ponds, marshes, wetlands, and lakes or geese flying overhead in their characteristic “V” formation on their journey south.

So much so that it may be hard to imagine for the younger generation that this has not always been the case. About 60 years ago waterfowl were on the brink of extinction due to rapid urban expansion, pollution and the creation of agricultural croplands, which contributed to the disappearance of much of our wetlands – areas which are critical to waterfowl as feeding and breeding habitats.

As well, during the Dust Bowl years between 1930 and 1940, also known as the Dirty 30’s, North America’s drought-plagued waterfowl populations had plunged to unprecedented lows. A group of dedicated sportsmen and conservationists decided not to sit idly by as the continent’s waterfowl numbers continued to dwindle and so founded an organization in 1937 that became known as Ducks Unlimited (DU).

Less than 2 years after that historical event Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) was established in the year 1938. Considering that 70 percent of all North American waterfowl originates from Canada this was a smart conservation move. Since then other chapters have been established in Latin America, Mexico, New Zealand, and Australia, making DU the largest waterfowl and wetland conservation organization in the world.

In North America alone DU has over 1,718 conservation projects running on more than 2.8 million acres of land. In order to create new habitat and restore wetlands more than 2,903 miles of shoreline has been created and the cubic yards of earth moved exceeds more than one million. The result of this massive undertaking didn’t take long to show the desired results. By 1944 waterfowl populations rose over 40% and have continued to rise up to the present day.

Waterfowl populations are now at their highest numbers ever. Ducks of different species flying along one of North America’s four major migration routes are estimated to be over 50 million strong. Add to that an estimated population of several million geese of different breeds and even the most oblivious among us will be impressed with the results.

Although Ducks Unlimited is primarily concerned with the conservation of waterfowl and their habitat, its benefits are far wider reaching. True to the DU motto, “It’s more than ducks”, song and wading birds, deer, beaver, muskrats, moose and bears among many other wildlife species have also benefited from those efforts.

Of course wildlife are not the only ones to benefit from wetland and marsh conservation. There are a vast array of plant species and insects that thrive near and around wetlands. Wetlands and marshes are critical to our rivers and lakes and with that to our fisheries and people. Far to few people are aware what a wide reaching positive impact the protection, conservation and reestablishment work of Ducks Unlimited has on our wildlife, habitat and people. It’s more than ducks. It’s an entire ecosystem.

As you can imagine ongoing conservation projects on such a grand scale costs many millions of dollars. Duck Unlimited relies entirely on private money donations and fund raising events organized by volunteers of the various chapters across Canada. To keep the running cost of such a large organization at an absolute minimum DU only has a few employees on the payroll. The rest are all volunteer workers.

Bill Otway, former Ducks Unlimited Provincial Chairman for six consecutive years and eight years on the national board of Directors told me recently that the organization spends over 90% of the money raised directly on conservation programs. According to Bill this is because: “Everybody, including the directors, are volunteers and have to pay their own expenses out of their own pockets to attend meetings, functions, and organization conventions.”

Bill also tells me that Ducks Unlimited has raised over one billion dollars and is well into the second billion. No other conservation organization in the world can match that conservation-funding feat. Ducks Unlimited today conserves, restores, builds and maintains in Canada alone over 6,679,810 acres of waterfowl habitat through volunteer work provided by the 100,000 strong Canadian memberships.

Despite the unparalleled achievements of Ducks Unlimited in bringing waterfowl back from near extinction to numbers never seen before the battle is not over; wetland loss continues in Canada. As much as 70 per cent of Canada’s original wetlands have been lost in some areas of the country.

As more of our precious and delicate nature disappears forever under the bulldozers it remains important to support the conservation efforts of Duck Unlimited in their never ending quest to conserve, restore and maintain important habitat that ultimately will benefit all wildlife and humans alike.

Join the Ducks Unlimited fund raising banquet event on October 30th in the Merritt Civic Centre knowing that your money will be spent on an important cause right here in the Thompson-Nicola region. Tickets are 50 dollars per person. The event starts off with cocktails at 6:00pm and dinner will be served at 7:00pm followed by an evening of fun, entertainment, silent auctions, raffle, door prizes and much more.

For more information about Ducks Unlimited Canada visit:
www.ducks.ca

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors

Rags: Ducks Unlimited, Canada, Wetland Conservation, Waterfowl, Ducks, Geese, Waterfowl Hunting

Zing Outdoors Productions Introduces New DVD

2009-10-20T16:54:00.000-07:00

By Othmar Vohringer

I had the opportunity to watch volume I and II of Zing Outdoors new DVD releases. Follow the Zing Outdoor Production team as they pursue wild game in Montana, Alberta, British Columbia and many other places. Witness the success and frustration of real hunting, filmed as it happened in some of the most stunning landscapes North America has to offer.

Here are just some of the hunts that stand out for me. Jason Matzinger scouted hard and long to find a particular Big Horn Ram he named the “Copper King”. Watch as the hunt unfolds. First Jason tries to hunt the “Copper King” with bow and arrow. The Copper King would have made the Montana bowhunting state record, but it was not be. A few months later he tried again with the rifle and finally succeeds. This is real hunting and you’re part of it.

Another hunt I enjoyed is when the Matzinger team came to my home province of British Columbia in pursuit of caribou, grizzly bear and mountain sheep. The Zing Outdoors crew did a great job of showing the beauty of “my country” and the magnificent wildlife this world hunting and fishing destination has to offer.

Or how about the hunt for a mountain lion with traditional archery tackle in the middle of the Montana winter. The moment the dogs are let loose to the arrow hitting its mark you’re there. The action is so real that when the lion jumped out of the tree and landed almost on top of the hunter I was tempted to shout, “Watch out”

I could go on and list more hunts that stand out. But you just have to trust me when I say that I felt like I was right there hunting with the Zing Team. There are no commercials that interrupt the enjoyment of the video as you follow the pursuit of bear, elk, moose, caribou, antelope, mountain lion, turkey, mule deer and whitetail deer with bow, rifle, shotgun and muzzleloader.

It’s apparent from watching the video that the Matzinger family enjoys hunting and want you to be part of that enjoyment too.

If you love hunting as much as I do you will enjoy every minute of the Zing DVD volume I and II.

Find more information about Zing Outdoor Production on their website:
ZingOutdoors.com

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Tags: Hunting Video, Zing Outdoors, Video Production

Website Update

2009-10-04T21:41:00.000-07:00

© By Othmar Vohringer

In case you all have been wondering what caused my absence from this blog. As usual I have been busy with earning a living and then there is the hunting season too. In the spare time we did some renovations on the house get the garden ready for next year, laid a new wooden floor in the living room and hallway.

After all that I still had a little time on my hand and used it up by completely redesigning my website. While I was at it I added a few new features to it, like “Ask Othmar”. This came about because I get a lot of questions from hunters by email or on my seminars. Many of the questions are similar, suggesting that many hunters have the same problem. So I thought to make my answers available to a wider circle of hunters by posting them on my website.

There are other new features and service that might be of interest to you as a hunter or company in the hunting industry. Go have a look at the new layout and design and let me know how you like it. This is also the perfect time to say a heartfelt thank you to my wife Heidi, without her professional input, design ideas and photography the website surely would not look as good as it does.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Othmar Vohringer Joins ASAT Camo® Pro-Staff Team

2009-09-25T17:41:00.000-07:00

- For immediate release -

Merritt, September 24, 2009

Merritt, British Columbia, Canada – Othmar Vohringer announced today that he joined the Pro-Staff team of ASAT Camo®. Othmar said “I have been a ASAT camouflage user for many years. What convinced me about ASAT is the fact that it is one of the few camouflage patterns designed using animal vision science. After researching many different camouflage patterns in my own field tests I came to the researched conclusion that ASAT indeed is the choice of smart hunters.”

Highly respected by his peers, Othmar’s accomplishments as an outdoor writer, seminar speaker and hunting promoter will add to the reputation of ASAT Camo. “I am pleased to support ASAT any which way I can. As a convinced ASAT user I have the dedication and believability needed to promote the product convincingly.” Othmar said.

About ASAT
By the time ASAT Camo began back in 1986, Jim Barnhart and hunting buddy Stan Starr Jr. had already come to some definite conclusions about how hunting camouflage should look. The two did not start out to get into the camo business -- ASAT (All Season All Terrain) camo was developed after almost twenty years of exhaustive research in all parts of North America, in all four seasons of the year.

Stan and Jim believed that a lot of camo available at the time had been designed like fishing lures - to catch the hunter rather than help catch the quarry. They knew that just because a pattern looks good in a store or in a small isolated field situation, it doesn't mean that it will work well under all conditions and at all times of the year. What Stan and Jim ultimately decided to do was develop a camo pattern that would be good at all times, in any environment, to fool any game animal or bird. It was a tall order, but the pair felt that they had succeeded with ASAT. Obviously, many hunters felt and still feel, the very same way.

Today, over 20 years later the same pattern continues to turn hunter's heads, with it's light khaki tan background and contrasting, curved striped shapes. Hunters wearing ASAT realize they have effective camo for virtually all conditions - from bright direct sunlight - to the low light of early morning/late evening - to cloudy overcast days and most every hunting condition in between.

Whether you are attempting to hide in rocks, trees, limbs, bushes, leaf edges and more, ASAT continues to deliver - with a promise. We at ASAT are so confident in our camouflage that we are offering an impressive guarantee: If any customer wears ASAT exclusively for one year and doesn't see more game than they ever have wearing anything else, we will buy your garment back. More information about ASAT is available at:
www.asatcamo.com

About Othmar Vohringer
Life long hunter using bow, crossbow, rifle and muzzleloader in the pursuit of his favorite game animals, the whitetail deer and wild turkey, conservationist, outdoor writer, seminar speaker and registered hunter education instructor of British Columbia, Othmar has spent a lifetime promoting hunting and recruiting young and new hunters. More information about Othmar is available at:
www.othmarvohringer.com

Court Asked To Censor Hunting and Fishing Imagery?

2009-09-24T12:15:00.000-07:00

© By Othmar Vohringer

Once again the US government tries with the help of the courts to censor our right of expression. This is important to all outdoor writers, photographers, hunting video producers, and hunting, and fishing blog/website owners. If the following case is decided against us we’re doomed. Please take note and act today.

Press release from POMA

JOHNSTOWN, PA. - The Professional Outdoor Media Association, a professional organization of traditional outdoor sports journalists and hunting and fishing industry professionals and organizations will participate in an audio news briefing today, September 24 at 2:00 p.m. EDT.

POMA will discuss a case in which the government is asking the Supreme Court for the power to censor hunting and fishing imagery, creating a new exception to the First Amendment for the first time in 25 years.
At issue in U.S. v. Stevens, No. 08-769, is a 1999 federal law that makes it a crime to create, sell or possess videos and other depictions of cruelty to animals. The case arose over the conviction of a Virginia man, Robert Stevens, who received a three-year prison sentence from a Pennsylvania court for selling videos that included scenes of hunting with dogs. The Justices will hear arguments in the case on Tuesday, October 6.
In addition to working with the Washington, D.C., Jones Day Law Firm to file a brief on behalf of its members, Laurie Lee Dovey, POMA's executive director, coordinated a larger group of amici from a wide range of constituencies.

The American Society of Media Photographers, North American Nature Photographers, Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association, Southeastern Outdoor Press Association, Texas Outdoor Writers Association and more than 600 individual journalists, outdoor industry professionals and sportsmen joined POMA's brief.

POMA members, such as the National Rifle Association, Safari Club International, National Shooting Sports Foundation, and others filed individual briefs on behalf of their members.
The speakers at the audio news conference are:

David Horowitz, Executive Director, Media Coalition
Laurie Lee Dovey, Executive Director, Professional Outdoor Media Association
Joan Bertin, Executive Director, National Coalition Against Censorship
Chris Finan, President, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression
Doug Burdin, Litigation Counsel, Safari Club International

Labor Day Weekend Fun

2009-09-07T17:27:00.000-07:00

© By Othmar Vohringer

We had a great time on the Labor Day Weekend. Here in Merritt it’s the Weekend of the fall fair and the rodeo with a jam packed program. The event starts with a pancake breakfast in the town square followed by a parade, which this year was canceled for some reason.

Heidi entered the fall fair exhibition with a fine collection of her amazing photography and computer-generated artwork. For weeks Heidi searched through her huge image files to choose the very best she had to offer. When I saw the finalists staked up in her office I knew that she had a few winners. On Saturday when we went to the fall fair exhibition to see what everybody else had on display I was blown completely away by the fact that Heidi cleaned the awards up.

Every single photo and art piece made either first place, second or third place with the exception of two that made nothing and one honorable mention. To say I was mighty proud of my wife is an understatement. The fall fair is always interesting, there is so much to see and admire. Besides photography and art there were other crafts on display, preserved homegrown food, flowers, vegetables, 4-H livestock and projects, and so much more. It’s truly amazing what people do in their spare time. I only wish more young people would get involved in such community events.

On Sunday we went to the rodeo which, for me is always the highlight of the fall fair. Rodeo is just about the only sport that interests me. This years highlight was however the success of my wife. Nothing can compare to that. Yep, we have had a great weekend. There is nothing like living in a small town with an active community spirit. Can’t find that in the big city.

Read more about the fall fair and Heidi's exhibition here and here you can see a few of her award winning images.
To see Heidi's awesome photography and learn more about her photography services visit her website.

Here I leave you with a few pictures from the rodeo
Photos © By Othmar Vohringer

I just took that shot a split second before the cowboy joined his hat on the ground.

This bull is known for jumped high in the air and then twist quickly or roll to throw the rider off balance.

This particular bull has a reputation for getting the rider off over his head and then stomp on him. The bull rider will be sent flying any second now.

Calf roping and steer wresting is still very much part of the daily life on the cattle ranges around Merritt. Here are two local cowboys show how it is done.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Roger Raglin – All new programming on the Pursuit Channel for 2010

2009-09-04T16:14:00.001-07:00

Roger Raglin, respectfully referred as “America’s Whitetail Deer Hunter” has long been one of my favorite hunting celebrities with his patented “Jiminy Christmas” and so it is with joy that I provide to you the following media release.

LUVERNE, Ala. - The Pursuit Channel proudly announces the addition of award-winning outdoor TV producer Roger Raglin to the 2010 lineup.

An over 20-year veteran of outdoors television, Raglin will be bringing a brand new hunting show to Pursuit. "My goal is to produce a show that's entertaining, informative and easy to watch," said Raglin. "I think the Pursuit Channel is lining up the right folks to make this network a network sportsmen can't wait to watch. With the addition of Mossy Oak, Hank Parker, Keith Warren, and others, I'm thrilled they've invited me to join this elite group of outdoor giants."

Pursuit has recently welcomed a wealth of leading producers to a dramatically upgraded 2010 lineup. Mossy Oak recently announced its commitment of resources to branded, destination blocks of programming, anchored by their award-winning, popular programs. Leading producers including Hank Parker, Keith Warren, the NWTF, QDMA and many others have also committed to Pursuit.

Rusty Faulk, CEO of Pursuit network said, "We couldn't be more excited to have Roger join the Pursuit team. Not only is he an outdoor icon he also brings good wholesome entertainment that the entire family can watch, ethical and safe hunting practices and professional production value. He'll be a great fit here."

"Roger has been in outdoor television longer than me, and that's really saying something," said Ronnie "Cuz" Strickland with Mossy Oak Productions. "I'm anxious to see what he is going to deliver to Pursuit next year. I'm just excited to see all these great producers joining us on the Pursuit Channel, a network that is producer friendly and focused on 100-percent hunting and fishing programming."

Look for Roger Raglin's new show 3rd quarter of 2010. For information on how you can get Pursuit Channel in your home, call 334-335-6926 or go online to www.pursuitchannel.com.

Roger Raglin Website
Pursuit Channel

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Tags: Roger Raglin, America’s Whitetail Deer Hunter, Pursuit Channel, Television Hunting Show

Last Call- Block the Czar- Action Needed Today

2009-09-04T13:57:00.000-07:00

Media Release by U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance - By now you should already be well aware of our effort to block President Obama’s radical, animal rights supporting, anti-hunting “Regulatory Czar”, Cass Sunstein. We’ve been asking sportsmen to contact BOTH of their U.S. senators for weeks.

NOW is crunch time. It appears that the Senate will be taking up this nomination when they return to Washington, D.C. after Labor Day. This means there will likely be a vote as early as Wednesday, September 9. If you haven’t made the calls yet to your senators, NOW is the time to do it.

Remember, this is a person who has written that animals should SUE HUMANS and that recreational hunting should be BANNED! These views are intolerable for someone to possess who will have control over all federal regulations.
For more information on Cass Sunstein, Click Here. Make sure to click the link for writing your senator and make YOUR voice heard.

For more information regarding the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alert Network, call 614-888-4868, or email Greg R. Lawson, director of communications at glawson@ussportsmen.org or Sharon Hayden, assistant director of communications at shayden@ussportsmen.org.

Here are a few I found out about Cass Sunstein. Ir’s scary how un-American this guy is.

On a speech made in 2007 he proclained that hunting should be outlawed inmidieatly nationwide.

On another speech a few months ago Sunstein said that the internet is “anti-democratic” because a website owner can deside what information he she wants to publish on it and filter out any information that they deem objectionable. Sinstein said. “Legal requirments should be put in place that forces website owners to put fair and balanced information out.” (This means that hunting blogs would have to post animal rights points of views too and Cristian sites would also have to endorse Satanic cults.)

Sunstain also wants to see regulations that would make it mandatory for specialiazed email software that automatically destrys any email containing “uncivil” content.

In his book “Radical to Robes” Sunstein writes that he believes that all gun control legislation is constitutionally congruent. He believes that the U.S. Supreme Court “got it wrong” in determining that the 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear arms applies to individuals.

In his 2004 book entitled “Animal Rights” he wrote that he believed that “Animals should be permitted to bring suit, with human beings as their representatives …”

These are just a few of the totalitarian Stalinist views Sunstein has about how people should be controlled and governed and that’s the man President Obama want as his regulatory czar.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Tags: Animal Rights, Cass Sunstein, Obama, Anti Hunting, U.S. Senate

Rabbits, Australia’s number one feral pest

2009-08-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

© Othmar Vohringer

Rabbits are Australia’s most widespread and destructive environmental and agricultural pest animals. Rabbits are not native to Australia. The rabbits have been introduced from England around 1827 and quickly spread all over Australia. Within a few decades their numbers grew to millions, making the rabbit the fasted growing population of introduced species anywhere in the world.

The impact of rabbits on native plants and agricultural crops includes damage to vegetation through ringbarking, grazing and browsing. Rabbits also prevent regeneration of native plants by eating seedlings. As well as causing detrimental habitat change, rabbits threaten native mammals through direct competition for food and shelter.

The damage to the agricultural economy is estimated to be in the billions and the damage to wild habitat and wildlife is considered “threatening”. Compared with Europe and America, Australia has few predators and lacks wild predatory species (e.g. ferrets and weasels), which kill young rabbits in great numbers. Australia's moderate to tropical climate permits rabbits to breed throughout the year, often having as many as four times offspring. A rabbit can raise as many as 16 young. The survival chances of the offspring is regraded "excellent" due to the preferable climate and the lack of predators that feed on rabbits. To give birth and raise their young rabbits burrow deep holes in the ground. A large population of rabbits can completely destroy vast tracts of land with underground tunnels.

Overgrazing by rabbits removes plant cover and contributes to soil erosion. Rabbits cause changes in the quality of flora and habitat of native fauna. Most rabbit damage to native vegetation occurs when the annual pasture dries off and rabbits are forced to eat native perennial plants.

Shooting, trapping, poisoning rabbits and using dynamite to blow up their burrows have little impact on the fast expanding rabbit population. In a last ditch effort to eradicate Australia’s number one pest the government introduced myxomatosis, a deadly illness that only befalls rabbits, but it did not have the hoped for effect to curb the devastating rabbit plague. The rabbit population is still growing out of control.

Yesterday I reported that PETA successfully bullied Alannah Hill into the discontinuation of using fur as trim for her famous fashion garments. Alannah caved in after PETA members sent over 4,000 abusive messages and threatened to kill her and harm her seven-year old son if she doesn’t stop to use fur. You may ask, “What has that to do with Australia’s rabbit pest problem?” I’ll tell you. Alannah Hill used exclusively wild rabbit fur for her fashion clothing and PETA objects to using a side product of a pest killed in the millions. In other words PETA puts animals over the interest of people. Even, as in this case, said animals destroy vast expanses of wildlife habitat and agricultural land.

It would be preferable to PETA if Australia is totally over run and destroyed by rabbits than having a fashion designer making use of a pests fur and making a living by doing so. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. PETA went many times on public record stating that an animal’s life is preferable over that of a human. Ingrid Newkirk made the following infamous statements; “Even if animal tests produced a cure for AIDS, we’d be against it.” Or how about this one “Humans have grown like a cancer. We're the biggest blight on the face of the earth.” Of course these are only two of many such human degrading statements, like the one where she compares the horrors endured by the Jews in Nazi Germany with that of chickens.

Mind you PETA only plays the animal advocate if it suits their agenda propaganda. Behind closed doors they have as little regard for animals as they have for humans. PETA kills more animals in their pet shelter than any other animal shelter in North America. PETA is so much into killing animals that some of the pets that are handed over to them never make it alive to the shelter, and that despite promising the owners of the pet to do their utmost to find a good home for it. There are also documented cases where PETA and the HSUS have willfully inflicted pain on animals in order to obtain “realistic” film footage for theit propaganda videos.

Can you spell “hypocrites”?

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Tags: Alannah Hill, PETA, Ingrid Newkirk, Australia Rabbit Plague, Fur

PETA succeeds in bulling fashion designer into submission

2009-08-19T23:28:00.000-07:00

© By Othmar Vohringer

Yesterday I published a news release issued by the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance. According to which PETA launched death threats against renowned Melbourne fashion designer Alannah Hill.

The news release went on to say that Alannah issued a public statement against PETA after receiving the alleged threat from a person indicating a relationship with the animal rights group. According to a statement published in several international newspapers, Hill stated that police were contacted on August 4 in order to “investigate a disturbing and heated death threat.” The threat was from the e-mail address “newsmanager@peta.org.”

Last night I read on PETA Watch that the fashion designer buckled down to the pressure of PETA after receiving over 4,500 abusive emails and death threats. The last straw for her was when a PETA member threatened her seven year-old son.

This is not the first time that PETA has used threats, insults, slander and even violence to intimidate people to comply with their crazy agenda. There isn’t a country in the world that does not have a mile long file on record about animal rights terrorism against law abiding hard working people that mind their own business and go about a legal profession. Ingrid Newkirk, the founder and president of PETA, herself has gone countless times on public record endorsing violence against people as a justified means to achieve the outlandish anti-human goals of her organization.

PETA spokesperson Ashley Fruno predictably denied being behind the attack.
"That's not something PETA ever does. Our entire philosophy is based on compassion to all beings." Yea right and what you call this or this. If that is what PETA calls "compassion" then God help us.

By the way, Ashley Fruno is one of PETA's most notorious activists. She has been arrested in many countries around the world on grounds of indecent exposure, harassment, intimidation and assault among a long list of other violations. Fruno is blacklisted and barred from entering several countries in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world. Ashley’s claim to animal rights activist fame is that she has been in more jails and courtrooms around the world then most other animal rights. It seems fitting for PETA to choose Fruno, a "hero" of the animal rights movement, as their spokesperson. It also says a lot about the violent nature of that movements agenda.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Tags: PETA, Animal Rights Terrorists, Death Threats, Alannah Hill, Animal Rights Violence, Animal Rights Threaten To Kill Seven Year Old Boy

PETA Issuing Death Threats?

2009-08-19T16:01:00.000-07:00

Is PETA showing their true colors again?

From the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance

A recent e-mail sent to an Australian fashion designer from what appeared to be a PETA e-mail address contained an alleged death threat. If found true, PETA will have taken its outrageous acts to a new level.

Fashion designer Alannah Hill issued a public statement against PETA after receiving the alleged threat from a person indicating a relationship with the animal rights group. According to a statement published in several international newspapers, Hill stated that police were contacted on August 4 in order to “investigate a disturbing and heated death threat.” The threat was from the e-mail address “newsmanager@peta.org.”

PETA had been protesting outside Hill’s boutique in Melbourne, Australia by donning Grim Reaper outfits and criticizing use of rabbit fur in her designs.
According to media reports, a PETA staffer indicated that it does oppose Hill’s work, but denied that it was behind the specific threat made in the e-mail.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Tags: PETA, Death Threats, Animal Rights, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance

The pink wave

2009-08-18T18:35:00.001-07:00

© By Othmar Vohringer

Have you noticed the pink wave in the outdoor stores? I am sure you have. It seems as time goes on pink hunting and fishing gear proliferates at rapid speeds. I’ve seen pink rifles, bows, arrows, camouflage, gun cases and game calls. It's no different on the fishing side, pink rods, reels, fishing line, tackle boxes and fishing tools. I've even seen deer lure bottle labels, flashlights and get this; pink flashlight batteries, hunting knives and more.

What’s up with that pink wave on the hunting store shelves? It all started as a ploy to get more women interested in the outdoors and it worked to a degree. But has it now gone to far? Over the years I have talked to many women hunters and the opinions on pink differ vastly. Some women scoffed at the industry’s pink marketing mentality and think the industry would serve female hunters better by designing special equipment to accommodate women better then just painting everything pink. As one huntress put it. “What good is a pair of pink hunting boots to me if I can’t find them in my size.”

Other women find the pink wave downright sexist. They argue that in an age where we try to foster equality pink will achieve the opposite. “Hey look here I am a female hunter. I am different.” A new huntress on our hunter education course said. “I don’t want to be a female hunter, I want to be a hunter, period.” Another huntress said, “Bringing gender into it comes off as pandering and we do not need that in the hunting community. Women fought hard to be accepted as equals in the hunting community and now some of us want to make a visible statement that they are different. I don’t get it.”

The majority of the women I talked to fall somewhere in between. Like my wife who owns a pink fishing rod, they simply like the color while others say that pink isn’t for them but if it helps to bring more women into the hunting and fishing community, that’s great.

Not every pink colored item on the hunting store shelf is created to lure women. Some of the products are pink to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Foundation, like the pink binoculars introduced by Alpen Optics. Some of the proceeds generated through the sale of the pink Innerloc broadheads are also donated to the breast cancer foundation and so does Victory Archery with the sale of pink carbon arrows.

Next time you head to an outdoor store and see a large variety of equipment and gadgets available in pink remember that not all of them are a ploy by the industry to get more women into hunting. Some companies go a step further and combine the “catch” with something more useful by supporting breast cancer research. That is a good thing and we should support it. A pair of pink binoculars or a pink broadhead might not be out of place after all.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Tags: Pink Hunting Products, Pink Wave, Breast Cancer Foundation, Alpen Optics, InnerLoc Broadheads, Victory Archery

YouTube duck poachers plead guilty

2009-08-11T15:07:00.000-07:00

© By Othmar Vohringer

That went fast! On Saturday morning I reported that the infamous YouThube duck poachers have been arrested a week after hunters unleashed a Canada wide manhunt.

Today the Global News reports that the three poachers pleaded guilty in court and have been sentenced. This must be the fasted I have ever seen somebody been sentenced. It caught be a bit of guard as I was fully prepared for the case would drag on for weeks if not months. The sentences are not what hunters and I expected. If a possible 300,000 dollar fine plus jail time the three poachers were only fined 16,000 dollars between them and no jail time.

Rowlands, the main shooter in the video, pleaded guilty to five charges and was fined $6,000. David and James Fraser each pleaded guilty to four charges and were fined $5,000. All three are unemployed and that might have figured in to the modest fines they were handed down. You can’t wring water out of a dry stone. Makes me wish they would bring back forced labor for prisoners, that way they could be put to work to pay the fines, damages and court costs, like it used to be in the good old days.

The three poachers had just recently moved from Toronto to a small community and that in itself may be punishment too. One of the poachers told the court that the community gives them a hard time. Silently I hope that the community, predominantly made up of hunters, forces these three to eventually move out of their town.

You can read the full article here.

I would like to thank all the bloggers that linked to my “duck poacher” articles and helped to spread the word. My thanks also go to everyone who posted their comments on this blog regarding the poachers. I would like to pick one special comment out and provide my answer here.

Monica wrote the following comment on “Duck Poachers Captured”

“I'm an animal advocate and am as happy as any of you that these idiot killers were apprehended. This is one of those instances where we can celebrate the common interests of hunters and animal welfare proponents. We all abhor this type of horrid slaughter. I find it disappointing that you've used this blog space to create more philosophical distance where we could, in fact, find agreement. It's when we come together that decency prevails. I believe tips came in across the board, from both hunters and non-hunters. We should celebrate that joint success.”

My answer:

I agree with you Monica. Animal rights or, animal welfare proponents, can agree on certain issues even work together on solving an issue. I have had many conversations with animal rights and in the majority these conversations had been very civil. Some animal rights respected my views after I explained to them what hunting is really all about. Others even changed their mind in favor of hunting and hunters while others agreed to disagree without hard feelings.

However, these are individual people. What I am aiming at are the animal rights organizations. Animal rights organizations have only one agenda and that is to make money of gullible people and abusing peoples emotions to that end. To achieve that, animal rights organizations will do whatever it takes to make hunters and hunting look bad in the public. This includes slander, criminalizing, dehumanizing, twisting facts or simply make them up as they go along. If anybody would talk about other minorities in this fashion they would be quite rightly sent to prison for hatemongering.

What I particularly object in this case is the fact that in all the broadcasting about the duck poachers, with very few exceptions, hunters were slowly phased out of been mentioned. To the end nowhere in the media has been made mention that in fact it was the hunting community that started the ball rolling and kept at it until the poachers were arrested. Nowhere in the media has it been mentioned that the hunting community offered over 1,000 dollar reward for information leading to the arrest of the poachers, long before the government or the Humane Society of Canada offered rewards.

All we heard in the news, and still do, is that the Humane Society of Canada, an affiliate of the notorious Humane Society of the United States (SHUS), offered a reward for the capture of the poachers. The turn started the moment the organization released thousands of press releases and henceforth hunters and their efforts were not talked about anymore in public. This is a sick trick of the animal rights movement and sympathizing media to make the Humane Society of Canada look good in the public eye. A hunting friend of mine was declined and interview in favor of a member of the Humane Society of Canada and that despite the many hours and days my friend helped the media to gather information for the news.

With that in mind, I used my blog to make sure that the people on the street know that it was thanks to the Canadian hunters and their unparalleled combined effort that got the poachers arrested, and not the Humane Society of Canada, the police or even the government. The simple fact is. Had it not been for the hunters this atrocity would never have gotten the attention of the mainstream media, the Humane Society of Canada or the authorities. In fact if it were not for the hunters that poaching case, like so many others, would most likely never have have been investigated. It is a well established fact in the law enforcement that hunters are at the very forefront in fight against wildlife and environment violations. It was hunters that helped to fund "Report A Poacher" programs.

I also find it objectionable that the Humane Society of Canada only put up the award after the case was all over the media. This was clearly an attempt to gain public exposure given the thousands of press releases they sent out to the media. There are other animal abuse cases the Humane Society of Canada put rewards out but they never make the mainstream media. There is not a newspaper in Canada or TV station that does not mention the Humane Society of Canada, making them look instrumental in this case. Yet, as I write this, the Humane Society of Canada gets ready to unleash another emotional barrage of hunter bashing and hate mongering in the mainstream media in an effort to outlaw bear hunting in British Columbia. The intent is clear to see, people will say, “This is the organization that helped bring down the duck poachers - which are often portrayed in public as hunters as "hunters" – now they are saving the bears from the nasty hunters. Well done, lets write a check out.”

In light of this it seems to me very important that the people know that hunters are not the “monsters” the Humane Society of Canada and other animal rights organizations makes them out to be. It is important to me that people know that hunters do more for the protection of wildlife and conservation then all animal right organizations and the so called environmental organization combined. Here is an article that outlines what hunters do to ensure that future generations can enjoy the variety and abundance of wildlife we all take for granted today.

Like I said, I always have respected individual animal rights and their views but I never will respect an organization that shamelessly abuses people emotionally and engages in hate mongering for financial benefit.

-ov-

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Angling ambassador program

2009-08-09T15:41:00.000-07:00

© By Othmar Vohringer

In all the hoopla about the outrage of a duck hunting video posted on YouTube and the following arrest of the poachers last week I didn’t have much time to write about an event that is very dear to me.

The Angling Ambassador Program, a joint endeavour of the BC Wildlife Federation (BCWF) and the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC (FFSBC) is an exiting new project to promote fishing and I am proud to be part of it. The objectives of this program are:

To educate the general public on the benefits of angling and to provide instruction on fishing regulations interpretation pertaining to angling and conservation.
BCWF members will offer fishing advice ( where to and how to ) at various lakes in the Thompson/Nicola Region.
The program will encourage the general public to participate in angling, providing the opportunity to have fun for individuals and families.
Provide information on BC Wildlife Federation, Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP), Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC (FFSBC), Habitat Conservation Trust Foundation (HCTF) and Ministry of Environment(MoE).
The Thompson River watershed and the Nicola River watershed are designated sites including various lakes in the region and surrounding area.

On Wednesday August 5th we had our first ambassadorial duties. Our group from the Nicola Valley Fish & Game Club (Photo from left to right, Jack Madryga, Cyril George, Bill Otway, Othmar Vohringer and Paul Komonoski) headed to the Kentucky Lake located in the stunningly beautiful Kentucky Alleyne Provicial Park. After we set up the information booth and unloaded all the boxed full of fishing literature, tackle and fishing rods to be given away to young anglers we just had time for a refreshing cup of coffee before the action started.

In no time the booth was busy with anglers of all ages asking questions or just stopping by for a friendly chit-chat. The children were exited and thankful for the presents and all the advice we dispensed on how to catch fish. It didn’t take long before the first child came back to our booth and proudly showed off the trout she caught with the rod and tackle she received from the Angling Ambassador Program team.

Part of our “job”, and for me the most rewarding one, was to walk around the lake visiting with the anglers and helping them with any questions they may have. For me the biggest joy of the day was a young girl that tried for the better part of two hours to catch a fish. She kept asking her father what to do but he has never fished before either. After setting her fishing rod properly up and choosing the lure of the day and then showing her how to cast she caught a handsome rainbow trout of a respectable size. To see the girl’s face light up with a bright smile when she reeled the fish in combined with the joyous “Daddy I got one, Daddy look here I caught a fish.” was all the reward I needed.

As I said at the beginning of this article, this was our first Angling Ambassador Program but it certainly was not our last one. As anglers and hunters we do not need a title and a uniform to become ambassadors of our great outdoor heritage. Every time a hunter or angler helps somebody else less knowledgeable with advice and some friendly encouragement he or she is an ambassador of our sport and contributes to the continuation of our treasured outdoor heritage.

Learn to catch more fish. Othmar Vohringer offers fishing courses for the beginning to advances angler.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Tags: Angling Ambassador Program, fishing, Kentucky Lake, BC Wildlife Federation, Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC

Duck Poachers Captured

2009-08-08T19:53:00.000-07:00

© By Othmar Vohringer

Officials with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment confirm that three individuals have been arrested early Saturday morning in connection with the duck killing video posted on YouTube. I reported in my column on August 03 about the outrage of the Canadian hunting community and the hunter communities combined national effort to capture the poachers.

It took less than a week to catch these criminals. This must be one of the shortest times in apprehending poachers and it's in large part due to the Canadian hunters. Ones again hunters have shown that they are the true stewards of wildlife and habitat. Gary Harrison, head of special investigations for Saskatchewan's Ministry of Environment, said "It was more of a response than any other single event since the Turn In Poacher's (TIP) line began, which I believe was in 1989. Not only did we get calls here (in Saskatchewan), but Alberta Turn In Poacher's line as well received numerous calls."

Hunters were on the forefront in this manhunt from the moment the original video was posted on YouTube. After the original video had been taken down by the original creators a hunter from Alberta posted it back up again to make the video available to as many people as possible. Hunters created a special Facebook page “Get the Poachers” for the gathering and exchange of information on the poachers and to spread the word to as many people as possible.

The Alberta Outdoorsmen Forum created a special discussion section about the duck poachers and became the national "duck poacher action headquarters". Some members used their media connections to spread the word and ask for information about the identity of the poachers on TV and radio appearances. Other forum members familiar with video editing dissected the video frame-by-frame to find clues to identify the area where the crime happen and details of the firearms and vehicle that had been used and to obtain "mug shots" of the perpetrators. It was in any event an extraordinary effort on behalf of all ethical and law-abiding hunters of Canada that ultimately lead to the capture of the poachers this Saturday morning.

With this exemplary effort by hunters to bring the criminals to justice it seems almost like a joke that the Canadian Humane Society, an affiliate of the notorious Humane Society of the Untied States (HSUS), felt that they had to chime in too. Three days ago Michael O'Sullivan, the executive director of the Canadian Humane Society, announced that his group is offering $1,000 to anyone that helps catch the perpetrators. This was after a group of hunters already pledged a $ 1,000 reward for the capture of the poachers.

O'Sullivan also said that the Canadian Humane Society would ask the prosecutors to take away the privileges to hunt and own firearms from the criminals. Which is a mute statement clearly aimed at sounding important or concerned. The removal of hunting privileges and taking away the privileges to own firearms is already common court procedure in all poaching cases. Not that criminals ever where overly concerned about the loss of hunting and firearm ownership privileges. What bites more are the heavy fines, up to $ 15,000, and possible jail time that awaits the duck killers.

I fully expected, and predicted it in my first column about the duck poachers, that the animal rights fanatics would chime in and try to get some media mileage out from that case. I also predict that the animal right will use this case in the future in their bid to ridicule hunters and associate us with poachers. The animal rights must just hate that it had been hunters, the very people they decry as “cruel”, that showed passion and respect for wildlife and the law and by doing so are responsible for bringing down the duck poachers.

Following this story through the media I am pleased to say that the media behaved and not ones, as usually is the case, used the words “hunters” and “poachers” interchangeably. In fact the media made it very clear that these are poachers, not regular law abiding hunters. It is my hope that in future the media will do the same and not revert to the “mistake” of using the word “hunter” for poachers.

Well done my fellow hunters and conservationist from Alberta and Saskatchewan. This is another day to be a proud hunter.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Tags: You Tube Duck Killing Video, Duck Poachers, Alberta, Saskatchewan, duck Poachers Arrested, Alberta Outdoorsmen Forum

A great outdoor ambassador introduces her own blog

2009-08-04T18:57:00.001-07:00

© By Othmar Vohringer

I am a bit late with this exiting news. But better late than never. I have been rally tied up with stuff lately that lets me very little time to blog or visit other blogs. So thanks to an email alert it came to my attention that one of the great voices of the outdoors has just created and released her own blog. That’s right I wrote “her” because the writer is Kristine Shreve the great ambassador of all things outdoors.

I am thrilled about the new blog and deep down I somehow always knew that Kristine would start her own blog. If you have been following this blog then you know that Kristine used to be the writer of “Hunt Smart, Think Safety” for just over three years. During that time she made herself a name in the outdoor blogging world. The company Kristine wrote the blog for unfortunately had to close the doors a month ago and with that the blog went down too.

Kristine is also the main writer of the Outdoor Bloggers Summit, an organization of which Kristine is a co-founder. After a brief hiatus from blogging Kristine is thankfully back with her own blog Tenderfoot Diaries.

For all of you who know Kristine you’re probably like me and pleased to see this important voice back in the outdoor blogger sphere. For those of you that do not know Kristine, I encourage you to go and read her new blog.

It’s great to have you back Kristine. Here is to you – lifts his whiskey class and cheers - to long and prosperous blogging career. By the way, I like your post about the positive outdoor influence your father had on you I can relate to that from my own childhood .

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

The wildfires rage on

2009-08-03T17:19:00.000-07:00

© By Othmar Vohringer

As I write this Merritt, the country music capital of Canada, is shrouded in a cloak of smoke so thick that visibility has been reduced to a couple of miles. In addition the air is filled with the pungent smell of burned wood and grass. These are definitely not good times for people suffering from asthma.

Merritt is surrounded by a ring of forest and wildfires. To the north, south, east and west of our small picturesque town fires rage out of control. So far the fires have consumed several thousand hectares of grassland and forest. Fire bombers and firefighter helicopters fly over our town day and night filling up their water tanks in the Nicola Lake and then fly back to battle the infernos. Some of the wildfires are hard to access due to the steep terrain that even helicopters have difficulty flying in.

It all started off with a forest fire in Kelowna two weeks ago. That fire is now under control but still burning. Since then we had a thunder and lightening storm pass trough the area. The welcome moisture was quickly evaporated by the intense heat wave we experience and the lightening sparked more forest and grassland fires ending in all the fires we have today. The government reports that alone in our area there are about 150 small to large wildfires.

Several communities around Merritt have evacuation alerts in place and in few communities people have been told on shot notice to evacuate, leaving everything but the absolute essentials behind. Merritt I am happy to say is still safe from such drastic measures but given that the closest forest fire rages only a few miles outside town I am watching the sky and the news very carefully.

The weather is hot and its bone dry. Today I had to dig a hole in the garden and down to about two feet the dirt is dry as the dessert. You ought to think that these conditions make people more aware of the danger and therefore more careful yet I still see some people flick their burning cigarette stumps out of car windows. This makes me wonder just how stupid some people are. All it needs in these conditions and the high winds is a spark to explode into a raging fire within seconds. I keep watching and praying.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Tags: Merritt, Forest Fires, British Columbia, Firefighters

Canadian hunting community outraged

2009-08-03T11:21:00.001-07:00

© By Othmar Vohringer

A video posted on YouTube has the Canadian hunting community and wildlife conservation agencies outraged and disgusted.

The video that has been posted sometime early last week on YouTube shows a group of young men driving in a car along a lakeshore, shooting indiscriminately at ducks and ducklings with air rifles and a .22 rimfire rifle. It is illegal this time of year to hunt ducks. It’s also illegal to shoot out of a vehicle and killing or harassing animals.

The Canadian Internet hunting forums soon were abuzz with comments from outraged hunters. Some said that the video was so violent and disgusting that they couldn’t bear to watch it to the end. I watched the video to and it frankly made me sick to my stomach. Many of the ducks and ducklings these punks shot at were crippled and condemned to die a slow and agonizing death. In addition what made it very hard to watch is the obvious joy these poachers displayed, laughing and hollering each time one of them killed or crippled a duck as if it were a video game.

Comments ranged to from disgust and upset to outright anger. One forum member said what many felt about the video. "Deep down I really hope all of these guys get what's coming to them. The blatant disrespect for wildlife and ultimately the law is just cause to put these guys in jail, not to mention the millions of law abiding gun owners, hunters and huntresses that they have disrespected."

It didn’t take long before the phones to the various conservation agencies and the RCMP (police) run hot from outraged hunters alerting the authorities what they have seen on YouTube. The authorities have launched a full investigation after they dissected the video frame by frame. By late last week the RCMP and wildlife agencies were able to follow the first leads and narrow the crime scene down.

So far the authorities have narrowed down the province and area where this atrocity occurred. They also know the vehicle that has been used and have a fairly good description of one perpetrator.

The car is a Hyundai Tiburon. The area is most likely southwestern Saskatchewan or southeastern Alberta based on a field of canola in the background of the video that only grows in these areas. One man in the video is referred by the name of Dave and another is called Jer. Both youth in the video a white and around age twenty. The car driver is shown wearing a grey shirt and orange shorts, while the second man is wearing a red shirt and dark pants. The videographer also turns the camera toward himself at one point, revealing he's wearing a black hat and has a goatee.

There is hope that the authorities soon will apprehend the criminals. If you have any information please call the Saskatchewan Environment Ministry tip line at 1-800-667-7561 or any other conservation and RCMP station in Canada.

This outrages video has show ones again that if it matters hunters are on the forefront of environmental and wildlife protection banding nationwide together in an effort to bring law violators to justice. On a interesting side note, as hard as I searched on the Internet I couldn’t find any animal rights organization making any mention of that outrages video. I guess they wait until the perpetrators are caught to use the occasion to launch a “ban hunting” campaign.

Another interesting side note. YouTube took the video offline and a hunter re-posted it again on YouTube, thus making sure many hunters see it what ultimately led to the investigation of the crime.

You can view the video here, but we warned the content is graphic and very disturbing.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Tags: Poachers, YouTube Duck Poacher Video, Canada, Alberta, Saskatchewan

Where there is smoke there is fire

2009-07-27T16:42:00.001-07:00

© Othmar Vohringer

When I walked the dog this morning I noticed that the valley of Merritt is covered in what appeared to be haze. Would I have not watched the news I probably wouldn’t have paid much attention to it. The haze is smoke from the many small to large forest fires raging around Merritt.

For the past few months we have had exceptionally hot and dry weather with temperatures between 36 to 45 Celsius degrees (96 F to 113 F). The forests and fields are tinder dry. All it needs is a spark to ignite the landscape. The mountain pine beetle infestation British Columbia has experienced over the last few years has added to the problem as large tracts of forests consist of dead and dying pine trees.

At the beginning of last week the city of Kelowna, close to Merritt, had to be evacuated as a violent forest fire engulfing 300 hectares threatened to burn the city to the ground. Over 200 firefighters from around the province battled the blaze from the air and ground for almost over a week to control the fire.

A welcome heavy rainstorm on the weekend finally brought some much hopped for relive to Kelowna but fears to other regions. The lightening has caused more forest fires to the north, east and west of Merritt. The air is busy with airplanes and helicopters flying back and forth trying to be everywhere at the same time and keeping the fires under control.

So far Merritt is save. But one has to ask for how long? On the walk with my dog this morning a truck passed us by and the driver flicked a burning cigarette stump out of the window into a dry meadow. I run to it to stomp it out. This one little stump would have been all that was needed to start a fire. The constant wind would soon turn that burning cigarette stump into a large fire. Is it really possible that people have so little commonsense?

If you live in a dry and hot area follow these tips to prevent forest and grassland fires.

Obey all local regulations posted regarding open fires.
Do not leave easily combustible items such as gasoline and propane gas tanks exposed to direct sunlight for extended times.
Never discharge a still lit cigarette in the open. That’s what ashtrays are for. Make sure the cigarette is completely butted out.
After you finished barbequing extinguish the hot coal with a bucket of water. Make absolutely sure that there are no embers left burning.
Do not make campfires in nature as embers could be carried away by the wind. That is how the Kelowna forest fire got started that destroyed 300 hectares and nine houses.
If you camp outside always have water or better yet a fire extinguisher within reach of where you’re cooking.

New Ground Blind from Gorilla Gear

2009-07-14T11:55:00.001-07:00

The manufactures of the quality Gorilla Treestands have come out with a new ground blind. Gorilla Gear, a new line of hunting blinds and accessories designed to provide an undeniable advantage in the field, introduces the Smart Air ground blind. An enhanced camouflage shell provides 360° vision without relying on open windows. The realistic 3-D Leaf Cover conceals the entire blind. Eleven windows with silent hooks and loops allow hunters to change shooting ports without alarming game.

The blind is available in two Mossy Oak patterns - Mossy Oak Break-Up and Mossy Oak Treestand.

Features of the Pro 360° RS Blind are:

360° viewing without opening a window
Adjustable ShadowBlocker window panels
8" ground skirt for scent containment
Removable floor system for scent containment
Four spy windows for quick game detection when scent containment is a key
Realistic 3-D Leaf Cover
Gear Storage cargo net & cargo pocket included
Improved Carry Bag
Mossy Oak Break-Up and Mossy Oak Treestand

For more information about Gorilla Gear contact customer service at (810) 733-6360 or visit www.gorillablinds.com.

This new product introduction has been brought to you by:
Othmar Vohringer Outdoors

Tags: Gorilla Treestands, Hunting Ground Blind, New Hunting Products

Merritt Outdoor Event

2009-07-09T16:36:00.000-07:00

© By Othmar Vohringer

In the aftermath of the mother of all nosebleeds I am still only running on a half full tank. Blood tank that is. I still can’t properly do all the things I would like without tiring quickly or get dizzy. Hence the lack of posting here. So when an opportunity came up to take part in an outdoor event right here in my won home town Merritt I thought that this is a good way to get back into the grove of things.

On Saturday the Powderkeg Sporting Supply Store celebrates its grand re-opening under new management and I have been asked to take part with my mini deer and turkey calling seminars . These seminars are specially designed for hunting product stores and will be held throughout the day. In between the seminars I will be on hand to answer all hunting related questions customers and visitors may have. From what I have been told by Fred Watson, the new owner of the Powderkeg, this is going to be one heck of an event for hunters and anglers of all ages. Believe me when i say that if you're in the area you do not want to miss this one.

It starts at 10 am with the Honorable Stockwell Day , the Federal Minister of Trade, cutting the ribbon. Of course the media represented by the TV, radio and local newspapers will be there too for the ribbon cutting. By the way, Stockwell Day is a committed supporter of hunting and fishing. It does not happen often that a member of the federal government publicly admits to that. He does and fir that alone my hat goes of to him. It's an added bonus that Stockwell Day is also one of the hardest working politicans in our country. He gets things done efficiently for our great nation. Sorry I degress, but I really like him and wish thre would more down to earth and hard working politicans like him.

Back to the grand re-opening of the Powderkeg.

There will be events going on throughout the day with some fantastic prices give away, from the fishing rod /reel combo, lures to a smoker and a air gun, there will be lots of prices for kids and adults available. Five hunting and fishing company representatives will be on hand with product demonstrations and useful advice and of course no event would be complete without music and BBQ and so we will have that too.

If you’re in or near Merritt tomorrow (Saturday July 9, 2009) please come by and say hello. It’s been a while since I took part in a store promotion event but it is always great fun and I get to meet many old friends and make new ones.

On a side note: Merritt, Canada’s Country Music Capitol, hosts the annual Country Music Festival over this weekend too. As usual the cream of North America’s country music artistes will take part on this three day event, starting today until Sunday, with all day concerts on the open air main stage. The town center is closed off to traffic to make room for the many vendor stalls, smaller street events and music performances of the local county music talents. In conjunction with the Country Music Festival there is the annual Bull Riding event at the Rodeo Grounds. This will be the first year that I have to miss out on the bull riding event. Rodeo is the only sport I am interested in and there was a time in my life when I seriously considered becoming a pro rodeo rider…but that is for another story. But hey, nothing is lost because in August Merritt does it all over again on the main rodeo event.

Boy am I spoiled or what? At heart I am a cowboy, a hunter and angler. I live in Merritt, one of the last real cowboy towns, surrounded by some of the best hunting and fishing British Columbia has to offer. Life can’t get any better than that. "Yeehaw", see you at the Powderkeg tomorrow.

Attention: If you would like me to attend your sporting goods store or any other hunting related event with one of my popular seminars visit my website or Email Me for more information.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Tags: Outdoor Store Opening, Store Promotion, Hunting Seminars, Powderkeg Merritt, Hunting and Fishing, Merritt Country Music Capitol, Merritt Rodeo

New bill introduced in Congress supports hunting

2009-07-02T11:12:00.000-07:00

© By Othmar Vohringer

Between all the news about anti hunting lobbyist trying to stop hunting it is refreshing to learn about new legislation introduced in the Congress that supports hunting. From the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance I received the following press release.

Congress Introduces Legislation to Protect Hunting on Federal Lands

Hunting’s Importance Reaffirmed

(Columbus)-Companion bills, introduced yesterday in Congress, protect the rights of sportsmen to hunt on federal land while also recognizing hunting’s importance to all conservation.

The Hunting Heritage Protection Act, is made up of Senate bill 1348, sponsored by Senator Saxby Chambliss (R- GA) and H.R. 3046, sponsored by Representative Denny Rehberg (R-MT).
Both pieces of legislation require that federal land be managed in a way that supports, promotes, and enhances access for hunting and mandates that an annual report be submitted to Congress detailing any limitations that are imposed on hunting federal lands. It also will require a written notification be given to Congress prior to any agency action that limits hunting on large parcels of federal land consisting of 5,000 or more acres.

“Sportsmen across America owe Senator Chambliss, Representative Rehberg, and other member of Congress many thanks for the steps they are taking to preserve our hunting rights,” stated USSA President and CEO Bud Pidgeon. “In a time where access to suitable hunting land is becoming increasingly difficult, this legislation goes a long way towards curtailing that trend and guaranteeing current or increased hunting opportunities are available today and tomorrow.”

Sportsmen should contact their Congressional elected officials and ask them to support the Hunting Heritage Protection Act. Inform them that hunters and other sportsmen and sportswomen are great stewards of federal lands and should have full access to those lands whenever and wherever possible. To find your Congressional officials, go to the Legislative Action Center.

Othmar Vohringer Outdoors
Founding Member of Outdoor Bloggers Summit

Tags: Hunting Legislation, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, Hunting Heritage Protection Act