Hunting

I haven’t hunted in two years now 🦌 

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I haven’t hunted in two years now 🦌 

For a while I got my hunting license every year and headed out to the field in search of small game. It’s kind of tough to do regularly as I live in the city and nearby public lands are a ways away and many of them have a lot of hunting pressure. I hate sitting out on a ridge and peering down onto another ridge and seeing another hunter with his or her gun. Before and after deer season, it’s not so bad, but still obnoxious.

I know the big treasure is a big buck or a turkey in their respective seasons. But I have no place to hang or quarter a deer where I live plus my freezer is pretty small in my apartment. And what to do with the guts or entrails? I don’t have trash service and I would hate to put good organic material like that in the landfill.

I’d be better if I spent more time in the field. Podcasts and videos are great but they could only teach you so much. I probably would benefit from using a guide service. But it’s kind of hard not being a landowner and living in the city. Sure I don’t mind nights in the woods this time of year but even thru don’t happen all that often. Maybe when I own my own land.

Goats and Soda : NPR

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How SARS-CoV-2 in white-tailed deer could alter the course of the pandemic : Goats and Soda : NPR

Scientists have evidence that SARS-CoV-2 spreads explosively in white-tailed deer, and the virus is widespread in this deer population across the U.S.

Researchers say the findings are quite concerning and could have vast implications for the long-term course of the global pandemic.

Since SARS-CoV-2 first emerged, there have been several signs that white-tailed deer would be highly susceptible to the virus — and that many of these animals were catching it across the country.

Arizona trail-cam ban a different story than in the East – Outdoornews

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Arizona trail-cam ban a different story than in the East – Outdoornews

Just when you think you have heard it all, some new problem presents itself.

Trail cameras are being used by thousands of hunters all across the United States and elsewhere. They act as silent sentinels, monitoring hunting sites and allowing hunters to see what animals live on the property they hunt. I have a half dozen and in addition to deer, I’ve gotten pictures of turkeys, bears, fox, raccoons, coyotes, and even a fisher. I can honestly say my trail cameras are one of the most useful pieces of hunting equipment I own. I’ve never had a problem with anyone messing with any of my cameras but that isn’t true in some parts of the country.

Earlier this year, Arizona’s Game Commission banned the use of trail cameras in that state. For anyone living here in the East, it’s easy to assume that Arizona’s recent trail-cam ban is an overreaction to a non-issue. That’s exactly what I thought after first hearing about it. Trail cameras have been a part of hunting for decades and their use has become increasingly popular but, in Arizona at least, they may be too much of a good thing.

Allegheny National Forest Deer Density Index

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A map service on the www that displays estimates of deer density (deer per square mile), as derived from spring deer pellet-group counts. Displays 1, 2 or 3 year average depending on available data.