Thursday, December 30, 2010
Youth Weekend January 1st and 2nd
The Free Youth Hunting Weekend is set for this New Year's weekend January 1st and January 2nd.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Kentucky Shipping Elk to Missouri
I guess we learned today why Kentucky hasn't increased our elk permit allotment over the past two years. According to the Courier Journal, Kentucky will trap 200 elk in Bell County and transport them three months later to Missouri. I'm going to assume this has been in the works for some time now. I'm also going to assume this will not be the last shipment to Missouri. With the addition of Missouri, the eastern US will now have elk populations in Kentucky, Tenn, Pennsylvania, and, West Virginia. According to the article, the RMEF will be donating over $300,000 to fund Missouri's elk resoration.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
F&W Bear Hunt Press Release
Smith, Dixon Record Successful State Black Bear Hunts
Dec 22, 2010
FRANKFORT, Ky – Danny Smith of Phelps, Ky. carved his name into Kentucky’s hunting annals Saturday, Dec. 18, when he claimed the state’s first legally harvested black bear in the modern era.
Smith took the 265-pound male bear in Pike County about five hours into his hunt. He owned the state’s record for the largest bear for about a day, until Billy Joe Dixon, of Cumberland, took a 280-pound male on the second day.
Smith, a lifetime Pike County resident and long-time coyote and deer hunter, was hunting coyotes last Friday when he came across “a lot of bear sign in the snow near a stand of Autumn Olive”. That prompted him to go buy his bear hunting license.
He hit the woods Saturday morning just after his Highway Department shift ended, but failed to find more bear sign. So he moved to an area where he had previously seen bear activity and picked up a fresh trail.
He followed it for more than a mile around a mountain top. When the track he was following approached the location where he had first found the track, he backed off and began watching the area.
He used binoculars to scour the area and finally spotted the bear about 240 yards away. He made the shot just before 2 p.m. with his Savage .270 rifle.
“I’ve hunted a lot of coyotes and deer, but this bear season is the best thing Kentucky could have,” said Smith. “This is the first time I have ever hunted them, but I am hooked for life.”
Kentucky’s first black bear season last year was tough on bear hunters after a winter storm dumped nearly two-feet of snow across Pike, Harlan and Letcher counties and kept the hunters off the mountains. They were the only three counties open to bear hunting, and no bears were taken in that first season.
Dixon, 35, a lifetime resident of Cumberland, took the only other bear claimed this season Sunday about noon on the Harlan County mine property where he works.
He was already familiar with bear activity on the property. Like Smith, he took advantage of the fresh snowfall to track the bear.
He found a track crossing the road as he was climbing the mountain, followed the track, and then caught a glimpse of the bear heading down the mountain. He hurried down the mountain, set up in an area where he suspected the bear might show up, and soon made a 50-yard shot with his .308 rifle.
Then he tied the present with the past. He called upon his 84-year-old grandfather, Bill Dixon, of Hiram, to help him skin his trophy. That’s when he learned that his grandfather, while a young boy, was also present when another bear was taken on Pine Mountain, long before the days of regulated bear hunting in Kentucky.
“Bears are good opportunity for Kentucky,” said Dixon. “For those who don’t work in the mines, there’s not a lot to do. With our elk, deer and now bear, we have some real tourism opportunities.”
“Some people are simply not comfortable walking the mountains in snow-covered conditions to hunt bears,” said Steven Dobey, bear program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “For those willing to get out, however, the snow played a positive role in their ability to go into the record books.”
Kentucky’s initial bear seasons have been held in December in order to gauge hunter participation and success rates, while concentrating the harvest on male bears. Most female bears in Kentucky enter dens by mid-November.
“This year’s hunt shows that mature bears can be harvested late in the season,” said Dobey. “Likewise, beginning with a late-season hunt allows us the maneuverability to move the season earlier in future years.”
Dec 22, 2010
FRANKFORT, Ky – Danny Smith of Phelps, Ky. carved his name into Kentucky’s hunting annals Saturday, Dec. 18, when he claimed the state’s first legally harvested black bear in the modern era.
Smith took the 265-pound male bear in Pike County about five hours into his hunt. He owned the state’s record for the largest bear for about a day, until Billy Joe Dixon, of Cumberland, took a 280-pound male on the second day.
Smith, a lifetime Pike County resident and long-time coyote and deer hunter, was hunting coyotes last Friday when he came across “a lot of bear sign in the snow near a stand of Autumn Olive”. That prompted him to go buy his bear hunting license.
He hit the woods Saturday morning just after his Highway Department shift ended, but failed to find more bear sign. So he moved to an area where he had previously seen bear activity and picked up a fresh trail.
He followed it for more than a mile around a mountain top. When the track he was following approached the location where he had first found the track, he backed off and began watching the area.
He used binoculars to scour the area and finally spotted the bear about 240 yards away. He made the shot just before 2 p.m. with his Savage .270 rifle.
“I’ve hunted a lot of coyotes and deer, but this bear season is the best thing Kentucky could have,” said Smith. “This is the first time I have ever hunted them, but I am hooked for life.”
Kentucky’s first black bear season last year was tough on bear hunters after a winter storm dumped nearly two-feet of snow across Pike, Harlan and Letcher counties and kept the hunters off the mountains. They were the only three counties open to bear hunting, and no bears were taken in that first season.
Dixon, 35, a lifetime resident of Cumberland, took the only other bear claimed this season Sunday about noon on the Harlan County mine property where he works.
He was already familiar with bear activity on the property. Like Smith, he took advantage of the fresh snowfall to track the bear.
He found a track crossing the road as he was climbing the mountain, followed the track, and then caught a glimpse of the bear heading down the mountain. He hurried down the mountain, set up in an area where he suspected the bear might show up, and soon made a 50-yard shot with his .308 rifle.
Then he tied the present with the past. He called upon his 84-year-old grandfather, Bill Dixon, of Hiram, to help him skin his trophy. That’s when he learned that his grandfather, while a young boy, was also present when another bear was taken on Pine Mountain, long before the days of regulated bear hunting in Kentucky.
“Bears are good opportunity for Kentucky,” said Dixon. “For those who don’t work in the mines, there’s not a lot to do. With our elk, deer and now bear, we have some real tourism opportunities.”
“Some people are simply not comfortable walking the mountains in snow-covered conditions to hunt bears,” said Steven Dobey, bear program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “For those willing to get out, however, the snow played a positive role in their ability to go into the record books.”
Kentucky’s initial bear seasons have been held in December in order to gauge hunter participation and success rates, while concentrating the harvest on male bears. Most female bears in Kentucky enter dens by mid-November.
“This year’s hunt shows that mature bears can be harvested late in the season,” said Dobey. “Likewise, beginning with a late-season hunt allows us the maneuverability to move the season earlier in future years.”
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Kentucky's 1st Bear!
One bear was checked in today which makes it bear #1 in Kentucky's modern bear hunting history. It was a male killed on private property in Pike County with a modern firearm. That's all we know now. More to come.
Update-bear #2 was killed in Harlan on private property with a modern firearm.
Update-bear #2 was killed in Harlan on private property with a modern firearm.
Kentucky's 2nd Bear Season Opened Today
Kentucky's 2nd annual and hopefully 1st successful bear season opened this morning. At this point in the day, nothing has been checked in yet.
Also, the cow elk hunt is in progress. Good luck to those folks.
Also, the cow elk hunt is in progress. Good luck to those folks.
Monday, December 13, 2010
More Pics
Several people have asked me to show a pic of the bucks like I found them. Also, here's a second view of the bucks at a slightly different angle. I don't have any of the Red Deer like crown on the 10 pointer.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Found My Deer
Kind of a rough morning. The kind where you just want to sit down and cry, but I figured out why I haven't seen the two big boys I've been hunting all season. I found them locked together about 100 yards from my stand. Rough scored them at over 180 and around 160. What I thought was the big 9 on film turned out to have 10 scorable points and some small points coming off his bases. What I thought was the big double drop tined 14 pointer on film, turned out to have 13 scorable points. He had broken his kicker on top and had another small drop tine coming off the tip of his beam. The buck on the left was 21 inches wide and had two 14 inch points, and his main beams were over 26 inches. The double drop tine buck was only 15 inches wide but the points were really long. What a shame, but at least I figured out why I haven't seen them.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Muzzleloader 10th or 11th??
Lots of people are confused this week because The Courier Journal stated that muzzleloader season begins on Friday December 10th in Kentucky and Indiana but it's actually Saturday December 11th through the 19th. One guy I talked to said he was just going to carry the paper with him Friday. Not a good idea.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
F&W Commission Proposes Changes for Deer and Elk
Here is the article from F&W website. I'm still wondering why we're issuing so few elk permits if the numbers being reported are correct. Still, the elk changes look much better than last years baffling spike tags.
Dec 03, 2010
FRANKFORT, Ky. – The Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission at its quarterly meeting Dec. 3 proposed issuing 800 quota hunt elk tags for the 2011-2012 season and adding six days antlered deer hunting to modern gun deer season in Zones 3 and 4.
The Commission recommends all hunting, fishing and boating regulations for approval by the General Assembly and approves all expenditures by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. All recommendations must be approved by legislators before they become law.
Commission members proposed lengthening the 2011 modern gun deer season in Zones 3 and 4 from 10 days to 16 days, matching the season length of Zones 1 and 2. The additional six days of modern gun deer season in Zones 3 and 4 would be for antlered deer (bucks) only.
The Commission also set the number of quota hunt elk permits for next season.
In 2011, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife will issue 80 archery or crossbow bull permits, 120 firearms bull permits, 240 archery or crossbow cow elk permits and 360 firearms cow elk permits for the elk quota hunts. Hunters may apply for two of the four permit types, but will only be drawn for one.
In other elk-related business, the Commission proposed removing antler restrictions for bulls for the 2011 elk season. A bull elk hunter will be allowed to take any elk with visible antlers, eliminating spike bull tags.
Those hunters drawn for a branch-antlered bull elk tag this year cannot be drawn again for a period of three years. Commission members decided Friday that the three-year ban will not apply to those hunters drawn for a 2010 spike bull permit.
The Commission recommended limiting the first two weeks of elk archery season to bull hunters only, to alleviate overcrowding from the addition of cow elk hunters. Commission members also propose to ban people from mimicking the sound of an elk from Sept. 1 until the opening of the elk archery season on public land within the elk restoration zone.
In deer-related business, Lewis County Wildlife Management Area (WMA) will be open for the 9-day December muzzleloader deer season in 2011. The newly established Marion County WMA will have two five-day firearms deer quota hunts next fall. The area will remain open to statewide regulations for archery and crossbow deer hunting.
The next Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Commission meeting will be held at 8 a.m., Friday, March 4, 2011 at #1 Sportsman’s Lane off U.S. 60 in Frankfort. Persons interested in addressing the Commission must notify the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s Commissioner’s office in writing at least 30 days in advance to be considered for placement on the meeting agenda. People who are hearing impaired and plan to attend the meeting should contact Kentucky Fish and Wildlife at least 10 days in advance and the agency will provide a translator. To request to address the commission, write to Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, Commissioner Dr. Jon Gassett, #1 Sportsman’s Lane, Frankfort, Kentucky, 40601.
Muzzleloader Upcoming and Other Season Info
Muzzleloader begins next weekend December 11th and runs through December 19th in zones 1, 2, and 3. Zone 4 has anletered only from Dec. 11 to the 16th and either sex December 17-19th. Crossbow runs until December 31st. The Free Youth Weekend is January 1st and 2nd this season.
Kentucky's 2nd and hopefully first successful bear season will be December 18th and 19th in Harlan, Letcher, and Pike counties.
Turkey shotgun runs until December 10th.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Versus Hunting For The Holidays Friday December 3rd
VERSUS KICKS-OFF SEVENTH ANNUAL HUNTING FOR THE HOLIDAYS WITH NEW HOST BENNY SPIES ON DECEMBER 3
Three-Week Primetime Celebration Begins at 8 p.m. ET
New York, N.Y. (December 2, 2010) – On Friday, December 3, VERSUS will air its seventh annual installment of Hunting for the Holidays—a three week primetime celebration filled with the best hunting shows on television and great gift ideas for every outdoor enthusiast. Hunting for the Holidays will be hosted by avid outdoorsmen and the host of Gun It on VERSUS Benny Spies as he breaks down the best gifts to stir up holiday cheer and celebrate the best hunting programming on television. The evening’s line-up features new episodes of The Bucks of Tecomate with Jeff Foxworthy and David Morris and Winchester Whitetail Revolution as well as encore episodes of Remington’s the Buck Stops Here with Mike Hanback, Gun It with Benny Spies, Elk Fever and The Best and Worst of Tred Barta: all of which are presented in HD.
The programming schedule for Friday, December 3, follows (subject to change):
8:00 p.m. ET Remington’s The Buck Stops Here with Mike Hanback
8:30 p.m. ET The Bucks of Tecomate with Jeff Foxworthy and David Morris -New Episode
9:00 p.m. ET Gun It with Benny Spies
9:30 p.m. ET Elk Fever
10:00 p.m. ET The Best and Worst of Tred Barta
10:30 p.m. ET Winchester Whitetail Revolution -New Episode
Three-Week Primetime Celebration Begins at 8 p.m. ET
New York, N.Y. (December 2, 2010) – On Friday, December 3, VERSUS will air its seventh annual installment of Hunting for the Holidays—a three week primetime celebration filled with the best hunting shows on television and great gift ideas for every outdoor enthusiast. Hunting for the Holidays will be hosted by avid outdoorsmen and the host of Gun It on VERSUS Benny Spies as he breaks down the best gifts to stir up holiday cheer and celebrate the best hunting programming on television. The evening’s line-up features new episodes of The Bucks of Tecomate with Jeff Foxworthy and David Morris and Winchester Whitetail Revolution as well as encore episodes of Remington’s the Buck Stops Here with Mike Hanback, Gun It with Benny Spies, Elk Fever and The Best and Worst of Tred Barta: all of which are presented in HD.
The programming schedule for Friday, December 3, follows (subject to change):
8:00 p.m. ET Remington’s The Buck Stops Here with Mike Hanback
8:30 p.m. ET The Bucks of Tecomate with Jeff Foxworthy and David Morris -New Episode
9:00 p.m. ET Gun It with Benny Spies
9:30 p.m. ET Elk Fever
10:00 p.m. ET The Best and Worst of Tred Barta
10:30 p.m. ET Winchester Whitetail Revolution -New Episode
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Versus Country Holiday Gear Giveaway Partnership with Cabelas Giveaway
http://www.versus.com/sweepstakes/versus-countrys-holiday-gear-giveaway-in-p
Load up on your favorite gear from Cabela's for FREE this holiday season.
Versus.com is giving away a complete package for one lucky hunter this
holiday season. It's quick and easy to enter, and you just may walk away a
winner!
One lucky winner will receive an exclusive Cabela's prize pack valued at
more than $575. It includes a Cabela's Elite Scout Pack knife, a Cabela's
Outfitter SeriesTM Gut Hook Skinner knife, a Cabela's Outfitter SeriesTM
Caping knife, a Cabela's RGB Headlamp in Seclusion camouflage, a pair of
Cabela's 8x42 Black Alpha Extreme Binoculars, and much more.
After you enter the Holiday Gear Giveaway, upload photos from this year's
hunts and outdoor expeditions. Connect with fellow outdoor enthusiasts on
our bulletin boards and, if you didn't score on that monster buck, take a
shot at one on our Bag A Monster Buck Page,
http://www.versus.com/games/bag-a-monster-buck/
For More Information about VERSUS Country please check out
http://www.versus.com/hunting/
Load up on your favorite gear from Cabela's for FREE this holiday season.
Versus.com is giving away a complete package for one lucky hunter this
holiday season. It's quick and easy to enter, and you just may walk away a
winner!
One lucky winner will receive an exclusive Cabela's prize pack valued at
more than $575. It includes a Cabela's Elite Scout Pack knife, a Cabela's
Outfitter SeriesTM Gut Hook Skinner knife, a Cabela's Outfitter SeriesTM
Caping knife, a Cabela's RGB Headlamp in Seclusion camouflage, a pair of
Cabela's 8x42 Black Alpha Extreme Binoculars, and much more.
After you enter the Holiday Gear Giveaway, upload photos from this year's
hunts and outdoor expeditions. Connect with fellow outdoor enthusiasts on
our bulletin boards and, if you didn't score on that monster buck, take a
shot at one on our Bag A Monster Buck Page,
http://www.versus.com/games/bag-a-monster-buck/
For More Information about VERSUS Country please check out
http://www.versus.com/hunting/
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