Michael A Sawyers - Outdoors
Missed shots, false casts
BOW HUNTER SAFETY
It was good to get a phone call from Bill Wilhelm, president of the Allegany-Garrett Sportsmen’s Association telling me that the group is interested in following up on my column in which I suggested it should be legal for bowhunters to carry firearms so that they can protect themselves from bears if it becomes absolutely necessary.
Wilhelm said AGSA plans to meet with the Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service to discuss the matter.
HATE CRIMES
I think crimes against hunters by those who do not believe in hunting should be considered as hate crimes and carry the stiffer penalties that go along with such violations.
If it is a hate crime to injure or kill someone because of their ethnicity or religious beliefs, then it should also apply when hunters are violated for the mere fact that they are taking part in their perfectly legal activity.
IT’S A SHAME
I have suspected for some time that the Maryland Sportsmen’s Association was going under.
Candus Thomson, outdoor columnist for The Baltimore Sun reported a week ago that it has happened.
It’s a shame. I remember attending the first organizational meeting 10 years ago in Montgomery County. That meeting attracted mostly hunters, but also some fishermen, from Crisfield to Friendsville, and was heralded as a landmark effort, which indeed it was.
MSA had successes, especially when testifying on behalf of hunters when anti-hunting legislation was brought before the state’s politicians.
It will now be up to the very capable Maryland Legislative Sportsman’s Caucus and its foundation to protect hunting and fishing during the state’s annual General Assembly.
BEAR HUNT NUMBERS
During the recent Maryland bear season:
• 74 percent of the 68 bears were killed on private land.
• Four of the bears had been previously tagged for nuisance activity.
• There were 240 hunting permits, 552 hunters and 3,608 applicants.
• 60 bears were bagged in Garrett and eight in Allegany County.
• “The hunt was an unqualified success,” said Harry Spiker of the Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service. “Despite marginal weather conditions most of the week, our harvest range of 60-85 bears was met in four days. The hunt remains a safe, effective, well-regulated and scientifically sound tool for managing our bear population.”
IN A STEW
I made bear stew from my Maryland bruin. It was better than any beef or deer stew I have ever tried, very tender and full of flavor when eaten with garlic bread and red grapes. In preparing for a potentially successful bear hunt, I quizzed many people about the taste of bear and how to prepare the meat. Eight out of 10 said bear meat was excellent and the other two turned thumbs down.
Contact Mike Sawyers at msawyers@times-news.com.
- Michael A Sawyers - Outdoors
-
-
Hunting’s parallel universes
The Maryland General Assembly gathers every year to make new laws.
-
Caution: numbers ahead!
I know it can get a little crazy when we start throwing around deer harvest numbers.
-
Now, now, let’s not be bow snobs
I know this won’t happen, of course, but I’d like to see all hunters support the Maryland Wildlife & Heritage Service proposal that would legalize crossbows for all licensed hunters throughout the deer archery season.
-
New Md. hunt rules look good
The GPS unit on the dashboard of our hunting truck has gotten us halfway to our new hunting regulation destination in Maryland.
-
Keep early hunts
On Feb. 28, that’s next Sunday, West Virginia’s natural resources commissioners will be presented at a meeting in South Charleston with the recommendations of their biologists for the upcoming hunting seasons.
-
Surprise fishing regulations not cool
In a column in June I wrote, “I believe that the folks who run the Maryland Inland Fisheries Division are trying to become better communicators...”
-
Conceive, propose, finalize
From what I know thus far, this could be an exciting regulation year for Maryland hunters, especially turkey hunters.
-
Hook slides! Hook spurs! Trout hooks!
As you know, I’m gaga about spring gobbler hunting.
-
That’s a shooter
am the luckiest deer hunter in the world.
-
Hunt regs up for talk
In a little more than two months, probably sometime in March, the Maryland Wildlife and Heritage Service will conduct public hearings about changes to the hunting regulations that will be in effect from the fall of 2010 through the spring of 2012.
- More Michael A Sawyers - Outdoors Headlines
-
Hunting’s parallel universes
