My First Hunt – Buffalo by Durango

I had been presented with the opportunity to harvest a buffalo with two other WOMA members.  I had wanted to get into hunting, but had only ever shot target sports previously.  I didn’t know where or how to begin.

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Stop setting goals

Happy New Year! How did you do in 2010 with your New Year’s resolutions? It was a challenging year for many people so I thought this newsletter that we ran a year ago could be even more appropriate now than it was last time. I would love to hear your comments. Please let me know what you think!

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Early Season Recap and Not Getting a Whipping from a Krampus

The early part of the racing season is over and so far the season is off to a great start. I just finished up two busy weeks of racing in Italy, Austria, and Slovenia and now I’m in Germany for some down time and training before the next go around. My European season started in the town of Martell, Italy. Martel is situated in northeastern Italy in a region known as Sud Tirol (Or south Tirol), which covers areas of Southern Austria and Northern Italy. It is my favorite place in Europe. The mountains are breathtaking, the people are friendly, and the food is fantastic. The people here take their work seriously and everything they do is a matter of personal pride.

The venue here is situated at the top of a really long valley at an elevation of just about 5,500 ft. What makes this venue unique is that there is a river running right down the middle of the range. The targets are 50 yards away from the shooting points in a biathlon range and for this range we are shooting over the river to hit the targets. The course consisted of three steep hills with twisty turny downhills between. There were almost 100 competitors from all over the world competing in the races. This included countries like Brazil, Korea, and of course the usual Norway, Russia, and Germany. There will likely be more than 20 countries represented.

At the beginning of every year, an athlete checks in her equipment to make sure that all sponsor logos are within the right size and that her rifle is fit to regulations. Every year the officials dread Lanny and me because we come with a different paint job. Some they approve of and some they do not. Two years ago I left the equipment check with duct tape all over my rifle covering the paint job I had done and was so proud of. This year I kept it simple: black and white with different animals painted all over it. I was nervous about them wanting to cover the animals up.

One year Lanny had a roaring tiger and an official told her to cover the eyes and the claws, but the teeth were okay. So, the official started to look over my rifle and then he jerked his head up and looks at me with a concerned look, “What is this?” Terrified, I looked down, thinking to myself that it was over, the duct tape was coming out and my artwork was going to get covered up. I then saw that he was pointing at my barrel. “What is this?” he repeated, “Is this an anti-aircraft gun?” I almost laughed when I realized that he was pointing out my new barrel.

Earlier Lanny and I had Teludyne Tech Straight Jacket Barrel systems installed to increase the stiffness and accuracy of our barrels. The official proceeded to measure the chamber, the bolt, the action and the barrel. When I explained it to him, he seemed to relax a bit. He was concerned that I had put some sort of barrel on there that would, in his words, take down a tank.

Several years ago, Anschutz, which makes most of the biathlon rifles, started shaving down the barrel and action to make them lighter. This was so you didn’t have to carry around so much weight for 15 kilometers up and down really steep hills. What most biathletes gained in speed on skis, they lost in accuracy on the range. The barrels became less rigid and more susceptible to the cold. That’s where TTI came in. Not only did they make the barrels more accurate, shooting bullet-width-sized groups, the barrel held its group in temperatures hovering around -10 F. So, the officials told me that they’d watch to make sure that a grenade didn’t come out of the end of my barrel and that they thought it was okay and I was all set for they year!

When we first got to Martel we went on a short run to stretch out the legs. It was dark and there were four of us running. We turned around a corner to hear the sound of bells and little children screaming. I knew right away that we were bearing down on a scene with the Krampus.

The hairy, masked portrayers of a demon-like creature who chased around little kids during the Christmas season to scare them into being good. I’ve had an encounter with them before and wasn’t interested in another. They wear full body suits that resemble that of Chewbaca from Star Wars and a mask that might even have the devil scared. They carry willow branches and literately whip any kid within reach. If you didn’t know the tradition, you’d think it horrible for the kids to be receiving such a beating, but if you knew and understood the tradition, it’s actually quite entertaining.

The Krampus is a contrast to St. Nicholas who gives children presents when they are good. So, we ran (quite quickly) past the Krampus and luckily they were busy with other children that only one noticed us. He was rather small and came jogging after us. One of the guys on the men’s team (who’s tall and strong) turned and stood his ground. The small Krampus took one look at my teammate and seemed to think twice about chasing us down. I let out a sigh of relief, which was only short lived, because I knew we’d have to run back past them to get back to our hotel. On the way back we were forced to run in a line due to oncoming car traffic and the two teammates, who were running in front of me received a solid whip across the front of their thighs from one of the Krampus. I was quite happy that this time I came out unscathed from my encounter with the Krampus. I must have been good this year.

The races started out great with one Top 20 result in the Individual race and one Top 10 result. I just missed out on the podium (top 6) with a 7th place finish in the Sprint. The races were difficult with almost gale force winds to deal with in the range and twisty fast downhills on the course. I found myself in quite a predicament in the individual race when I fell on one of the downhills and ended up on my back with my skis facing uphill and my gun wedged under the fence. I tried for what seemed like forever to move, but I was stuck. My gun was pinned and I was stuck there flopping like a fish trying to get up. Then all of a sudden someone had his hands under my arms and I was airborne. He picked me up and turned me around so that I was facing downhill and I was off. The worst part of it was that my flopping around on my back like a seal caused m stock to crack up near the harness, so that night I glued the crack so it’d be ready for the sprint the next day.

The next week took me to Austria, where I found out I’d qualified for a World Cup race in Slovenia. So I spent a day in Austria, then drove to Slovenia to the town of Bled. Bled is a beautiful town on a lake. At one end of the lake there is an island with a church on it and on the other side of the lake there are rock cliffs with a gorgeous castle. I was only there for two days and didn’t have that great of a race. I found that my confidence in my skiing was wavering and I didn’t perform very well. Then immediately following the Slovenia race, I drove back to Austria where I raced the following two days.

Being back in Austria I was more on top of my game and excited to race. I had a strong sprint, missing only one target and placed 21st. The next day would be a pursuit race and I was only a few targets away from a podium. I started out the pursuit well on the first loop feeling strong, then I got tired. This was my third race in a row with a lot of travel and I was feeling it. Nevertheless, I dug deep and shot well to move up 10 places to 11th. It was one of my best pursuits and a great way to end the early season.

Now I’m in Munich, Germany for a few days of R&R. Merry Christmas to everyone! To follow the Barnes’ twins in their biathlon adventures, read their blog.

DamselFly Fisher Explains Why It’s Important to Tip Guides …

Katherine Browne writes about the importance of factoring in a tip for a guide if you’re on a hunting or fishing trip. It’s more than courtesy. Read her opinion here at her blog at Women’s Outdoor News, DamselFly Fisher.

The Outdoor Challenge Being Met By Kansas Wildscape Foundation

Earlier this fall I had posted about some of the challenges of getting people to engage in outdoor activities. I have to give kudos to the Kansas Wildscape Foundation for their answer to this problem. They have a program that meets the challenge of getting kids outdoors by, well, challenging them! It even has a computer component. Children engage in a wide variety of activities — from erecting a tent to having a picnic –and can participate at their own levels of skills, abiltiies and comfort.

You can check it out at http://kansaswildlifer.com/. Perhaps this will give you ideas for a similar program for civic groups, Scout troops, or even your own family. Then let us hear about the challenges you develop for your group!

Remanufactured Vs. Reloaded?

What is the difference between remanufactured and reloaded ammo? Hmm, after 17 years of shooting, I never gave that question much thought until I was asked to write about it …

Let’s start with factory ammunition: As implied by the name, factory ammo is produced by an ammunition company. All the components are new and assembled within SAAMI specifications (Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturer’s Institute). Factory ammo uses new brass casings and gunpowder which are all measured within industry standards.

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Life is complex. Keep it simple

As we mire through Christmas, Hanukah and the many other celebrations leading us to 2011, remember that life is complex. Keeping it simple is the real key to success.

The photo shows the blueberry pie Al (my husband) and I made for Christmas Eve dinner. The blueberries are from Al’s sister’s blueberry bush in North Carolina, and they must have more frequent flier miles than most fruit! Note that a very large mouse had a bite of it—and it must have been a BIG mouse because it used a spoon!

I noticed the missing pie and I had a choice to make: respond or react. Do I choose to make a fuss, get mad and reprimand Al (the mouse), or do I laugh and serve the pie to our guests with a story?

Change your habits and decide to respond to those complex challenges and events in your life. And always remember that responding is learned, and reacting is knee-jerk. Train yourself to keep it simple and take personal responsibility for your outcomes.

Wishing you and your family a heavenly 2011!

The WOMA welcomes Terry Scoville

I have been involved in the shooting sports from a very young age. I was introduced to bird hunting by my father when I was around 9 or 10 years old. With his guidance and experience that he imparted to me I have continued to share my love of the outdoors and hunting with others.

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Waterfowling community rocked by Jeff Foiles indictment

Jeff Foiles, one of the most widely recognized names in waterfowling, professional duck hunter and caller, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Illinois, on 23 counts connected to alleged illegal waterfowl hunts.

According to the indictment, from 2003 to 2007, Foiles, 53, of Pleasant Hill, sold guided waterfowl hunts where hunters regularly violated daily bag limits of ducks and geese. The hunts took place at the Fallin’ Skies Strait Meat Duck Club in Pike County, Illinois.

As a co-owner of the Strait Meat club, Foiles guided commercial waterfowl hunts at the club and elsewhere, including Canada, the indictment says.

The indictment further revealed that some of the allegedly illegal hunts were shown in videos featuring Foiles, including the “Fallin’ Skies” video series. Foiles had sponsorship arrangements with sporting goods companies that paid him to use their products in his videos.

Also noted in the indictment, “The killing of migratory birds in excess of daily bag limits . . . was crucial to achieving these purposes. Not only were guided clients able to kill more birds during their paid hunts, but the overlimits also allowed Foiles and his employees to capture more and better-quality hunting video footage, and thus to produce and sell high-quality commercial waterfowl hunting videos, which was a very important component of Foiles’s promotional activities.”

In one Canada hunt, a cameraman, “upset at the number of geese being killed,” turned off his camera, but Foiles ordered him to continue filming. The footage later appeared in the video “Fallin’ Skies 1,” authorities said in the indictment.

Undercover officers participated in four of the hunts for which Foiles is charged, according to the indictment.

Foiles and his associates also allegedly falsified hunting records, waterfowl hunting area records and picking shed records at the club in order to conceal the excesses. Additionally, it is alleged that Foiles created false game custody tags. Fallin’ Skies Strait Meat Club staff members reported that birds had been killed by people who not only had not hunted, but were not even present at the club on the days in question, the indictment says.

Foiles also operates Foiles Migrators, Inc. in Pittsfield, Illinois consisting of a retail business and showroom, along with an assembly and distribution facility for Foiles’s own popular line of duck and goose calls.

Foiles is formally accused of 12 violations of the Lacey Act and 10 counts of making false writings in a matter within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, as well as conspiracy to violate both laws.

The Lacey Act makes it illegal to knowingly transport or sell wildlife taken in violation of federal law or regulation. The act also covers guide services conducted for the illegal taking of wildlife.

The maximum penalty for a felony violation of the Lacey Act or the federal false writing statute includes up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The government also is seeking forfeiture of property used in the hunts, including 13 Benelli shotguns, two Arctic Cat ATVs and duck and goose decoys.

Foiles is to appear in federal court in Springfield for arraignment Jan. 19.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, in cooperation with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, and the government of Canada. The Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section also is part of the prosecution.

The Op-Ed category of The Women’s Outdoor Media Association reflects its individual member’s opinions, not the opinions of the organization or its Board of Directors collectively.

Heartbeat of The WOMA

I’m making a list, I’m checking it twice . . . and I’m going to share that list to make sure our members are up to speed on the flurry of activity involving The Women’s Outdoor Media Association! Here goes . . . Read more

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