How can hunter education help create more safe hunters?

Findings from a 2011/2012 hunter education study conducted by Responsive Management suggest that fine-tuning current hunter education programs could bolster numbers of licensed hunters.

“To capitalize on peak interest, state natural resource agencies should provide information on mentored hunting opportunities as well as maps of public hunting lands during hunter education courses or immediately following them,” said Mark Duda, executive director of Responsive Management. “Agencies that consolidate post-course information such as season dates, hunting regulations, special hunt opportunities and other information could make it easier for graduates to take that next step.”

The purpose of the study was to assess the best ways of encouraging hunter education graduates to become regular hunters and license buyers. The study included focus groups and pre- and post-hunter education course telephone surveys of students in Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky.

The study revealed that between 85 percent and 94 percent of hunter education students across the three states said they were very likely to obtain a hunting license after their course. However, post-course results indicated between 53 percent and 70 percent of hunter education students who had never hunted or possessed a license before bought a license after the course.

As a way to boost the percentage of students who buy a hunting license, Duda suggested that state agencies responsible for hunter education explore ways to immediately get a hunting license into the hands of course graduates. Doing that would mean hunter education graduates would face one less barrier to active hunting participation.

“One way of accomplishing that would be to include the fee of an annual hunting license in the overall price of course registration, thereby guaranteeing that students leave the course fully licensed to hunt in their state,” Duda said.

Other suggestions to increase the number of hunter education graduates who purchase hunting licenses is offering optional follow-up courses. Seminars or distance-learning options could be an additional source of revenue for agencies as well as provide new hunters with more information on topics such as scouting, hunting strategies or field dressing game.

Providing more classroom courses was mentioned by study participants as another improvement. Notable percentages of survey respondents in Georgia (12 percent) and Kentucky (34 percent) said courses were overcrowded or not easy to find close to where they live.

What do Hogs know about Blogs and more?

The HAHWG (yes HOG)  group recently hosted a meeting at Horseshoe Ranch off Bloody Basin Road in Arizona.

OK – HAHWG stands for Hunting and Angling Heritage Work Group.  Attended by many wildlife groups, the focus of the meeting was how to grow your association, expand client base and increase volunteerism. As a WOMA board member and my husband is a board member of the Arizona Antelope Foundation, we decided to attend. All I can say is WOW! What excitement to move to the next steps.

My head is full of fabulous ideas. One of the agenda items that we can all use is keywords, phrases and positive messages specifically for the outdoors. There are a number of studies that have identified this information to grab the attention of the very people that will read your story, use your product or employ your services. These examples work for re-activating lapsed hunters, fishermen and others, as well as reaching people who are interested in the outdoors but haven’t taken the first step.

1. The following is taken from a Responsive Management Study: Developing  an integrated Marketing campaign to bring back Lapsed Hunters in Virginia: Identifying Words and Phrases that Work

- Safe

- Controlled Environment

- Building Memories

- Heritage

- Traditions

- Connect with Nature

- Quality Time

- Fun

- Get Away from it All

- Relaxing

- Excitement

- Family Activity

- Health and Lifestyle

- Character Developing

 

2. The following information is taken from: Meat and Meanings: Adult Onset Hunts’ Cultural Discourses of the Hunt, Master’s thesis, Tovar Cerulli, University of Massachusetts, 2011

Hunting, fishing, outdoor activities, are culturally significant because:

“they make you feel more connected”

“you get to “you get to know nature”

“it is primal, innate, a natural thing to do”

“it is spiritual’

“it builds camaraderie, sense of community, sharing, unifying”

“take your place as part of the natural cycle”

“gives connection with what you put into your body”

“of its renewable resource focus”

Underlying propositions:

- it’s good to feel connected to nature, it’s good to do natural things, it’s good to feel connected to other humans, and it’s good to feel connected to ancient heritage

3. Prominent Cultural Key Words and Phrases for Adult On-Set Hunters:

Connection/connected, relationship, nature/natural, land, responsibility/responsible, understanding/awareness, participate/ interact, respect/respectful, health/healthy, focused/engaged/alert, excitement/exciting, intensity/intense, challenge/challenging, powerful/deep, clean-kill/humane, pride/challenging, powerful, gratitude/thankful, and eat/food, wanting to eat good food.

And thanks to the 2012 Winter HAHWG Meeting for supplying all of this information and to Arizona Game and Fish for organizing the meeting. And to Doug and Craig for their outstanding leadership!

Click here for FaceBook Pictures!

Let’s all get on the positive side of neutral by considering these words for your written word or for the spoken word.

Basics of Photographing Your Trophy

It is always best to photograph your trophy in the area where you find it. Make the photo look as natural as possible. It does not do the animal justice to take a photo of it in the back of your pick up, on your 4-wheeler or worse yet, hanging from your hoist. Photographs look much better if you have trees or shrubs in the background.

Prepare the animal so it looks as natural as possible. Be sure to clean the animal of any blood. Pet the animal’s fur in the proper direction. Put the tongue in its mouth and clear the lips and nostrils of any blood. Remember to check periodically and make sure no additional blood has appeared. Some photographers carry thin line to hold the mouth closed if necessary.

In order to have your animal look full bodied and healthy, push it forward on its body. Fold its legs under its chest. This will give the body a healthy appearance. Sit beside or behind the animal. Never sit on the animal. Depending on the size of your harvest, you may need to use your pack, large rocks or shooting sticks to brace its weight and prop it up. Hold on to the animal’s antlers only to attain a natural head position. Do not use its antlers to rest your bow or gun. Bows and guns can be held in your free hand or laid at an angle across the animal’s body.

Take your photos up close with a flash to optimize light. This will eliminate some of the shadows caused by a hat on a bright sunny day. Pay attention to hats and sunglasses. Remove sunglasses and tilt ball caps up so your eyes can be seen in the photo.  If the animal has antlers, turn the animal’s head at an angle to see the depth and confirmation of the antlers. Pay attention to shadows caused by antlers that can appear across your face.  On another note, if you have sponsors, make sure their logo is still visible in the photograph.

Always take numerous pictures. The more photos you take at different angles, the better chance you have of getting one that doesn’t have a flaw such as a shadow across your chin or other accidental detractor. You will also need a separate photograph for each article you write. Cover your bases and take lots. Remember the basics and let us see those fantastic photographs.

SHOT SHOW MEDIA REGISTRATION IS OPEN

All working media professionals interested in covering the 2012 SHOT Show can now register for press credentials. Media who have attended the SHOT Show in previous years and for which NSSF had a valid email address today received a fast-track registration form. Media members who did not receive this email (even if they’ve attended SHOT Show in the past) should register using the online form at shotshow.org. Reviewing the “badge types” and “proof of eligibility” explanations before filling out the online form will help speed the application process. All approved media will be invited to also register for Media Day at the Range. Questions? E-mail SHOT@compusystems.com or call 708-786-4105 or 866-585-4105.Read the press room guidelines.

Overwhelmed with too much work from your Boss?

Reader’s question:  I have a great job that I dearly love.  Recently, one of my 4 bosses added a task to my job that is actually a full time job on it’s own at this time.  I was unable to keep up on many of my other duties due to the priority level and time needed and this ongoing task.  I finally convinced my boss that added the task to my workload that it was way too much for one person.  However, he wasn’t happy and now he is hesitant to give me any other tasks.

 

DO THE RIGHT THING: It’s all about customer service

By Marsha Petrie Sue, MBA

The Wallow Fire in Arizona has been devastating. Many people have lost their homes that were surrounded by towering pines and crystal blue skies. One month before the fire, my husband changed all of our cabin insurance to Allstate because of a recommendation from a dear friend.

The policies were activated with one condition concerning the Alpine retreat because the risk managers wanted a few small trees trimmed. Receiving the notice right before we left on an eight-day celebration of my birthday still gave us plenty of time to get to the property, trim the vegetation and take pictures of the completed work when we returned June 8th.

Watching television the evening of May 29 in our Maui condo to catch up on the news was numbing. The Wallow Fire had started very close to our mountain community and the very next day the residents were told there was a mandatory evacuation and everyone must leave by 7PM because of the impending forest fire. We were stunned.

We contacted our agent, Ana Escobedo, and told her what had happened. She informed us that the pictures of the trimmed trees needed to be received by the previously set date of June 15th or the policy would be cancelled. The company has rules and the Arizona Department of Insurance said Allstate was within the law. Our opinion? They weren’t doing the right thing! Still under evacuation orders from the Sherriff’s department, there was no way we would meet their deadline.

Al, my husband, and his attention to detail, caught Ana’s company’s eye as she had passed on the correspondence. Al had sent numerous emails detailing every component of why we couldn’t access the property and included the metal roof we installed along with treating the wood logs a week before our departure to Maui. He included an explanation of how we annually clear the grounds of pine needles and deadfall after the winters snow.

Ana was focused on getting a positive outcome for us and spent sleepless nights trying to solve our dilemma. She couldn’t get anything done by email or phone, so decided to drive to the Allstate Regional headquarters and speak to someone who could extend our deadline. In route, she received a call explaining that Allstate had reinstated our cabin insurance and we should get the pictures to them as soon as we could! They lived up to their company slogan, “You’re in good hands with Allstate!”

Within minutes, we were on our way to meet Ana. She told us that the reason she chose this insurance company to work with was because they instilled in their people to always “do the right thing.” And they certainly did!

 

When you think of your business and as a consumer in today’s environment, ask yourself these questions:

As a Business leader:

1. Do you hire people that have the moral compass to do the right thing?

2. Do you give them the authority to make decisions?

3. Does the company have the right resources and people in place to answer any question and solve any problem?

4. Do you make yourself available?

5. Are employees rewarded when they do “Do the right thing?”

 

As a Consumer:

1. Do you give correct information to a customer service rep that is trying to help you?

2. Do you stay calm and understand the outcomes you can create if your angst shows?

3. Are you a good listener?

4. Do you ask good questions and dig deep to see what are the possibilities?

5. Do you keep notes about your conversation with names, detail and dates?

 

Now go do the right thing! (And contact Ana anae@allstate.com if you want excellence in client care for all your insurance needs!)

Marsha’s gift to you and your team: Download Customer Service and Client Care audio program at http://marshapetriesue.com/customerservicegift/

 

Survival of the Fastest

How much can you get done in a day? Want to spend more time in the outdoors but just can’t seem to find the time?  Survival in this business downturn and staying sane during the process is not easy. You must be faster at everything you do. Learn how to have the energy to accomplish it all by sleeping faster. Focus on leveraging every minute of the day by learning faster time management skills. Organize your outdoor gear so you can get to nature faster.

Sleep faster: when your head hits the pillow, think of all the wonderful and joyful events of your day. Don’t focus on how awful it was or how you didn’t get everything done.  While doing this, concentrate on deep, diaphragmatic breathing by putting one hand on your belly and pushing your belly button slowly up and down. When (not if) your mind wanders to the dark side, bring it back to the happiness of the day.

Time manage faster: learn to stop yourself several times a day and ask yourself. “Is this the best use of my time right now?” Ah, the answer is probably NO! So shift what you are doing to something more productive.  Do you have a “To Do” list that is overwhelming? Play a trick on yourself and ask, “If I had time to do just one, which one would I do?” Then, as NIKE says, Just Do It!

Organize faster: Keep your gear in a “ready to go” duffle. I have my green bag that has all my camo, gloves, long underwear, turtles, mask, hats, and everything else packed. I know my backpack always has my binoculars, water bottle, snacks, pad/pencil, Garmin, rain poncho, sunscreen, first aid kit and other essentials already packed. I don’t have to think.

Learn to grab and go. Practice your time management on every turn. Build your energy by allowing yourself to sleep soundly. You too will be part of the Survival of the Fastest team! Off for Turkey hunting…

What else do you do?

Mental Muggers: Don’t Let Toxic People Rob You!

When you are being mentally mugged by the toxic types, your self-confidence is in harms way.  Here are weapons that help you take aim:

• Relive a confident moment. Dig back in your memory bank and recapture an event when you delivered the kind of success you want.  Remember as much detail as you can. It’s true – you become what you think about.

• Read more

Podcast: Never judge a literary agent by his Carhartts!

Tune in to hear the debut podcast for The WOMA by members Paige Eissinger and Barb Baird when they talk to Bill Bowers, of Bowers Editorial Services. Bill details well-reasoned, commonsense tips for prospective authors who might be seeking the services of a literary agent. Also, find out why you should “never judge a literary agent by his Carhartts!”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

The Package Deal — journalistic etiquette demands paying the photographer

One of our WOMA members recently got in touch with me and told me a little story. It seems that this person went on a fishing trip with a well-known freelance writer in the outdoor industry. I’ll call the WOMA member Betty and I’ll call the writer Mona. From all accounts, it was a marvelous day on the water. When Mona caught a big bass, Betty took photos of her with it.

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