Trapline Journal Weblog

Sportsmen Applaud President’s Order to Promote Hunting
President understands sportsmen are essential to wildlife conservation
August 17, 2007 (National)

(Washington, D.C.) – An Executive Order issued by the President of the United States will spell more hunting opportunities and enhanced conservation efforts, according to the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, the nation’s premier sportsmen’s rights advocacy organization.

Today, President George W. Bush released the order, entitled “Facilitation of Hunting and Wildlife Conservation.” It directs all relevant federal agencies to facilitate the expansion and enhancement of hunting opportunities, wildlife management and habitat.

“The Executive Order is a great milestone for sportsmen and wildlife conservation,” said Bud Pidgeon, president and CEO of the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance. “It clearly demonstrates that the President understands the unbreakable bond between successful wildlife conservation and hunting - that sportsmen are the key to abundant wildlife and habitat.”

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance proposed that the White House issue an Executive Order on hunting early in President Bush’s first term, and again in 2007. The order, number 13,443, directs federal agencies that manage public land, outdoor recreation and wildlife management to:

• Address declining trends and implement actions that expand and enhance hunting opportunities
• Consider the economic and recreational value of hunting
• Manage wildlife and habitat in a manner that expands and enhances hunting opportunities
• Work collaboratively with states to manage wildlife in a manner that respects private property rights and state authority over wildlife
• Establish goals with the states to foster healthy game populations

“The order gives federal agencies a clear-cut directive that they work to increase hunting opportunities with state wildlife agencies,” said Pidgeon. “It will result in more resources directed at preserving the future of hunting and greater access to public land. The President is to be commended.”

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance is a national association of sportsmen and sportsmen’s organization that protects the rights of hunters, anglers and trappers in the courts, legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs. For more information about the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance and its work, call (614) 888-4868 or visit its website, www.ussportsmen.org.

eBay is revising it’s gun policy to ban the sale of any part that is used in the firing of a gun. This includes bullet tips, brass casings and shells, barrels, slides, cylinders, magazines, firing pins, trigger assemblies and more. Gun parts sellers are already being banned and their PayPal accounts frozen. Trappers and trap supply dealers who sell legal trapping equipment have been dealing with vague rules and auctions being cancelled with no apparent consistency for some time now.

There are other auction sites that support the 2nd amendment, like http://www.auctionarms.com and http://www.gunbroker.com. Auction Arms is running a limited-time special for abandoned eBay sellers.

Many gun sellers are abandoning eBay and PayPal over this new restriction. An electronic petition against this new policy has been setup at http://www.petitiononline.com/ebay0001/petition.html

Trapline Journal and Hunters Notebook will be available on Auction Arms and Gun Broker in the near future.

Range: Raccoons are native to North and South America, ranging as far south as northern Argentina and as far north as southern Canada. The raccoon lives in wooded areas near water although it is very adaptable and is also found in suburbs and cities. It usually makes its den in a tree, but it may make its home in an abandoned woodchuck burrow, a cave, barn or sewer.

Anatomy: The raccoon is about 32 inches long including the tail and weighs 11 to 18 pounds. In the northern part of their range raccoons may weigh as much as 33 pounds. The raccoon has gray to brown fur, a black mask around its eyes with white fur around the mask, a stripe that runs from its forehead to its nose and white fur around its nose, a bushy, ringed tail and black paws with five toes. A raccoon’s paws look a little like human hands. The raccoon’s toes are flexible and it is very good at grabbing, pulling things apart and holding things. The raccoon is a very good climber and can go down a tree backwards or face first.

Behavior: The raccoon is mostly nocturnal and solitary except for mothers and their young. Raccoons do not hibernate in winter though they may spend more time in their dens, only coming out to forage for an hour or so each day. During spells of bitter cold or extremely harsh conditions, raccoons do not venture out of the den at all, burning calories from the extra weight they put on in the fall until the weather becomes more agreeable. The raccoons usually walks, but it can run at speeds of up to 15 miles an hour. It is a good swimmer and often hunts for food in the water. The raccoon makes a variety of vocalizations including hisses, whistles, screams, growls and snarls. Raccoons are omnivorous and eat a variety of foods, including frogs, fish, amphibians, shellfish, insects, birds, eggs, mice, carrion, berries, nuts, vegetation, insects, berries, corn, pet food, and human garbage.

Breeding: Mating season runs January through March. After a gestation period of 63 days, the female gives birth to a litter of between four to six young. At four to six weeks, the kits are able to stand, are weaned at 70 days then start to hunt between 9-12 weeks old. The kits may stay with their mother for up to a year.

Range: They use a series of dens for shelter and raising young. Typical den sites include rock formations, hollow logs or trees, burrows and brush piles. Gray foxes line dens with grass, leaves or shredded bark.

Anatomy: A gray fox adult is 35 to 44 inches in length and weighing from 5 to 14 pounds. The sides of its neck, backs of its ears, and underside of its tail are rusty yellow. A reddish-orange band separates the whitish throat and belly from the upper sides and back, which are a salt and pepper gray. A black mane of long, coarse hairs extends along the top of the tail from its base to its tip, which is also black.

Behavior: Gray fox are most active at night. They are the only member of the canine family (foxes, coyotes, wolves) that can climb trees. Gray foxes have been found in squirrel nests and abandoned hawk nests up to 60 feet above the ground. This habit is useful for escaping enemies, sunbathing and eating fruits or other foods found in trees. Gray foxes are secretive and shy, but fight fiercely when necessary. They can run 26 miles per hour for short distances. Rabbits and rodents make up the bulk of their diet. A study in Missouri showed the following food groups and their percentages by volume: rabbits (47.1); mice and rats (20.7); other wild mammals (3.6); livestock (0.8); poultry (9.7); wild birds (6.6); carrion (0.8); insects (1.2); plants (8.8) and miscellaneous (0.7). Corn, berries and fruits like persimmons can be important foods.

Breeding: Gray fox breed from January to mid-May and have a gestation period of 53 days. One to ten but usually three to five pups are born between March and mid-May. Pups are born with their eyes closed and have a thin layer of blackish hair. Their eyes open at 9 to 12 days of age. They leave the den for the first time to accompany their parents on hunting trips at about 3 months of age. The family group breaks up in late summer or early fall. The young continue to grow until they’re about 18 months old, but they are able to breed before they are a year old.

Range: The coyote (Canis latrans, meaning “barking dog”) is native to North America and found from Alaska to Panama. The coyote is one of the few medium-to-large-sized animals that has enlarged its range since human encroachment began. It originally ranged primarily in the western half of North America, but it has adapted readily to the changes caused by human occupation and, since the early 19th century, has been steadily extending its range. Sightings now commonly occur in California, Oregon, New England, and eastern Canada. Coyotes have moved into most of the areas of North America formerly occupied by wolves, and are often observed foraging in suburban trashcans.

Anatomy: The coyote stands less than 2 ft tall and varies in color from white-gray to tan with sometimes a reddish tint to its coat. A coyote’s ears and nose appear long and pointed, especially in relation to the size of its head. It weighs between 20 and 50 pounds, averaging 31 pounds. The coyote can be identified by its thick, bushy tail, which it often holds low to the ground. The coyote is an extremely lean animal and may appear underfed even if healthy. During pursuit, a coyote may reach speeds up to 43 mph. Coyotes live an average of 6 to 10 years.

Behavior: Coyotes were once essentially diurnal, but have adapted to more nocturnal behavior with pressure from humans. They are adaptable and live in a variety of different niches. Their behavior can vary widely depending on where they live, but in general they live in packs yet hunt singly in search of small mammals including rabbits, mice, shrews, voles, squirrels, grouse, carrion, insects and sometimes sheep, and fish. In areas where coyotes and deer co-exist, an adult coyote will typically prey on one fawn per year. The majority of deer found in coyote scats comes from carrion, such as road-killed and hunter-killed deer or victims of starvation or disease. The coyote is an omnivore and adapts its diet to the available food sources including fruits, grasses, and vegetables along with small mammals and even trash. Coyote are preyed upon by wolves, bear, and cougar. Coyotes, in turn, compete with smaller canids, such as foxes and sometimes domestic dogs, and will attack these when they encounter them.

Breeding: Coyotes breed in late January or early February, depending on altitude. Gestation lasts on average 63 days, and litters of four to six pups are born in late April or early May. Both parents (and often undispersed young from the previous year) help to feed the pups. At three weeks old the pups leave the den under close watch of their parents. Once the pups are eight to twelve weeks old they are taught to hunt. Families stay together through the summer but the young disperse to find their own territories by fall. They usually relocate within ten miles. The young are sexually mature at 1 year of age, although few breed this young.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article “Coyote”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/coyote

Range: The bobcat (Lynx rufus) ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including much of the continental United States. A mid-sized wild cat, the Bobcat is an adaptable predator that inhabits wooded areas as well as semi-desert, urban, and swamp land environments. It utilizes several methods to mark its territorial boundaries including claw marks and deposits of urine or feces.

Anatomy: The bobcat has characteristic black bars on its forelegs and tail. It also has prominent, pointed ears with short tufts of black hair at the tip. The name is derived from its stubby black-tipped tail. Its coat is most often light gray or various shades of brown in color, with varying degrees of black spots either dispersed along much of its body or relegated to the otherwise white underparts. The Bobcat is twice as large as a house cat but typically smaller than the related Canadian Lynx. The adult male, averaging 36 inches (90 cm) in length, and weighing from 16 to 30 pounds (7 to 14 kg), is generally 30-40% larger than the female. The cat has sharp hearing and vision, and a good sense of smell. It is also an excellent climber. The Bobcat will swim when it needs to, but will normally avoid water.

Behavior: The bobcat is generally most active during twilight and is therefore considered crepuscular. It keeps on the move from three hours before sunset until midnight, then again from before dawn until three hours after sunrise. Each night it will move from two to seven miles (3 to 11 km) along its habitual route. The home range is marked with feces, urine scent, and by clawing prominent trees in the area. In its territory the bobcat will have numerous places of shelter, usually a main den, and several auxiliary shelters on the outer extent of its range, such as hollow logs, brush piles, thickets, or under a rock ledge. Bobcats are carnivorous animals, prefering rabbits and hares, but will hunt anything from insects and small rodents to deer. Prey selection will depend on location and habitat, season, and abundance.

Breeding: The bobcat breeds from winter into the spring and has a gestation period of about two months. One to six, but usually two to four, kittens are born in April or May. There may sometimes be a second litter, with births as late as September. The female generally gives birth in some sort of enclosure, usually a small cave or hollow log. The young open their eyes by the ninth or tenth day. They start exploring their surroundings at four weeks and are weaned at about two months. They will be hunting by themselves by their first fall but remain with the mother until nearly a year old.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article “Bobcat”. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/bobcat

The Trapper and Predator Caller has a new product called Extra which is a bi-weekly e-mail magazine. Topics in the July 17, 2007 issue are:

• Cougar Suspected in Minnesota Goat Attack
• Missouri Group Experiences Mountain Man Trapline
• Specialty Set: Mink By the Bucket
• Sneak Peek at the August T&PC Issue
• How Fast Can a Coyote Run?
• NTA Convention Just Two Weeks Away

Sign up for the email newsletter is free. Just go to their website at http://www.trapperpredatorcaller.com and enter your email address in the box below “Sign up to receive free news and updates”.

Recently, the Trapper and Predator Caller Magazine website was updated with a Forum and Subscriber information. The login/registration box is a little hard to find. It’s the dark brown box about halfway down on the right side of the ‘Home’ screen.

On the Subscriber Information pages, you can check on your subscription beginning and expiration dates. There’s been some mixups with state trapping associations subscriptions recently and checking your subscription online could save you a phone call. If you register through the Subscriber Information pages, be sure to check “Not a Subscriber”, even if you are a subscriber. This is because the subscriber features have not been implemented yet. For more info, check the posts on the Trapper and Predator Caller forum.

Monday, July 16, 2007

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced it will significantly revise a recent proposal for new “explosives safety” regulations that caused serious concern among gun owners. OSHA had originally set out to update workplace safety regulations, but the proposed rules included restrictions that very few gun shops, sporting goods stores, shippers, or ammunition dealers could comply with.

Gun owners had filed a blizzard of negative comments urged by the NRA, and just a week ago, OSHA had already issued one extension for its public comment period at the request of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. After continued publicity through NRA alerts and the outdoor media, and after dozens of Members of Congress expressed concern about its impact, OSHA has wisely decided to go back to the drawing board.

Full story is available at the NRA website: http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=3162

This is the new home of the Trapline Journal Weblog. All weblog content previously on the main web page has been moved to here, running WordPress software. Hope you find this format easier to use.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has extended the comment period on its proposed rule for 60 days until September 10. The proposed new rules would have a dramatic effect on the storage and transportation of ammunition and handloading components such as primers or black and smokeless powder. The proposed rule indiscriminately treats ammunition, powder and primers as “explosives.” Among many other provisions, the proposed rule would:

• Prohibit possession of firearms in commercial “facilities containing explosives”—an obvious problem for your local gun store.
• Require evacuation of all “facilities containing explosives”—even your local Wal-Mart—during any electrical storm.
• Prohibit smoking within 50 feet of “facilities containing explosives”.

For full story, visit the NRA website at
http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/Federal/Read.aspx?id=3151

The OSHA news release is at
http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=14100