2013 Pure Michigan Hunt winners named

The dreams of three more Michigan hunters to participate in "the hunt of a lifetime" have come true.

Jason Webb of Westland, Jim Bosscher of McBain, and Dave Gittins of Kawkawlin recently received phone calls from Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Division Chief Russ Mason, letting them know they had been chosen as the three lucky winners of the 2013 Pure Michigan Hunt package.

“I couldn’t believe it, I thought it was a joke,” said Missaukee County Sherriff Jim Bosscher of McBain. 

Bosscher and the two other 2013 Pure Michigan Hunt winners will be officially awarded their hunting prize package at the Thursday, Feb. 7, Natural Resources Commission meeting in East Lansing.

“I am like a 5-year-old on Christmas Eve every moment of the day” since finding out, said Marine Corp veteran Jason Webb. 

The three winners each purchased $4 Pure Michigan Hunt applications between March 1 and Dec. 31, 2012 and were randomly drawn in the January lottery. They will each receive all of the available limited hunting licenses for 2013: elk, bear, spring and fall turkey, antlerless deer, and first pick at a managed waterfowl hunt area opening morning. 

In addition to the hunting licenses, each winner will receive the ultimate hunter’s prize package:

• 2012 Darton Crossbow package
• 30.06 Ruger Model 77 rifle from Michigan Gun Owners
• 12 GA shotgun from the Lake Effect Chapter of the Michigan Duck Hunters Association
• Camouflage ground blind from Ameristep
• Guided spring turkey hunt from East Lake Outfitters
• Custom rear-window graphic from Steel Skinz Graphics
• Gas cards and subscriptions from Michigan United Conservation Clubs
• Sitka camouflage clothing from Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
• Camouflage vest, custom box call, and patch from National Wild Turkey Federation
• Rapid River knife, duck decoy and membership from Ducks Unlimited
• Herd monitoring kit and membership from Quality Deer Management Association
• National and local memberships from Safari Club International
• Sweatshirt and hat from Southwestern Lake Erie Chapter of Waterfowl USA

 The next Pure Michigan Hunt application period will start on March 1. Visitwww.michigan.gov/puremichiganhunt for more information.

Related articles

• Time is running out to apply for the Pure Michigan Hunt! (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)
• This Pure Michigan Hunt winner could be you - apply today for the hunt of a lifetime (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)
• Michigan Spring turkey applications on sale now through Feb. 1 (family-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• News Roundup: 12/27/2012 (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)
• Hunting and Conservation (family-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• Michigan Turkey Permits on sale thru Feb 1 (family-outdoors.blogspot.com)

Wisconsin: Important Information Regarding the Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey

Sunday, January 6th marked the end of the Deer Hunter Wildlife survey. While the survey period is over, deer hunters will have until the 20th of January to report their wildlife observations. Observations can be reported by going to the Wisconsin DNR Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey web page.
If you will not have access to a computer and the web, you can send your tally sheet to the address below. All of your observations will be entered for you.
Wildlife Surveys
Attn: Brian Dhuey
2801 Progress Road
Madison, WI 53716
Final results of the survey will be made available at the end of February.
Thank you for your participation in the Deer Hunter Wildlife Survey and your concern for Wisconsin’s wildlife.
For more information contact: Brian Dhuey (608) 221-6342 or Jes Rees (608) 221-6360

Iowa Deer Hunting News

The final deer hunting season begins Jan. 11, in the 38 counties in southern and western Iowa where antlerless deer licenses are available.

Success during the January antlerless season depends on finding where deer are feeding and upon the weather. Cold weather will spur the deer to feed more heavily, so browse lines and food plots will be attractive. Although hunters may see fewer deer as numbers have declined, the season offers some excellent hunting opportunities.
Party hunting is legal and firearm hunters must wear blaze orange. Shotguns, muzzleloaders, handguns, and bows are legal options in all open counties. Centerfire rifles (.24 caliber or larger) are legal in the 21 counties in the southern two tiers of the state.

Last year, 81 percent of the 8,300 deer reported during the January antlerless season were does. To avoid harvesting a shed-antlered buck, hunters should pass up shots at lone deer and wait for deer traveling in groups of does and fawns.

In late December and January, bucks may be found traveling together in bachelor groups of 2-4 animals, but these groups will usually consist of only adult deer. If a small group of adult deer contains even one antlered buck, then the group is typically all bucks. But, if the group contains fawns, it is likely composed of does and fawns. Patience and binoculars are especially useful for identifying the type of deer.

Hunters are encouraged to work with landowners to determine if deer are at desirable levels, and base decisions on how they use the remaining antlerless tags on local herd conditions to avoid over-harvesting deer where they hunt.

Hunters may observe the added effect of this year's EHD outbreak as areas south of I-80 and in counties bordering the Missouri River had higher incidents of the disease. Counties open during the January antlerless season are within that region.

Hunting hours are from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. Beginning Jan. 11, a 2013 hunting license and habitat fee will be required. The January antlerless season closes Jan. 20.

Deer must be reported using the harvest reporting system by midnight the day after the deer is tagged. Hunters' accurately reporting their harvest is an important component of Iowa's deer management program and future hunting opportunities.

Hunters may report their harvest at www.iowadnr.gov, by calling 1-800-771-4692 or at any license vendor. For hunters with internet access, reporting the harvest online is the easiest way to register the deer. Hunters preferring to donate their deer may do so through the Help Us Stop Hunger (HUSH) program, which provides needed meat to Iowans through the Food Bank of Iowa. Iowa has one of the largest programs in the nation.

News Roundup: 12/27/2012

US Fish and Wildlife Service reports, " Of the 13.7 million hunters that took to the field in 2011, 11.6 million hunted big game, 4.5 million hunted small game, 2.6 million hunted migratory birds, and 2.2 million other animals."
From Wisconsin:
Gun deer hunters have one final opportunity this year to harvest a deer in the chronic wasting disease management zone of south central Wisconsin. The season, called the Holiday Hunt, runs Dec. 24 through the end of the ongoing late archery hunt, Jan. 6, 2013.
Hunters can fill unused antlerless tags, unused Gun or Archery Buck Carcass Tags or CWD Deer Carcass Tags. Bonus buck rules apply. Deer can be harvested with the use of any legal firearm, bow or crossbow. Archery hunters must meet legal blaze orange requirements during this open firearm season. This includes the wearing of at least 50 percent blaze orange outer clothing above the waste. The goal of the holiday hunt is to provide additional hunting opportunity as well as herd control.
From Michigan:
Michigan's Hunting Access Program (HAP) – a long-time Department of Natural Resources offering that provides hunters with more places to hunt – had been slipping into oblivion in recent years, but seems to have found a new lease on life. In fact, the latest news is pretty encouraging.
HAP, which began in the late 1970s as a way to give hunters access to private property in southern Michigan, at one time boasted more than 790 farms totaling 188,000 acres. In 2011, HAP included just 45 farms offering some 7,400 acres.
A year later, however, after the DNR decided to reinvigorate the program, HAP includes more than 150 farms that encompass 17,032-plus acres – and all of it accessible to Michigan hunters.
To learn more about the Hunting Access Program, visit www.michigan.gov/hap. To explore hunting opportunities and land resources available through the DNR, visit www.michigan.gov/hunting or www.michigan.gov/mihunt.

Missouri Conservation Commission set dates for 2013 turkey- and deer-hunting seasons

Conservation Commission sets 2013 turkey, deer season dates

Early action helps hunters who must plan vacation ahead of time.

JEFFERSON CITY–The Missouri Conservation Commission set dates for 2013 turkey- and deer-hunting seasons at its December meeting, giving hunters plenty of time to schedule vacation.

The Commission set the following dates for turkey hunting.

Ø  Youth season, April 6-7

Ø  Regular spring season, April 15-May 5

Ø  Fall firearms turkey season, Oct. 1-31

Bag limits and shooting hours remain the same as last year. Additional details, including spring managed turkey hunts and regulations for spring turkey hunting on conservation areas, will be published in the spring turkey hunting regulation guide in March.

The Commission set the following dates for 2013-2014 firearms deer hunting.

Ø  Urban portion, Oct. 11-14

Ø  Early youth portion, Nov. 2-3

Ø  November portion, Nov. 16-26

Ø  Antlerless portion, Nov. 27-Dec. 8

Ø  Alternative methods portion, Dec. 21-31

Ø  Late youth portion, Jan. 4-5

The Conservation Commission also simplified requirements for tagging harvested deer, effective June 1, 2013. Other deer-hunting regulations will be set in the spring of 2013. Details will be published in the fall deer and turkey hunting regulation guide.

Related articles

• Meeting of the Missouri Conservation Commission (missourioutdoors.blogspot.com)
• Hunters check 15,000 deer during antlerless season (missourioutdoors.blogspot.com)
• November deer harvest biggest in four years (missourioutdoors.blogspot.com)
• Young hunters check 19,277 deer (missourioutdoors.blogspot.com)
• The 161st nine-day deer hunt closes, but heritage continues through stories (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)
• Wisconsin's 2012 gun deer season opens Nov. 17 (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)

Time is running out to apply for the Pure Michigan Hunt!

Seal of Michigan

Purchase unlimited $4 Pure Michigan Hunt applications for a chance to win the ultimate hunting prize package! Three lucky winners will be randomly selected mid-January 2013 and will receive an elk and bear license, crossbow package, hunting gear and much more!  The deadline to purchase an application is Dec. 31.  You can apply as many times as you like.  You can purchase a Pure Michigan Hunt application anywhere licenses are sold or online at www.mdnr-elicense.com (Item #300 under miscellaneous).

For more information on the Pure Michigan Hunt, including a full prize list, visit www.michigan.gov/puremichiganhunt.

Related articles

• This Pure Michigan Hunt winner could be you - apply today for the hunt of a lifetime (midwestdeerhunting.blogspot.com)

Kansas COMMISSION BIG GAME PERMIT DEADLINE JANUARY 1

Permits help conservation groups raise money
PRATT – Seven numbers will be drawn by Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism commissioners at their scheduled public meeting in January. The numbers will represent state conservation organizations that applied for the coveted Commission Big Game permits, which can be auctioned off to raise money for conservation projects.
Any Kansas-based nonprofit organization that actively promotes wildlife conservation and the hunting and fishing heritage is eligible to apply. Only one permit per organization will be awarded; however, individual chapters of the same organization may receive permits. A chapter or organization is eligible to receive only one Commission Big Game permit in a three-year period.
Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism commissioners will conduct the drawing when they meet on January 10, 2013 at Butler County Community College in El Dorado. Applications must be received no later than Jan. 1, 2013.
To apply, organizations must submit an application that includes a copy of their 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, articles of incorporation, and mission statement, as well as the organization’s preference for an elk, antelope or deer permit. Applications can be downloaded from KDWPT’s website, www.ksoutdoors.com; enter “2013 Commission Big Game Permit” in the search box. Mail applications to Sheila Kemmis, Commission Secretary, Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, 512 SE 25th Ave., Pratt, KS 67124.
Seven permits will be issued, which may include one elk, one antelope and up to seven deer, depending upon the preferences of the drawn organizations. Organizations that draw a permit must pay KDWPT the permit fee, and they will be issued a voucher. The final recipient must remit the voucher to KDWPT’s licensing section to receive the big game permit. Permits may be issued to resident or nonresident hunters and are valid in management units and seasons listed on the permits.
Once an organization sells a permit, not less than 85 percent of the amount is returned to KDWPT to be spent on mutually agreed-upon projects. The remaining 15 percent can be spent at the organization’s discretion. (If Kansas Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (KFHFH) receives a permit, not less than 15 percent of the funds raised is remitted to KDWPT with 85 percent staying with KFHFH.)

Related articles

• Wildlife Checkpoint Planned in Southcentral Kansas (kansas-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• Electronic Registration of Deer Available (kansas-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• Firearm Deer Season Opens November 28 (kansas-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• Report Poachers Toll-free and Remain Anonymous (kansas-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• Trail Camera Captures Mountain Lion in Stafford County (kansas-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• 15th ANNUAL PHEASANT HUNT FOR YOUTH (kansas-outdoors.blogspot.com)
• F.i.s.h. Pays Landowners to Allow Fishing Access (kansas-outdoors.blogspot.com)