One of the joys of public land is the freedom it allows. This seems like a no-brainer. As long as we don’t ruin the resource for others, we ought to be able to “run wild,” right? I’m frustrated by heavily managed public lands such as State and National Parks, National Forest Service campgrounds, etc. where you pay to drive in, pay to park, pay for 10 square feet of ground on which to pitch a tent, pay to launch a boat on which is pasted a license you paid for in order to enjoy the privilege of pulling the boat on a trailer you licensed to hitch to your licensed truck, which you get to drive because of the driver’s license in your pocket.

I can tolerate all the taxes, but the lost freedoms really bother me. Take “public” shooting ranges, for instance. You pay by the year or by the day. But then you go to shoot on Monday and the range is closed. You try Tuesday afternoon but it’s only opened Tues. morning. You visit Friday after work to discover the gate just closing because it’s 5 PM. When you do catch the range open, you must wait for the range master to grant permission to set your targets, load your rifle, commence firing. Stop firing. Check your targets. It’s like being back in grade school. Why all this control? What freedoms have we lost and why?

Obviously the control is needed for public safety. You can’t have Billy Bob running downrange to change his target while Bobby Bill is banging away at his. You can’t have idiots swinging loaded guns willy nilly around the benches. Etc. etc. It’s common sense precaution augmented by threats of lawsuits and layers of government regulations that bury the freedom of “plinking.”

An alternative across much of the West is BLM lands. Like Forest Service lands, these are yours and mine. The big difference is that BLM is less heavily regulated. With a few exceptions, especially during fire season, you can go where you want, camp where you want, shoot where you want. Locally hundreds of shooters head to the nearest BLM lands to plink, sight-in, and practice their shooting. Freedom! The “range” is open 24/7. The result is a disaster.

At a popular local BLM shooting grounds you literally take your life in someone else’s hands. Idiots with guns will set up targets with no backstop aiming toward other shooters already set up against reasonable backstops. You literally see folks shooting simultaneously to every direction of the compass. Bullets whine overhead or plunk into the ground nearby. I’ve watched carloads of teenagers disembark beside someone shooting 100-yard targets, then walk directly behind those targets in search of ground squirrels. And once these “cautious” shooters depart, they leave behind a legacy of not just empty hulls and broken clay pigeons, but blasted glass bottles, riddled plastic bottles, ragged cardboard boxes, broken TV sets, hub caps, washers and dryers and even automobiles shot full of holes. It’s disheartening and baffling and points directly to the fees, taxes and micromanagement we endure on our other “public lands.”

Recently, because the local gun range was closed and I had a visitor who wanted to try a few of my rifles, we visited the closest BLM disaster range and witnessed all of the above and more. More, in this case, included a freshly shot burrowing owl near a growing pile of shot and broken household trash. We’ve all seen this brand of lawless wonton waste. We’ve been railing against it for decades. My observations are that it has decreased, but we will never eradicate it. Instead, our freedom to enjoy freedom on public lands will continue to decline until we are all paying for the privilege of having a government worker give us step-by-step instructions on how to behave within a severely limited range of options.

And it will be our own darned fault.

What do you see? What solutions can you suggest? How can we encourage responsible gun ownership/use with maximum freedom without enduring this kind of senseless, disgusting “trashing of America?”

# # #

Biologists and wildlife managers spent years educating the general public about the balance of Nature, then years more trying to clear up the misperception — because their isn’t a balance.

But that doesn’t mean humans shouldn’t try to maintain a balance in Nature.

It’s like this: plants and animals constantly strive to survive and increase their numbers. When conditions are optimum, they thrive. When conditions are poor, they decline. Sometimes they even disappear. Ask the next T. Rex you see about that.

The problem with this constant competition is human interference. We know “it’s not nice to fool Mother nature,” but we fool with her all the time. When we plant fields, we eliminate native plants and the animals that depend on them. When we build a highway we kill thousands of animals and remove their living spaces. When we build houses we replace the wild plants and animals that lived on that space. But when we tranform a pine forest to a bluegrass lawn, we increase the robin population while decreasing the pine grosbeak population. When we dam (damn?) a river we might destroy the migratory spawners like sturgeon and salmon, but create utopia for lake species like carp and smallmouth bass.

Just be going about our business, living our lives, we fool with Mother Nature and upset her “balance.” What we must learn to do is accept our roles in compensating for the imbalances we cause.

This is no time nor place for the weak-hearted. In order for some species to thrive, nay merely survive, we may need to kill (that’s right, kill) other species. This necessity causes no end of hand wringing and wailing by self-proclaimed animal lovers who have limited knowledge or appreciation of reality. Because these folks prefer to pretend that every creature in Nature lives pain-free, happy, naturally abundant lives, they refuse to understand that reality demands death in exchange for abundant life. Yes, humans sometimes must kill certain plants and animals so that others may live.

Recently the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) asked the federal government for permission to kill a bunch of cormorants in order to protect endangered salmon. Cormorants (several species) are a robust, duck-like, diving, fish eating bird that is thriving in part because humans have made so many fish-producing reservoirs. Salmon are a river-spawning fish that are declining for the same reason — we turned their rivers into lakes.

Common sense would suggest that, because we harmed salmon by plugging their rivers and doubly harmed them by increasing their predators, it is our job to either remove the dams or reduce the numbers of cormorants, just as we’ve had to reduce the numbers of salmon-eating sea lions below Bonneville Dam. Just as we’ve paid to reduce populations of salmon-eating norther pike minnows from the man-made reservoirs. Just as we may need to reduce the populations of terns now nesting on man-made islands in the lower Columbia. Each of these salmon-eating species has increased thanks to man-made changes to the world. Shouldn’t we have the common sense and guts to correct our mistakes?

Ah, but there’s the rub. Despite our confessions at environmentalism, the vast majority of Americans will vote to keep the dams that provide their electricity. In fact, given the option between abundant wildlife and easy living, most of us pay lip service to the environment but readily sacrifice it for the easy living we’ve gained by out alterations to the planet. We demand power at the flick of a switch. We demand the right to gas up the guzzler and drive a mile for a quart of milk or a movie.We love wildlife, but not if it gets in the way of Internet connection.

This reality suggests that we had better face the hard facts. If we’ve created unnaturally large populations of any abundant plant or animal that is in turn causing the reduction of rare or struggling species, it is our obligation to reduce the population of the artificially abundant species. We must realize that, with some 7 billion humans sucking up the finite quantity of biomass on Earth, we can’t have unlimited people and unlimited wildlife. Something has to give, and unless we are willing to sacrifice human lives, or at least many of our energy-consuming ways, we’d better be prepared to sacrifice the most abundant animal lives in order to perpetuate less abundant species.

Wildlife management is not just washing our hands and walking away. It is not eating only vegetables and pretending that has no negative impact on animals. It is not agitating to save every animal live, no matter the cost. Wildlife management is sometimes down and dirty. Often it is the experience and wisdom to know when it is time to kill some animals in order to save others.

Our demands for the easy life have consequences in the natural world. It is our obligation to balance what remains.

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A reader wrote to ask which of his bullets would be appropriate for a Rocky Mountain black bear hunt. He said he’d be shooting a .30-06 Springfield and this was the ammunition on hand:

• Remington Core Lokt  180 gr.
• Remington Core Lokt 150 gr.
• Remington Swift Scirocco 150 gr.
• Wincheseter Power Point 150 gr.
• Hornady Interlock SST 150 gr.

The boring, easy but honest answer is “yes,” meaning any and all the above can work and quite well if applied to the proper place, i.e. the vital chest/lung/heart region or the spine/brain from the shoulders forward.

More exciting is the possibility of a botched shot and a bear attack, but this is barely a probability because black bears rarely attack humans, especially hunters, even though statistically they’ve killed more people than grizzlies. This is because black bears are common across most states and grizzlies are rare. Not often, but often enough, black bears will prey on humans. Less commonly they’ll attack us out of pure aggression.

A 30-06 is effective at dissuading an aggressive bear. But most likely the bear will be shy and reclusive and shot unawares. The hunter sneaks into position and uses his rifle/bullet  to invite said bruin to dinner and a lasting legacy as a rug.

But I digress. What folks want to know is which bullet is best, imagining that bears are big and thick and strong and tough and lesser bullets might bounce off them. Not in my experience. Despite its massive shoulders and legs and brute power, a black bear is not that hard to penetrate or terminate. I settled my last one with a single 100-gr. Barnes TTSX fired from a .257 Wby. through a 3-inch diameter alder limb. The limb part was an accident. Nevertheless, that little bullet exited the wood, broke the bear’s shoulder and passed out the far side.

Passing out the far side is the key for a bear bullet. Like most animals, bears are likely to run after absorbing a heart or lung shot, then expire within 5 to 30 seconds as blood pressure drops. Sometimes the shock of the punch drops them in their tracks, but this is no guarantee regardless how big and fast the bullet. So be prepared to track a soft-footed animal through thick cover. This isn’t easy without a blood trail, thus the need for a pass-through bullet, and of the above choices, only the Scirocco, a bonded bullet, can be counted on to do this.

All the other bullets are what I call classic cup-and-core slugs. They consist of a thin, gilding metal tube into which a soft lead cable is pushed. The two units are then squeezed (swaged) into the bullet shape. The soft lead mushrooms upon impact, sometimes extensively, turning into a pancake that minimizes penetration. This is not good. Sometimes the core and jacket break apart, minimizing penetration. Also not good.

Better are controlled expansion bullets that stay in one piece, expand about 1.5X to 2X and punch through hide, muscle, bone, vital organs and out the far side, leaving a sizable hole for blood trailing. Entrance holes typically seal up due to the fat on a bear. The thick fur also soaks up blood, so a big exit hole is beneficial.

Controlled expansion bullets include bonded core types in which the jacket is welded to the lead core. These still lose weight as the lead erodes, but at least they don’t fly to pieces. Those with thick jackets hold up better than thin.

Mechanically-locked bullets use an internal wall to isolate nose lead from rear or shank lead. The Nosler Partition was the first of this type. The Swift A-Frame is a beefier version, and its nose lead is also bonded.

Copper hollow points are exemplified by the Barnes X series. This is an all-copper alloy slug with a strategically designed hollow nose that expands as pressure peels four petals back to the shank. Barnes Xs usually retain 90- to 100-percent weight and punch right through broadside. They’ll often penetrate 30 inches lengthwise. Ideal in case you have to shoot a bear lengthwise. Similar performance can be expected from Nosler E-Tip, Hornady GMX, Winchester Power Core 95/5, Remington Copper Solid and Cutting Edge Bullets.

Hybrids combine copper, hollow-point noses with lead-filled shanks (Wincheseter XP3) or copper shanks with bonded lead noses (Federal Trophy Tipped), etc. Study these bullets to understand what they do, then select one based on your penetration needs for not only bear, but all other game. Soft bullets that mushroom extensively or break apart can be deadly on smaller game or even large specimens if the bullet enters behind the shoulder and into the lung cavity. But if you have to shoot a bigger animal head on or back to front or at any weird angle, a tougher, controlled expansion bullet would be a better bet.

Don’t get too worked up about about magnums. The additional power is not going to “hit harder” and drop an animal like a punch from a heavyweight boxer. For every action there is an equal reaction. If the gun doesn’t knock you over when fired, it isn’t going to knock a 200-pound bear over. Vital organ destruction is the key, and the right bullet from a light caliber in the right spot will do the job. Perhaps the best place to target a bear for an instant kill is the high shoulder. This usually results in both a lung hit and a spine hit, and the latter means lights out, instantly.

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Folks opposed to hunting have postulated that we big, bad, evil killers of Bambi are destroying the genetic quality of hunted species by artificially selecting the biggest and strongest for dinner, leaving the weak and puny to reproduce.

On the surface this seems to make sense, but the numbers don’t add up. For one thing, hunters generally take fewer than 10 percent of a given population each season. For another, “trophy” sized males have already enjoyed several seasons in which to spread their genetics before reaching the age — often senescence —  at which hunters shoot them. Over the past 30 years — despite all this trophy hunting mania — there has been a 234 percent increase in qualifying Boone & Crockett trophy entries. Since 1993 new world records have been set for elk, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, moose, caribou, musk ox, whitetail deer, mountain goat and even Pacific walrus (legally hunted by natives in Canada.) Pope & Young Club bow-hunted trophy entries have increased eight times in the last 25 years with 23 new world records set in just the past 12 years.

The big question is where hunters find these puny, genetic misfits, the progeny of puny genetic misfits left over from previous compromised specimens left over from hundreds of hunting seasons.

When will the horrible genetic decline end? Apparently no time soon, because the B&C Club recently announced more bad news about the genetic decline in North American wildlife brought about by hunters: a hunter in 2011 shot the new world’s record mountain goat. Dang those hunters. Here’s the news release from the Boone & Crockett Club:

A Rocky Mountain goat taken by a hunter in 2011 in British Columbia is the largest of its species ever recorded, according to the Boone and Crockett Club. Club officials today confirmed the goat, a male that scored 57-4/8 Boone and Crockett points, as a new World’s Record.

Since 1906, the Boone and Crockett Club’s scoring system has been used to measure the success of conservation programs across North America. The system rewards antler and horn size and symmetry classic symbols of outstanding habitat, strong recruitment of animals into older age classes, sustainable harvest objectives and other elements of sound wildlife management and fair-chase hunting.

More than a thousand Rocky Mountain goats from Alaska to Nevada have met the minimum Boone and Crockett score of 47. But by far the most entries (541) have come from British Columbia.

“British Columbia continues to set the standard for Rocky Mountain goats,” said Eldon Buckner, chairman of Boone and Crockett Club’s Records of North American Big Game Committee. “The province remains home to more than half of the world’s population and trophy-class specimens have been trending upward each decade since the 1970s. That testifies to the professionalism of the British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations.”

The new World’s Record goat surpassed the old mark by a substantial 6/8 of an inch. The previous record was actually a tie between two British Columbia goats, one taken in 1949 and the other in 1999, scoring 56-6/8.

Troy M. Sheldon of Alexandria, Ky., bagged the new record goat on the seventh day of a hunt in the Stikine River area. Sheldon’s friend Carey Renner and guide Heidi Gutfrucht of Northwest Ranching and Outfitting accompanied him on the hunt. He used a Tikka T3 .270 WSM to make a perfect 319-yard shot across a ravine.

About the Boone and Crockett Club
Founded by Theodore Roosevelt in 1887, the Boone and Crockett Club promotes guardianship and visionary management of big game and associated wildlife in North America. The Club maintains the highest standards of fair-chase sportsmanship and habitat stewardship. Member accomplishments include enlarging and protecting Yellowstone and establishing Glacier and Denali national parks, founding the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and National Wildlife Refuge System, fostering the Pittman-Robertson and Lacey Acts, creating the Federal Duck Stamp program, and developing the cornerstones of modern game laws. The Boone and Crockett Club is headquartered in Missoula, Mont. For details, visit www.boone-crockett.org

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What happens when you fire the wrong cartridge in the right rifle?

Usually nothing good.

If you found the empty case shown in this photo, would you know what happened to create it? Sherlock Holmes would know immediately. Someone chambered a .300 Winchester Magnum in a .300 Weatherby Magnum chamber and fired it. The shorter .300 Winchester brass tried to flow out and forward to fit the larger space, but ran out of material and elasticity, thus the short neck and that dangerous split in the shoulder. I came across split cases like this at two shooting ranges last year alone. Apparently the shooters did not know that there are differences in .300 magnums. Fortunately, few .300s will fit and ignite in mis-matched chambers, but the above combination will because both are built on the .375 H&H belted magnum case which headspaces on the belt rim. This means the shorter Winchester cartridge will be held tightly in position while the firing pin slams forward, resulting in ignition.

Excessive chamber space (headspace) is never good. Pressures can rise when the bullet, already moving at substantial velocity, suddenly slams into the rifling, which acts like a brake. This creates a dramatic and potentially dangerous spike in pressure. Depending on the burning rate of the powder, the barrel could split or the locking lugs in the action fail. Flying metal can cause serious damage, even death.

Even more danger results when the wrong bullet diameter (caliber) is fired. I once, in a fit of distraction and stupidity, stuck a 7mm-08 Remington in a Dakota #10 rifle chambered for a .25-06 Remington. It went bang, no hole appeared in the paper target, and the chronograph displayed 400 fps more velocity than it had for two previous rounds. When I opened the action, the primer fell out. The head was black with soot, and when my befuddled brain finally read and comprehended the 7mm-08 Rem. stamped in the brass head, I about jumped off the bench.

Fortunately the .284-inch Hornady SST bullet I’d fired was soft enough to squeeze down the .257-inch bore without splitting the barrel. And the massive Dakota falling breech block was strong enough to contain the pressures. There is no belt on the 7mm-08 Rem., but it and the .25-06 are made from the same .30-06 parent case. The body taper alone is sufficient to hold them securely enough for a firing pin to work. The scary thing about this is that the .308 Winchester, .338 Federal and .358 Winchester are also built on that same case. I doubt any barrel would stay in one piece while those substantially larger diameter bullets tried wriggling down a .257-inch hole.

The .270 Win., .280 Rem. and .30-06 are all built from the .30-06 case, but the shoulder of the .280 is pushed slightly forward, making it too long to fit in either of the other two chambers. A .270 Win., however, could fit and fire in a .280 Rem. or .30-06 chamber. A .308 Win. will ignite in a .30-06 chamber, too, as will the .338 Federal and .358 Win. Dangerous!

There are various other mismatched combinations, some of which can be extremely hazardous, so beware. Never, ever insert the wrong ammunition into the right chamber. Always read the designation on the head of each cartridge plus the caliber/cartridge designation stamped into the rifle barrel. Don’t read only the cartridge information on the box. The wrong cartridges are sometimes stuck into the right boxes, too, especially in a hunting camp where various people shoot similar cartridges or ammo. Uncle Bob grabs nephew Tim’s .270 Box and puts a few of his .30-06 rounds in it. Grandpa find a few lose .308 cartridges and neatly inserts them into Bob’s .30-06 box. Yikes.

Statistically, rifle shooting is remarkably safe. You’re more likely to be seriously injured while boating. But shooting is still potentially deadly. Practice caution and safety at all times. Don’t joke around. Don’t play practical jokes on the range. And double check that ammo. The .300 Winchester Magnum and .300 Weatherby Magnum are close, but not close enough.

# # #

I’m burning pheasants to save them.

Folks who don’t understand would equate this with the idea that anyone could hunt and shoot wildlife to save it, but both tactics work.

The Federal Conservation Reserve Program mandates that the set-aside grassland habitat (at least in the Dakotas) be cut or burned at least once in a ten-year period to benefit the grassland and wildlife living on it.

CRP is the most successful, dramatic wildlife enhancement and soils saving investment American’s have made in history. Since 1985 it has protected nearly 40 million acres of erodable farmland from deteriorating. Simultaneously it has provided dependable living places for myriad species from moose to mice, and especially pheasants, prairie chickens and sharptailed grouse. About five years ago my brother and I put about 35 acres of family farmland into CRP. Since then our pheasant population has soared, whitetails have doubled, ducks and geese are nesting on the place and we’ve seen our first prairie chicken on the land since my grandpa farmed it back in the 1920s.

And yesterday we burned it.

Deer raced away. Pheasants fled. Some of them didn’t make it. But that’s the price they pay for habitat. That’s the sacrifice a few must make for the population as a whole to thrive. Those that survived the fire will soon have thick, thriving, predator-safe grasses in which to nest and hide.

Historically native Americans burned, burned and burned, which in large part made North America the wildlife paradise it was when Europeans moved in. Burning is essential to prevent woody shrubs from taking over grasslands. No fire, no prairie.

We love wildlife. Love to see it, hear it, chase it, eat it and help support it. So we burn. Most wildlife lovers should.

# # #

Spring means turkey hunting and crappie fishing and wildflower photography. There are birds to watch and mushrooms to gather. But fall is not far away, and you’ll enjoy it more if you practice your shooting skills.

Bow hunters don’t seem to have a problem doing this. They’re religiously flinging arrows, staying in tune. Riflemen seem to think they can check their zero on a box the night before the season opener and be good to go.

Folks, even the world’s greatest athletes still practice. Here are a few quick tips:

1. Handle your rifle every day. Lock away the ammo, add a trigger lock or remove the bolt for complete safety, but keep the rifle by your bed or chair and just lift and aim it several times a day. Builds muscle memory, especially ability to find targets in the scope quickly.
    
2. Shoot an air gun or .22 rim fire. It’s cheaper and easier.
    
3. Get off the bench. Once you’re zeroed, practice from field positions. Sitting, standing, on bipods, against trees and rocks.
    
4. Stop flinching. Have someone load the rifle behind your back — or not. You won’t know if there’s a live round in it or not, so you’ll see your flinch.
    
5. Wear ear protection. The painful noise is worsen than the recoil.
    
6. Figure out your trajectory curve and memorize it.
    
7. Shoot once a week if possible and at varying distances, not just 100 yards.

Yes, it costs to shoot, but would you rather burn $300 in practice ammo now or a $350 deer tag in November?

# # #

This IL buck scored 243 5/8 and had 28 points and it wasn’t the largest displayed at the IL Deer & Turkey Expo. Will any Wisconsin bucks top it?

Neither Chicago politicians nor Illinois cornfields have ever excited this lover of wild lands and wildlife, but I’ll grudgingly admit the Land of Lincoln is one of the finest producers of heavily racked whitetails in the world.

Maybe the finest.

What Kodiak Island is to brown bears and Colorado is to mule deer, Illinois is to whitetails. All those corn and soybean fields mix with political hot air blowing out of the Windy City to grow huge deer.

At last weekend’s Field & Stream Deer & Turkey Expo in Peoria I saw more jaw-dropping big buck mounts (taken during the 2011 season) than most states kick out in twenty years. Antlers scoring 160 net B&C points hardly garnered a glance because they were dwarfed by so many 170s, which were in turn minimized by what appeared to be an excessive number in the 180s. But I barely had time to admire those before my head was turned by several spectacular specimens scoring in the 200s. A couple of non-typicals taped over 240 inches.

Every one of those deer was taken by hunters handicapped by bows and arrows, slug shotguns, muzzleloaders or handguns limited to firing straight-walled cartridges only. None of this best western long range sniping for these woodsmen. They hunt their deer up close and personal.

And effectively.

Because I was working my Firearms Answer Man booth, I had but little time to sneak back and grab a few pictures, let alone visit with hunters who’d taken the big deer. I did hear about a teenage boy who had bagged the widest racked buck of the show. It’s antlers spread more than 27 inches and scored 184 7/8. It was his first deer! I’d say the poor kid is ruined for life, but, if he keeps hunting in Illinois, he’ll probably get a bigger one someday.

Hungry hunters enamored of outsized antlers regularly debate the relative merits of Illinois over other top whitetail states like Ohio, Kansas, Iowa and Wisconsin. This weekend, March 30-April 1, we’ll attend the Wisconsin Deer & Turkey Expo at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison where the Badger State’s biggest bucks of the year will be on display.

Can they top these Illinois bucks? Head to Madison and see for yourself. And stop at the Firearms Answer Man to play Stump the Chump. If I can’t answer your question about scopes, rifles, bullets, ballistics and handloading, I’ll give you a Swarovski (while supplies last.)

# # #

Sara Studebaker on the Jumbotron during a recent competition in Europe.

Sara Studebaker, a Boise, ID native got her start with shooting sports in high school when a coach introduced her to the sport of Biathlon, which combines Nordic skiing and marksmanship.  Her shooting skills developed quickly and she experienced success as a young biathlete before heading to Dartmouth College to race on their Varsity Nordic Ski Team.

Following a stellar collegiate career that included All American Honors and an NCAA Division I team title, Studebaker returned to Biathlon in 2007, this time as a member of the National Development Team. She rose quickly through the ranks and achieved a life-long goal by making the 2010 Olympic Team.  Last year she finished the season ranked 34th in the world, number one in the U.S., and was honored by the U.S. Biathlon Team with the Top Marksman award.

RSO had the chance to catch up with Sara at the 2012 Biathlon World Championships in Ruhpolding Germany to discuss her season and her plans for next year.

RSO: How has your season been and what are a few of the highlights?

Sara: Coming off last season where I had several top 20 performances and overall great shooting, including 4 races where I had perfect shooting, I had high expectations.  While this season hasn’t been exactly what I hoped for, I’ve had some top results and was especially excited to clean my first 4-stage [20 shot] race in the World Championships Pursuit a few days ago. The U.S. Team has also taken some big steps, including an historic 6th place finish in the mixed relay at the World Cup in Kontiolahti, Finland a few weeks ago, in which I was the 1st leg and tagged off not far behind the leaders.

RSO: What will you be focused on during the coming season?  Anything new?

Sara: I’ve already started working on a few new ideas that will improve my skiing technique, and the biggest focus for shooting will be speed.  Right now I’m averaging 35 seconds for each prone shooting [5 shots] and 30 seconds for each standing shooting, but the best in the world are about 5 seconds faster. So, in a 4-stage race I stand to gain 20 “free” seconds by continuing to improve my speed. I’ll also be spending the spring and part of the fall in Alaska and am looking forward to spring bear hunting as part of my easy endurance training. I love being in the mountains and hunting is a great way to do early season training and hopefully also put some delicious, healthy meat in the freezer.

RSO: What’s your hunting background?

Sara: Aside from plinking a few rabbits & winning a clay shooting competition with the US Biathlon Team and guests, my hunting has been limited.  I’ve been on several hunts with friends and thanks to Ron Spomer have had the opportunity shoot a variety of hunting rifles and learn more about hunting in general.  I’m excited to go bear hunting this spring and hopefully bag my first big game animal.

RSO: What are your goals for next season and beyond?

Sara: In Biathlon I’ll be looking for my first top-10 finish on the World Cup next season and making the 2014 Olympic Team is the ultimate goal. In my off time I’m looking forward to hunting more. As I’m exposed to the hunting world more I find that I really enjoy it and plan to make it a bigger part of my life.

Zachary Hall, reporting for RSO from Ruhpolding, Germany.

How a group of citizens that saved North American wildlife can be not only ignored, but discredited and even vilified for what they’ve done leaves me dumbfounded.

Seriously.

Blaming American hunters for endangered species is like blaming American farmers for world hunger. One farmer currently grows enough to feed 145 people. One hunter spends enough to grow hundreds, thousands, even millions of ducks, marsh wrens, quail, meadowlarks and dozens of other species of wildlife.

Yet the Lt. Governor of California claims a hunter isn’t qualified to serve on the CA Fish & Game Commission. He and at least 40 state congressmen and women in CA want to stack the F&G Commission with anti-hunters.

What the hell is the matter with these people? Are they so self-deluded that they are willing to jeopardize the health of North America’s wildlife and wild places by destroying the core group, virtually the only group, that supports it?

The venerable Boone & Crockett Club knows better. This is the pioneering conservation organization started by Theodore Roosevelt and other HUNTERS to stop market hunting, establish modern wildlife management programs and SAVE wildlife in North America. It worked. Hunters kicked in political and financial capital in the billions to save and restore species on the brink of extinction. Species like elk, bison, wild turkeys, wood ducks and more.

Instead of lambasting hunters out of ignorance, the B&C Club is awarding Ducks Unlimited, a citizen’s conservation organization started by, managed by and funded by hunters, its Theodore Roosevelt Legacy Award, which recognizes and celebrates cooperative partnerships in conservation.

According to a recent B&C news release:

In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed two B&C members, Jay “Ding” Darling and Aldo Leopold, to a committee with Thomas Beck to assess the dismal state of migratory birds and to recommend actions. Together they proposed the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act, which soon became law. The act provided that funds from sales of federal duck stamps would be used to acquire land for the National Wildlife Refuge System, established earlier by B&C founder Theodore Roosevelt.

 

In 1935, the eventual founders of DU, through an entity they created in 1930 called More Game Birds in America Foundation, sponsored the International Wild Duck Census, the first comprehensive aerial survey of North America’s most important waterfowl breeding grounds. This survey confirmed the importance of duck habitat conservation in Canada. However, federal duck stamp monies couldn’t be used outside of U.S. borders.

 

So, in 1937, DU was launched for the purpose of raising funds in the U.S. to secure lands in Canada. A second entity, DU Canada, was established to actually deliver that mission.

 

Today, DU is the world’s largest and most effective non-governmental organization for waterfowl and wetlands conservation. Supported by legions of dedicated partners and volunteers, DU has raised over $3.3 billion to conserve more than 12.4 million acres.

Kudos to B&C for recognizing who really saves, restores and protects wildlife. Kudos to DU and its dedicated members who raise the money for this critical work. Kudos to hunters who contribute the billions that make all of this possible.

Now, if only we can educate the rest of society to the incredible, almost unbelievable, Herculean effort hunters have undertaken to protect North America’s wildlife, we might prevent its destruction at the hands of ignorant politicians pandering to the hand-wringing, emotional nonsense of anti-hunting organizations that annually spend millions on attack ads and PR stunts that save not one square foot of habitat and support not one wild creature.

The contrast is stark.

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