Justice Prevails

Here is an article that I found on one of my linksites that caught my eye and I thought everyone should read. Two Adults Charged, Two Juveniles Charged With Wild Turkey Shooting Spree “Reminiscent” Of Market Hunting Days


In what is one of most the flagrant poaching violations in recent memory, two Middle Tennessee adults have been cited with numerous illegal hunting charges after allegedly killing at least a dozen wild turkeys, while in the company of two juvenile hunters, during a weekend hunt open only to sportsmen under 16.

"This is perhaps the most blatant violation of the turkey game laws in recent history,” noted Jeff Skelton, an assistant law enforcement supervisor for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. “This is reminiscent of market hunting that took place in the late 1800s and early 1900s when hunters nearly drove the wild turkey into extinction.”

Charged is Billy Joe Davidson of Lewisburg and Leonard Williams of Culleoka, who apparently took advantage of Tennessee’s annual Young Sportsman hunt and carried two young hunters—one 9 and one 14—on a shooting spree down the Duck River in Maury County, March 22-23.

"We think the poachers killed at least nine turkeys just on Sunday as they motored up and down the Duck River in a 16-foot flat bottom boat, shooting some turkeys off tree limbs that had roosted for the night and using a spotlight to locate others,” explained Skelton. “Adults are required to hunt with youngsters during this weekend, but not allowed to do any shooting. Even if they were allowed to shoot, the bag limit is one bird for the entire weekend.”

All four of the hunters have been charged with violations.

"The example set by the two adults is a shame by any standards, but we also believe the young hunters have responsibilities for their actions.” said Skelton. “We issued a search warrant for Davidson’s Lewisburg home after receiving a report from a concerned citizen. The search turned up 12 fresh turkey beards and 13 turkey breasts and other turkey meat.”

Charges are numerous, with Davidson being cited with hunting from a watercraft under power, spotlighting game, 10 counts of hunting, killing, possessing, and transporting turkeys in closed season; hunting after legal shooting hours, and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of minors.

Williams will be charged with hunting from a watercraft under power, spotlighting game, nine counts of hunting, killing, possessing and transporting turkeys in close seasons. He will also be charged with hunting after legal shooting hours, and contributing to the delinquency of minors.

The 14 year old is charged with hunting from a watercraft under power, spotlighting game, six counts of exceeding his bag limit, and one count of violating the state’s tagging law; shooting after legal shooting hours, and hunting without a wildlife management area permit.

The 9 year old is charged with hunting from a watercraft under power, spotlighting game, violation of the state’s tagging law, hunting without a wildlife management area permit, shooting after legal shooting hours, and two counts of exceeding the daily bag limit.

"We appreciate the tip that led to these arrests,” said Skelton. “The TWRA and the National Wild Turkey Federation have offered rewards to citizens that report and convict turkey poachers.”

In addition to the charges, wildlife officers seized three shotguns, a spotlight, and the flat bottom boat and a 25 horsepower motor. They also seized all of the turkey meat and various turkey parts.

The two adults are scheduled to appear in County General Sessions Court in Mt. Pleasant May 14th. The juveniles are scheduled to appear May 28th in Juvenile Court in Columbia.

Helping make the arrests were Skelton, Maury County Wildlife Officers Pam McDonald and Mark Ventura, Marshall County Wildlife Officer Doug Lowery, Giles County Wildlife Officer David Robertson, and Williamson County Wildlife Officer Joe Fortner.

Planting time

I've planted some mustard seed here at the house and have to go to dads now and plant some mustard and clover as soon as the weather permits and the ground dries up enough. Dad told me he saw 6 deer the other day in the dry lake bed and he wants to get it planted asap. I'll still plant a second crop for the deer probably in July but haven't figured out yet what I want to plant and I have to clear a shooting lane with the mower across the lake bed. I've found a great looking management area that I may try to hunt this year but it's archery only for adult hunting and it's alittle far to drive to, about 3 hours away but not many people hunting it due mainly to the steep hills and rough terrain. Anyway I'll keep looking for that perfect place and get things ready fdor this years hunt here at home.

Bring Gas Prices Down

This was sent to me by e-mail so see if it makes sense to you.
THIS IS NOT THE 'DON'T BUY' GAS FOR ONE DAY, BUT IT WILL SHOW YOU HOW WE CAN GET GAS BACK DOWN TO $1.30 PER GALLON.

This was sent by a retired Coca Cola executive. It came from one of his engineer buddies who retired from Halliburton. If you are tired of the gas prices going up AND they will continue to rise this summer, take time to read this please.

Phillip Hollsworth offered this good idea.
This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the "don't buy gas on a certain day" campaign that was going around last April or May!
It's worth your consideration. Join the resistance!!!!
I hear we are going to hit close to $ 4.00 a gallon by next summer, and it might go higher!! Want gasoline prices to come down?

We need to take some intelligent, united action. The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to "hurt" ourselves by refusing to buy gas.

It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them.
BUT, whoever thought of this idea has come up with a plan that can really work. Please read on and join with us!

By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $2.00 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently $3.19 for regular unleaded in my town.

Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50 - $1.75, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace..not sellers.

With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action.

The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And, we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves.

How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas.

But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war.

Here's the idea: For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL.

If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices.
If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.

But to have an impact, we need to reach literally millions of Exxon and Mobil gas buyers. It's really simple to do! Now, don't wimp out on me at this point...keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!

I am sending this note to 30 people. If each of us send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300) ... and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x10 = 3,000)...and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth group of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers.
If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted!

If it goes one level further, you guessed it..... THREE HUNDRED MILLION PEOPLE!!!

Again, all you have to do is send this to 10 people. That's all!

(If you don't understand how we can reach 300 million and all you have to do is send this to 10 people.... Well, let's face it, you just aren't a mathematician. But I am . so trust me on this one.

How long would all that take? If each of us sends this e-mail out to ten more people within one day of receipt, all 300 MILLION people could conceivably be contacted within the next 8 days !!!

I'll bet you didn't think you and I had that much potential, did you!
Acting together we can make a difference.

If this makes sense to you, please pass this message on. I suggest that we not buy from EXXON/MOBIL UNTIL THEY LOWER THEIR PRICES TO THE $2.00 RANGE AND KEEP THEM DOWN. THIS CAN REALLY WORK.

Keep it going!!!

" Hunters for the Hungry " program of Tennessee

"Hunters for the Hungry" is a program set up not just for hunters but for anyone interested in helping the needy families of Tennessee. This program allows hunters to donate either part or all of a deer killed to food banks, soup kitchens, missions and needy families after being processed by a meat processing company registered with the Tennessee Wildlife Federation. Funds are raised by volunteers hosting or sponsoring fundraising events for the program through the Tennessee Wildlife Federation and individuals, foundations, sportspeople, civic clubs and church groups donate money for processing of the deer. Funds are limited for this program so hunters are requested to call and check with the processing company before delivery of their deer for availability of funds. Hunters donating deer to the program may be required to pay a discounted fee of $40.00 to help cover processing if funds are not available through the program at time of processing. All deer processed will be held for pick-up by a local food bank and distributed to needy families of Tennessee. Last year the program took in nearly 25 tons of venison ( 50,425 lbs) and since the rebirth of the program in 1998 hunters have donated some 360,000 lbs of venison feeding nearly 1 million meals to hungry families throughout Tennessee. Statistics show that nearly 11% of children and 19% of elderly go to bed every night hungry. If every hunter was to donate just 1 lb of venison, the program would have 200,000 lbs of meat to feed the hungry. All donors will receive a 1 year complimentary membership to the Tennessee Wildlife Federation magazine as well as having a great feeling in their heart of knowing you've done your part in helping a family in need. Cash donations are also accepted by the Tennessee Wildlife Federation and checks should be marked " Hunters for the Hungry " as well as any certain meat processing company name on the memo line of your check(s). Checks should be made out to Tennessee Wildlife Federation and are therefore considered " tax deductible" by the Internal Revenue Service as this is a 501c (3) organization. Checks can be sent to: Tennessee Wildlife Federation 300 Orlando Avenue, Suite 200 Nashville, Tennessee 37209 Any meat processing company wishing to register for participation in this or any other Federal program can contact the Tennessee Wildlife Federation coordinator at ( 615 )- 353-1133.

Elk Restoration in Tennessee

On March 8, 2008 the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency will be moving 36 Elk from Land Between the Lakes ( LBL )in Kentucky to the Royal Blue Wildlife Management Area in Campbell County, Tennessee. The Royal Blue is part of Tennessee's 670,000 acre Elk Restoration zone which was started in 2000. Over a four year period 167 Elk have been released to the restoration zone and the release of these 36 Elk brings the Elk herd standings to approximately 200-250 animals. 31 of these Elk being released are fitted with radio collars for future research on the herd. This release will be a joint effort between Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, LBL Bugle Corp., LBL Association, U.S. Forestry Service, Campbell Outdoor Recreation Association ( CORA ), the UT Veterinary School, USDA, Animal Planet Health Inspection School ( APHIS ), and Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency staff and volunteers. The public is invited to attend the release of these Elk Saturday March 8, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time ) at Massengale Mountain in Campbell County, Tennessee.

Condo Deerstand

A friend of mine that i've hunted with for years now sent this to me via email and told me he had been working on a new deer stand since mid-june. Now what he told me was that he had found a place with so many deer signs that he didn't quite know where to put his stand so he thought up this convienent stand just to be on the safe side and be able to cover every possible route. What I couldn't figure out was why it took him so long to put up his stand until I recieved his email then everything became very clear to me. As you can see from the photo below he has all the comforts of home and then some. What else could you ask for in a deer stand other then to open the door and invite them to come in a watch tv with you. I think this may be something he found on the internet though and not his actuall stand. You tell me would you hunt from this thing? Is this even legal? I really don't know about this.

Squirrel Season closes

I've been off work for the last 2 days now and was hoping to be able to go squirrel hunting one last time before the season closes. February 29th is the closing day of the squirrel season in Tennessee and also the last day before hunting license expire. I got up this morning to a winter wonderland of new snowfall ( about 3 inches) on the ground so I've decided to enter a new post and leave a few comments today . I been feeling alittle sick lately so I didn't want to get out in the weather and make things worst. All the seasons close the 29th(Friday) but that's okay cause that just means that our new hunting seasons are just getting started and I for one am looking forward to this years hunting seasons. I like to wish everyone a great year this year in all their hunting adventures and hope they have a prosperous one for whatever they are hunting. Rabbit stew might be a good fare for the table tonight with the new snow they should be everywhere and hold up in brush piles. Maybe I'll give them a shot at the dinner table.

Turkey Season's Coming Quick

Turkey seasons coming so get your guns out and dust them off,grab your turkey calls and practice your calling,get your maps out and pick the perfect place and don't forget to ask for time off from work or from the spouse unless their goning too. These old birds are some hard critters to take but if your lucky enough to get a shot you must be doing something right.Most people get just lucky enough to get one into view then something happens and the whole flock is gone in a flash without even so much as given you a second look. These birds are sly and cunning animals and have the know how to survive. They have out-witted some of the best hunters in the world, but if you pull out all the tricks in your turkey knowledge bag( your brain ) then you might just get the trophy you've wanted on your wall. One of the best tricks I seen yet is a decoy used by Knight & Hale on television to take even the most cunning of wild turkeys. It's a decoy call " pretty boy " and man does it ever work well, especially if your in a ground blind where they can't see any movement. The decoy can be purchased with or without the " pretty girl " submissive hen but believe me if you want that old tom to come in running to you get yourself the pretty boy and the pretty girl set and keep your gun or bow ready. Have a great time in the woods this spring and please everyone be very carefull and safe out there this season. You can find the pretty boy decoys at http://www.carrylitedecoys.com/catalog.aspx and sells for around $129.00 for the set.

New Website Up and Running.

Just a note to let everyone know my third website is up and running and anybody wanting to add it to your website is welcome to. I will be adding everyones link to the site under some link topic before long.Here is the website url for anyone interested in checking it out, just remember it's not completely finished yet. http://fishingafield.blogspot.com/

Shed Antlers.

Okay folks, the deer hunting season is closed now so lets get down to nexts years deer season. The best way to locate that big buck you just never could see but always knew was there is to get out and hunt for his shed antlers.First let me give you some tips and pointers for hunting sheds. 1. Sheds are tough to spot in harsh sunlight so use the cloudy days to hunt sheds. 2. Rainy days are great for hunting sheds cause wet antlers shine. 3. Search for sheds as soon as the snows melt but before the weeds and spring grasses grow up to hide the sheds. 4. Check thinly wooded areas where cattle and other herd animals graze the grass low for easy shed locating. 5. Begin looking for sheds across open fields around the edges of the fields and then begin following the deer trials back into the woods and even into the bedding areas where the bigger bucks stay during the hunting season. 6. Last and most important thing to shed hunting is to wear soft soled boots which makes it easier to feel a heavy shed if you step on one you don't see. When you find a shed antler take note of the location and look around for rubs and scrapes. Finding a shed with lots of rubs and scrapes is an ideal place to set up a stand for next years hunt and the woods are still bear which will make it easier to pick out just the right stand site. Now that your loaded with a few tips to finding shed antlers get out, get started, and enjoy the woods we love to play in.