New Legislation Will Protect Recreational Hunting and Fishing on Federal Land
TexasHuntFish.com
Two bills introduced by Senator Lisa Murkowski, R-Ark., and U.S. Representative Dan Boren, D-Okla., will protect recreational hunting, fishing and shooting on land administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service. HR 3749 and the Senate legislation are companion bills collectively known as the Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act. They will prevent situations from emerging where public land is closed arbitrarily for hunting, fishing and shooting, mandating that such closures be done through a reasonable and transparent process.More

No NPS Plan to Ban Lead
the Jackson Hole News&Guide
National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis said he has no plans to ban lead bullets and fishing tackle in parks but said nonlead alternatives are a good option for hunters and sportsmen. Former acting Director Daniel Wenk seemed to propose such a ban in March but quickly retracted the statement, saying the Park Service would study the issue further. Jarvis said Wenk’s announcement "came out poorly."More

Record Low Support for Stricter Gun Laws in U.S.
Gallup
Gallup finds a new low of 44 percent of Americans saying the laws covering firearm sales should be made more strict. That is down 5 points in the last year and 34 points from the high of 78 percent recorded the first time the question was asked, in 1990.More

Southeast Texas Counties Hit with New Deer Rules
The Hunstville Item
As fall approaches in Southeast Texas, many sportsmen's thoughts focus on the coming deer season. In several counties. there is a significant change in the hunting regulations this year, most notably what has become known as the "antler restriction rule." Although this regulation has been implemented in an increasing number of Texas counties for almost a decade, there is typically some initial confusion and concern in counties when it is introduced. Technically, the regulation is fairly straightforward; a legal buck is defined as one with at least one unbranched antler (a spike buck) or one with an inside antler spread of at least 13 inches, regardless of total number of points.More

Botswana Wildlife Declines By A Staggering 90 Percent
Africa Hunting
Botswana may be famous world wide as a big game country, with the highest number of elephants in Africa, but a report produced by Botswana's National Vision 2016 Council has revealed the population of over 11 wildlife species has been dwindling by as much as 90 percent in a 10 year period between 1994 and 2004. More

Boone and Crockett Announces Mule Deer, Elk Books
The Outdoor Wire
In just the past 13 years, modern conservation efforts have produced an amazing 62 new state and provincial records -- plus over 3,500 other Boone and Crockett-class trophies -- for mule deer and elk alone. These special efforts and animals are profiled in two new books from the Boone and Crockett Club. Records of North American Mule Deer and Records of North American Elk are the first records books dedicated solely to these two species. Previously, mule deer and elk were combined into a single Boone and Crockett volume last printed in 1996.More

Safety Advisory for .17 HMR Semi-Autos
American Hunter
Major ammunition manufacturers have issued safety notices concerning the use of .17 HMR ammunition in semi-auto firearms. According to the manufacturers, firing .17 HMR ammo in semi-auto firearms could result in property damage or serious personal injury and should be immediately discontinued. CCI, Federal, Hornady, Remington and Winchester have all issued statements warning consumers not to use .17 HMR ammunition in semi-auto firearms until contacting the manufacture to determine if the specific type of firearm is safe to handle .17 HMR ammunition. More

Bagging Birds with a Bow
ESPN
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. And surely if you want that bird in the bush to be in your hand, your chances are certainly better if you are planning to shoot the bird with a 12-guage and #8's. If the birds are being shot simply to be eaten, then your best bet is to grab your shotgun and use it to and shoot birds. But if it's a challenge that you are after, then try hunting game birds on the wing with a bow and arrow.More

The Benelli Vinci
Petersen's Hunting
The officials of any company who would dare introduce a brand new and unproven shotgun to a group of writers in the dove fields of Argentina not only have plenty of nerve, they also have loads of confidence in the gun. That's exactly how Benelli chose to unveil the Vinci. The final design had already proven itself under tightly controlled conditions where it sailed through thousands of test rounds with zero parts breakage. However, while that's important, the true test would come not from firing the gun in a test fixture but from having it wrung out under dusty and dirty field conditions by a group of shooters, each of whom handles, holds and treats a shotgun slightly differently during firing.More