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<p>A Collier County man accused of shooting two doe deer says he needed to feed his family.</p> <p>The Naples Daily News reports Castillo told deputies he shot the deer because he was unemployed and needed food to feed his family. He said he was on his way home from dog hunting with his son when he spotted two deer running across the road. Castillo said he got out of his car and shot them.</p>

Longview, TX — Hunters can put their ear muffs and plugs away — if they’re patient and can afford to buy a silencer. Gun suppressors were legalized in late March, for hunting game animals, game birds and alligators. The law goes into effect Sept. 1, with the opening of dove season. “Suppressors are already legal for hunting exotic animals, including feral hogs,” said Scott Vaca, assistant chief of wildlife enforcement with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Vaca helped develop the proposal for the regulation change. Although the change opens the use of suppressors to a wider variety of animals,...

It’s officially legal to kill Bigfoot in Texas Cryptid conservationists, be on the alert; it's officially open season on Sasquatch. According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, if you can find Bigfoot in the state of Texas, you can kill it. Cryptomundo reader John Lloyd Scharf sent a letter to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department about whether it would be legal to kill Bigfoot, and apparently department Chief of Staff L. David Sinclair replied that killing an indigenous cryptid would be legal since it isn't listed as a game animal: The statute that you cite (Section 61.021) refers...

Ted Nugent always stops by radio station KFYI here in Phoenix when he's in town, and we have the privilege of listening to this great American. Today he was on the Mike Broomhead show prior to his concert in Phoenix tonight. Among other topics, Mike asked him to explain why he endorsed Mitt Romney. Here's his answer (6 minutes 10 seconds): http://media.ccomrcdn.com/media/station_content/622/Ted_Nugent_2_1336181499_3260.mp3 Ted discusses his recent interview with CBS (6 minutes 14 seconds): http://media.ccomrcdn.com/media/station_content/622/Ted_Nugent_1_1336180172_17174.mp3 Ted talks about Barack Obama, illegal aliens, dead ranchers, OTMs, law enforcement, and slovenly booger people (8 minutes 48 seconds): http://media.ccomrcdn.com/media/station_content/622/Ted_Nugent_4_1336182709_14722.mp3 Ted talks with a fan...

MACHIAS — Opening day of turkey season turned out to be a bit more than Bill Robinson had in mind Monday when he set out his decoy at dawn’s first light. “I’ll never forget looking up and seeing a jaw full of teeth coming at me,” Robinson said Tuesday, the day after being attacked and bitten on the right arm by a coyote. The wild canine sprang while the Maine Guide was hunkered down in the brush, using a mouth-call to lure a turkey into the open while hunting on private property near the Washington County community of Cooper.

DALLAS— It is now legal in Texas to use a silencer on your firearm while hunting, after the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission adopted new rules in late March. The main goal of a silencer is a pretty simple one: Hearing protection. "Anything over 140 decibels is by OSHA standards is too loud for the human ear, and most gunfire is over 160 decibels," said Joshua Waldron, CEO for Silencerco, a silencer manufacturing company. Silencers, legal in 39 states including Texas, are becoming more popular. The concept of hunters having silencers however has drawn some controversy. Some said having silencers...

A woman is shot in both of her legs by her boyfriend in a bizarre hunting accident. Police say he was trying to shoot a hog. 52 year-old Lisa Simmons of Brandon was shot Saturday night in western Flagler County. She's in serious condition at Halifax Medical Center after undergoing surgery. Police say 52 year-old Steve Egan thought he was shooting at a hog outside the couple's tent. Police say Egan thought he hit the animal but was unable to locate it when he left the tent. When he heard a noise in the woods, Egan shot at what he...

A 52-year-old Flagler County woman is recovering after her boyfriend accidentally shot her in the legs during a hog-hunting trip, according to officials. The couple was on a hunting trip at the Cowart Hunt Camp. Flagler County Sheriff's deputies say 52-year-old Steven Egan was inside a tent on Saturday night when he said he heard a noise in the woods, thought it was the hog and fired in that direction. Instead, it was his girlfriend Lisa Simmons. Deputies said Simmons was struck with a .30-caliber bullet in both legs and was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center in serious condition....

(CNN) -- Rocker and avid hunter Ted Nugent has agreed to pay a fine, serve probation and record a public service announcement as part of a deal to plead guilty to transporting an illegally killed black bear in Alaska, according to court documents. The plea deal, filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Anchorage, Alaska, stems from federal allegations that arose during a bear hunt in May 2009 that was filmed for Nugent's television show, "Spirit of the Wild," on the Outdoor Channel. News of the plea deal broke a day after Nugent was questioned and cleared by the Secret...

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Hunters in Olympia say a proposed gun control ordinance is illegal and dangerous, and they're fighting to keep it off the books. The Thurston County Commission is mulling a proposed ordinance that would make it illegal to fire a gun on county shores. "Both the residents and the commissioners are persuaded that discharge of firearms in this area is no longer safe because of population density," said Commissioner Karen Valenzuela. That plan isn't sitting well with local hunters, who say the waters around Olympia are prime locations for duck hunting. The hunters showed up in droves to...

Kansas Governor Sam Brownback has signed House Bill 2491, the Sportsmen's Self Defense bill into law. The bill would allow hunters, fishermen and fur harvesters to carry a handgun in the field. The bill passed in the House by an overwhelming 113 to 8 vote in February, the state Senate passed the bill unanimously on March 15 before it was sent to the governors guest. The commonsense bill would allow an individual to carry a handgun for person protection while hunting, fishing or trapping as long as it is used for personal protection and not the unauthorized taking of wildlife....

A Wisconsin man, who along with his three friends is suspected of illegally slaughtering as many as 100 deer in what prosecutors call an unprecedented "thrill-kill" spree, faces up to six months in jail. Nathan Blaha, 20, of Hillsboro, Wis., and his accomplices allegedly wandered the backroads of Richland County in a pickup truck, stunning deer with a light before shooting them and leaving their carcasses to rot in what he called a contest to “get the most deer,” according to court documents.

Woman won online essay contest and popular voteA Bay Area woman has just claimed an award even she didn't expect: Extreme Huntress of 2012. Think of it as the "Miss America" of the hunting community. It's a big deal. Concord resident Tiffany Brewer recently won the nationwide contest, sponsored by Tahoe Films and Tom Opre, host of the NBC Sports outdoors show "Eye of the Hunter." Entrants had to submit a 500-word essay on why they considered themselves the Extreme Huntress. Ten finalists were chosen based on their essays, then it was up to popular online vote to determine the...

Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission Opens Public Comment Period for Allowing Suppressor Use While Hunting The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission (TPWC) is seeking public comment on a proposed rule change allowing the use of suppressors (also referred to as silencers) on firearms for the hunting of game species. Currently, Texas law permits the use of lawfully-possessed suppressors for all other shooting activities, including the taking of nuisance species. Enactment of this rule change would ensure that hunting is treated the same way as other shooting activities with respect to the use of suppressors, and allow all hunters to reap...

In September 2009 leading biologists and economists from around the world met in Windhoek, Namibia, in southwestern Africa to conduct the World Symposium on the Ecologic and Economic Benefits of Hunting. The scholarly and well-substantiated conclusions they drew on the positive results of regulated sport hunting in Africa demonstrated that hunting was not only a valid and necessary wildlife management tool, but that it was also an economic catalyst for many African nations. The resulting publication of the collection of papers presented at this gathering organized by the World Forum on the Future of Sport Shooting Activities certainly refutes any...

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) -- A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected a lawsuit from conservation groups that want to block wolf hunts that have killed more than 500 of the predators across the Northern Rockies in recent months. The ruling from a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said Congress had the right to intervene when it stripped protections from wolves last spring. Lawmakers stepped in after court rulings kept wolves on the endangered list for years after they reached recovery goals. Wildlife advocates claimed in their lawsuit that Congress violated the separation of powers by...

Two sons of US property mogul Donald Trump have come under fire after pictures emerged of them posing with the corpses of African animals during a hunting trip. Donald Junior and Eric Trump spent a week in the Zimbabwean bush in August 2010, and are pictured standing next to trophy kills of a Cape buffalo, a waterbuck, a leopard, a civet cat, a crocodile and a kudu.

Chances are that if you’ve spent enough time at your local gun shop, you’ve found yourself listening, at one time or another, to one of those “what if” self-defense bull sessions (usually because they tend to be the “louder” conversations). The classic set-up goes something like this: a bunch of trigger happy pistoleros swap a bunch of “real” stories that detail dramatize exactly what he or she would do if they were confronted by a bad guy and deadly scenario (or even better given the enraptured tone these tales are usually told in, an entire horde of marauding criminals) with...

Democratic Assemblyman Ben Hueso said Friday that he is dropping his effort to oust Fish and Game Commission President Dan Richards. Richards recently came under heavy fire from animal-rights groups and Democratic lawmakers after a photo in a hunting publication showed him posing with a mountain lion he shot in Idaho. Unlike in California, where voters banned killing cougars in 1990, Idaho allows the animals to be hunted. Critics said his actions, while not illegal, raised doubts about his ability to lead the commission. But hunting and fishing groups, as well as GOP lawmakers, have come to Richards' defense. Hueso,...

In Roman mythology, the master of the hunt was the goddess Diana. She was praised for her strength, athletic grace, beauty, and hunting skills. In Freemasonry, she was a symbol of sensibility and imagination, of poets and artists. Shrines were erected in her honor; stags followed her wherever she went; she ruled the forest and the moon. I like to think that Diana’s influence has never entirely waned, that hunting was never just about men getting together in the woods. Hunting is for all of us, an extension of our being both humans and animals—our first work and craft, one...

Conventional wisdom isn't always based on common sense, and sometimes isn't even based on real data, especially when it comes to animals of mythological proportions like bears. BYU wildlife biologist Tom Smith wants to change that. A new study suggests that one of the most commonly suggested deterrents against bears in the wild — guns — actually won't protect people any better than not using a gun. "It really isn't about the kind of gun you carry,” he said. “It's about how you carry yourself. We need to respect an animal that could potentially take our lives." [Snip] This...

A collective gulp was almost detectable this week when California Fish and Game Commission President Daniel Richards defiantly declared to outraged legislators that he not only gunned down a mountain lion and held the carcass like a trophy, but he then ate big cat for dinner. The revelation that Richards complied with the backcountry rule that you eat what you shoot didn't do much to quiet calls in the Capitol for his head, but the perfectly legal shooting and consumption of puma meat certainly raised questions about his diet. As odd and unappetizing as the dish may sound, it isn't...

Democratic lawmakers may attempt to oust California Fish and Game Commission President Daniel Richards as early as next week following outrage over his legal killing of a mountain lion on a recent Idaho hunting trip. Assembly Democrats on Wednesday were looking into the possibility of a legislative resolution that would remove him from the board, one day after Richards sent a letter to the Legislature, the governor and other state officials defiantly defending the killing, mocking critics for their outrage and saying that - contrary to beliefs that the shooting was purely a trophy kill - he did, in fact,...

PHOENIX -- Arizonans may soon be able to hunt quieter. Legislation approved Tuesday by the state House would repeal laws that now prohibit hunters from using any sort of silencer or muffler on their weapons. HB 2728 also would specifically bar the state Game and Fish Commission from imposing any bans of its own. The 42-14 vote came over the objections of Rep. Russ Jones, R-Yuma, who said it flies in the face of public safety concerns. "If I have a silencer on a rifle or pistol, I can shoot it off in my backyard and my neighbor won't know...

Dan Richards, who chairs the California Fish and Game Commission, is under fire in the Capitol because he killed a mountain lion in Idaho and posed with his trophy for a picture that was later published on a hunting publication website. Forty Democratic legislators signed a letter to Richards saying he should resign. "Your actions raise serious questions about whether you respect the laws of the people of California and whether you are fit to adequately enforce those laws," the lawmakers told Richards. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom later joined the chorus. So let's get this straight.... Mountain lion hunting is...

"Boehner allegations fast & furious, but also false." When I first came across these allegations, I was confident they were not true. I have hunted with John Boehner; had in-depth discussions with John concerning our Second Amendment rights; studied his politics; and have a clear understanding of how he views our God-given right to keep and bear arms. With all this in mind, I called his office to inform him of what had been published about him, in relation to the House Oversight Committee's Fast and Furious hearings. I also asked for some information to share that would help my...

The divide between those who live in rural areas and those from cities ruptured wide this past weekend across America in a debate over a provocative photo of California Fish and Game Commission President Dan Richards and a huge mountain lion he shot legally after an 8-hour hunt in Idaho. Some comments on Facebook suggest that Richards should be the one hunted and shot, that he should be jailed, that is unethical to shoot anything you do not eat, and hunting of any kind is barbaric.Most from rural backgrounds would see nothing wrong with the photo. Mountain lions are predators...

After passing in the Indiana Senate with overwhelming bi-partisan support, NRA-backed Senate Bill 243 now awaits it’s hearing in the House Public Policy Committee. A hearing could be set as early as Wednesday, February 22. SB 243 would allow Hoosiers to use lawfully-possessed suppressors (also referred to as silencers) on firearms for hunting. Currently, Indiana law permits use of suppressors for all shooting activities except for the taking of game. Enactment of SB 243 would ensure that hunting is treated the same way as other shooting activities with respect to the use of suppressors, and allow hunters to reap the...

A remote-controlled aircraft owned by an animal rights group was reportedly shot down near Broxton Bridge Plantation Sunday near Ehrhardt, S.C. Steve Hindi, president of SHARK (SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness), said his group was preparing to launch its Mikrokopter drone to video what he called a live pigeon shoot on Sunday when law enforcement officers and an attorney claiming to represent the privately-owned plantation near Ehrhardt tried to stop the aircraft from flying. "It didn't work; what SHARK was doing was perfectly legal," Hindi said in a news release. "Once they knew nothing was going to stop us, the...

A remote-controlled aircraft owned by an animal rights group was reportedly shot down near Broxton Bridge Plantation Sunday near Ehrhardt, S.C. Steve Hindi, president of SHARK (SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness), said his group was preparing to launch its Mikrokopter drone to video what he called a live pigeon shoot on Sunday when law enforcement officers and an attorney claiming to represent the privately-owned plantation near Ehrhardt tried to stop the aircraft from flying. "It didn't work; what SHARK was doing was perfectly legal," Hindi said in a news release. "Once they knew nothing was going to stop us, the...

FAIRFAX, Va. --(Ammoland.com)- Today, the state House Natural Resources Subcommittee tabled Senate Bill 464 for the rest of this current legislative session. SB 464, sponsored by state Senator Ralph Northam (D-6), would have allowed hunting on private land and public waterways on Sundays. Currently, Virginia is one of only six states in the country that strictly bans hunting on Sunday. This prohibition threatens the very future of our hunting heritage by discouraging hunter recruitment and retention. In addition, this antiquated ban harms Virginia’s economy. Due to increasingly demanding work, family and extracurricular schedules, older and younger hunters alike often have...

The scimitar horned oryx . . . the addax . . . the dama gazelle - three elegant desert antelope that you'd hope to see on a journey through Africa, except that their numbers are dwindling there. Which is why Lara Logan went to Texas -- yes, Texas. There, on large grassland ranches, some exotic species that are endangered in the wild have been brought back in large numbers. But there's a catch: a percentage of the herd is hunted every year by hunters who pay big money for a big catch. The ranchers say this limited "culling" gives them...

(CBS News) The scimitar horned oryx . . . the addax . . . the dama gazelle - three elegant desert antelope that you'd hope to see on a journey through Africa, except that their numbers are dwindling there. Which is why Lara Logan went to Texas -- yes, Texas. There, on large grassland ranches, some exotic species that are endangered in the wild have been brought back in large numbers. But there's a catch: a percentage of the herd is hunted every year by hunters who pay big money for a big catch. The ranchers say this limited "culling"...

RICHMOND, VA -- The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) – the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry – is applauding the passage of legislation (SB 464) to end the ban on Sunday hunting in the Old Dominion. Yesterday, the Virginia State Senate overwhelming voted (29-11) to allow Sunday hunting on private lands. Companion legislation will now move to the House of Delegates for a vote. “Yesterday’s vote was a great step forward in our campaign to allow Sunday hunting in Virginia,” said National Shooting Sports Foundation Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane....

You don't have to go to Africa to hunt exotic animals. In fact, Texas may have more of some endangered exotics than live in the wild. That's because breeding them is a billion dollar business in Texas, where over 100 species roam large ranches and can be hunted for sport. The hunters and the ranchers they pay to hunt the trophy animals say the money generated by hunting these animals is helping to save them. They claim only 10 percent of any species can be killed annually. But to animal rights people fighting to shut them down, they're nothing more...

If You Spot Bigfoot, Should You Shoot Him? In the new Animal Planet reality TV show optimistically titled "Finding Bigfoot," a team of experts examines video of an alleged Sasquatch spotted in the Canadian Rockies. The video, shot by a man named Todd Standing, shows something large and dark, standing atop a wooded ridge and then ducking back behind a bush. It could pretty much be anything, and when the experts concluded that the subject was probably not a Bigfoot, Standing expressed his frustration: "No video is ever going to be evidence, ever. It's never going to be good enough…"...

As 2012 begins, it's important to take note of groups that are working against your opportunities to hunt, trap, fish and enjoy the outdoors. To that effect, here is what we call The Dirty Dozen: 1) Humane Society of the United States or HSUS—needs no commentary or introduction to hunters and trappers everywhere, but has been in the news and advertisements recently for sharing only one percent with animal shelters of the $187,515,301.00 the group raked in during 2010. Details are at http://www.ussportsmen.org/page.aspx?pid=2954. 2) People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or PETA—outrageous, radical and out of touch with mainstream...

An off-duty state trooper who was hunting in southeast Massachusetts shot and wounded a 66-year-old woman who was out walking her two dogs when he mistook her pets for a deer. The woman was shot in the torso while walking on a wooded path in Norton about 5 p.m. Saturday. Police said the trooper called 911 after realizing he had mistaken the tails of the two retrievers for a deer's tail.

A resurgent population has prompted authorities to lift federal protections for the gray wolf in Wisconsin and other parts of the Upper Midwest. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday that it was removing Endangered Species Act protections for the wolf in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and portions of adjoining states. After the announcement, Gov. Scott Walker ordered the state Department of Natural Resources to implement a state wolf management plan, which is designed to protect animals while also being able to control a growing population. Wolves - which can travel up to 30 miles a day - have soared...

State officials say a New Jersey man and his adult son were wounded in a pheasant hunting accident this weekend, then shot a second time while they were discussing the first mishap with authorities Both shootings occurred Saturday morning in the Colliers Mills Wildlife Management area in Jackson. The first shooting involved a single hunter who fled the scene, while the second involved a group of other hunters. The victims — identified only as two Jackson residents, ages 60 and 34 — each had pellet wounds to their face and hands, but the injuries were not considered serious. A state...

New England lawmakers are asking the U.S. Commerce Secretary for an emergency assessment of the abundance of cod in the Gulf of Maine. ... The six lawmakers also are asking Bryson to freeze the cod catch limit at its current level until the study is complete. Fishermen are facing devastating cuts in cod catch next year

I am looking to buy a rifle that would serve two purposes: primarily a long-distance shooter and secondarily a larger game taker downer :-) I like to shoot beyond 600 yards and I want a rifle to suit that purpose. From info I've gathered, I should get a larger-calibered rifle, with at least a 24" barrel. I would like to keep the rifle below 10lbs because I also want to hunt with it some day. I am interested in hunting elk and moose, eventually. So I am thinking of a .308.

HOPATCONG, N.J. (AP) — A cable TV repairman got quite a surprise when he walked into the basement of a New Jersey home. There was a 500-pound bear sound asleep on the floor.

WESLEY CHAPEL — A 78-year-old man was shot in a bizarre accident early Saturday when a dog bumped a rifle and caused it to fire, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Billy E. Brown of Dade City, a friend and a bulldog set out before dawn to hunt deer, which has been a tradition of theirs for more than 25 years. They were traveling down a bumpy, rocky road in a pickup truck to their hunting stands when the dog got excited and bumped a high-powered Browning .308-caliber rifle. The bullet struck in the right thigh as...

EPPING — A local hunter was charged Thursday for allegedly firing a handgun that sent a bullet flying through the walls of a house last week. Jordan Adams, 20, of Dearborn Road, faces charges of negligent discharge, a Class B misdemeanor, and shooting across a public way, and use of full metal jacket bullets while hunting, both violations. Authorities said Adams was hunting with a friend in the area of Old Hedding Road on Nov. 29, when one of the rounds fired from a handgun shot across the road and into a house at 30 Old Hedding Road. The bullet...

Unanimous adoption of a controversial wolf management plan by the Washington Fish & Wildlife Commission has ignited a firestorm in the hunting community, with concerns over the future viability of big game herds combining with a sense that the commission has turned its backs on sportsmen and women who pay the tab for wildlife management. Anger and frustration may turn to political action and with the Legislature convening next month, if this state’s sportsmen finally figure out how to speak with a single voice, it could be rough on lawmakers who normally pay no attention to the hook-and-bullet crowd. Hunters...

Animal rights groups suffered a setback as the Appellate Division of the New Jersey state Superior Court....

It's hunting season, and with all the clamor about "guns and Christian men" in the previous post about "manly Christmas gifts," I did a quick search and found an interesting article about "hunting" in the Catholic Encyclopedia over at NewAdvent.org. There has never been a prohibition against hunting for laymen. However, there is quite a controversial history concerning clerical hunting. The Council of Trent, for example, made the formal distinction between clamorous (clamorosa) hunting and quiet (quieta) hunting. (Session XXIV, 12). "Clamorous hunting" is forbidden to priests. However, "quiet hunting" is allowed. Clamorous hunting likely refers to the large...

All of these are fascinating if anyone wants some late night entertainment... Three Men vs. Fifteen Hungry Lions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNeNTMmltyc&feature=relmfu Snake Bracelets http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypg1FGde1GQ&feature=relmfu Children hunt world's largest venomous spider for dinner http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ra4WmE-joMQ&feature=related Sea Bed Hunting On One Breath http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgRpwESWPLM&feature=relmfu

In response to the question asked by a recent editorial cartoon — Why is training required for hunting and not concealed carry? — let me try to explain it. Hunting, at least on public land, has been determined to be a privilege, not a right, and is therefore subject to regulation — seasons, bag limits, training requirements. Self defense, on the other hand, is a right. You have a right and a duty to protect yourself, your family and your possessions from attack, vandalism or theft. Inherent in the right to defend yourself is the right to possess the means...