Dove season started yesterday. It should be epic for northern and central Texas. Unfortunately, not all of Texas is so concerned with dove season right now. Makes me sad that my fellow Texans are suffering so much in the aftermath of Harvey . . . Dove season looks promising

Dove season opens Friday in the North Texas and Central Texas dove zones, and the season has all the appearances of being a good one for hunters, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist Annaliese Scoggin.

“It looks like we’re going to have a good year,” said Scoggin, who is based in Abilene. “There have been more birds flying than we’ve had in the last three or four years.”

Since the last three or four years have been good ones, that’s sounds especially promising for Texas hunters, who last year bagged more than 10 million doves, including mourning doves, white-winged doves, Eurasian-collared doves and white-tipped doves. According to Southwick and Associates, which collects hunting and fishing statistics, the average number of dove harvested each hunting season in Texas is around 6.4 million. The record number last year was attributed to more rain in the state which increased the dove populations.

Even if you aren’t a hunter, you can appreciate the value hunting brings to a delicate ecological system. For me, this is more proof that we the people are wildlife conservators . . . Hunting Moose in Canada to Save Caribou From Wolves

You like caribou. You like wolves. How do you preserve one without killing the other? Research supporting an unusual conservation approach suggests that it may have something to do with hunting moose, at least in one region of North America.

Scientists spent a decade monitoring wolf, moose and endangered mountain caribou populations in the remote rain forests of southern British Columbia. In a study published Tuesday in the journal PeerJ, they found that if you let people hunt more moose, you get fewer wolves and more caribou. While this approach may only be part of the solution for preserving the caribou, it illustrates the complexity of conservation in natural environments.

“The band-aid solution is killing wolves, but that’s been treating the symptom,” said Robert Serrouya, a biologist at The University of Alberta who led the study. “We’re trying to deal with the cause.”

Let’s have some “hunting church” up in here! I believe passing hunting on to the younger generations is as valuable as passing on faith and freedom. Not only is hunting an excellent source of bonding and relationships but it’s essential in preserving our nations parks and wildlife for the generations to come . . . The Call Outdoors

The Call Outdoors uses hunting and the outdoors as an avenue to share the Gospel of Christ and to edify and encourage believers in their daily walk with the Lord. Our love for hunting runs deep, but our passion for sharing Christ is foremost!

Some of our ministry tools are church game dinners, evangelistic hunting DVDs, special events (such as speaking at Father/Son Retreats and hosting outdoor outreach events such as the Fisherman’s Pancake Breakfast at Sankanac), local hunting outings, and hunting trips to collect footage for our DVDs. All of these aspects of ministry are used to spread the Gospel. In the last 5 years we have been blessed to present the Gospel to over 6,000 people so far and have seen the Lord bring over 800 people to Himself!

It has been observed that if the man of the house starts going to church, 90% of the time the rest of the family will follow. This is the purpose of our ministry – to reach men for Christ and in doing so, reach families for Christ!

As Harvey approached this past week, I began thinking about what to do with my valuables if I were forced from my home. With one vehicle and a family and pets to evacuate, I couldn’t exactly load up all of my guns in the truck. These vacuum sealed bags are said to prevent rust and protect guns from moisture. Might not be a bad idea to keep a few on hand . . . Laminated Long-Term Storage Bags

Before you put your guns away for the winter, you may want to pack them in long-term storage bags. You can get superior protection with ZCORR long-term storage bags. Used by the USMC for arsenal storage, ZCORR bags are like the ultimate zip-lock baggie. They keep air and moisture out, and the interior is impregnated with corrosion inhibitors that block rust. The basic long-gun bags cost $12-$16, and have a velcro closure. The “Collectors Series” storage bags ($22-$30 for long-guns) feature a foil-adhesive closure that is 100% air and water tight. The deluxe preservation-grade ZCORRs, priced at $32-$39, can be vacuum-sealed for maximum protection — just hook up a vacuum cleaner to the special one-way valve. See photo below of rifle in ZCORR Vacuum storage bag.

I’ve heard that waterproof gun safes are a myth. With 30,000 to 40,000 homes damaged by Harvey, a lot of Texans may are wondering what they could have done to secure their guns. Perhaps a Stack-On safe in combination with the vacuum sealed bags (above) would have done the trick . . . Stack-On TD14-28-SB-C-S Fire Resistant Waterproof Fully Convertible Total Defense Safe with Combination Lock, 28 Guns

The Stack-On TD14-28-SB-C-S can’t be ignored if you are looking for quality waterproofing for both large and small guns. This is a fairly large safe with the capacity to store almost 30 long guns.

This Stack-On waterproof rifle safe can be a perfect addition to your home if you require ultimate water protection for your large firearms. It provides insulation for 72 hours in water of up to 3 feet deep.

The safe features a strong 3-number combination lock which is encased in a strong case specially designed to resist drilling. The lock is also backed with a drill-resistant steel plate that provides greater security for your rifles and guns.

The queen of hunting has a new book out just in time for hunting season . . . Eva Shockey on hunting, happiness, and what to expect in the wild

Anyone who’s seen Eva Shockey wield a bow knows how skilled she is at her craft. But despite being raised by world-famous hunter, Shockey didn’t exactly start out with plans to become one of the most recognizable personalities in the outdoor arena.

In her new book, “Taking Aim: Daring to Be Different, Happier and Healthier in the Great Outdoors,” the TV personality and conservationist shares the inspirational stories that drove her to pursue her passion and ultimately become the “reigning queen of hunting.”

Shockey’s new book is a “love story between me and the outdoors,” she tells Fox News.  (Eva Shockey/Shawn Wagar)

“It’s essentially a love story between me and the outdoors,” Shockey tells Fox News of her best-selling book. “It touches on a lot of hunting, a lot of family. [It’s a lot] about overcoming obstacles and basically just pursuing your passion.”

I’m not a climate change denier. The climate’s always changing when I hunt. Jacket on, jacket off, jacket on, etc. But I simply cannot bear the idea that driving my Taco deprives Yellowstone grizzlies pine nuts. (Yes, I know: black bear shown.) . . . Editorial: A reckless move could permit more grizzly hunting

The claim [that tat roughly 700 bears no longer qualify as threatened around Yellowstone] is based on the assertion that grizzlies faced with the loss of a key food source — nuts from the whitebark pine — could adapt by eating meat. Maybe. But the whitebark pine teeters on the edge of extinction because of climate change. Current federal policy therefore amounts to saying that humans, having deprived grizzlies of a key food source, can now also kill them with impunity because the bears will figure something else out.

More to the point: Although grizzlies, which once used to number in the tens of thousands, have recovered from near extinction, they still roam only 2 percent of their original territory. The decision to allow sport hunting of grizzlies around Yellowstone rests on the assumption that the species can get by so long as its numbers in the region don’t drop below 600. That premise is the opposite of conservative: It is reckless, foolhardy, and potentially disastrous.

When an anti-hunter calls something reckless, foolhardy, and potentially disastrous it’s probably a good idea.

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32 COMMENTS

  1. Water proof safe?????

    Ahhh NOPE in CAPS!!!
    2 feet in standing water for 72 hours???
    In Texas we are talking in LOTS of cases 5 feet PLUS for a week at LEAST!!!! might as well place the guns in a trash can and save the money!

  2. What could gun owners done to save their guns? Sadly evacuate much sooner and take them to safety. A resounding YES on hunting for CHRIST. An involved dad is a good dad. My dad taught me to shoot and took me to church. Amen…

    • “What could gun owners done to save their guns? Sadly evacuate much sooner and take them to safety.”

      Something else that *may* help is to bag them as I described above, and stash them in the attic.

      There’s a very good chance looters won’t bother to go up in attic while stealing, especially in summer with temps turning the attic into an oven.

      Looting at night is risky, flashlights moving around in dark homes in an evacuated area attracts attention looters don’t want…

    • “A resounding YES on hunting for CHRIST.”

      Question of The Day: What gun to use when “hunting for CHRIST”?

      Perhaps a nail gun………………..

      • What’s the point in hunting for Christ? Even if you manage to bag him, he’ll just get up and run away in a day or two. Ain’t worth it.

        • Why the hatred? If you want to be the best pro gun, anti Christian site on the Internet, your choice. The firing line is clear. Take your shots- or not?

        • Apologies, it was only intended as a silly, albeit slightly inappropriate joke. No offense was meant to be taken.

        • I’m not sorry. I visit this site for gun reviews and gun discussions. If I wanted to participate in discussions about cars, I’d visit to an automotive website. If I wanted to hear people talking about Christ, I’d go to church.

          And I don’t.

  3. “As Harvey approached this past week, I began thinking about what to do with my valuables if I were forced from my home.”

    The strategy I now use (after I had 3 hurricanes hit me in 2004) is, if I expect a hurricane to hit, I assume the roof will come off and the inside is gonna get soaked by heavy rain. Due to my geography, rising floodwaters aren’t gonna happen here. It may for you, if so, plan accordingly.

    I have a bunch of super-heavyweight ‘contractor’ type black plastic bags I got from Home De(s)pot.

    (The ‘ I got from Home De(s)pot’ is *humor, folks.)

    I park the base of the bag near where the items I’m bagging are in the house. Into them go stuff I don’t want to get wet, like electronics, media, photographs, papers, etc.

    When filled, I twist the bag shut, fold the twisted part back over itself, and then zip-tie it to secure it.

    How many bags you will need depends how much stuff you want protected…

  4. Yo!
    ’04 Florida alum as well (Lee Co).
    Also used the contractor bags for the long guns.
    Ya might laugh at this but it works…
    Igloo (and others) round, screw top coolers (like the Gatorade coolers you see on sidelines) are water proof from the outside as well as being leakproof. They come in 5 & 10 gallon sizes.
    Pistols go into their respect rugs, then into the cooler with an owner ID info page, then seal ’em up. (The cooler will float so you may wanna tie it to something.)
    Ammo into the second, third, & fourth coolers.
    Have even used these coolers (filled with picnic supplies & EDC) towed behind the inner tubes when floating down various rivers while on vaycay.

    • “’04 Florida alum as well (Lee Co).”

      Polk county, here. I was about 25 miles from where all 3 hurricanes crossed paths near Bartow.

      Total 10 days with no juice, but I had it easy compared to some folks here.

      Since the powerline crews restore power in the order of how many more homes the repair services, some places here didn’t get their power back for SIX WEEKS.

      Those poor folks *suffered* in misery in the August heat with 100 percent humidity for a stinking month and a half.

      Imagine half the country without power in this heat and humidity if North Korea’s Kim Jong Un hits us with an EMP bomb.

      A ‘boosted’ fission device, a ‘poor man’s ‘H-bomb it looks like he’s perfected, since the latest seismic data from last night’s test puts the yield at a 6.4 magnitude, over 30 times stronger than his previous magnitude 5.1 efforts.

      China reports a second seismic event at the same location *8 minuets* later and classified it as a ‘collapse’ sound.

      Take a look at the chamber one of our underground nuke tests created, and notice the heavy debris pile on the floor of the chamber:

      http://i.imgur.com/Hut2oS5.jpg

      Looks to me like if that fell from the ceiling of the chamber, the seismographs would record that.

      Last night’s test was a game-changer, and not in a good way.

      10 days of no power in the 2004 hurricane season sucked, but half the USA without power for months or years would gut this country…

      • EDIT – Updated weapon yield calculated at 10 times the power of the best of the previous tests.

        He’s now in the ‘big-boy’ club.

        Not. Good…

      • An EMP weapon would indeed wreak havoc on things like consumer electronics and modern automobiles, but the power grid is not as weak as you might think. I work in the power industry. The equipment we use has to withstand lightning strikes, power spikes, and all sorts of other things that would fry the average iPhone:

        https://selinc.com/solutions/sfci/power-system-risk-mitigation/emp/

        It’s also worth noting that if South Korea hit us with an EMP, it would happen once and only once. I doubt any government would sit still and allow itself to be nuked.

        • “It’s also worth noting that if South Korea hit us with an EMP, it would happen once and only once.”

          Uhmmm. South Korea? 🙂

          The grid may well be able to survive an ultra-high voltage event, but I *really* would rather not have to go through one to find out.

          (Apparently, China is none too pleased with Kim after he pulled his latest trick…)

        • The EMP threat is grossly exaggerated. Planes won’t fall out of the sky and your car and your coffeepot will still work after an event.

          Unless you have a Tomahawk with a carbon burster munition payload fly into your house, EMP should be on the far edge of your circle of worry.

  5. I agree with the heavy duty plastic bags. Properly tied they might not keep water out indefinitely, but they keep em out pretty long. Or at least, long enough. Way cheaper too that I don’t have any qualms tearing them open when
    I need to access the contents.

  6. Capped PVC pipes are 100% waterproof at any reasonable depth for many years, and if you’re clever, can look like household sewer plumbing. Better than any safe or bag if you’re looking for waterproof.

  7. Tee-hee… she said, “jacket off!”

    Sorry, sometimes my inner eight year old takes over.

  8. Almost all safes are good to go for submerging in water IF you seal the door and lock. Some have a hole for electrical connections. Get a role of sealant tape and a can of spray sealant. Zip up the door seam and around the lock. Bingo. You just created a giant waterproof bottle to leave your guns in while you flee. 15 minutes of work could protect dozens of valuable firearms.

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