I think it’s a real shame that we’ve reached the point of needing legislation to protect law-abiding hunters, but that ’s what it’s come to. A letter to the local newspaper from our state representative brought this issue to light and I recommend that if your state doesn’t have similar laws, consider contacting your state representatives to start working on one.

Here in Idaho, legislation was introduced that would exempt hunting and fishing license information from becoming public information  - case in point, a 12-year old hunter. Below is a synopsis of representative Steve Blair’s letter to our local newspaper, Morning News, dated Feb. 16, 2010.

A wolf permit was purchased just prior to a father/son hunting trip, just in case they ran into a wolf and wanted to bag it. As luck had it, the boy got his wolf and not long afterwards, a wolf advocate requested the hunting information from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game (IDFG). By law, IDFG was required to provide it. One wolf advocate published the names of everyone who bagged a wolf this season on the Internet.

In my opinion, the only purpose in requesting this kind of information is to publicly harass and disgrace hunters and fishermen, in a “means justify the end” philosophy even if it includes publicly attacking children.These advocates were the people who forced the re-introduction of wolves in Idaho without regard to the impact of doing so. According to Representative Blair’s letter, Idaho has an agreement with Federal Wildlife Services to keep the wolf population to about 530 - it’s now estimated that there may be as many as 1,000 and elk populations have been decimated by them. Several years ago there were about 12,000 elk in the Lolo zone near Salmon, now there are only 2,000-3,000. Forensics determined that 90% of the deaths were from predators and of that 90%, 85% were from wolves.

These people will attack hunters who shoot a small number of big game animals as being “inhumane” while actively promote the killing of thousands of big game animals by wolves, and wolves are much more brutal killers than hunters. If these people were sincerely concerned about the welfare of animals, they would be focusing on stopping illegal activities rather than legal ones.

I received the following email - is there anyone out there that might have some answers?

Thanks,

RMM

I am trying to find out what small bird my father would have hunted during October in 1955-1959. He would try to get what I remember as partridge for my birthday dinner on the 16th. I always thought they were Partridge but my sister thinks they were quail. Would there be any way of finding out the hunting season then? We lived in Three Lakes which is up near Rhinelander. Does anyone have an idea how I can find out this information? it would mean a lot to me since we lost Daddy this year. Thanks!

I received a letter from Congressman Simpson (R-ID) who again reiterated his opposition to H.R. 45 (The Blair Holt Act). He also recently signed on to legislation that supports the Second Amendment and I encourage everyone to call their senators and congressment to support this legislation.

H.R. 17, the Citizen’s Self-Defense Act, asserts that a person has the right to obtain a firearm for security and defense.

H.R. 442, the Veteran’s Heritage Firearms Act of 2009, rectifies current law that would punish a World War II or Korean War veteran for not registering a war relic firearm. It provides limited amnesty to these veterans and allows them to register without fear of prosecution for thus far failing to do so.

H.R. 1071, the Firearms Interstate Commerce Reform Act, would remove several unnecessary prohibitions and would restore the right of law abiding citizens to sell firearms to those who live in other states. The bill allows all firearm licensees to transfer firearms at gun shows to any individual, regardless of home state, in compliance with other state laws and after proper criminal background checks.

We’ve been pretty swamped around the yard recently and I’ve neglected both my blog and others that I post to - but given the choice of hunting or blogging, I’ll take hunting. The following is a “pass along” newsletter article from the Pointing Dog Journal, which seems to really apply to me right now.

Pass Along PDJ

October 09

What Happened?

by Steve Smith

Okay, it’s the middle of the season. The weather has moderated from early season hot to chilly — cold, even, if you live where I do, halfway to the North Pole.

You started out the season shooting fairly well, getting sharper as time went along and the chances multiplied, same as you have for decades. And then, you hit the slump — can’t buy a hit — and your dog’s ready to leave you for a younger man. What happened?

Well, it has happened and will happen again to me; as you read this, I may be in the middle of my 2009-2010 slump. When it does, I like to start off by blaming somebody else, because I know it can’t be me.

It’s the dog’s fault. Early in the season, my dog isn’t in the sort of shape I’d like her to be because, even though I run her every night after work all spring and summer, I only do it for at the most an hour at a time. Of course, I hunt a lot longer than that when the season starts, so Sam paces herself and stays fairly close. As the season progresses, she hardens up, and the cover thins so she can stretch it out, sometimes too far.

At this point, it’s not just the dog, it’s the birds’ fault. They are jumpier because they’ve been hunted and the cover’s thinning out; they don’t hold like they did on opening day when they were young and stupid and not as fully feathered and muscled as they are now — right in my wheelhouse. The dog is pointing them a long way off because she’s increased her range, and sometimes the bird moves before I get into decent range (I know — it’s the trainer). So the shots are longer, the birds faster, I have to use tighter chokes that are harder to hit with, and it’s not my fault.

Of course, it could be that it’s the weather’s fault. It gets colder as the season goes on. So what happens? I move slower because I’m cold — at the same time the birds are getting faster and wilder and the shots are longer because my dog doesn’t hold them close like she did early on. I have to bundle up, which makes gun-mounting less uniform; maybe my gun doesn’t even fit me when I’m dressed like a Siberian border guard. It’s not my fault.

Whose fault is it, then? It could be some combination of all of these, but depending on how long we’ve been at this, it just may be the calendar. Most of us, being both victims and practitioners of human nature, look for reasons/excuses when something we used to do easily becomes increasingly difficult. For the aging gunner, it’s worse — a lot worse. We’ve talked about this aspect of our sport before, but a recent random survey indicates that none of our readers (nor, I should add, the editors) are getting any younger. Our average age is starting to push 53 — f-i-f-t-y  t-h-r-e-e. This pretty much, unfortunately, mirrors the hunting population at large. Maybe not that age, but in the process of aging.

The full article “What Happened?” by Steve Smith appears in the upcoming November/December 2009 issue of Pointing Dog Journal. If you are a subscriber, stay tuned! That issue will soon mail!

If you are not a subscriber and would like to read the rest of this article, request an issue right now! If you do so by November 25th, you’ll receive the issue with this article in it! You can request an issue by following the links below or by calling 1-800-447-7367 if you have questions. Make sure you tell our circulation representatives that you’d like the November/December 2009 issue!

Please do us a tremendous favor and forward this e-mail on to your pointing dog friends!

I had one heck of a time hitting anything last year, and I consider myself a fair shot. And on my final day of hunting last year it took half a box of shells to get 1 duck - and I had to shoot that one twice. After hunting season ended, I did a pattern test and found that my gun’s pattern was really bad. My gunsmith identified a bulge in the barrel that I hadn’t noticed, right about where my built-in choke started.

Above: pattern of shot at about 20 yards with my 12ga. having a bulged barrel.

Above: pattern of shot at about 40 yards with my 12ga. having a bulged barrel.

Overview

I attribute the bulge to the steel shot I was using, and even though my gun isn’t a vintage or antique - I believe that dad bought it for me around 1976 - it couldn’t handle steel shot. I also experienced problems adapting to steel shot a few years ago when I resumed bird hunting after about a 12 year hiatus. Steel shot doesn’t have the penetrating power as lead, due to the lighter weight of steel shot the range is greatly reduced and the pattern is not as compact, and one needs to adapt to larger shot size for the same effect.

More and more hunting areas require non-toxic shot. If you have older guns that you like to hunt with, the choice is either to use non-toxic alloys, or steel shot that can ruin a gun as it did mine.

After doing a little research, I selected HEVI*SHOT® Classic Doubles for vintage guns. Manufactured by Environ Metal the shot is made of Iron, Nickel, Tungsten, and two additional alloys. I received a box each of 16 gauge 4 and 6 shot, 1 oz. loads, 2 ¾ inch shells. These shells are non-toxic and designed to use in older and vintage shotguns; I tested them on a Sears & Roebuck Ranger shotgun manufactured by Harrington Richardson between 1912 and 1932.

Criteria and Review

Criteria 1-4 are from a Cabela’s web site advertisement. Criteria 5-7 are from information found on the boxes of HEVI*SHOT® shells.

Criteria 1- A safe, nontoxic alternative for older shotguns, this low-pressure, low-recoil ammo has 44% more energy than comparable steel loads, yet it’s as soft as lead for the protection of barrels and fixed chokes. HEVI*SHOT® was not compared to steel shot due to the age of the gun in which it was tested, but it was compared to lead shot. The gun on which it was tested contains a fixed choke. A casual observation of the wood on which the targets were placed, appeared to have about the same number of HEVI*SHOT® imbedded in the wood as the lead shot, indicating that it has about the same penetrating power as lead.
Criteria 2- Buffered loads and sealed hulls ensure optimum all-weather performance.
The hulls are sealed in the same manner as older shells that I have been shooting. Some shells that I still use are over 30 years old, have been used in all types of weather, and have not been properly cared for (ie. left in hunting vests, vehicles, etc.), yet they still perform as new.
Criteria 3- For use in any firearm that can safely fire modern lead trap loads. The shells normally used in my shotgun are high power 2 ¾ inch, containing 4, 5, 6 and 8-shot.
Criteria 4 -The shells are loaded for the specific needs of waterfowl hunts. Lead shot is banned in hunting waterfowl as well as many hunting reserves and wildlife management areas. The non-toxic shot used in HEVI*SHOT® shells are similar to shooting lead shot, and from experience, is much more effective than steel shot. In older guns such as my 16ga. steel shot is simply not an option.
Criteria 5- This ammunition maintains down range energy, resists cross-wind effects and delivers devastating lethality. The pattern tests of both lead and HEVI*SHOT® were conducted in a 20-plus mph tail wind at 40 yards. Both lead and HEVI*SHOT® shells used were 2 ¾ inch, 4-shot. The wind conditions are attributed to elevating the lead shot, while it appeared to have little if any effect on HEVI*SHOT®.

Above: pattern of shot at about 40 yards in a 20mph tail wind with my 16ga. using 4-shot lead.

Above: pattern of shot at about 40 yards in a 20mph tail wind with my 16ga. using 4-shot HEVI*SHOT®.

The HEVI*SHOT® resulted in approximately 81 bb’s within the target area (the wind tore out a small section of the target containing several holes). That same area for lead shot resulted in 62 bb’s.
Weight and velocity are the greatest factors in lethality. I did not conduct specific gravity tests on HEVI*SHOT®, lead or steel shot but as a general comparison, Steel has the specific gravity of 7.8; lead has a specific gravity of 11.35; each of the alloys used in HEVI*SHOT® have specific gravities of: (cast) iron, 7.85; nickel, 8.9; and tungsten, 19.
Criteria 6-HEVI*SHOT® shells create a remarkably tighter pattern and group. Compared to lead, the HEVI*SHOT® produced a tighter pattern when tested in an approximate 20mph tail wind. HEVI*SHOT® was not compared to steel shot since it was tested on a vintage gun and experience with my 12ga. made it clear that steel shot could not be used in the vintage 16ga.
Criteria 7- This uniform pattern and group allows fewer misses and less crippling.
The uniform pattern does allow fewer misses and less crippling since the tighter pattern puts more shot in a smaller area, but the biggest part of the equation is your shooting style. The shot won’t improve your shooting if you are a bad shot or take chances, but will certainly improve your chances for a kill if you hit what you shoot at.

Disclaimer and Safety Information
There is always some risk in shooting older and vintage guns due to the wear and tear over the years, how well the gun was maintained, and the quality of manufacture. Before shooting vintage guns, it is always a good idea to have them checked out by a reputable gunsmith.

Summary

In summary, I recommend the HEVI*SHOT® shotgun shells not only for older and vintage guns but wherever nontoxic shot is required. The shells average in the neighborhood of $2.30-$2.60 each but knocking down your birds with fewer misses and wounds may make them more cost-effective; with steel shot I oftentimes had to shoot ducks twice or 3 times, which I resented having to do since I make every attempt to make my first shot a kill.

Response from Environ Metal
The pattern shot looks like it was high on impact- nice review- Non-tox and steel are in same category– and non tox is required on all waterfowl nationwide! Nice review!