Why YOU the NON-HUNTER should buy a Hunting License

I see hundreds if not thousands of people watching wildlife in Texas every year. Many of these love to take pictures of Turkeys, Deer, Javelina, Waterfowl, Quail and many of the other game animals. Did you know that by the 1900s much of the Wild Game in Texas was in trouble are already gone from the State? Some had been completely wiped out and others were at such low numbers the populations would never recover. The days of the Buffalo, Bear, Bighorn Sheep, Wolf, White-tailed Deer, Antelope, Turkey, Alligator and many others were numbered. Most people say they were wiped out by hunters but that is not the whole or real truth. Many were shot but by settlers and those that lived in the wildlife habitat. In those days you did not go to the store and buy meat you had to shoot it to bring home the bacon. Also much of our wildlife was killed by professional shooters that shot food for the Railroad crews and for sale on the open market. There were no game laws back then and wild game was sold on the open markets in the cities and towns. Many were killed simply for hides or feathers to be used in products for American consumers in a growing State. Thousands upon thousands died of diseases brought in by domestic livestock to which the wild game had no resistance or immunities.
On the bright side there are more white-tailed deer and turkey today than there have ever been in Texas. These are the good ole days for wildlife in Texas. The Bighorn Sheep once again can be found in the High Mountains of West Texas. One Bighorn Sheep permit sold at auction in Texas will bring more than $100,000.00 to be plowed back into the Bighorn Sheep Restoration project. A breeding population of Black Bears now roams the Trans Pecos and is expanding their range. Turkeys are enjoying habitats where they have never roamed in our States history. How has all this come about? It has come about because of Hunters. It is hunters that put up the license fees that are used in wildlife restoration and management. Once an animal is made a game animal it has seasons or if need be closed seasons, funds for management, in some cases funds for restocking to former ranges. Game animals are provided habitat and protection while being managed to provide a renewable sustainable harvest. Hunters also provide funds through such organizations as Ducks Unlimited, Pheasants Forever and other organizations to preserve habitat. Hunters and Sportsmen pay an 11% percent excise tax on all ammo and hunting supplies which is allocated to the states for support of wildlife. In truth it is hunters that put up the bulk of the money so you and yours can enjoy wildlife today.
If you enjoy taking pictures or just watching the wildlife of this great State then buy a hunting license and put back a little into the wildlife of Texas. You can help make sure that there is wildlife in the future for those that come after us. Buying a hunting license is not just for hunters anymore it is for everyone.

PS: A purchase of a subscription to the Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine is also an excellent investment in wildlife and will keep you informed on Texas Wildlife.

Feeding Wildlife, Corn Prices, Ammo Prices

Hunting and Wildlife viewing season is almost upon us. The bucks have almost grown their new antlers for this year. Most of this year’s crop of dove and quail have left the nest and are on their own. Here in Texas we have had a banner year for rain and the wildlife outlook is the best it has been in years. If you feed corn or set up feeders each year now is the time to get them going. By setting up your feeding stations or planting food plots earlier you will condition wildlife to coming into your areas. Whether you hunt with camera, bow or rifle you will see more wildlife if you have them conditioned to coming to your property early. A lot of those early deer will be does and not the big bucks you hoped for but all is not in vain. The does that come to your feed plots and feeders on a regular basis will bring the big boys with them when the breeding season begins.

Corn has really gone up this year due to the hype that green fuel will save us all. Most have not analyzed how much that green fuel will cost us in the price of fuel, meat, eggs, milk and any other product that uses corn. Also forgotten is the cost of all the water and irrigation fuels it will take to grow this corn. I saw a report the other day that stated that if we made all the corn in the USA into fuel it would cover about 8% of our total fuel consumption but the cost will be much greater than that to the American consumer.
If you shop around you can find a few deals on corn. The best price is to buy it in bulk from the farmer in the field. For those of us that buy it by the bag I have seen some good prices at Academy Sports (3.99-4.99 per 40lb bag) If you are putting your corn in feeders make sure it is really clean or pour it through hail screen so it will not stop up your feeders.

Ammo Costs have gone up by about 40% in the last year and will being getting a large increase before this fall. If you have not priced shotgun shells and other ammo since last year you are in for a big surprise. Watch for sales at the big boys like, Academy, Bass Pro, Sportsman’s and Cabelas. Go ahead and buy a lot if you find a good deal as it will keep going up. Not only are we shipping tons of ammo to the wars in the Middle East but we are selling the raw components and materials to the Middle Eastern countries and China. Companies will be more concerned with profits and long term contracts than making sure consumers at home have adequate product.

The Best Jerky you ever made!

TEXAS STYLE JERKY

Cut lean strips of venison, beef, chicken or turkey. The pieces should be no more than ¾ inch thick at the most but as large as you want them. Trim off all fat as it will turn rancid as the meat dries.Fill a large mixing bowl with water and stir in equal amounts of Brown Sugar and Salt until it starts to fall out, kind of like a glass of tea with to much sugar in it.Stir in 1 Teaspoon of Garlic powder,½ Teaspoon of Allspice ¼ Teaspoon of ground Cloves.Add meat and soak in the brine for 4-8 hours in a refrigerator.Remove meat from brine and rinse in cold water.Roll or shake on coarse ground black pepper to taste.Do not use table ground black pepper or it will have to strong a pepper taste. Remember course ground adds flavor fine ground adds heat.Arrange meat on a smoker and slow smoke with your favorite wood keeping the heat under 170 degrees until fully smoked. I smoke mine overnight. I use very dry or seasoned mesquite with no green left in the wood. If you do not have a smoker you can do this in your oven, just add liquid smoke to the original brine and dry on your ovens lowest setting or warm setting. Place a wood spoon in the oven door so moisture can escape and dry meat to the texture and hardness desired. You can then place jerky in a bowl in the refrigerator for up to a week to finish dehydrating. It never lasts that long at my place. Place any extra in a bag in the freezer and take out about 2 hours before you intend to eat it.

The Carrizo Springs Harris Hawk Pack

This last year I traveled southwest of Carrizo Springs, Texas for a traditional bow hunt. My quarry was the Javelina otherwise known as the “Collared Peccary”. The Javelina is small but fierce desert pig that weighs 35 to 50 pounds. After a tour of the ranch we were hunting, I picked a windmill over a livestock-watering trough to hunt for the afternoon. With water being the key to life in the South Texas desert, I though I might get a shot by positioning myself over the water hole. The ranch foreman dropped me off with plans to pick me up after dark. As I climbed the windmill tower I could see the dust from the truck disappearing in the distance.

From my perch I could see over miles and miles of the South Texas countryside. It was mostly flat, rocky ground with tons of cacti and brush interspersed with mesquite and yucca. There was a large, brushy-cactus flat that was maybe 200 yards wide by a mile long that had most of the trees dozed off years before. On the far side of the flat mesquite trees had grown a tall thick barrier that I could not see through. There were game trails worn through the flat from the tree line to the water hole showing heavy use as game came daily to water.

From my vantage point on the windmill I watched a covey of bobwhite quail come to water, drink their fill and wander back into the brush. Several whitetail deer came into water but no pigs.

As I sat in the South Texas sun and tried not to fall asleep, I noticed a single, dark-chocolate and rust-red colored hawk come out of the mesquites on the far side of the flat taking a perch in a lone mesquite tree. This hawk had long yellow legs with a white rump patch and a white band on the tail feather. It reminded me of a small Golden Eagle. Soon another joined it and then three more flew out of the thick brush. They grouped at the mesquite tree as if to have a social meeting or to form a plan and then launched into flight up the long flat. About a third of the way up the brushy flat a large jackrabbit burst from under a shady mesquite. The chase was on! It was like watching a pack of coyotes on a hunt, yet this pack was in the air. From my high vantage point on the windmill, I watched the attack unfold below me and in full view. The hawks were on that jackrabbit like fighter planes on a target in a war movie. I was surprised the rabbit lasted as long as he did. The hawks concentrated on the chase with no vocalizations yet each seemed to know their part in the pursuit. Just as one of the hawks would almost grasp the jackrabbit, it would flip one-way or the other continuing to flee with another hawk flying into position to resume the chase.

The jackrabbit plunged into some brush and I thought he had made it to safety, but one of the smaller hawks plowed right into the brush hot on his trail. As the jackrabbit burst out the other side the largest hawk did a wingover, grabbed him and they tumbled about for a moment. Immediately one of the other hawks assisted the first with the jackrabbit. The screams were loud and shrieking but did not last long. The hawks kept footing the jackrabbit until there was no movement. The largest hawk then flapped its wings half flying and half jumping while dragging the rabbit to an area clear of brush. I then observed something that I had never seen; five hawks shared the kill. I decided right then and there that someday I would fly this hawk whatever kind it was. I later found out they were Harris Hawks native to this part of South Texas and Mexico.

Although I did not take a Javelina that evening I will never forget the hunt I witnessed. The influence that experience had on me has changed my life. It was the final straw for me as I had been interested in Falconry all my life, but had not made the commitment to become involved. I now have a great sponsor and am a member of the Texas Hawking Association. At 50 years old I am on my way to becoming a Falconer. Some day I will fly a wild-caught Harris Hawk.


Post Script: I wrote this story several years ago and have now flown a red tailed hawk for two seasons and recently released him back to the breeding population in the wilds of Texas. I now have my General Falconry Permit and will be heading to South Texas in a few weeks to trap a wild passage Harris Hawk and fulfill my dream of flying a Harris Hawk. I am now sponsoring an apprentice and hope to pass on and instill in him that which has been passed to me.