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Stories from the field

License Fees

By Wildlife Lawyer on March 6, 2013

While pondering and agonizing about which states I would apply to hoping for a big game tag for the 2013 season it struck me that I would have to mostly apply for preference points because of the cost of these tags.

Applying for tags anymore is a nightmare; you need a service such as Cabelas and a good www.wildlifelawyer.com to figure out the seasons, dates, amounts, and whether you need a tag and a license or just a license. It’s crazy, add to that the rescue fees, habitat fees, hunter safety fees, and nonresident fees, and here is where the wildlife lawyer comes in, contracting with an outfitter for a guided hunt. Where does all end?

In fairness, I see that some states now have fee schedules that give a discount for families and also for youths under the age of 17. But typically if you and your wife or older school-aged son want to go on an elk hunt in Arizona, Colorado, or any western state for that matter, you are going to be spending around $1200 just for licenses and tags for the two of you. That’s doesn’t take into account the travel, lodging, food, etc.

In Colorado we have the Division of Wildlife being taken over by Colorado Parks, who do you think the cash cow is here? Are hunters paying more so that jet skiers have a place to put in? Or so those recreationists have a place to camp next to a lake?

How about mountain bikers and hikers and bird watchers who pay no rescue fees and yet use the same land we hunters do, who’s funding their rescues? I’m not proposing a battle with other outdoor recreationists as I pursue these other sports as well but I do not think the hunter should shoulder the whole financial burden of funding these pursuits.

Tru Shot Bow Site

By Wildlife Lawyer on February 26, 2013

Just received the new Tru Shot Bow Site from Apik Enterprises – (www.apikenterprise.com) – a space-age advancement over the old pendulum sites off the past. This bow site uses index cam technology and can be shot from either the ground or an elevated tree stand.

The cam on this bow site allows you to use one pin site that is accurate from 0 yards to nearly 40 yards and further depending on the speed of the arrow. The site has index positions that allows for the height of the tree stand or a severe up and down elevation if shooting from the ground.

I’ve found on my bow that I can site in and shoot from 0-32 yards or from 20-42 yards depending on how I site it in. The sweet thing is I now only have one pin to contend with and I don’t have to use my range finder. I just aim and shoot and the rest is in the freezer.

I’ve mounted the site on my bow and have set it up for the upcoming javelina season here in Arizona. I’ll share my hunting adventures chasing the wily javelina with a Tru-Shot Bow Site in the very near future.

Apik Enterprises is owned and operated by Don Kalfayan, a guy who has been shooting bows for 60 years; we didn’t want to give his age away. Don is a great resource, a very savvy bow hunter, and easy to talk to, if you have any questions or would like to order one of his sites give him a call at 906-203-9168.

Intro

By Wildlife Lawyer on February 22, 2013

Well howdy everyone; just wanted to introduce myself as I will be adding a blog to this website every now and again. I will share some stories from the past, stories as they happen, a little politics and legal situations. I hope to keep it interesting, fun, informative, or maybe all three.

A little background, I have been hunting for nearly 60 years, yes I’m "gittin" old but I did start pretty young. I was following my dad around the squirrel woods when I was 6-years-old, I got my first .22 at 10-years-old and my first deer rifle, a .3030 Winchester model 64, when I was 13. I shot my first deer, a doe, in the woods of northern Michigan at the ripe old age of 14.

Since then I have hunted in eight states and Canada. I killed the second moose ever taken in modern times in Colorado in 1983 maybe 1984. I have hunted mule deer, whitetail deer, Shiras Moose, Alaska-Yukon Moose, Rocky Mt. Goat, Rocky Mt. Big Horn Sheep, black bears, caribou, pronghorn antelope, elk, and not so big game like javelina, turkey, and wild hogs.

All this to say that I’ve been where you’ve been and done the things you’ve done, so my hope is to bring back a few memories, make you more aware of today’s issues and maybe take a stand for your hunting heritage.

Generations

By Wildlife Lawyer on February 14, 2013

"Those of us who know the thrill of the hunt whether an animal is downed or not, know that it is the joy of being one with nature that is the elemental reason for being a hunter. The family bonds that occur as we watch our sons & grandsons, march into the forest with a rifle on his shoulder, knowing he is safe and well trained, will always have the deep satisfaction of a job well done, passing the reins to a new generation of hunters & sportsman."

The quote posted above is from someone who understands that hunting is not about killing, it is about the joy that comes from being out in the wild and sharing those experiences with family and friends. As a hunter myself some of the greatest experiences in my life have come while hunting. I look forward to the continued experiences as my son reaches the age to join us this year. He will be a third generation Colorado big game hunter. I sit in the same stand as my father before me in a location we have hunted for more than forty years. Over the course of that period my father, uncle, nephew, best friend, best friend’s son, cousin, new friends and myself have all taken big game from this location. I look forward to my son joining this list, but more importantly I look forward to sharing the joy of the hunt and camaraderie of the hunt camp with the next generation of our family. Only other hunters can understand and appreciate the bond that is created and everlasting memories from such experiences among men.

Chad M. Biggerstaff, Esq.