Unless you've been in a sound-proof booth all day, you've learned a thing or two about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. She hunts, she's a member of the NRA, and as of today, she's also the presumptive Republican vice presidential nominee.
     Of course, there hasn't been a lot of time to get to know her yet, but the media has been broadcasting a number of now-familiar bytes: Ms. Palin is a self described "hockey mom," mother of 5, and made history in 2006 by becoming the first woman governor of Alaska. According to her official biography, she's an avid hunter (with at least one photo posted there to prove it), and enjoys fishing with her family in Bristol Bay. According to her Wikipedia page, as a child she would get up before school to hunt moose with her father, and she now enjoys eating moose burgers and ice fishing.
     Clearly the John McCain campaign has found a fresh-faced Washington outsider with the potential to woo still-disgruntled supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton. Interesting that the choice of running mate should also be such an outdoorswoman. As Ms. Palin introduces herself to the American public at the Republican nominating convention this week, I'll be very curious to see how much her identity as a hunter and fisherman factors into the portrait she paints of herself.
     What's your first read on Mr. McCain's new right hand man, and how surprised were you by the choice? -K.H.

     It seems worth asking again: how much do you worry about CWD? If you're in Michigan, the topic is certainly on your mind at the moment.
     After a 3-year-old doe at a Kent County captive breeding facility tested positive for the disease, the state's DNR has quarantined 580 deer and elk farms and banned baiting in the Lower Peninsula. According to this Grand Rapids Press story, the impact of such measures varies depending on who you talk to -- but everyone is feeling the effects.
     If you're a breeder, of course, the news couldn't be worse. "If you get it at your facility, it's terminal," Alex Draper, president of the Michigan Deer & Elk Association of Breeders told the paper. "The herd is terminated, and you are out of business."
     As for area hunters, the ban on baiting has drawn a number of angry phone calls to the DNR from sportsmen disagreeing with the move. But officials point out that CWD is easily spread in areas where deer congregate, so the ban is a necessary step. And I'm sure most area hunters understand the importance of containment.
     Then there's the meat processors, such as a Big Rapids business that typically donates 16,000 pounds of venison each year to the Sportsmen Against Hunger program. Kelly's Catering and Deer Processing expected to start receiving deer by Sept. 4, but now its owner wonders how much meat he'll be able to provide to local pantries.
     DNR officials are currently reviewing the records of six breeding facilities, and tracing the transport of deer between them. They also plan to test 300 wild deer in the area. A DNR spokesperson called the department's activities to determine the level of contamination, "a big detective job."
     Personally, I find the topic of CWD fascinating (though, of course, not in a good way). It's such a complex issue. There's the biology of a degenerative disease, its frightening spread through sometimes shady business dealings among deer facilities, and the complicated bureaucracy of containing it. Not to mention the fact that the prions responsible for the disease just don't go away -- once they're in the soil, long term contamination is a major issue. The whole thing feels a bit like a sleeper epidemic. It goes through periods of seeming inactivity, before erupting into a very real chain of problems that affects every segment of the deer hunting community. -K.H.

     This isn't a hunting story, but it certainly speaks to the importance of knowing how to handle a firearm safely.
     An 85-year-old Pennsylvania woman named Leda Smith was returning home from church last Sunday when she noticed a door was broken and realized that a burglar who had been hitting her neighborhood was inside. According to this Herald Standard story, Smith passed the burglar on her way to the bedroom to get her revolver. She then found the teenaged intruder, confronted him with the gun, and made him call 911. She had the boy lay facedown on the floor until authorities arrived.
     It's hard not to be impressed with Ms. Smith's cool headedness and decision to defend her home (not to mention her neighborhood). I'm just glad the intruder was so "compliant," and that her confrontation ended up paying off. -K.H

     If you missed the X-Files movie, no worries, today's developments in the most recent Bigfoot claim are possibly more entertaining.
     I'm sure we've all heard that an alleged Bigfoot 'corpse' was discovered in the woods of northern Georgia last June by hikers Matthew Whitton and Rick Dyer. At a press conference last week, the pair presented a photo of what appeared to be a heap of fur in a refrigerator, as well as DNA samples from the supposed remains.
     Today Bigfoot enthusiasts from Searching for Bigfoot Inc. and Sasquatchdetective say in an online posting  that Whitton and Dyer's claim is a fraud.
    The duo had allegedly turned the frozen Bigfoot corpse over to members of the two Bigfoot groups, who proceeded to thaw it. When the actual "remains" were revealed, they were made of rubber, the statement posted today said. Whitton and Dyer then admitted their "discovery" was merely a costume.
     According to this CNN story, no one involved in the hoax, or the assessment of the remains, can now be reached for comment.
     Steve Kulls of Sasquatchdetective who 'revealed' the fraud in today's online posting didn't return a call from reporters. A woman who answered the phone at Searching for Bigfoot Inc said Bigfoot hunter Tom Biscardi, who was also involved in assessing the remains, was ill and unable to comment. Whitton's phone appeared to have been disconnected, Dyer's number couldn't be located, and the pair failed to show up for a press appearance on CNN's "American Morning" last Monday.
     The online posting really is worth the read -- it's as unnerving as it is amusing. And unlike the X-Files movie, which some of us may have unfortunately found out was a waste of time and hard-earned money -- reading the post is free. -K.H.

    The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation recently and proudly announced that new research is indicating, "More women per capita are attracted to elk hunting than most other kinds of hunting."
     According to the Foundation, 6.7 percent of all elk hunters are women -- that means there are over 60,000 female elk hunters out there. Proportionately, that beats turkey, goose, duck, rabbit, pheasant, and squirrel.
     "It seems a bit counterintuitive," Foundation president and CEO David Allen said in a press release, "because elk hunting can be the quintessential 'roughing it' hunt. But obviously, women are not intimidated by rugged country, large rifles, unpredictable weather and pursuing animals several times larger than they are."
     I'm frankly not crazy about calling the trend "counterintuitive," but it's true that elk hunting is not for the faint of male or female heart.
     I've never hunted for elk, but I very much want to, and have great respect for anyone who has. A woman I met in Idaho comes to mind, who got her first elk with a muzzleloader when she was 8 1/2 months pregnant with her first child. Talk about tough.
     I know a number of us have elk plans in the not too distant future (I can't believe, by the way, how fast August is going -- I feel like it was just July). What do you have coming up, and how many elk hunts will that make for you? -K.H.

     We rarely have occasion to talk about moles and secret operatives, so what do you make of the case of Mary McFate, also known as Mary Lou Sapone, who allegedly infiltrated anti-gun groups as a spy for the pro-gun lobby?
    There's been so much coverage of the story recently, it's hard to know which source article to reference. So I'm going with the investigative piece that broke the news in Mother Jones magazine on July 30 called, "There's Something About Mary: Unmasking a Gun Lobby Mole." 
     According to that report, Mary McFate began working with various gun control groups starting in the mid 1990's. She was involved with the Million Mom March, worked for the coalition group States United to Prevent Gun Violence, and collaborated with organizations such at the Brady Campaign, among many other initiatives. Such involvement gave her access to everything from legislative strategies and event planning to insider gossip.
     While some gun control colleagues noticed that McFate would occasionally drop out of contact and frequently declined media appearances, she was widely regarded as a committed and passionate anti-gun activist.
     However, according to the investigative report, during the time that McFate was increasing her involvement with the anti-gun movement, she was also Mary Lou Sapone, a "research consultant" hired by the pro-gun lobby. (Interestingly, in the 1980s, Sapone had "infiltrated the animal rights community" as an "operative" for a security firm.) Now gun control advocates are wondering who she reported to, and if she's the only "mole" among them.
     As for McFate, she has been unreachable by the press, and ABC News reported last week that her Florida neighbors said she was on vacation in Belize.
      How much attention have you paid to the case, and how much of the alleged spy activity do you believe? I find the whole affair as interesting as it is unnerving, and I'm very curious to see how it develops. -K.H.

     Of course, there are great overcoming-adversity stories throughout Olympics history -- and the shooting events are no exception. Take competitor Karoly Takacs. In 1938, he was a member of the Hungarian world champion pistol shooting team, but that year an army grenade exploded in his right hand. Ten years later, however, after teaching himself to shoot left-handed, Takacs made a comeback, winning the first two gold medals in rapid-fire pistol shooting.
     It's hard not to have the Games on the brain right about now, and I spent some time today picking around the 2008 Olympics Web site, reading Takacs' story and learning another thing or two.
     Shooting first appeared as an Olympic event in 1896, and although the program has varied from year to year, and not been held at certain Games, it's been relatively standardized since WWII. This year's Summer Games in Beijing include competition in events such as 10m air pistol, 25m rapid fire pistol, trap, double trap and skeet.
     Of course, all these events have male and female divisions -- but that hasn't always been the case. Women weren't allowed to compete in Olympic shooting events until 1968, when Peru, Poland, and Mexico all entered one female in the Games.
     Now women are well-represented in this year's USA Shooting Team, and women's air rifle is the first event in which medals will be awarded, with Emily Caruso (Fairfield, Conn.) and Jamie Beyerle (Lebanon, Pa.) competing. I can't imagine the pressure of shooting a near-perfect game with the world literally watching. Especially when I was first learning to shoot, I could get horribly nervous when it was just me, an instructor, and not another living soul in sight. -K.H.

     Some of you have commented on the Filson banners that started appearing on our blog earlier this year. So I figured we should meet the person responsible, and invited Filson Director of Marketing Amy Terai to write a few words. 

     So, in place of our bi-weekly Q&A, I'm happy to introduce Amy (that's her on the left, along with Sales Manager Jeanne Johnson at the Washington Outdoor Women's shotgun workshop). Below she talks about her pride in Filson's women's line, as well as her excitement for the outdoors. -K.H.

     I came to Filson fresh from college looking to work in the garment industry.  Never in a million years did I think I’d be working for a company that specializes in outdoor clothing and gear, especially hunting and fly fishing gear! Within a few months at Filson I fell in love with the brand, from its rich heritage in the NW, and its quality garments and lifetime guarantee, to its trans-generational qualities and the deep connection we share with our customers. I joined a huge family when I came on board with Filson and I am so very proud to be a part of it.

     This year Filson launched a women’s line. It seems to be a long time in the making, considering Filson has been around for over 110 years. We tend to do things a little slower here and really gather input from our customers before we make any drastic changes. In order to fully understand the women we were planning on outfitting we decided to form a women’s council. The Filson women’s council is made up of several different women from all walks of life. The commonality they all share is their love for adventure and the outdoors. Whether they are fly fishing, wing shooting, busting clays or tracking a trophy bull elk they are indeed the inspiration for our women’s line.

     The Filson women’s line has inspired a co-worker and myself to learn more about the shooting sports. It was empowering the first time I held a shotgun and hit my first clay target. Since then we have connected with a local organization, Washington Outdoor Women to learn more outdoor skills. It is wonderful for women to come together and have an outlet where we can comfortably learn about the outdoors together.

     Filson has given this city girl the opportunity to respect and enjoy the outdoors and the pursuits and challenges Mother Nature has to offer. - A.T.

     This blog wasn't around back in May 2007 when 11-year-old Jamison Stone shot a 1,000-plus pound hog in Alabama, so we couldn't discuss the controversy that at the time resulted in strong criticism against the Stone family.
     But the debate seems to have resurfaced. According to this Al.com story Rhonda Roland Shearer, who operates a media ethics think tank in Manhattan, is calling for animal cruelty charges to be brought against those involved with the Stones' hunt. She cites the number of shots needed to kill the pig and the amount of time it took for the animal to die as support for her stance.
     Meanwhile, an online petition (which Shearer says she did not start), has surfaced, so far attracting over 800 signatures worldwide, likewise calling for prosecution.
     I remember F&S interviewing the boy's father, Mike Stone, shortly after the controversy initially broke over a year ago. At the time, the family was already complaining of death threats, and struggling to deal with the negative publicity. I find it curious that activists are still unwilling to let the incident go (after the statute of limitations has expired), and are reviving the controversy now.
     The Discovery Channel is reportedly planning to air a documentary that will deal with the Hogzilla phenomenon of monster pig hunting -- I'll be very curious to see what approach they take to Stone and other big pig pursuers, who have achieved minor celebrity status in recent years. K.H.