Field Notes

From a Boone and Crockett Club press release:

Perhaps the largest elk ever produced in the wild—a Utah bull taken in 2008 by a hunter on public land—has been confirmed as a new World's Record. The official declaration was made today by the Boone and Crockett Club.

A Special Judges Panel determined a final score of 478-5/8 Boone and Crockett non-typical points, an incredible 93 inches above the B&C minimum score of 385 for non-typical American elk and 13-plus inches larger than the previous World’s Record.

From ABC4 News:

“The car in front of us slowed down,” recalled [witness Marchelle] Elmer, “we slowed down. . . .” Then trouble comes around the bend. “This Land Rover came flying past us and started pushing the elk down [the highway]. . . .

Most of the elk ran down the road.  Six. . .  [jumped] over the railing. . . plunging down onto the lanes below.  Those six died.

From a National Wild Turkey Federation press release:
"Tom is the reason the Federation is here, working daily to promote wildlife conservation and preserve North America's hunting heritage," said James Earl Kennamer, Ph.D., the NWTF's chief conservation officer.

"The organization is reflecting on its rich history and honoring the man who started it all. He was a great friend personally, a great asset for wildlife and he'll be greatly missed." 

From an AP story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer:
Conservationists who have battled for years to eliminate lead ammunition they say is the biggest threat to the survival of endangered California condors are now setting their sights on Utah. . . .

"It's a simple fix to just ban lead-based ammunition," said Jay Lininger, an ecologist for the group in Flagstaff. "It would be far less expensive and less of a headache for everyone if widely available alternatives were simply required. . . .”

Chris Parish, who oversees the release of the condors in Arizona for the Peregrine Fund, said a widespread ban on lead ammunition could be helpful but fears it might just anger hunters.

"Even if it were banned nationwide right now, there would still be people out there who do not believe in it and they're not convinced their bullets are doing the damage," he said.

Are you convinced?

Just in time for the holidays.

From The Arizona Republic:

An unexpected donation from actor David Spade is expected to provide Phoenix police with enough money to buy an additional 50 semi-automatic rifles for patrol officers in 2009.

The $100,000 gift announced Monday means as many as 300 officers could soon be armed with Bushmaster AR-15s [despite] the city's ongoing budget strife.

It worked for Eric Clapton.

From Contactmusic.com:

He says, "I'm not really that gregarious. And shooting with groups of people up and down the country has taught me a lot about how to get on with my fellow human beings."

The musician recently cleared out his gun cabinet, [insisting] he had to get rid of the weapons, because he became hooked on collecting them.


He adds, "It is following the same pattern as when I collected guitars - I get obsessed, then engulfed and finally narrow the collection down."


From the New York Daily News:

Off-duty Suffolk County cop Joe Sarno, 38, was getting ready for duck hunting with his chocolate Labrador, Otter, when they came upon 80-year-old Fred Hall around noon Saturday.

The frail man wandered in the snow into the mucky waters, got stuck and nearly succumbed to hypothermia.

"I was just, like, I got to get this guy out of there," Sarno recalled. "He's going to die out here. . . ."

"It was an excellent day," said the five-year police veteran. "I saved a man's life and got to shoot some ducks."

From the Post Crescent:

Statewide, meat processors participating in the venison donation program say Wisconsin hunters have given more than 6,500 deer to help feed the hungry this season.

That's a 40 percent drop from the previous year, said Lee Dudek, founder of Hunt for the Hungry. . . .

"Deer hunters fortunate to get extra deer this year are giving the deer meat to relatives or other folks in need," Dudek said. "Considering the economic times we are living in, these are unprecedented conditions for donations."

From The Charlotte Observer:

A south Charlotte homeowner held a shooting suspect at gunpoint in his garage until police could arrive and arrest the man. . . .

It just so happened that at that moment, Davis, Jr. had been showing off his early Christmas present – a brand new deer rifle. As the family ran upstairs, Davis, Sr. grabbed the rifle, loaded it, and headed to the garage. He cornered the man behind his car and told him to put his hands up.

From Washington’s Tri-City Herald:

Buddy is the top cat in his house, and arguably the toughest feline in the Tri-Cities.

The muscular 17-pound bobtail cat, which belongs to William and Shannon Secolo, fought off coyotes inside its Kennewick home early one morning last week. . . .

"There were fur balls everywhere," Secolo said. "Those coyotes didn't stand a chance."