Deer hunting briefs
– A Record: 147,413 muzzleloader licenses were sold in 2001, making it the highest sales year for muzzleloader licenses since the agency began to sell them in 1974. The previous record sales year for muzzleloader licenses occurred in 1981, when 145,144 licenses were sold. Also, nearly 50,000 combination licenses – which entitles the holder to take part in muzzleloader seasons – were sold in 2001, meaning that even more hunters were eligible for the muzzleloader seasons. – Shoo-Fly: On most fall mornings, flies become active between 9 and 10 a.m. The last thing you want them doing is laying eggs on your carcass. Chase them if they land on the exposed meat of your carcass when you’re dragging it from the field. Also, once you get out of the field, continue to keep flies from getting to the carcass until you can get it home or to a processor.
– Lookouts: It’s almost always a good sign to hear squirrels barking or scolding something in the area you’re hunting. They often bark at deer for invading their foraging areas. But their crying isn’t limited to deer. They also scold intruding people, bears, birds of prey, even other squirrels. Still, squirrel barking shouldn’t be treated lightly. It can be a sign that deer are on the move or other hunters are in the area and hunters should always be on their toes whenever it starts.
– Smelly Shoes: Stand hunters can improve their chances of taking a deer markedly by spraying a cover scent on the bottoms of their shoes or boots before they cover the last 100 or so yards to their hunting stand. Red fox urine is excellent for ground stand hunters; raccoon urine for tree-stand hunters. Some deer that intersect with the odorous trail you’ve laid down will inquisitively follow it. Their curiosity simply gets the best of them.
– Bigger is Better: If you have the chance to choose your deer from a group, consider taking the lead deer, or the largest antlerless deer. Taking an adult doe will help balance the doe-heavy sex ratio found in many local deer populations across the state.
– Hot Spots: Dry conditions earlier this year likely will influence where deer are when hunting season rolls around. Check areas where mast is abundant, mountaintop springs, swampy areas and woodlots adjacent to standing cornfields for deer activity. Pick spots where you can intercept deer traveling from bedding to feeding areas, or set up in thick cover and wait for hunters to chase the deer to you.
– Safety Note: inline muzzleloading rifles manufactured in 1995 and 1996 by Connecticut Valley Arms Inc. are being recalled due to occurrence of serious accidents upon firing.
Persons owning or possessing a CVA in-line rifle with a serial number ending in 95 or 96, who have not had the barrel replaced, should contact a Blackpowder Products representative by calling 770-449-4687 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. EST.
The serial number is located on the barrel opposite the firing bolt. No other firearm models within the CVA product line are affected by the voluntary recall.