Snow Geese Moving North - Mound City, MO

Well the reports are coming in that the outfitters are harvesting large numbers of snow geese at Mound City, MO,  The peak of the migration may still be a week or more away however its not stopping some outfitters from having some excellent shooting.

Unmarked traps lead to $4,000 fine - Utah

Price — Two men will pay a total of $4,000 for breaking Utah's trapping laws.

Dean and Spencer Steele, both of Utah County, were originally charged with more than 20 counts for violating Utah's trapping regulations.

In a plea agreement, both men pleaded guilty to five Class B Misdemeanors.

In addition to paying $4,000, the men also forfeited numerous traps and a bobcat pelt. And both of them might also lose their trapping privileges in Utah.

Officers find traps

During January, officers with the Division of Wildlife Resources discovered several leg-hold traps on Cedar Mountain in east-central Utah. None of the traps had trap identification numbers attached to them. (The trap ID number is a four or five digit number that identifies the person who owns the traps.)
The officers also found a bobcat in one of the traps.
When Dean and Spencer Steele returned to collect their traps and the bobcat, officers apprehended them.
During the course of their investigation, the officers learned the men had not checked the traps for 14 days. They also determined that the bobcat had been in the trap for at least eight days.
The officers also learned the two men had a system to try to avoid detection—they would attach ID numbers to the traps as they collected them, in case they were stopped later by officers.
"This is a case where two men put out unmarked traps to avoid complying with the state's 48-hour trap check requirement," says Carl Gramlich, a DWR lieutenant. "They also left the traps unmarked to try to avoid detection if wildlife officers found the traps before they collected them."
Report trap locations to the DWR
If you find a trap in the wild, Gramlich encourages you to report the location to the Division of Wildlife Resources.
"Please do not disturb the trap," he says. "Tampering with someone's trap could lead to criminal charges if the trap was legally set."
After receiving your report, Gramlich says wildlife officers can check the trap to determine if it was legally set.

5 Men Accused Of Poaching Deer In Northern Kansas

OBERLIN, Kan. (AP) _ Five Wisconsin men could lose their hunting

privileges in Kansas after being accused of poaching deer.

Decatur County authorities say they're accused of running the

deer illegally using greyhounds and vehicles.

The men were arrested in northwest Kansas on Wednesday after a

wildlife officer called the sheriff's office.

The Oberlin Herald reports that the dead bucks were not tagged

and had been piled on a trailer and taken into Oberlin as the men

were processed in court on misdemeanor charges.

The men charged were 53-year-old John Jacobs III, 45-year-old

Mark Jacobs, 26-year-old Paul Jacobs, and 23-year-old Joseph

Jacobs, all of DePere, Wisc., and 30-year-old John Jacobs IV of

Green Bay. The Decatur County clerk's office said the men did not

appear with lawyers.

The hunters were released after posting bonds totaling $83,500.

Coyotes Will Be On The Move After Storm

Well if you are a coyote hunter this winter storm will be great for you. They will be on the move, easy to see, and hungry.

Good Luck

Big Bear shot Saddle Hills Alberta, Sept 20, 2010

These two gents were calling elk in the Saddle Hills south of Woking, Alberta when this big guy slipped in on the caller. The Shooter spotted the bear about 8 yards from the caller and dropped him with 5 shots out of his 338 Rem Mag.. Farmers in the area new about the bear but weren’t able to track after it had killed 3 horses, 5 cows, 13 sheep and a pen full of chickens on several different homesteads in the area. Fish and wildlife had bear traps set up in the area but notice on surveillance video that when ever a he would enter his hump would hit the top of the culvert trap slowing him enough that the trap door would wack him on the head before he was all the way in the reap. Check out the scar tissue on his face….. Bear weighed in just under 1300 pounds and would have stood 11 ¾ feet tall on its hind legs…..

Missouri Hunters Shoot Mountain Lion

Posted: Monday, January 24, 2011 9:53 am

Missouri Hunters Shoot Mountain Lion

Hunters say animal posed threat. Fourth recent confirmed report brings total to 14 in Missouri since 1994.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) has confirmed that a group of hunters killed a young male mountain lion west of La Plata, Mo., on Saturday, Jan. 22. According to conservation agents investigating the incident, the group was hunting coyotes on a landowner's farm when several came within 20 yards of the big cat. None of the hunters had dogs. Members of the group immediately contacted conservation agents to report the incident.

At this time, no charges have been filed since it appears that the cougar presented enough danger to the hunters to warrant the shooting.
Mountain lions are protected under the Wildlife Code of Missouri. The Code does allow the killing of any mountain lion attacking or killing livestock or domestic animals, or threatening human safety. The incident must be reported to the MDC immediately and the intact carcass, including the pelt, must be surrendered to the MDC within 24 hours.
The animal weighed 128 pounds. Members of the MDC Mountain Lion Response Team will examine the animal to gather additional information, including DNA, to help determine where the big cat came from.
This is the second young male mountain lion killed in Missouri this month and the fourth confirmed report of a mountain lion in Missouri since November.
"These four reports bring our total number of confirmed reports over the past 16 years to just 14," said Rex Martensen of MDC's Mountain Lion Response Team.
Martensen added that, like in this situation, it appears that mountain lions seen in Missouri are young males roaming from other states in search of territory.
"Young male mountain lions go in search of new territories at about 18 months of age and during this time of year," he explained. "To date, we have no evidence to suggest that a breeding population of mountain lions exists in Missouri."
He added that mountain lions are nocturnal, secretive and generally avoid contact with humans.
Mountain lions (Puma concolor), also called cougars, panthers and pumas, were present in Missouri before pioneer settlement. The last documented Missouri mountain lion was killed in the Bootheel in 1927. The closest populations of mountain lions to Missouri are in South Dakota and a small population in northwest Nebraska.
Martensen added that MDC has never stocked or released mountain lions in Missouri and has no plans to do so.

Foiles pleads not guilty to U.S. charges; served Canadian summons moments later

Jeff Foiles, a nationally-known duck hunter and caller from Pittsfield, pled not guilty today to a 23-count federal indictment. Charges against him allege that he regularly killed ducks and geese in excess of legal limits for the purpose of creating hunting videos.
Moments after the plea, Foiles, operator of Foiles Migrators, Inc., learned he is also facing charges in Canada.
He was served with a summons to appear in court in Edmonton, Alberta, on April 5, the same day his trial is scheduled to start in Springfield.What the Canadian summons contains is unclear. Stay tuned to Outdoor News for further developments.