One of the programs I watch from time to time on the Pursuit Channel is Backland Experiences. Hosted by Scott Anderson, I generally enjoy the program because it isn’t particularly over-hyped, and the sponsors’ products don’t dominate each episode. Oh, they’re there, of course, because they have to be, but they’re mostly kept to the background [...]
Go to Outdoors TV Review – The Crossbow QuestionAuthor Archive
February 7th, 2011
Writer’s Block Monday
So, if I can’t come up with decent content for today, does it count if I use a sweet and fluffy kitty picture? I don’t know why, but I’m just short on stuff to write today. It’s not that there’s nothing going on in the world of wild hogs, hunting, lead ammo controversy, or other [...]
Go to Writer’s Block MondayFebruary 3rd, 2011
Lead Ban Chronicles – What’s New(s)?
I sort of hate to rattle this cage, since there hasn’t been a lot of activity on the lead ammo ban front lately. Sure, some things are going on, and I have no doubt that the Center for Biological Diversity isn’t quite done with their efforts, but it’s been relative calm altogether… especially here in [...]
Go to Lead Ban Chronicles – What’s New(s)?February 2nd, 2011
Happy Birthday To The Hog Blog!
Time does fly, or at least it moves by pretty damned quickly. Four years ago today, I put up my first post on the Hog Blog. I had an opportunity to pop back in time and take a look at it, and unlikely as it may seem, that post is still relevant today! Here was [...]
Go to Happy Birthday To The Hog Blog!February 2nd, 2011
Cooking Wild Magazine Winter Issue Satisfies
I just read a “foodie” magazine from cover-to-cover. This probably doesn’t seem all that big a deal, but trust me, this is not my usual reading preference. I don’t do recipes. I don’t really care for the language and pomposity of much of the gourmet cooking genre. I’m an OK cook from time to time, [...]
Go to Cooking Wild Magazine Winter Issue SatisfiesJanuary 31st, 2011
Guided Tejon Ranch Hog Hunt Raffle
In the best tradition of social media, I’ve “stolen” this post from my friend, Al, over at The SoCal Bowhunter. I don’t think he’ll mind, because it’s a notice about a raffle for a guided, Tejon Ranch hog hunt and the money is being raised to benefit the Hunter Education Instructors’ Association (HEIA) of Southern [...]
Go to Guided Tejon Ranch Hog Hunt RaffleJanuary 30th, 2011
The Hog Blog Hunts Ducks Too
Sometimes I just need to give the hogs a break, you know? Well, OK… I actually haven’t been hunting much of anything in the last few weeks, hogs or otherwise. Since this weekend marks the end of the CA waterfowl season I thought I’d better clean the spiders out of my twice-barrel, hose the dust off [...]
Go to The Hog Blog Hunts Ducks TooJanuary 28th, 2011
Hunting Organizations Work To Repeal Sunday Hunting Prohibition
Growing up in NC, there were a lot of things we couldn’t do on Sunday. Most businesses were closed, except grocery stores and a few restaurants. You couldn’t buy liquor, and beer was only available after 1:00pm (unless you were in a “dry” county). And of course, you couldn’t hunt. As a youngster, I remember [...]
Go to Hunting Organizations Work To Repeal Sunday Hunting ProhibitionJanuary 27th, 2011
Volunteers Sought For Bighorn Sheep Count
Live in southern California, or enjoy spending time in the mountains and deserts? The Forest Service and CA DFG are looking for volunteers to spend some time in the San Gabriel Mountains over the weekend of February 26-27 to assist in the annual Bighorn Sheep Count. If you’ve got the time and inclination, this is [...]
Go to Volunteers Sought For Bighorn Sheep CountJanuary 26th, 2011
Wild Hogs Make #8 On The Outdoor Life Hit List
Outdoor Life Online recently ran a photo series called “Kill These Critters“. In the piece, they discuss the role of hunters in controlling the populations of 15 different animals. These include the coyote, at #1 all the way to the sandhill crane at #15. Here at the Hog Blog, I was surprised to see our [...]
Go to Wild Hogs Make #8 On The Outdoor Life Hit ListJanuary 24th, 2011
Website Review – HuntnFish Regs.com
In addition to all the guns and ammo, gear and camo, the SHOT Show gives me an opportunity to meet a lot of folks with some less tangible products. One of the standouts this year was the guys from HuntNFishRegs and their website. HuntNFish Regs is a pretty simple idea. Take all of the hunting and fishing regulation [...]
Go to Website Review – HuntnFish Regs.comJanuary 23rd, 2011
Excellent Video On Wild Pigs – A Pickup Load Of Pigs
While I was at the SHOT Show last week, my friend Rex sent me links to the following video series. It’s an informational piece on wild and feral hogs in the US, and it offers some really good, fairly balanced discussion about the sources of wild hogs, their real and potential impacts, and what it [...]
Go to Excellent Video On Wild Pigs – A Pickup Load Of PigsJanuary 20th, 2011
SHOT Show 2011 – Day 3 Underway
There comes a time at every SHOT Show where I kind of get tired of seeing guns and camo. It’s a passing thing, of course, but for a while, I just want to see something different. This show is a great place for folks to bring out the unique, and sometimes useful gadgets, gizmos, and [...]
Go to SHOT Show 2011 – Day 3 UnderwayJanuary 20th, 2011
SHOT Show 2011 – Day 2 On The Floor
This post should have come out yesterday, but I ran out of time. It was a pretty busy day, starting with a press conference by Bushnell, and wrapped up with a couple of after-show events put on by Outside Hub, and later with the Sportsman Channel. Bushnell provided a breakfast meeting in order to introduce [...]
Go to SHOT Show 2011 – Day 2 On The FloorJanuary 19th, 2011
Big News for CA Gun Owners – Mail Order Ammo Restriction Snagged
I need to take a break from the SHOT Show coverage to pass around a pretty big piece of news. As some of you know (and way too many others were unaware), a new law (AB 962) passed in 2010 would ban direct mail order or Internet sales of “handgun ammunition” to customers in CA. Under [...]
Go to Big News for CA Gun Owners – Mail Order Ammo Restriction SnaggedJanuary 18th, 2011
SHOT Show 2011 – Day 1 On The Floor
Today was the official first day of the 2011 SHOT Show (Media Day at the range is an “unofficial” first day). As usual, I spent the day getting totally overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff to see and people to talk to. I did have some excellent conversations, and hope to bring you those [...]
Go to SHOT Show 2011 – Day 1 On The FloorJanuary 18th, 2011
SHOT Show 2011- Media Day At The Range
This is not your grandpa’s BB gun. Over the course of today’s Media Day At The Range, I shot a lot of pretty cool guns. I shot big-bore rifles, ARs, slug guns, hand cannons, and even crossbows. But out of everything I shot, the one that stands out to me now, looking back, was an [...]
Go to SHOT Show 2011- Media Day At The RangeJanuary 16th, 2011
Off To The Show! – 2011 SHOT Show
It’s here! It’s here! It’s SHOT Show eve! I’m off in a couple of hours to fly out to Vegas, where I’ll probably not sleep a wink. Come tomorrow morning, first thing, I’ll be loading onto the bus to Boulder City Rifle and Pistol Range to shoot all the new guns, try out all the [...]
Go to Off To The Show! – 2011 SHOT ShowJanuary 13th, 2011
Porcine Press – Zebra Hunting in California?
We talk a lot about wild hogs being invasive, non-native species and whether or not that’s a justification for the extensive efforts to eradicate them from various locations. However, as some of us may have seen in yesterday’s news, they’re not the only critters that have slipped the confines of domesticity and caused various conflicts. [...]
Go to Porcine Press – Zebra Hunting in California?January 11th, 2011
Are We Creating A False Dichotomy – Hunter vs. Non-Hunter?
As so often happens, the recent discussion over on Holly’s NorCal Cazadora blog got me thinking about some stuff. It seems a little deep to me right now, as I’m still working on my second cup of coffee, but maybe it’s not. Anyway, indulge me while I ponder via my keyboard. The discussion at Holly’s [...]
Go to Are We Creating A False Dichotomy – Hunter vs. Non-Hunter?January 10th, 2011
SHOT Show 2011 Is On The Horizon!
The 2011 Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trades (SHOT) Show is slated to begin in Las Vegas on January 17, just a week from today, and I’m about as antsy as a six year-old on Christmas Eve. I finally got the go-ahead to take my work to Las Vegas with me, so while I’ll be spending [...]
Go to SHOT Show 2011 Is On The Horizon!January 6th, 2011
Whitetail Populations Down In GA – Hunter Responses
For years, one of the key arguments in the hunting pro vs. con debate has been that hunting is a valid tool for managing wildlife populations. It’s been the justification for everything from extended seasons and liberal bag limits to urban hunts and special weapons exceptions. While I think the population control argument is often [...]
Go to Whitetail Populations Down In GA – Hunter ResponsesJanuary 4th, 2011
Eating Local – Invasivores?
Most of us know that there’s been a trend over the last couple of years toward eating local and sustainable food. As part of that movement, wild game meat has risen with a new popularity… evidenced in sites like Hank’s Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, Georgia Pelligrini’s eponymous site, and Jackson Landers’s The Locavore Hunter. Personally, [...]
Go to Eating Local – Invasivores?January 3rd, 2011
Porcine Press – Michigan One Step Closer To Banning Wild/Feral Hogs
Over the past year, there’s been a lot of discussion in Michigan about how to control the spread of feral hogs and wild boar. When I last wrote about it, the State was looking at imposing a total ban on the possession of wild or feral hogs, which would mean a ban on hunting preserves [...]
Go to Porcine Press – Michigan One Step Closer To Banning Wild/Feral HogsDecember 31st, 2010
Happy New Year and Some Nascent Plans For The Nascent Year
Yeah… sometimes I just like to use neglected language. Like nascent. Anyway, it’s New Year’s Eve (duh), and I know a lot of folks are planning their resolutions. Personally, I gave up on that concept years ago, but it is a fun way to think about goals for the future… what is it about myself [...]
Go to Happy New Year and Some Nascent Plans For The Nascent YearDecember 30th, 2010
Should Auld Acquaintance Be Shot?
That title makes about as much sense as anything in my cold-addled brain this morning. Somehow or another, I’ve gone through most of the week without a post, and here it is the end of 2010! How did that happen? Seems like spring was just here, summer was a blur, hunting season came and went, [...]
Go to Should Auld Acquaintance Be Shot?December 25th, 2010
Maybe It’s Time For Another Christmas Song…
Hope everyone’s dancing to their own fine drum this morning… Merry Christmas to you all from the Hog Blog! Related Articles:‘Tis The SeasonAll aboard! I hear it coming down the tracks…Happy Solstice!
Go to Maybe It’s Time For Another Christmas Song…