|
In This Issue:
USA Best Shot Photo Contest
You can smell it in the air—it’s big game season! As you are gathering your gear to head into the field, don’t forget to pack a camera. Then send us your favorite hunting, fishing or outdoor photos for your chance to win a #110 Buck knife engraved with the USA logo ($70 value) in our USA Best Shot monthly photo contest.
You may submit one or more photo per month. Submitted photos will be used to build a USA Member Photo Gallery in the coming months and may be featured in the USA e-newsletter, tabloid and other promotional materials.
WAYS TO ENTER:
By E-Mail
1. Include USA Best Shot in the subject line and attach your digital photo(s) in an email
2. Include your Name, Address and Phone Number in your submission
3. Submit to the following e-mail address: USAmembers@trcp.org
By Mail
1. Mail your best printed photo(s) to:
USA - Best Shot Photo Contest
3340 Perimeter Hill Drive
Nashville, TN 37211
2. Include your Name, Address and Phone Number in your submission
Photos will not be returned. By submitting a photo, you acknowledge that you have read and agreed to the following contest rules.
USA BEST SHOT PHOTO CONTEST RULES
top
Tips for Hunting Concealment
by Babe Winkelman
 When I was a kid, there was no such thing as all these camo patterns we see today. If you had camouflage, it was typically a military pattern on an old army outfit. Most hunters took to the woods, fields and wetlands wearing tan or olive-drab hunting coats, green-and-black plaid wool jackets or regular street clothes. How were they successful without today’s ultra-realistic camo patterns? Well, they abided by rule #1 for hunting concealment: They didn’t move.
No matter what you’re wearing, movement is what spoils a hunt – whether it’s ducks that spot you from above or a buck below. So again, rule #1 in concealment is to become a statue. If you must move to make a shot, reach for a call or squash a mosquito on your temple, do it s-l-o-w-l-y to avoid getting busted.
Still, modern camouflage definitely helps us get away with more movement. This is especially true with three-dimensional clothing like Underbrush, which has fabric cut into 3-D leafy strips. In addition to breaking up your outline, the “leaves” move gently and naturally if there’s a breeze. Another plus to Underbrush is that the base fabric is actually a light, tight mesh that keeps bugs out.
To enhance concealment even more, try mixing and matching different patterns. If you wear the same camo from head-to-toe, you’re more apt to form a telltale human silhouette. But if you wear a boldly different pattern for your top vs. your pants, your silhouette is literally broken in half. Mix in yet another pattern with a vest, and you’ll trick the wary eyes of your prey even more.
 Whatever your favorite brand/style of camouflage is, always conceal your face. Of all the parts of your body, your face is typically the one that moves the most as you scan around for ducks, deer, turkeys or whatever. Face masks are great, but I prefer face paint so I don’t obstruct my vision or hearing. HS makes great stuff that applies easily and washes off quickly after the hunt. Also, be as religious about concealing your hands as you are your face. And remember to practice shooting with the gloves you wear hunting.
With all clothing, especially for big game hunting, think UV and scent concealment too. Wash your hunting clothes in scent-eliminating detergent without UV brighteners and, preferably, with UV inhibitors. Per-hunt applications of spray-on scent eliminators and anti-UV sprays are important too.
Nothing beats total concealment in the field, and that’s where hunting blinds excel. Inside a blind, you can get away with all kinds of movement. They even subdue sounds to some extent. I prefer blinds with a black interior coating, which helps create a “dark house” effect. In this type of blind, the best clothing to wear is black, which will help eliminate your silhouette inside the tent. Again, keeping your face covered with a mask or face paint is a must.
Another way to gain concealment when hunting big game, and even turkeys, is by height. The higher you get in a treestand, the harder it is for game to spot you. It’s basically a “see more/be seen less” proposition. I’ve never felt comfortable at high elevations in a strap-on tree stand. I’m much more comfortable in a ladder stand, which are typically around 15 feet high. Any higher and the ladder sections begin bowing. But now, Rivers Edge has figured out a way to get you 22 feet high in a ladder (see them at huntriversedge.com/). They designed a bracing system that prevents bowing.
Put up tree stands, set ground blinds and prepare your camo and other gear, so you can take to the woods with confidence that “they’ll never know you’re there.”
Babe Winkelman is a nationally-known outdoorsman who has taught people to fish and hunt for more than 25 years. Watch the award-winning “Good Fishing” and “Outdoor Secrets” television shows on Versus. Fox Sports Net, Comcast Southeast, WILD TV and many local networks. Visit www.winkelman.com for air times where you live.
top
USA Recognizes Youths for Their First Harvest
 Remember your first deer, bird or monster fish—the intensity of the moment as your heart pounded and knees knocked while you tried to calm your nerves long enough to take a shot or turn your reel? There’s nothing like that first harvest.
The USA would like to honor youths who have learned the skill and determination it takes to be a hunter or angler through the USA First Harvest program.
Perhaps your son or daughter will be heading into the field to hunt for the first time this season. Maybe your grandchild caught his or her first fish this past summer. If a youth in your life has achieved a first harvest, help us reward him or her with a personalized certificate that will serve as a reminder of a great accomplishment.
To request a personalized certificate, email USAmembers@trcp.org with the youth’s full name and mailing address as well as the species taken.
top
Invite USA ProStaff to Your Meeting or Event
As a hunter or angler, you know all about scouting, whether scouting for deer rubs and scrapes or the pools with the biggest fish. Now it’s time to put that skill to work finding new opportunities to bring your fellow union brothers and sisters into the Union Sportsmen’s Alliance community.
 You scout the opportunity, such as a local union meeting or event, and the USA ProStaff will be right there, ready to reel in new members with all the great benefits this club has to offer.
To invite a USA ProStaff member to talk about the USA at your local union meeting or event, please contact the ProStaff Coordinator in your region.
Mid-West Regional Coordinator
MN, WI, IA, IL, ND, SD, NE, MO, KS
Jim Klatt
(612) 331-0270
jklatt@trcp.org
Southern Regional Coordinator
TN, GA, FL, TX, AL, AR, LA, MS, OK
Johnny Kesting
(615) 831-6798
jkesting@trcp.org
Great Lakes Regional Coordinator
IN, MI, OH, WV, KY
Don Coburn
(614) 205-0265
dcoburn@trcp.org
Northwest Regional Coordinator
WA, OR, ID, MT, WY, UT, CO, AK, HI, Canada (BC)
Ric Abbett
(360) 264-4820
rabbett@trcp.org
Mid-Atlantic Regional Coordinator
VA, NC, ND, DE, SC
Greg Singleton
(202) 685-3318
gsingleton@trcp.org
West Coast Regional Coordinator
CA, NM, NV, AZ
Mark Gagliardi
(925) 698-0719
cgagliardi123@sbcglobal.net
Northeast Regional Coordinator
PA, NY, NJ, CT, VT, MA, RI, ME, NH,
Canada (Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal)
Ben Hoffman
(717) 367-8872
bhoffman@trcp.org
top
The Big Sky Buck
by Kevin Reese
The subzero wind bit at my lips and earlobes, and I questioned my choice in attire as I forged on toward my quarry. The Montana sky, aglow with stars and moonlight, lit the alfalfa field with a silver hue. Distant antlers moved in the silver mist, adding to my excitement as I hurried into position. The crisp air magnified the sharp sounds of clashing antlers in the distance as my binoculars recorded the early morning antics of two bucks mid-field. A young buck with squatty antlers charged out of the field at a healthy trot. Even at 300 yards, the sound of his hooves seemed to echo against the ice-laden ground.
As the sun rose, I realized a vital mistake. An irrigation ditch 100 yards out interrupted what should have been a clean 300 yard shot. Traversing the field now posed quite a problem, and there was no way to get in position quickly as the deer began to move. I dropped my gear and bulky parka and rolled onto my belly. I began my painfully slow stalk in a low crawl, dragging my body across the ground with a range finder in one hand and rifle in the other. Unfortunately, I was not in the same shape as my Marine Corps days, and the 100 yards I now traversed seemed exponentially more painful than the 200 yard crawls of years past.
Clouds of breath rose above me as I strained and clawed to the top edge of the irrigation ditch, carefully peering over. At 200 yards and 220 pounds, his graying frame and mature gait assured me that he was a mature buck, though he lacked some height and width on his beautiful, nearly symmetrical rack. I slid back down the embankment and wiped the fog from my glasses. I clawed back up in time to see him dip his head before my glasses fogged up again! I slid back down the embankment and wiped them off. Peering over the edge once again, I was horrified to see that the buck was heading away from me. At 200 yards, he stopped to feed for just a moment. I held my breath at a natural pause as I placed my crosshairs behind his front shoulder and squeezed the trigger. The bullet shot directly to his boiler room. He didn’t take a step.
 The stalk and the quick harvest made for one of my most memorable hunts. The stalk was, and still is, by far the toughest stalk I’ve engaged in. The hunt was magnificent! Was it a trophy? For me, yes. I found him, stalked him, and used every ounce of energy to harvest him. He only measured 17” inside, but he made great table fare for the family.
Moreover, during that hunt, I spent quality time with quality people, family. Hunting is more than a passion for us; it’s more than an obsession. For us, it is living the gifted life worth living. That buck, that story, that adventure—that is my life worth living. What’s yours?
Kevin V. Reese is a Freelance Outdoor Writer/Photographer
top
Sportsmen Welcome New Private Land Access Incentive
 A recent announcement by Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer could spell more access for sportsmen. Schafer stated on October 3, 2008 that up to 7 million acres of land enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program would be made eligible for increased incentives if landowners allow public hunting and fishing access on them. The addition of three dollars per acre would bring the average incentive to $53 per acre opened to public hunting and fishing.
According to Geoff Mullins, an initiative manager for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP), “This move is a great first step toward reinvigorating America’s traditions of hunting and angling, which decline every time another piece of land is developed or placed off-limits to sportsmen.”
The Conservation Reserve Program is the largest program in the Farm Bill Conservation Title, which represents our country’s single largest overall investment in fish and wildlife habitat on private lands.
The CRP public access incentive will permit partnerships with existing state public access programs to identify and mark tracts of land as publicly accessible and publish maps for hunters and recreation enthusiasts. The incentive also will enhance the ability of state game departments to use hunting seasons as a wildlife management tool.
The CRP public access incentive will be limited to CRP participants in the 21 states that already have public access programs. These 21 states are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming.
“This new incentive provides an excellent illustration of ways in which the federal government can team with state wildlife agencies to advance the cause of sportsmen,” Mullins said. “It should first be applauded, then replicated.”
top
 The USA is a union-dedicated hunting and fishing program of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP), a coalition of conservation organizations, labor unions and individuals working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing.
This year, on the 150th anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt’s birth, we celebrate the life and legacy of the hunter, Rough Rider and president who paved the way for conservation in America.
| 
