The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIF&W) announced on Oct. 11 the issuance of emergency rules to protect Maine’s deer and moose populations. MDIF&W advised that a captive deer in neighboring Quebec was found to be infected with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). In other states, especially in the West, CWD has infected elk […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Deer camps create a fellowship that's tough to match
It’s only one five-letter word followed by an exclamation point, but most military air crewmen hope they never hear it or have to say it: “Eject! Eject! Eject!” The next sounds heard by Capt. Vernon Burke and 2nd Lt. Leroy Vestar most likely were the rush of fast-moving air and the welcome pop of a […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Protection of state's coastal forestland receives major boost
Back in May, an important press release apparently got upstaged by other events, or simply slipped beneath the radar. It was a land-conservation story of significance. There are a lot of organizational names, big words and capitalizations connected to this press release, which may partly explain the lack of “public buzz.” Here is the upshot […]
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Outdoors in Maine: 'Too much country, too short a life' for hunters
Sooner or later in our lives, most of us contemplate our own mortality. Those of us who really love the deer woods tend to use the number of deer seasons left as yardstick of our days. It is said, though, that most deer hunters go through stages, and tend to lose their ardor for the […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Looking at local candidates' views on gun
As a rule, my editors prefer that the Maine outdoor beat steers clear of politics. And they are right, most of the time. But when the body politic begins trifling with our Second Amendment rights, should an outdoor writer just walk away? Tough to do because gun rights and taking a gun to the woods […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Breaking down Maine's gun laws
When it comes to the legality of openly carrying a handgun in Maine, or concealing that handgun, questions abound. When is it legal to carry a loaded, concealed handgun? Is a permit required? Is there a legal distinction between so-called open carry and concealed carry? How do you get a permit? What if you are […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Getting a downed moose out his the hard part
The biggest eye-opener for most first-time moose hunters is after the animal is down. This is when the real work begins. As we all know, moose are large critters, very large, and getting a 1,000-pound carcass out of a tangled clear cut to the nearest accessible road can be a tall order. During the first […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Crossbows gaining respect, being used more
Although crossbows have never held a lot of appeal for me, I have hunted with a borrowed crossbow in the deer-rich state of Maryland. For me, it just seems awkward to carry while still hunting, and it doesn’t have the visual appeal of conventional longbows, recurves or compound bows. As a hunting device, it is […]
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Outdoors in Maine: Blood trackers crucial to finding wounded animals
Most big game hunters are mindful of the fact that there is an ethic associated with the kind of shots taken in the harvesting of wild animals. In general, running shots, head or neck shots are low percentage shots that push the bounds of ethical choices by the hunter. The odds of wounding an animal […]
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Outdoors in Maine: 'Behind the Cast' provides funny view of fishing adventures
It seems like everybody is writing a book these days. And there is nothing wrong with that – especially if you like to read. Fact is that most mature human beings who have lived life, shared adventures or just a canoe or a campfire, have tales worthy of ink. The trick, of course, is knowing […]