The Outdoor Pressroom

620-pound, dumpster-diving bruin takes a ride

A notorious 620-pound bruin with a taste for dumpter cuisine was captured and relocated by Florida Fish and Wildlife trappers in Lake County's Ocala National Forest this week. It was the largest ever captured in the state, and just shy of the Florida record, 624-pound bruin struck and killed by a vehilce near Naples several years ago. Daily Commercial.

Foul-hooked: Couple found with 332 white bass over limit

A Davenport, Iowa couple has been charged with overpossession after they were observed catching white bass on the Mississippi River, and taking their catch to their vehicle and returning to fish. State conservation officers met Jeremy Nguyen and Chi Hue Trane at their residence where they found 128 white bass in process of being filleted, 218 whole white bass and 628 filets in their freezer. Iowa DNR.

Gander Mtn. continues move to firearms 'super stores'

Gander Mountain’s move to focus some stores on firearms debuts today at its store in Merrillville, Ind., the sixth to make the tansition. The corporate change-over from hunting, fishing and camping to Gander Mountain Firearms Super Centers began last year in Wisconsin, said Scott Tucker, store manager. Firearms enthusiasts will find some 4,000 firearms including handguns, rifles and shotguns, and tactical guns. NWI Times.

Bill allows La. charities to serve donated game meat

Legislation allowing Louisiana charities and non-profits to use and serve donated deer and other game meat passed easily out of the House Committee on Health and Welfare this week. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Sherri Buffington, was written after 1,600 pounds of deer meat that had been donated to a local shelter was ordered destroyed because of some alleged "gray areas" in the sanitation code. Times Picayune.

Connecticut House passes Sunday hunting measure

After years of discussion and debate, the Connecticut House of Representatives on Thursday approved a limited measure that will allow deer hunting on Sundays with a bow and arrow on private land. The measure passed by 107 to 19 with 24 members absent as all 19 negative votes came from Democrats. Hartford Courant.

Colo. agency faces obstacles with natural gas vehicle pledge

Officials with Colorado Parks and Wildlife say they are determined to make new pickups powered by compressed natural gas work in their fleets, despite operational and logistical hurdles. The agency is acting on a 2011 politically driven pledge by Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper to add more CNG-powered vehicles to the state fleet, but they can cost $8,000 more than regular trucks and CNG filling stations are scarce. Denver Post.

Woman uses shotgun to club bear attacking her hubby

A Wisconsin woman trying to save her husband from an attacking black bear outside their Marinette County cabin on Wednesday fetched a shotgun from the basement and used it to batter the bruin on the head, because she didn't know how to load the weapon. Gerre Ninnemann, the husband, was treated for non-life threatening bites, while a responding deputy shot and killed the bear. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Northernmost recorded Asian carp arrowed in Minnesota

A Mississippi River bowfisherman north of Sartell, Minn. last week shot a 25-pound, egg-filled grass carp, an exotic species previously found only much further south in Minnesota, according to the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). Biologists believe the fish could not have gotten past the dams at Coon Rapids, St. Cloud and Sartell, and assume it likely escaped via flood waters from a private pond, or was intentionally released. MDNR.

Texas teen bags state record gator

Texas Parks and Willdife is reporting that Braxton Bielski, an 18-year-old high school senior, bagged what is likely new state record, 800-pound, 14-foot, 3-inch gator during a recent public hunt on the James E. Daughtrey Wildlife Management Area about 90 miles south of San Antonio. Braxton and his father, Troy Bielski, were among 481 applicants vying for 10 permits issued through the agency’s public hunting program for a five-day hunt. TPWD and Houston Chronicle.

Wisconsin crossbow bill apparently on fast-track

Legislation permitting crossbows in Wisconsin's archery-only hunting seasons appears on the fast-track for passage, and may be implemented in time for the 2013 deer season. Supporters of AB 194 include the Wisconsin Crossbow Federation, Wisconsin Wildlife Federation, NRA, SCI and United Sportsmen of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Bowhunters Association does not oppose the latest version that creates a separate crossbow license. Paul Smith in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Morel relativism: Mushroom hunter dies in freak accident

Medical investigators in Seneca County, Ohio say Kyle Tanner, 24, of Fostoria, died Saturday in what they now believe was a freak accident while he was hunting wild mushrooms on priovate property near Bascom. Sheriff's Sgt. Kevin Reinbolt said Tanner, who was found by a mushroom-hunting companion, apparently fell and hit his head or was struck by a falling tree limb, resulting in a fatal head injury. Toledo Blade.

Deer boards bus through windshield, exits through door

A whitetail deer crashed through the windshield of a Johnstown, Pa. city bus carrying one passenger Tuesday evening, reports today's Tribune-Democrat. "The driver immediately stopped the bus," said CamTran spokesman Josh Yoder. "He opened the door and the deer just walked off the bus." Not enough doe for the bus fare, we surmise.

DEET, estrogen & cocaine found in Minnesota lakes

The results of a new report released Monday by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (PCA) indicates that traces of man-made chemicals including DEET, cocaine, synthetic estrogen, antibiotics and antidepressants were found in 50 lakes chosen at random across the state. The insect repellent DEET was found in 76 percent of the lakes, and cocaine, in a finding that stunned the researchers, was found in 32 percent. Mnpls Star Tribune.

Poaching Colorado park ranger demoted

Travis McKay, a park ranger at the Trinidad Lake State Park in Colorado, who was cited in October for poaching a trophy mule deer after hunting hours while using artificial light, has been fined and demoted—not fired—by the Parks and Wildlife Department. P&W Director Rick Calbes said this week he believes the punishment was adequate, though he acknowledged there were those in the department who disagree. Denver Post.

Chicago museum prohibited from displaying WWII handgun

After receiving items belonging to the estate of Major General William Levine, one of the highest ranking Jewish Generals in US Army history, Chicago's Pritzker Military Library learned that city ordinance prohibits display of the Walther PP Levine obtained during the liberation of Dachau. "We realized when we received that gift that we couldn't keep that gun in the city of Chicago," said museum CEO Ken Clarke. WLS.

ATK to acquire Savage Arms

ATK announced today it has entered into an agreement to acquire Caliber Company, the parent company of Savage Sports Corporation, with locations in Westfield, Mass. and Lakefield, Ont., for $315 million in cash. ATK’s ammunition brands include Federal Premium, CCI, Fusion, Speer, Estate Cartridge and Blazer, and other brands include BLACKHAWK!, Alliant Power, RCBS, Gunslick Pro and Outers gun-care products, and Weaver optics and mounting systems. PRNewswire.

History-making: No Pennsylvania hunting accident fatalities

A new report by the Pennsylvania Game Commission reveals that for the first time since it began documenting hunting and trapping-related shooting incidents in 1915, a year has ended without a single fatality in The Keystone State. Additionally in 2012, there was not a single shooting incident during the fall turkey season, and no incidents involving participants in the Mentored Youth Hunting Program. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Oregon smokejumpers land in pot-grow site

A team of U.S. Forest Service smokejumpers parachuted into a 1,500-plant clandestine marijuana-growing site in Southern Oregon this week while searching for lightning-sparked fires in the region. Authorities were notified and subsequently removed the plants. The grow site was littered with hills of garbage, much of it harmful chemicals that can pollute soil and streams in the area, officials said. Medford Mail Tribune.

N. Minnesota 2013 fishing opener is on ice

Duluth News-Tribune outdoors writer Sam Cook reports that not since 1950 have northern Minnesotans faced an opening day of fishing when most lakes remained covered with a few feet of ice. "I’ve been guiding 34 years, and I’ve never seen anything like it," said Grand Rapids fishing guide Tom Neustrom. "It’s a disappointment. It’s the biggest weekend of the year. It’s a tremendous revenue loss. Are they going to make it up? No."

86,228: NRA Annual Meeting shatters attendance record

The National Rifle Association’s 142nd Annual Meetings & Exhibits, held May 3-5 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, shattered previous attendance records, reports the Trade Show News Network. With the motto of “Stand and Fight”, 86,228 attendees were officially recorded, compared with the NRA’s previous record of 73,740 set last year in St. Louis.

Crime biter: Suspect fleeing Florida cops attacked by gator

A suspect who fled from Pinellas County Sheriff's deputies after a routine traffic stop was attacked by an alligtor and later found at a local hospital being treasted for multiple puncture wounds to his face and arm. Bryan Zuniga, 20, was arrested and charged with breaking or injuring fences, fleeing a Police Officer, driving while driver’s licenses suspended/revoked and resisting an officer without violence. Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Michigan governor signs pro-hunting legislation

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation Wednesday that effectively will block animal rights groups' efforts to force a statewide vote on a 2012 law that allows wolf hunting. Senate Bills 288 and 289 allow the Natural Resources Commission to name game species, grant the Commission exclusive authority over fisheries orders, as it currently has with game orders and establish a right-to-hunt statute. Detroit News.

S. Arizona rock climber dies from hundreds of bee stings

Tucson rock climber Steven Johnson, 55, who was found suspended from anchors off a sheer cliff near Mt. Hopkins in Santa Cruz County, died as a result of “mass envenomation” resulting from hundreds of bee stings, said Dr. Gregory Hess, chief medical examiner. Johnson’s dog, which also was attacked by bees, was found dead on top of the ridge that Johnson was rappelling. Arizona Daily Star.